And they're off!

Saturday was a checklist day:

- Dining Room table cleared off and wiped down.     Check.
- Material laid out on the table.      Check.
- Altered pattern pieces pinned then cut out.     Check.
- Skirt front marked and cut.     Check.
- Skirt back with wider train marked and cut.     Check.
- Sewing machine cleared off.     Check.
- Machine cleaned and new needle put it.     Check.
- Bobbin and a spare wound.     Check.

Let the Sewing Begin!

I zig-zagged the edges to all the pieces, then sewed the bodice together, ironing the seams as I went along.  The material is 100% polyester but 'requires' dry-cleaning.  Not sure why.  (I asked a friend who's studying fashion design why this is so.  In her opinion, it's just a way to make sure people don't toss the item into the dryer after washing it.  I hate Nanny-States.)  The material also calls for a cool iron, which does little to iron out wrinkles or iron open seams so they stay open.

So I experimented and came up with my own solution to keeping the pressed seams open.

~ Iron the seams along the stitching while closed to set the stitches (something I learned many years ago from Nancy Zieman on her show Sewing With Nancy)
~ Using a well-wrung, damp cotton cloth, such as a single-layered diaper, run a line of dampness along open seam, being careful to not wet the rest of the material.
~ Iron open the seam.  The cool iron will be warm enough to dry the dampness, creating just a bit of steam to set the seam open.  The iron's steam setting will not work on such a low setting, so it would be best to have a dry iron to begin with.

And it worked wonderfully!  The princess seam on the bodice came out particularly lovely because I finally have a Tailor's Ham to iron curved seams.  Yeah!

I finished the bodice (outside only, the lining is on for next weekend) and attached the skirt.  By this point it was time for bed, so I wouldn't have been able to add the zipper even if I had it.  It looks as though I forgot to buy it when getting everything else.

Part of the day was occupied with taking Hannah shopping for wedding shoes.  We successfully found them at Boscov's.  We also picked Chris up from work and ran a few more errands.

By the end of the day, I had the first part of the wedding dress done.  Another full day like this one and I should have the basic dress assembled, ready to be hemmed and have the lace applied.  I will probably spend part of the week cutting out the lace.

I'm still in the race, close to the lead!

~ Hannah's Mom

We have a dress!

. . . Well as much of a dress as I'm going to do for now.

The mock-up skirt and bodice are attached, the zipper installed, and Hannah's tried it on.

The dress hasn't been hemmed, neither is she wearing any shoes, but there's plenty in the length to work with, as you can see.  There are still problems that need to be addressed by altering the bodice patterns again before cutting out the wedding dress:

 - the bodice needs to be shortened, the skirt starts too low.

 - the upper part of the center back needs to be taken in by about 1-inch on either side of the zipper.

On the other hand, the zipper fades into the skirt gathers quite nicely.  I was concerned about that because this skirt does not have a center back seam.  To make room for the zipper, I cut the center back about six inches and zig-zagged the edges.  I inserted the zipper so that it stops about two inches from the  bottom of the slit and stitched up the rest of the opening as if it was a dart, narrowing the seam allowance to nothing below the opening.  It lays well down the back, hidden among the gathers.

Hannah really likes the train in back, so that's good.

Even more is done.  We have ordered the lace for the hem of the dress and cape!

This is where we found it: http://www.britexfabrics.com/lace-trim/alencon/ivory-9-french-chantilly-galloon-lace.html

I can't begin to describe how we'll be using this.  Suffice it to say that we will be separating the motifs and using different parts in various ways.  More pictures later as we're working with the lace.

Now for a good night's sleep.  Ta!

~ Hannah's Mom

The Learning Continues

Caveat: I started writing this entry last Thursday so 'tonight' = Thursday and 'tomorrow' = Friday.

I progressed some more tonight, cutting out the lining and interfacing, trimming the interfacing, and then ironing it to the lining.  And a very educational experience the latter was, yes sir.

Remember, I've never worked with Taffeta before now.

The pattern is very vague, in an universal international way, as to what type of interfacing to use. The package has this cute picture of an iron and the dimensions 36" x 20".  Okay, iron-on interfacing, and wouldn't you know, 20" is the generic width of interfacing.  Cool.  But what weight?  The instructions are no help: "Cut interfacing a illustrated and iron on the wrong side of the fabric pieces."  Doing a headdesk comes to mind about now.

At the store I found lots of lightweight interfacing but I decided to go for a middleweight and bought Pellon 931TD Fusible Midweight.  My reasoning was two-fold.  One - taffeta is a heavier than what I'm used to.  Two - This bodice is holding up the whole dress.  I figured it needed as much support as it could get.  It will also have boning in the bodice seams, but as I've never used them either, I have no idea how they add to the structure of the garment.  New things to learn.

