37. There is a Time for Words and a Time for Pictures...

It's NOT done, but...

36. Finishing Bodice Lace

On Tuesday I reinforced the lace scallops with organza and attached the lace to the bodice along the top edge. The next step was to get the lace shaped around the curved bodice. I was a bit nervous, because I knew I was going to have to take in a dart or tuck on each side. The thing is, while the dart on the godet lace doesn't show when it is in place (i.e., near the floor), the bodice lace is going to be much closer to eye-level - so I really didn't want the seam to be evident!

I completely lucked out - there were symmetrical open areas in the lace pattern on each side of the bodice. I decided to start the dart at the place where the 2 upper/outer loops come together (right above the top of this picture - sorry!) and completely close up the main loop that is showing in the picture:

I hand-stitched these darts - twice! ;)

And I think it came out great! Even with close observation, I don't think anyone is going to notice my dart...

Finally, I basted the bottom of the lace to the bottom of the bodice and removed the baubles from the lace underneath that basting line. Next up: attaching the skirt to the bodice, inserting the lining, and adding a waist stay! There's still lots of work to be done, but the end is in sight! :)

35. Bodice Lace

Today was the bodice lace day. In a comment on a previous post, Leslie asked for pictures of Susan in the bodice, to help decide which lace position looked best. That was a good idea (for SEVERAL reasons!), and I wish I had thought of it when Susan was here. Unfortunately, I didn't think of it in time... :(

Susan, however, decided how she would like the lace to go. She asked to have the bottom of the scallops just over the top of the bodice. One of the things I belatedly started worrying about was how the lace would fit under her arms - something we would have known if we had tried it on her, instead of just putting it on the armless dressmaker's dummy. (I tried to tell Susan that we have to make sacrifices for beauty and fashion, but she insists on keeping her arms!)

So, I wrapped it around myself and discovered a different problem. The lace is floppy and doesn't stand up nicely when it is extended above the bodice. One possibility, of course, was to settle for moving it down level with the bodice. But I decided to try and strengthen it by putting some of the silk organza behind it.

Once again, I found myself regretting that I had washed the organza. It would have been stiffer if I hadn't. I called all the fabric stores in Lakeland (that took all of 90 seconds!), but no one stocks silk organza. So I used some of the left-over bits from underlining the dress and, to make up for it being washed & softened, I doubled it.

I only put it behind the scallops, because it would have dimmed the shine of the silk underneath the lace. Here are a couple of shots (front and back) taken partway through the process of applying the organza:

The organza will make the lace a little less transparent on Susan's bare skin, but that doesn't seem like a problem. In fact, I'm not sure how anybody would know (other than by reading this) because there is no place where they can see the lace by itself as a point of comparison - it's always against some fabric.

It took me longer than I expected to get the organza backing on and attach the lace along the top of the bodice. I still need to attach the lace along the vertical seams in the bodice and that's going to require adding tucks to get the flat piece of lace to conform to the shaped bodice...

But it's looking beautiful! I think Susan made a good choice of positioning for the lace. :)

Tomorrow my goals are to finish attaching the lace to the bodice and to attach the skirt to the bodice and insert the waist stay. Thursday it's back to work for me - so wish me a productive sewing day on Wednesday!