Sewing Projects (January to July 2012) - part 2
Continuing from previous post...
Dress #4: flower girl dress for Megan
Completed: June 4, 2012
For this dress, I used the same pattern as for the pink sample dress (Dress #2) - except Dai-Fu wanted the sleeves to be more "princess-like," so I changed the sleeves a bit. I also made it one size larger so that Megan can wear it longer. The dress is made of glitter ivory satin - which is such a pretty fabric. It makes the dress sparkle - the photos don't do it justice.
WIP photo: bodice with more "princess-like" sleeves (i.e. more poof, plus small ruffle)
WIP photo: gathering yards and yards of bridal tulle to make the petticoat; 8 yards! *dies*
WIP photo: Tah-dah!
WIP photo: making the skirt; pins galore - and it's so poofy!
WIP photo: after attaching the bodice to the skirt, the dress is nearly complete; still needs a back zipper and ribbon sash. (LOL! There's my rice cooker and teapot in the background. Can't be a proper Chinese family without a rice cooker and a teapot... and I did say that I comandeered the kitchen as my sewing center. ^_^;)
Finished dress:
Close-up of the glitter satin and the flower accents on the waist:
Close-up of the glitter satin and the petticoat ruffles:
My thoughts: I love this dress! It's turned out better than I expected. Haha. I think my daughter was jealous when she saw it.
Dress #5: flower girl dress for Talia
Completed: June 14, 2012
WIP photo: front skirt panels and sash - for the sash, I chose an embelished organza to give the dress more "bling"
WIP photo: back skirt panels and ties
WIP photo: attaching the bodice to the skirt panels
WIP photo: almost finished dress - still missing back zipper and flower accent
Finished dress:
Close-up of the flower accent - made with the same embelished organza as the sash:
Preview photo: Talia wears the dress with her "Cinderella" shoes:
My thoughts: At 8 years old, Talia was the oldest of the flower girls. Dai-Fu called her a "junior bridesmaid." This is why we decided to make her dress a little more "grown up." For example, instead of a big, poofy skirt, this dress is a little more form-fitting. It really makes her look more grown up! But perhaps we should have asked Talia for her input first. ^_^;; While she does like this dress, she actually wanted a more princess-like dress with a big, poofy skirt; one just like Megan's dress above. Unfortunately, there was no time to make another dress for her.
Dress #6: flower girl dress for Alysson
Completed: July 15, 2012
After the disappointing result of Dress #3 (plain, boring, and bleh), I was determined to make this next dress for Alysson perfectly beautiful. Not sure if I succeeded. But at the very least, Dress #6 was much, much prettier than Dress #3. To add texture and visual interest, I used ivory lace on the bodice.
WIP photo: bodice pieces with ivory lace overlay
WIP photo: close-up of the ivory lace sewn on top of the ivory satin
WIP photo: the finished bodice
WIP photo: yards and yards of tulle - again.
WIP photo: attaching the tulle to the lining - for that built-in, poofy-skirt-princess-esque look
WIP photo: attaching the bodice to the skirt
WIP photo: starting to look more like a real dress...
WIP photo: except it still doesn't have a back zipper... see?
WIP photo: making the sash, using ivory glitter satin - it's too bad that photos don't show off the glitter satin very well.
Finished dress (with the bow on the front): I love how the dress almost glows in natural light!
Close-up of the bow:
My thoughts: It's so much nicer than Dress #3! Thank goodness! I admit that I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my sewing projects. If this one had turned out like the other dress, I would have cried.
The way this dress is designed, the sash can be tied at the front of the dress or at the back. It's completely up to the person wearing the dress. Personally, I liked the bow on the front of the dress, but Alysson liked it on the back. *shrug*
Finished dress (with the bow on the back):
Baby Brother and Dai-Fu had four flower girls at their wedding. My niece, Kayla, was one of the flower girls, too. But I didn't make a dress for Kayla because she already owned a flower girl dress. One of my sister's friends got married the month before Baby Brother's wedding and asked Kayla to be the flower girl at her wedding.
