14. Fitting #3

Sunday, November 11th, was our third fitting. I asked Dorothy, a friend of mine with much more sewing experience than I have, to join us and give an honest critique and any helpful advice that she could.

After my mistake last time, I was feeling a bit anxious about this fitting. I really wanted to show Susan that her faith in me is justified.

You may remember that, for our very first fitting, I didn't follow the actual dress assembly instructions, but rather completely assembled the lining to a size that I thought would fit, but left the outer dress pieces separate. I had Susan try on the lining - it was too big - and then I quickly assembled the outer dress pieces to a smaller size and had her try those on.

To prepare for this fitting, I took all of the pieces apart, re-marked them all to the smaller size, and then assembled the dress according to the instructions (minus the boning). So, Susan tried on the "full" version of the dress - lining and all. It was a major success!

I'm still going to take in the sides and under the bust just a little bit more, but we are very, very close to having the fit just right. There are a few wrinkles across the bodice back (running parallel to the floor), but I think that those may go away when the boning is added.

I also still have a bit of work to do on the inner corset. But it is really coming together! It was so nice to have Dorothy there - both for the suggestions she made for improvements, and for the reassurance that we were on the right track!

Here is a picture of the 3 of us:

13. Diversions #2

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. My digital camera died and it just seems to me that posts in a sewing related blog really need photos...

My camera was over 3 years old (i.e., ancient by digital camera standards) and the warranty had expired ages ago, but its recent death was due to a known defect, and so Canon replaced it for free with an upgrade, albeit a refurbished camera. I was hesitant because I had really liked the original, but the new one seems to be quite nice! So, no more excuses... ;)

Since my last post, Susan and I have had another fitting and I am making real progress on the muslin! But, before I provide an update on my progress, I wanted to quickly mention some of the other sewing projects that have been filling the small open gaps in my sewing time. Working on Susan's dress requires that I have a real block of time available and am mentally at the top of my game. I'm making enough mistakes under those circumstances - the last thing I need is to try to work on it when I'm tired or distracted!

However, there are some easy and fun patterns that I can bang out in a spare hour here or there, and over the last 1.5 months I have squeezed some of them in. First, I made my husband a second Hawaiian shirt from the other piece of fabric that he picked out while we were in Hawaii. Here is a picture:

Next, I used the fabric that I picked out in Hawaii and made myself a simple button-up-the-front shell (a shirt with no collar or sleeves). The cool thing about this is that, inspired by another blogger, I made it a reversible shell!

I wish I could give you a link to the other blog, but it seems that she has taken it offline or changed the url, because I can't find it anymore... She was blogging under "bluemooney".

Here is a close-up picture of the shell, showing off the 2 different fabrics.

If you'd like to read my full review of this project click here.

Finally, a sewing friend of mine, Dorothy, is about to become a great-grandmother for the first time, and I made a couple of cute little baby buntings for her. This pattern is as easy as they come! Here is a pictures of 1 of the ones that I made:

And, of course, if you'd like to read my full review of this project click here.

There is really only one other mini-project on my sewing plate between now and Christmas - I've promised to make a couple of chalk bags for some climbing friends. Other than that, it will be full steam ahead on the dress. We're closing in on a good fit for the muslin, and shopping for the real fabric will be coming up soon!

12. Fitting #2

We had our second fitting today (Sunday, October 28th). We focused on the corset, following the detailed instructions provided by a highly experienced PR member, JF, here .

Basically, JF recommended that, instead of having Susan wear a strapless bra under the dress, I use the bodice pattern pieces of the dress to make a tightly fitting corset and embed it inbetween the outer dress and the lining.

This corset would also be the place where the waist band or waist stay would be attached. The waist stay (which is not called for in the pattern instructions, but EVERYONE recommends adding) is important because it holds the weight of the skirt. If you put the weight of the skirt directly on the (strapless) bodice, it is likely to pull it down at an inconvenient time. (Think Janet Jackson & wardrobe malfunction...)

So, I hate to publicly admit to another very stupid mistake, but I'm trying to remind myself of my motto:

'muslin mistakes make for defectless dresses'

What did I do? How could I mess up something so simple? Believe it or not, I got the top and the bottom of the bodice pattern pieces mixed up, and put the zipper in upside down. Not realizing this, we did all the fitting and adjustments on the corset while it was on her body upside down.

Not surprisingly (in hindsight), it took quite a large adjustment (deviating in a disproportional manner from the stitching lines) to get it to fit snugly... ;)

How could I have done that? Well, without experience sewing evening gowns, it just was not obvious to me - from looking at the shapes of the bodice pattern pieces - which was the top and which was the bottom. And I guess I was just working too quickly and not double checking every step. :(

Susan, (and this is a TRUE friend!), laughed it off and said that (a) she's glad to know that she's not the only person who makes mistakes, and (b) under the circumstances, it's pretty impressive that we got it to fit so well... :)

Bottom line - I'm embarrassed and annoyed with myself, but it's not the end of the world. We'll just have to do it again. Right side up, it should go much more quickly! The next time we get together for a fitting, I'm hoping that a friend of mine will join us. Dorothy has more experience than I do, and should be able to help me get the fit of the corset and muslin perfect!

Sorry, no pictures - my camera died and is in the shop for repairs. (Kudos to Canon - they are fixing it for free!)