Back to the interfacing.  Tonight I actually read the directions that come with the interfacing, something I haven't done for decades.  Hey, give me a break!  I've been sewing clothes for myself and my kids for quite some time.  This is what the directions said about its intended use:

Sportshirts, Jackets, Active Sportswear all permanently retain their flexible or controlled shape.
For wovens and knits.
Designed for corduroy, terrycloth, velour, chenille, velveteen, suede cloth, poplin, duck, denim, sailcloth, chino, linen types, hopsacking, garbadine, double knits.

(Hopsacking??  Isn't that an event in an 1800's town fair or something?  You know, that contest you do right after the three-legged race, in an burlap sack.  Right?)

Uh-oh.  Those are all NOT the type of material I have here.  And I read further:

Has lengthwise grain for stability, support and control,  Has crosswise S-T-R-E-T-C-H for flexible shaping.

Pits.  That's going to affect placement of pattern pieces.  And, sure enough, pattern recommended yardage is no longer correct.

*Headdesk*

Oh well, I can get the extra I need tomorrow.

Taffeta is a polyester material.  It's man-made, a synthetic, and therefore takes only a cool iron.  Iron-on interfacing must use a hotter setting, wool/steam in this instance.  (Oops, I missed that part.)  The steam is generated by placing a damp cloth on the interfacing and pressing for 15 seconds.  Use your ears during the pressing.  When the sizzling of wet cloth as it goes from damp to dry stops, REMOVE YOUR IRON!!

 ~ Pardon me while I take a small interlude for definitions: When ironing, the iron is moved across the material.  Pressing is when the iron is pressed in one location on the material for a specified amount of time, then lifted and placed in another location, usually adjacent to the previous one.  Wrinkles are ironed out, interfacing is pressed on.  Thank you. ~

I mistakenly had my iron set to "Cotton", hotter than recommended by the interfacing company.  Consequently, my damp cloth stopped sizzling much sooner than I thought it would.  I found that actually pushing down on the iron, probably in conjunction with the hotter-than-needed iron, left an impression of the iron face on the material.  

Thankfully, the interfacing is attached to the lining and will not be seen.  But I played around and found that placing the iron for only 6 seconds at a time without pushing down worked well.  If the interfacing wasn't quite stuck, I repeated the 6 seconds and it looked wonderful, no impressions of holes from the faceplate.

I bet you thought there wasn't going to be a picture.

~ Hannah's Mom


P.S.  According to Dictionary.com, Hopsacking is:
1. bagging made chiefly of hemp and jute.
2. a coarse fabric made of cotton, wool, or other fibers and similar to burlap, used in the manufacture of wearing apparel.

So one could potentially run a sack race in a sack made of hopsacking.

Once more into the breach . . .

In other words, here I am again, after too long.

The past couple of weeks have been congested with illness, first mine, then with tending to others in the family as they struggled with their version of my cold.  I'm so generous with my colds. 

As you might imagine, that didn't allow much time for sewing.  

But progress has been made!

Last Saturday (March 28th) I managed to cut out the skirt but didn't get to the bodice until last night (Friday).  I was very productive, such a good girl.  Not only did I cut out the bodice, I also zig-zagged the edges and sewed it together.  Now I have something for Hannah to try on.  I have not cut out the lining or interfacing yet.  That will be done after I see how what I have fits Hannah.

To make the pattern pieces I used this time around, I first used a sharpie to mark the seams in the muslin bodice.  Then I took out the seams, trimmed down to the markings, getting rid of the seam allowance, creating what is called a slope.  

The bodice is made of four basic pattern pieces which are cut to create seven pieces that are sewn together: one front cut on the fold, two each of side front, side back, and back.  During the fitting of the muslin bodice, I tried to even out the adjustments side to side, so that the left side-front would be similar to the right side-front.  I created each slope by averaging the left and right pieces after trimming away the seam allowances.  

A friend of ours (H.H., this would be you) once suggested using a roll of disposable plastic table cloth when making my own patterns.  This is the thin plastic you roll out for the length of your table, cut and use, taping down if you happen to be outside, then throw away when done.  It's too flimsy to be reused as such.  It is, however, perfect for patterns!  If working with a store-bought pattern you want to alter, the plastic is thin enough to place over the original pattern and trace.  

