Zippers and Pockets and Bears, Oh My

Working on the dress has been hanging over me all week. It's like some fearsome silent green creature, down in the cold and the dark, waiting for me to do my worst. Since Jelly had a sleepover at my neighbor's planned for the evening, I decided it was a good time to do some uninterrupted screaming and stitching.

I got the lining attached to the front and back skirt panels easily enough, and with the help of YouTube managed to get the pockets attached, albeit a little lower than planned (this is what happens when you think you know better and don't measure anything, ever). Then I pinned the entire massive 483 yards of skirt fabric to the bodice incorrectly, and had to undo everything and re-pin it. So that sucked up some time. While I was doing it I realized the dress was literally falling apart in my hands; the delicate and costly fabric was starting to fray. So I needed to get my shit together, both literally and figuratively.

I had solved the bodice problem by adding some makeshift panels, so while the dress now looked like a patchwork quilt at least it fit. This however meant I had some challenges getting everything to line up. Because I'm a total professional I made sure to make all the most glaringly obvious mistakes right in the front of the dress.

I was smart enough to stop and try it on after I'd pinned it, but before I'd sewn it.

I was super proud of my nice even zipper work until I remembered you're suppose to overlap it with the fold of fabric to hide it. Ripping it all out and redoing it will be for another day. Yes, of COURSE I sewed both sides already.

And then, just when I realized my back was aching and my stomach was growling and my eyes hurt, the doorbell rang and I looked at the clock and it was 8:30pm! I'd been sewing for three hours straight. I felt good about my work and decided to call it quits for the night.

I haven't quite decided what to do about the collar. I hate the pattern collar, but I may make it and pin it on and see what I think, and then figure out what I want to do different.  But it's a really solid start, and if I woke up and the wedding was next week I'd be in good shape, and that's really what I cared about - knowing that I'd having SOMETHING doable. There's plenty of time now for the fussing over a sash and making the underskirt and hemming and doing all the finishing touches. It at least LOOKS like a dress instead of a bag of material.

And So It Begins

Yes, yes, I know, I'm a terrible blogger. I got everyone all excited and then left you for TWO MONTHS. That's just cruel. Well, I'm trying to buy a house, which is a horrible thing to try and do in Ontario right now, and is exceptionally stressful and is playing games with my heart, so almost all my energy is consumed by worrying about that every single waking moment. And then Jelly (did I mention I have an almost-9-year old?), she had her school March spring break, so we ran off to the Caribbean. Well, now we're back and work is actually quiet so I have lots of time to worry about houses and dresses.

My sister (Bridesmaid Other) had some drama with the dress she'd found back in January, and it ended up not working out and she had her own stress about finding something else, and she FINALLY did, just yesterday, so OH MY SWEET 7 lb 3 oz BABY JESUS THE PRESSURE. Now she was sharing pics looking all cute in her dress and with strappy heels and she'd even found cute earrings and I was all forever alone over here with my heap of fabric like fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.  So, damnit, I started the dress.

I started by remembering to figure out how to add pockets, since that wasn't included in the pattern. So I watched a YouTube video on that. Then I realized I didn't have a pattern for the crinoline/petticoat, so I watched a video on that. Then I realized I had exhausted my stall tactics and started cutting. I hate the cutting.

Pretty professional, accurate notes there, right?

So first I started with sewing darts, which I don't think I've ever done. I didn't really measure them or know what I was doing, but I felt pretty good about it.

Next I started sewing stuff together incorrectly, because I wanted to make sure my seam ripper still worked. Do you SEE this fabric?! While it cuts like butter, it also tears like tissue, so I told myself not to sew anything else the wrong way after doing one of the darts on the wrong side. However, it's really, really hard to tell which side is the right side and which side is the wrong side, so I went on to sew the underside of the sleeve the wrong way.

Then I decided I should probably take a little break, because I tried on what I had and I already can tell it's going to be too small, so I need to sew in some panels or something. I also figured I should start reinforcing my seams, so I did that. I've already made a few changes (changed the sleeves, change the waist), so we'll see how I like that. Jelly has a sleepover scheduled for this Saturday so I think I'm going to try and knock it out then; otherwise, I've got company coming next week for Easter so will have to convert my sewing room back to a guest room, and then I'll probably forget about it for another two months, and no one wants that.

The mothers of the bride and groom have picked out their dresses, and they are in shades of pink, just lovely. Bridesmaid Other's dress is a mix of greens and pinks and ties everything together nicely. We'll definitely be a colorful bunch!