What in the world made me think I was good enough to take on this project? Add a few expletives and a hint of despair and you have a good sense of the thoughts and emotions running through my head on Sunday night when I went to bed. I (like to) think I'm reasonably intelligent and I have been trying so diligently to be slow and careful at each step of the process - and yet I can still make a mistake this big and this late in the game… It really makes me doubt myself. :(
Okay, I'll try to get off the self-castigation kick and report what happened. I cut out the pieces for the lining and basted them together - first the bodice and then the skirt. When I went to attach the bodice to the skirt (for another fitting - this isn't the actual assembly process), the bodice extended a total of 6 inches (3 inches per side) beyond the skirt. Six inches! When the muslin was assembled, these pieces lined up correctly. In the process of disassembling it and preparing it to become the pattern pieces for the real fabric, I somehow managed to insert an error of that magnitude… :(
Not surprisingly, I didn't have the heart to take a photo.
I've been trying to figure out what happened and here is the most likely explanation I can generate: At our last fitting, the dress was still a bit big in the bodice. I determined the amount that it needed to be taken in. I had the options of (a) re-doing the muslin yet again and having another "last" fitting or, (b) just making those adjustments "on the fly" as I took apart the muslin and prepared the pattern pieces for the real fabric. I selected option (b). I think that, when making those adjustments, I must have accidentally taken that extra width out of the skirt twice (once at the back seam and once at the back darts), instead of just once. That would account for the discrepancy.
So, what's done is done.
And let's all take a moment for a silent prayer of thanks that I only cut the lining, not the silk!
What are my options for moving forward? I have two, actually. One is to order more rayon and start the lining again. This may very well be where I end up, but it turns out that I do have another choice worth investigating. There are 4 darts in the skirt, taking up a total of 8 inches in width. I can open them, free up 6 of those inches, and then put them back in, distributing the remaining 2 inches between them. This should result in the center back edges of the bodice and the skirt lining up.
In fact, I'm going to try this and have a fitting with Susan, to see if I at least have the size right! Then Susan and I will assess the look of the lining (Do all of the seams line up correctly? What is the impact of making such tiny darts on the way it hangs? Are there too many tiny holes in it? etc.) and decide whether it can be used or I need to get more fabric and start again.
Of course, I also have to figure out how to fix the error in the (muslin) pattern pieces for the underlining and silk satin before I do any cutting there. I really didn't expect to be having problems of this magnitude at this stage. The whole purpose of the muslin was to have all of this worked out before touching the real fabric. What in the world made me think I was good enough to take on this project? :(
Okay, I'll try to get off the self-castigation kick and report what happened. I cut out the pieces for the lining and basted them together - first the bodice and then the skirt. When I went to attach the bodice to the skirt (for another fitting - this isn't the actual assembly process), the bodice extended a total of 6 inches (3 inches per side) beyond the skirt. Six inches! When the muslin was assembled, these pieces lined up correctly. In the process of disassembling it and preparing it to become the pattern pieces for the real fabric, I somehow managed to insert an error of that magnitude… :(
Not surprisingly, I didn't have the heart to take a photo.
I've been trying to figure out what happened and here is the most likely explanation I can generate: At our last fitting, the dress was still a bit big in the bodice. I determined the amount that it needed to be taken in. I had the options of (a) re-doing the muslin yet again and having another "last" fitting or, (b) just making those adjustments "on the fly" as I took apart the muslin and prepared the pattern pieces for the real fabric. I selected option (b). I think that, when making those adjustments, I must have accidentally taken that extra width out of the skirt twice (once at the back seam and once at the back darts), instead of just once. That would account for the discrepancy.
So, what's done is done.
And let's all take a moment for a silent prayer of thanks that I only cut the lining, not the silk!
What are my options for moving forward? I have two, actually. One is to order more rayon and start the lining again. This may very well be where I end up, but it turns out that I do have another choice worth investigating. There are 4 darts in the skirt, taking up a total of 8 inches in width. I can open them, free up 6 of those inches, and then put them back in, distributing the remaining 2 inches between them. This should result in the center back edges of the bodice and the skirt lining up.
In fact, I'm going to try this and have a fitting with Susan, to see if I at least have the size right! Then Susan and I will assess the look of the lining (Do all of the seams line up correctly? What is the impact of making such tiny darts on the way it hangs? Are there too many tiny holes in it? etc.) and decide whether it can be used or I need to get more fabric and start again.
Of course, I also have to figure out how to fix the error in the (muslin) pattern pieces for the underlining and silk satin before I do any cutting there. I really didn't expect to be having problems of this magnitude at this stage. The whole purpose of the muslin was to have all of this worked out before touching the real fabric. What in the world made me think I was good enough to take on this project? :(
3 comments:
I know you'll make it work Gwen! I know you'll make it work because even through these bumps you keep your cool and that amazing diligence and systematic thinking! It'll work out!! :) I'm looking forward to Friday! :>
I imagine with every project as massive as this, there are some set-backs. Keep up a positive attitude, and I'm sure it will all work out fine. Thank goodness it was only the lining! :)
Gwen, my friend. No one is perfect and perfection is unreasonable; be kind to yourself and put your joy back into this project! You are proceeding beautifully, do not stress out over this set back. Susan and I have confidence in you, because we know how much love is in your heart -- and that it will flow from there through your hands to create an incomparably special wedding gown. {{{HUGS}}}
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