Alterations, Plans, and needle & thREAD

Oh how I have been needing to come here and talk sewing!

First off, I attempted to take pictures of your's truly in the skirt I posted about a couple of weeks ago.


A lot can happen in that ten second photo delay.



I want to make more of these skirts.  They rock.

In other news, a good portion of last week was spent fitting and hemming and altering various aspects of the wedding gown of my husband's little sister.  The dress is something of a seamstress's nightmare.  I have never seen such an intense hem situation in my life! To give you a taste, the skirt needs to be taken *up* four inches at the (asymmetrical) waistline because of the labor intensity of shortening it at the hem.  There is chiffon involved and tulle and vertical ruffles, if you can imagine all that! It is really beautiful though and she's going to look absolutely gorgeous!!!  Still more to do by September 14th.  I'm confident that not only will it all turn out fine, but the work will also be worth the $400 she saved by bringing it my way :o).

Next on the agenda will be the lovely bridesmaid dress my own sister chose for me for her October 5th wedding.

Well, actually, here is it is:


It's anybody's guess what my baby bump will look like in three months and only time will tell if the maternity size I picked out will fit.  If nothing else, a hem will be in order.  I'm not one of those gals willing to put on six inch heals to save herself a little extra work at the sewing machine!

My mom, bless her heart, is in the process of tackling the two flower girl dresses we'll need.  This works out particularly well for me since I seem to have gotten it into my head that I can make a dress for myself for the September wedding with this crazy gray chiffon fabric...


There were only two yards left in the store and I've never sewn a dress for the pregnant version of myself, so let's just assume this is going to be interesting!  You know me.  I like a challenge.  Perhaps you dear readers can give me a tip or two on this project?  What's the trick to fitting a bodice to yourself without a dress form or assistant? And is there an easy way to do your own hem?

Reading-wise, this week I'm barreling through Teaching In Your Tiara: A Homeschooling Book for the Rest of Us by Rebecca Frech.  I was looking for a quick nuts and bolts overview on getting started and it seems to be just that.  Due to about a million factors (like my husband accepting an offer today for a job in a neighboring city -- yay!!!), we're finally committing to homeschooling my soon-to-be kindergartner this year and I need to catch up on the planning process pronto.  I hope to delve into the deeper stuff soon, but this seemed like a good place to start.  If anyone has a suggestion about what book to read next, I'd love to hear it!

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For more needle and thREAD (and a link to a super cute headband pattern), head on over to In the Heart of My Home. Thank you for hosting Elizabeth!

Comments

  1. Wow sounds like you are busy on all fronts!! Forgot you were expecting, congratulations!! The bridesmaid dress for you will be gorgeous! The pattern looks like its perfect for a baby bump! I bet you'll only have to have a longer hem in front to account for the bump since its so nicely gathered :). As for fitting yourself, I'm sure you'll do a great job!

    Oh and I love the first three pictures! LOL!

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    1. Thanks! I don't get to wear or make pretty dresses too often, so this is a lot of fun :o).

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  2. Can't wait to see pictures of the wedding dress! I made a wedding dress for my sister about 14 years ago, but it was much simpler!! (I also made one for my daughter-in-law about a year ago - but that doesn't really count because it was just a sleeveless knee length dress since they chose to have a simple no-guests ceremony ~ here's some pics if ya want to see :-) http://www.pursuingjoy.blogspot.com/2012/07/and-now-post-we-have-all-been-waiting.html )

    That grey fabric is just gorgeous!! What pattern do you have in mind? Can you enlist your husband as an assistant? Or maybe a friend (even one who doesn't sew, so long as she's patient and will let you tell her what to do)

    Happy sewing :-)

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    1. I love looking at wedding dress pictures -- thanks for the link! Your work was flawless as far as I could tell! Very sweet dress and wedding, too. (And your quilts are phenomenal, btw,)

      I haven't fully decided on a style for the gray, but the maternity patterns out there are obnoxious, so it will be a mish-mosh of some kind. I'm hoping to get some matching gray chiffon for a less busy bodice and then figure out whatever sort of flowy-ish skirt I can create with 2 yards. We shall see :o).

      I'm thinking you are right -- I'm going to have to draft a non-sewer to help me with fitting.

      Thanks for stopping by ~ Liz

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