Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Lindsey's Bridesmaids - Marla

For Marla's top, we chose a simple design with a drawstring neckline.  I used the neckline of this really old but fabulous Isaac Mizrahi top/dress, and I used the body of Vogue 8251, View C & D (the same one I used for Courtney), since I liked how it fit.
Vogue 2128 - OOP (out of print)

I cut a 14 at the bust, a 12 at the waist, and a 16 at the hips.  Marla has some serious curves!  I've never seen such a tiny waist!  For the first top fitting, I folded down the top edges and pinned them to her bra straps.  Kinda hard to visualize the drawstring.  The top fit really well.

 I pinned the skirt muslin at the waist, and took that amount from the side seams.  
 This is what the top looked like when I was finished.  One thing I like about the vogue 8251 pattern is that the side seams are gathered at the bust on the front pieces.  This helps to create a good fit.
 Top is finished.  Skirt is lined.
 I love how nice it fits at the back.  
 After seeing some of the pictures, Lindsey and I agreed that the skirts were a little limp by themselves.  We decided to use up the fine tulle that we bought way too much of (we only used it for the back panel of Lindsey's green skirt overlay), and had tons left over.  The tulle panels are 8" long and I cut them straight across the width of the fabric.  I cut 4 pieces for each skirt.  I think they end up being 2 layers, gathered to about 4x the width of the skirt (or was it 8x?  I can't remember).
 I positioned the tulle so it would peek out 1" at the bottom of the dress.  Tip: if you ever plan on doing this, have at least 1 1/2" or 2" peek out.  It would be more noticeable.  Nevertheless, it turned out fine.  I did a quick hem on the lining with my serger, and I cut it off so it would be 1" shorter than the outer skirt (2" shorter than the tulle).
 I was worried that the tulle would show when the girls wore the skirts (like it does here).  It didn't.  It looked wonderful.  And it added just the right amount of fullness.  
 I put invisible zippers on each skirt.  I'm getting pretty good at them!  
I added a simple 1" waistband to each skirt.  Marla's was the first to be finished, and I made it a tiny bit too tight.  Poor girl could hardly breathe.  Oops.  Sorry, Marla!  Note to self: if you see easing wrinkles, it might be too tight.
I enjoyed the couture finishing techniques I got to use to sew the lining to the zipper.  Well, they're not exactly couture, but sometimes fiddly handsewing is so much work, it should be labeled couture!
 I sewed skirt hook and bars to the tab at the waistband.
 This is what Marla's dress looks like completely finished, except for the ribbon embellishment on the skirt.

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