To be continued...
Dress #4: flower girl dress for Megan
Completed: June 4, 2012
For this dress, I used the same pattern as for the pink sample dress (Dress #2) - except Dai-Fu wanted the sleeves to be more "princess-like," so I changed the sleeves a bit. I also made it one size larger so that Megan can wear it longer. The dress is made of glitter ivory satin - which is such a pretty fabric. It makes the dress sparkle - the photos don't do it justice.
WIP photo: bodice with more "princess-like" sleeves (i.e. more poof, plus small ruffle)
WIP photo: gathering yards and yards of bridal tulle to make the petticoat; 8 yards! *dies*
WIP photo: Tah-dah!
WIP photo: making the skirt; pins galore - and it's so poofy!
WIP photo: after attaching the bodice to the skirt, the dress is nearly complete; still needs a back zipper and ribbon sash. (LOL! There's my rice cooker and teapot in the background. Can't be a proper Chinese family without a rice cooker and a teapot... and I did say that I comandeered the kitchen as my sewing center. ^_^;)
Finished dress:
Close-up of the glitter satin and the flower accents on the waist:
Close-up of the glitter satin and the petticoat ruffles:
My thoughts: I love this dress! It's turned out better than I expected. Haha. I think my daughter was jealous when she saw it.
Dress #5: flower girl dress for Talia
Completed: June 14, 2012
WIP photo: front skirt panels and sash - for the sash, I chose an embelished organza to give the dress more "bling"
WIP photo: back skirt panels and ties
WIP photo: attaching the bodice to the skirt panels
WIP photo: almost finished dress - still missing back zipper and flower accent
Finished dress:
Close-up of the flower accent - made with the same embelished organza as the sash:
Preview photo: Talia wears the dress with her "Cinderella" shoes:
My thoughts: At 8 years old, Talia was the oldest of the flower girls. Dai-Fu called her a "junior bridesmaid." This is why we decided to make her dress a little more "grown up." For example, instead of a big, poofy skirt, this dress is a little more form-fitting. It really makes her look more grown up! But perhaps we should have asked Talia for her input first. ^_^;; While she does like this dress, she actually wanted a more princess-like dress with a big, poofy skirt; one just like Megan's dress above. Unfortunately, there was no time to make another dress for her.
Dress #6: flower girl dress for Alysson
Completed: July 15, 2012
After the disappointing result of Dress #3 (plain, boring, and bleh), I was determined to make this next dress for Alysson perfectly beautiful. Not sure if I succeeded. But at the very least, Dress #6 was much, much prettier than Dress #3. To add texture and visual interest, I used ivory lace on the bodice.
WIP photo: bodice pieces with ivory lace overlay
WIP photo: close-up of the ivory lace sewn on top of the ivory satin
WIP photo: the finished bodice
WIP photo: yards and yards of tulle - again.
WIP photo: attaching the tulle to the lining - for that built-in, poofy-skirt-princess-esque look
WIP photo: attaching the bodice to the skirt
WIP photo: starting to look more like a real dress...
WIP photo: except it still doesn't have a back zipper... see?
WIP photo: making the sash, using ivory glitter satin - it's too bad that photos don't show off the glitter satin very well.
Finished dress (with the bow on the front): I love how the dress almost glows in natural light!
Close-up of the bow:
My thoughts: It's so much nicer than Dress #3! Thank goodness! I admit that I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my sewing projects. If this one had turned out like the other dress, I would have cried.
The way this dress is designed, the sash can be tied at the front of the dress or at the back. It's completely up to the person wearing the dress. Personally, I liked the bow on the front of the dress, but Alysson liked it on the back. *shrug*
Finished dress (with the bow on the back):
Baby Brother and Dai-Fu had four flower girls at their wedding. My niece, Kayla, was one of the flower girls, too. But I didn't make a dress for Kayla because she already owned a flower girl dress. One of my sister's friends got married the month before Baby Brother's wedding and asked Kayla to be the flower girl at her wedding.
To be continued...