Wonderland Wedding Dress Fitting - Round One

Okay so I've moved, and I cracked down on getting the mockups done for Jenna's wedding dress this October for the Wonderland Wedding.

The first version was a little, well...yeah.

None of the seams lined up exactly and the edge was a bit out of control. But I guess that's what you get for combining two patterns and completely reworking a couple of the pieces.

Version 1.2 wasn't much better, because now I found the underbust curve was out of control, and some of the lower edges still weren't matching up.

Third time is the charm though because barring a few minor adjustments right off the back, version 1.3 curved in the right spots and the seams lined up just right.

Jenna came over for a fitting and we went to town with the sharpie marker. Despite working off only measurements, the corset bodice fit very well. I'll only have to make a few small adjustments such as cutting the armscythe a little wider, and adjusting the length and placement of the straps so it sits better on her torso.

The blouse on the other hand...

I think most of the problems came from the fact that the original pattern is meant for stretch knit fabrics, but we're trying to make it work with woven cottons. When Jenna tried it on, she got it over her head but then got stuck. I ended up cutting it off her and then doing the fitting.

Neckline is good, length just right. I just have to do something about the side seams so she can actually get it ON.

Another change I made from the original pattern is Jenna asked for sleeves, but the original did not have them. So I dug through my pattern stash and found two: the short sleeve from Sense & Sensibility's Regency Gown pattern (left), and the ballgown sleeve pouf from Truly Victorian's 1885 Cuirass Bodice pattern (right). Jenna opted for the Regency sleeve - it "poufs" better.

So with my sharpied mockups, I head on to version 2.0.

We also traveled to the fabric store to pick up materials for the skirt. Here is a sneak peek.

My Own Little Sewing Corner

So barring a couple of boxes and cleaning, I'm officially moved out of my apartment and in with the significant other. There is still a lot to unpack and get organized, but one of the first things that was pulled out and organized - aside from books - was my costume/sewing stuff.

This happened for two reasons. The first is I had to start work right away on the Wonderland Wedding dresses again. Moving set me back about two weeks for working on things. The second is I now have my own sewing space! Weeeeeeee!

Most of it is still in boxes and bags, but it was with great excitement that I went to Lowe's, bought a table, set it up with the sewing machine, and officially dubbed it the sewing/craft area.

It's still only a wall in the office, but it's my own space!

There's still work to be done, such as putting up some shelves maybe and getting things better organized in general. But gone now are my days of temporary set up at the kitchen table or on the living room floor, then packing everything away when I was done. Now I can keep my current projects set up and not worry about pieces of fabric or patterns suddenly disappearing on me.

Now that I'm set up, keep an eye out for other posts as I catch up on my progress reports.

Alice Dress Update #1

I've been out of touch with blogging over the last month, but my card guard skirt has kept me endlessly ruffling (more on that in another post) and I'm also in the process of moving. My free days have been consumed with packing, organizing, and the annual closet purge to get rid of things I just don't need anymore.

In the midst of it all though, I've been working on the dresses for this October's Wonderland Wedding for my best friend. Now by dresses, I mean not only my own, but the bride's as well. It was only briefly mentioned last time, but I'll also be making Jenna's bridal dress as well for the special occasion! I met with her a couple weeks ago and while I don't have sketches, here is her shopping list:

Because the theme is Alice in Wonderland, she is looking to go as Alice. Rather than wear a dress that looks like Alice's, she is going to use it as inspiration for the color scheme in her own dress.

In case the notes are incoherent, she is looking at doing an underbust corset/bodice. My pattern drafting skills still aren't up to par so I trotted off to the fabric store in search of patterns that I might be able to adapt. I found a couple patterns that followed the shape of what I was looking for.

Butterick 3906

Simplicity 1819

Using the pieces for the bodice on the Butterick pattern and the underbust corset on the Simplicity, I started Frankenpatterning (to quote Kat at Madame Modiste) the bejeezus out of the pieces.

The initial steps were to trace over the original pieces with wax paper (my favorite for tracing) and make initial adjustments such as letting seams out and adjusting the neckline.

 The next bit of fun was taking some of the existing pieces and making additional adjustments to make the pieces I needed to form the actual finished garment. There were some instances where I had three pattern pieces stacked, trying to figure where lines would go for these new pieces.

And this where we stand. I have to get some corset hardware first, but then I should be able to but everything together toward the end of the week. In the meantime, I will be working on the blouse to go underneath.