When I was at Gettysburg this past November I trod on my hem a few times while dancing and pulled out some of the (admittedly quite loose!) stitches at the top of the hem facing. I was very prompt about washing all of my clothes upon my return, but the ballgown skirt has been hanging from a floor lamp ever since, waiting for me to pay it some ( Read more... )

I just pulled all the photos from this past weekend from my phone. There are some random shots of parade, pretty trim, Explodey!Cabin, dresses, and stuff. Plenty of stuff. Album here.

I do plan to do a post about doing the trim on my mint and teal dress. I was thinking about trying for an 1830s dress for Allaire, inspired by mandie_rw's quick progress, but ( Read more... )

I'm super duper exhausted from this weekend and haven't the energy - physical or mental - to write up a post about it, but I will finally post the fashion plate I was hiding because I'm pretty pleased with how my dress turned out. Yay! I need to add a few hooks and eyes down CF (because naturally that was the very very last thing to go on, the ( Read more... )

Sleeves are all together and sewn in. Bodice contrast is faced at CFs and hem; have to figure out where to attach the strappy bits in front, but that requires corset so it didn't happen post-work tonight. Instead I finished making all the covered buttons I'll need and sewed on the rest of the hem facing (bias tape, natch) to the paletot. Once I sew ( Read more... )

This morning I put on "Strange Empire" while I whipped down the inside of the skirt waistband and sewed up the facing with huge-o stitches. Once I'd finished that I couldn't really procrastinate on the bodice any further, and cut out another 'mockup' of the fabric I intend to use as lining, and it had more issues than before, somehow. Every time I ( Read more... )

I got called into work an hour and a half early because someone scheduled couldn't come in....then I discovered upon my arrival that that person was in fact there, and can't come in on *Friday*. A bit annoying. Knowing that I was going to lose that time probably slowed me down a bit in my pre-work sewing, as I discovered I had to go in early around ( Read more... )

Before work I made up all the tubey things for the skirt and sewed them on, sewed down the CF edges of the main contrast pieces, sewed the CB seam of the contrast (I left it unsewn for a bit along the top edge so I could do this) and put ONE PIN in the main skirt CB before realizing I really had to stop and go to work. I was eager to come home and ( Read more... )

Work was stressful and long, great start to what was already going to be a long week. *Sigh*  I forced myself to work on the skirt when I got home, however; before I even took off my shoes (which I usually do as soon as I get home so my feet can relax) I sewed facings to the CF edges of the skirt contrasts and sewed them down. Then I sewed down one ( Read more... )

I did in fact work on the skirt this morning; I plotted the shape and frequency of the contrast pattern on the skirt, made a pattern for it, and cut it out. I figured facing it with bias tape would be easiest by far, but since I had planned 1/2" seam allowance I needed fairly wide tape...and of course I didn't have enough of any one kind. So ( Read more... )

I did in fact manage to work on my dress today; sewed the mockup all together and tried it on....and discovered that it has some serious fit issues. How this happened when the first mockup fit pretty well I don't know, but it's really really frustrating. I think I managed to remove most of the issues simply by taking in a few seams and by deciding ( Read more... )