Dress Progress

We are ten days out from the wedding. Very busy, and much sewing. I got my dress today to the point where I can zip it up and not flash anyone, nor have any pins in me. It looks wonderful, and I am feeling very accomplished. Now to add the finishing touches. A waistband lining, finishing off several internal seams, hemming, a small amount of embroidery. I won't show any pictures of the dress until it is worn on the day, but I thought I would share a little photograph I took of what notions I have been using.

Wedding Dress Fancy Work

My wedding dress is taking shape. It has a bodice, a collar and sleeves. The sewing gods approve of my upcoming nuptials for both sleeves set correctly the first time, no unpicking required!
I have been doing a lot of fancy work on top half of the dress.

The first photograph is a sleeve in the flat. Rows of insertion, and rows of pintucks finished with lace edging on the hem. All lace is my grandma's; the insertion was rolled up in a box with other insertion and ribbons, neatly labelled. It is honouring to be able to use her notions like this. I am going to visit her tomorrow with handsewing to do, so we will be able to discuss my sewing, and the wedding. It is lovely to be able to still share this with her in a way, though she is increasingly having trouble remembering.

My collar also is indebted to Mama. The lace edging is again from her collection, so is the transfer, from a Semco transfer book named "Small Sprays". There was two, and it is  mirror imaged on the other side of the collar. I am assuming the book dates from the 1940s or 1950s. I embroidered on the way to and from uni, making use of my long commute. Handwork is a great love of mine. I have done it for many years now, and it is so therapeutic.

I will most likely share more detail shots of the dress as it comes together, but I won't do a full shot until I can reveal the wedding photos. Only a little over a month now.

Navy Florals

I made a dress out of one of my favourite fabrics. It;s been in my grandma's stash for as long as i can remember, and pieces of it appear in my patchwork quilt. 

This started out as a skirt, but then morphed into a dress. I made it in January, but only hemmed and finished it this week to wear to a friend's wedding.

Pattern: Simplicity 2444

Size: 12

Fabric: Navy blue with dark floral, Mama's stash

Adjustments: 

• Skirt pleats sewn down
• Side zipper
• front and back bodice with centre seams due to lack of fabric.
• bodice lined in a dark plum colour
• waist seam finished off with bias binding
• narrow 1/2in hem

Notions: Navy blue invisible zip, plum coloured bias tape

Wear with: Pearls! I can easily see this as a winter dress as well

Make Again: the fit isn't spot on, but Simplicity 2444 is a TNT pattern. Will definitely line the bodice again, but probably wouldn't piece the bodice together

 

Watercolour Dress

This is the dress I made  for myself to test out the bridesmaid dress pattern

As I have talked about here, it is the BHL Anna bodice on a slightly modified Simplicity 2444 skirt. As I was adjusting the pattern whilst making this dress I picked a really large piece of fabric out of my grandma's stash I was not particularly attached to. um tells me it was bought to make toddler dresses for me.

With the warm weather now I have worn this dress twice this week, and it is growing on me. The pattern is incredibly comfortable, and the fabric is beautiful, quite different to my normal florals, it's almost a watercolour.






Pattern: BHL Anna bodice with Simplicity 2444 skirt
Size: 8/12 bodice with 12 skirt
Fabric: pink, blue and green watercolour floral; grandma's stash
Adjustment: skirt pleats moved to accommodate bodice pleats and darts. Neckline and arm holes finished with bias tape. Four inches added to skirt length.
Notions: pale blue bias tape, white invisible zip
Wear With: Pink pearl set, pale blue cardigan
Make Again?: Yes! This frakenpattern is quickly becoming a favourite of mine

She looked amazing

I finished the dress in a week. The graduation was lovely.

 

That is now all the practice bridesmaids dresses done. I haven't actually seen the other two wearing them. I simply bump into a mutual uni friend every now and again and they will comment "K looks amazing in the dress you made!"

Refashioned Grey Floral Skirt

The skirt swamping my dress form

This skirt came from a friend of my Mum's. It was almost ankle length, about a size 22, and elasticised in back waistband.

I unpicked the side seams and kept the front section as is, then measured the back section on my dress form sewed it back together and placed a new waistband in, no elastic needed!

I then hemmed it to just below the knee, a very flattering length. 

I wore it today to uni, it's so comfortable, I will have to find more tops to match with it. 

The buttons are mother of pearl, expect the bottom two which are odd. I will replace them, and also sew another button hole; they stop about three inches above the hem, and the flapping was annoying me a little today.

So a lovely rayon skirt for free in a lovely colour that I would not have worn otherwise. 

Today's uni outfit

A Practice Dress for a Highschool Graduation

My younger sister is graduating high school this week. She needs a graduation dress, and then a formal dress for after final exams in November. We went shopping today with Mum, found the formal dress, reminded ourselves of why we hate shopping, and I realised once again why I love sewing and thrifting over buying ready to wear.

I still haven't made my sister her practice dress for the wedding, as I was waiting for her to have school finished with. However, after the upteenth dress try on, I told her we were going to the fabric shop, and I would make it for her by next Wednesday. We found the fabric, then went back and got matching shoes.

The fabric is lovely; it's the blue colourway of my engagement dress, and I got four metres in case I want to make something else at the end.

I am so excited for this project!!!!

In other news, I finished the other practice dresses this week, been working on wedding dress prototypes and doing a lot of sewing,  not much in the way of finished items to blog. Hoping to be blogging more in the next weeks