I just placed each of the four slopes on the plastic and traced, leaving at least two-inches between them.  I then added a one-inch seam allowance around each and cut them out.  (Advice: Don't use your good sewing shears for this. Any pair of generic household/craft scissors will do just fine.  Those are my good shears in the photo.)

These are the pattern pieces I used for the current bodice.  I sewed a 5/8-inch seam allowance to compensate for the lack of stretch in this material compared to the muslin.  We'll soon see how well this worked.

The skirt was much easier.  No separate patterns were created for either the front or back.  Instead, I used and edge of a small block of soap to mark the material.  Soap stays on the material better than tailor's chalk, but comes off better than pen or pencil.

The skirt front was cut on the fold, the top (waistline) measurement equaled the side-to-side measurement of the slopes around the front.  It then went down on a straight diagonal to the selvage, the distance down the selvage = dress length (according to the pattern).  

The back waist equaled the width of the material (56 inches) and went straight down the selvage for the skirt length.  I added 2-feet to the length at the fold and curve it up the the side length to make the train.

Might I add that sewing taffeta is a pain when you have a cramped sewing area.  The material doesn't like to fold back on itself as easily as cotton does.  Of course, this stiffness is what makes it perfect for a wedding dress.  Looks like it's time to do some more cleaning.

~ Hannah's Mom

Headpiece

Along with the dress, we're working on ideas for the headpiece.  Once again I get to draw on my newly acquired knowledge from hanging out with Medieval enthusiasts.  I proposed a headband of crystal beads threaded on twisted wire, on which we can attach the traditional flowers of a headpiece and the tulle netting for the blusher.

I also bought the material for the mock-up #2.  We could only get 5 1/3 yards in the type (Satin Taffeta) and color we wanted when the pattern calls for 6 7/8 yards, so we're going to try the Florentine skirt only.  Hannah thinks that's the look she really wants and it'll fit with the yardage we have.

Things are moving along.  Not bad for having a cold this week.

~ Hannah's Mom

Day One

Progress has been made!

On Monday I cut out the muslin bodice, pinned it together on Hannah, and marked where the seams should be.  I guessed at her size, adding an extra inch all around, and ended up being fairly close to her actual measurements.  Some adjusting will have to be made, but that's normal for any pattern.

Burda patterns differ from the McCalls and Simplicity patterns I usually use and they get mixed reviews from me.  I love that there are many more body measurements on their chart than the generic bust, waist, and hips one gets with the American pattern companies (Burda is German).  I'm not at all thrilled by the fact that the layout drawings are printed on the same tissue as the pattern pieces.  You have to search for them and cut them out just as you do for each pattern piece.  Not so much fun.  Nor at all durable.

Tuesday I popped into Joann's looking for dressy material but could not find the darker green Hannah wanted.  I took photos of some of the colors I figured she'd like to show her later and then went looking at the lace, getting ideas for the added details on the skirt.

This is the lace I found:

I'll cut out sections and hand sew them onto the skirt, adding sequins or beads according to Hannah's wishes.

This is the color Hannah chose for the second mock-up, which I will finish as a fancy dress for whenever.

One thing I missed in previous readings of the list of 'ingredients' for the dress was boning tape.  Another first for me: boning.  Having tried the bodice on Hannah, I can appreciate the need for it in a strapless dress.

Oh the joys of charting new waters.

~ Hannah's Mom

Preliminary Info

The wedding is August 7th, 2015.  Some say that as today is March 15, I'm way behind.  Starting any sooner would have been too much, considering all the other loose ends and prior projects I had to finish before having time to devote to this dress, and I would have been collapsed into a drooling, gibbering mess had I attempted to do anymore on it than check out the pattern.

We are using Burda#7011 as the basis for the dress.

 The dress will be strapless, and we're nixing the flower at the waist.  I will also be trying out a couple different versions of the skirt on the mock-up #2 to see which Hannah likes better.

I plan to do two mock-ups.  The first will be out of muslin and will be just of the bodice.  Once that's properly fitted, I will buy some material similar to the dress material, i.e. not stretchy like the muslin and dressier, but a lot cheaper for the second mock-up.  For that one I will cut out both skirt styles to test the drape and look.  (Note to self: Make sure you have JoAnn coupon in hand when going to buy material.)

The alternate skirt style is based on Florentine styles of the 16th-century.  The back side seams are cut on the straight of the grain while the front side seams are on the bias (diagonal).  Sewing them together causes the skirt to be pulled to the back, giving the dress a smoother front, which will better show off the lace details Hannah would like on the skirt.  (I love it when my hobbies overlap, Medieval sewing techniques and modern clothes design.)

That's all for now,

~ Hannah's Mom