Sunday, June 20, 2010

Nina’s 60’s Dress – June 2010

Nina had a 60’s theme party to attend, and the weekend before, she asked me if I had any ideas.  I thought, hey, I have a muslin of the cutest dress pattern that I made for myself!  We can have you try it on, decide what size to make, and I can whip up a dress for you in a matter of hours! 



She went bargain hunting at the fabric store and found a fabulous brown plaid wool and complementing cream fabric.  My mom recently betrothed a giant jar of buttons to me, and we dug out a nice big white button for the collar.


I decided to cut the pockets at a 45 degree angle, and the results were spectacular.  I was so thrilled that I sent Nina a text message the moment I cut them out and laid them on the dress pieces.  “The diagonal pockets are SO CUTE!”  Yes, I know.  I’m a dork.  But little things like this are what make sewing fun, right?


I had so much fun sewing this dress.  It was just the thing I needed to give me a boost in the midst of 2 big wedding projects.























Nina’s Corset – May 2010

Here is my favorite corset pattern in its purest form.  An actual corset. 


This pattern has been so good to me.  I used it for my stagette outfit, my wedding dress, Christie’s wedding dress, Amy’s Renaissance dress, and Lindsey’s wedding dress.  It fits everyone so well.  I love it.

Nina’s corset is very simple.  It’s lined with black denim, and has one layer of black embroidered cotton on the outside. 


It fits her like a glove!  Well, a very tight glove, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Amy's Renaissance Wedding Dress - Third Fitting - April 2010

The morphing of the corset worked quite well. I made new pattern pieces with the new additions, and I cut a new bodice. I also added boning to all the seamlines, since it fit so well at the last fitting.

I made a new sleeve with elastic sewn into the bottom 3 lines.


I love the way the back fits! That’s one of my favorite parts so far.

Can you start to visualize it now? Just imagine how lovely those ruffles will look once they’re peeking out of the back of the skirt.

Amy's Renaissance Wedding Dress - Second Fitting - March 2010

After I did the alterations on Amy’s wedding dress, or should I say, chemise, my next step was to sew up a bodice fitting and a puffy sleeve.

I used my favorite corset pattern and sewed up a fitting with white twill and interfacing. I then used one of the medieval patterns and sewed up the bodice with a square neckline, and a sleeve to match. I didn’t have any extra cotton laying around, so I had to get creative. Pretty colourful, hey? I kinda like the plaid. I may have to use that idea some other time…


I pinned the white corset on her, then I put on the bodice, and pinned it to the corset. My plan was to morph both of these together, that way, I would have a neckline and shoulders attached to the corset.

I was pleasantly surprised with the curve of the bottom of the purple bodice. We wanted the skirt to be attached in a V pattern, and this looked absolutely perfect! I traced the lines onto the corset, and then I measured the length to the floor in several places, so I would know how long to cut the skirt pieces.


We also decided to add elastic to the sleeve on the three bottom lines of trim, to help the sleeve stay put, since it tends to fall down if it's not tight enough.

Amy's Renaissance Wedding Dress - First Fitting - Feb 2010

Amy came to me with the most incredible wedding idea I’ve ever heard: a Renaissance theme. She had already bought a gorgeous white wedding dress, which she calls her ‘chemise’. She wanted me to sew a Renaissance overdress to wear over her wedding dress. She sent me a package with sketches, details, and several Medieval patterns. After going over all her ideas, I came up with the following sketch:
She came for her first fitting in February. Our first step was to pin her wedding gown alterations, and go fabric shopping. I pinned up her hem and a bustle at the back of her dress.

Her alterations were very easy, since the dress fit her like a glove. That’s always a good thing.

Check out the ruffles on the back of her dress! I spent 7 months working at The Bridal House last year, and I’ve never seen anything like it! She wanted the ruffles to be shown off, so the back of the skirt of the overdress will be open to fit around the ruffles.

We spent the afternoon fabric shopping. It was a very long day, but at the end, everything came together. These were the results:

Anita's Top - March 2010

We found this pattern when we were shopping for Anita's grad dress fabric, and I got so excited. I love the design of this pattern.

We didn't even do a fitting. I just chose a size that was closest to her measurements, and cut and sewed. I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's so cute! I can't wait to make more. There are several different sleeve options, and you could pick any colour of the rainbow.

Thanks, Anita! I want to make another one soon! :)