Retrophile

Well perhaps not the chapel but the beautiful back yard.  Saturday was Kelly's wedding.  I have to say it was one of the top 2 weddings I have ever been to.  This was only second to a wedding that cost way to much and was held at the Sheraton. First off lets get it over with.  I know what you all have been checking back for... the DRESS!  Yes I finished it on time and it fit amazingly.  She was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen.  A lot of excitement, a little makeup and silk go along way.    My girly Kelly has always been a pretty girl, however I had never seen her look so lit up before. The day started off going to the salon and watching Kelly get her hair down.  Unlike most brides, Kelly went with flowing curls hanging down.  She had been growing out her hair for over a year just for this day (don't expect the long hair to last long!)  The curls just softened her so much.   From ...

Hello All,  So now we are at 2 days till the wedding and I thought I would give you further updates on the dress.  This post will be in regards to hemming silk.  I don't know who out there has ever hemmed silk.  But those who have will understand my pain.  It took me about 6 hours to hem the dress.  I did it all by hand, doing an invisible hem to the best of my ability. For starters, silk doesn't like to fold or do anything but lay flat with the occasional wrinkle..  Secondly it is super delicate and is easy to pull apart the weaving.  Both of these issues were major contributes to my wanted to throw the dress out of the window. The hemming started with Kelly standing on my old, wooden, toy box for about 45mins, heels and all.  Lucky for me her job is a lot of standing and she is used to it.  i sat on the floor in front of her and slowly folded up the edges and pinned them.  This went on and on.  Finally her toes s...

Hello All, So the countdown to Kelly's wedding has begun!  We have 5 days till the wedding.  It is going to be this Saturday afternoon.  I have been working like a mad woman to get her dress, veil and head piece. This is what I have left to finish: Pre-Final Fitting, Final Fitting, veil and head piece. Early last week we did the Pre-Final fitting.  I made sure that the dress fit like it should, and pinned the bottom with her wearing it.   I was terrified of this first fitting.  The reason being that this was the first time Kelly had really seen the dress pretty much finished.  I of course saw all the flaws in it but she loved it.  Even if the dress wasn't completely finished. I had her try it on and I pinned the back to see where the corset loops would go.  I was pretty happy that when I pinned it up that it fit perfectly.  The pattern seems like it was designed for her.  I had to take a couple inches off the back to...

Soo I am done with the top half of Kelly's wedding dress!  So that means I am 50% done with her dress.  I finished the neck line and arm holes to day. The neck line was finished with covered cording.  It was used to hide the seam between the lining and the outer layers. This effect is done by sewing a cord tightly in the fabric of the dress.  Next you lay the cording on the right side of the fabric, matching raw edges and sew tightly against the cording with a zipper foot.  Next you do sew the lining on the right side of the fabric ontop of the cording, matching raw edges and stitching tightly against the cording. Lastly you turn the lining to the back and Wha Laa, you have a nicely trimmed seam! For the arm holes I folded the fabric layer under about half an inch and did the same to the lining but made it slightly shorter than the fabric, just enough that it wouldn't show front outside but still covered the raw edges of the front fabric. ...

Soo, I got all the rayon cut out for Kelly's Dress yesterday! Yay for me. We can officially say it has been started now. Kelly! YOU HAVE A DRESS... kinda. Cutting out rayon was a bit of a challenge. For starters it was creased from the folding, so I had to carefully and nervously iron it all! That went well. The only issue I had was that it didn't want to stay in place and sometimes got more wrinkled then smoothed. But in the end I got it done. Next it was pinning and cutting the fabric. Thanks for the tip about weighting the fabric. That help. If you have never cut silky/ slippery material before, then there is something you need to know. PINS PINS PINS PINS PINS PINS PINS PINS! They are a life saver. The fabric is so light that it moves almost as easily as the pattern and doesn't like to stay in place when you are cutting it. However if you do pin it down enough it will stay there for you and cause less problem. I will have pictures up of the pieces on th...

Hello All, So I am embarking on a new project. I have to say it is one I am really nervous about. I am going to be making my friends wedding dress! She has entrusted me to make one of the most important dresses she is ever going to wear. Most women have dreamed about that dress since they were little girls. Now, it is in my hands to make sure it comes out perfect. The dress is for one of my best friends Kelly. I have known her for about 6 years now I think (though it could be longer). We have been through ups and downs together and now I am helping her look beautiful on her big day. She is beautiful and and has a wonderful, whimsical, dramatic style to her. Her wedding is going to be an amazing coming together of the village with most of her family and friends sharing their expertise to help make it come to life. So you all have a little bit of an idea of what the dress will look like, it is going to be regency style with and umpire waist. It will have small cap slee...