I’m here to give an update on the bridesmaids’ dresses situation! I’ve deviated from my original plan of trace patterns > make test versions > do fittings > make final versions. I get bored by rigid plans and routines and so I’ve been jumping around a bit. As I wrote about before, I did get all the tracing done before moving on from that. I think that was mostly because I was not into the tracing part and just wanted to be done with it for good. Next, I made a wearable muslin of my own dress, because I figured it was better to practice on myself than inflict my potential mistakes on others.
I had bought this fun quilting cotton 12-18 months ago with this very pattern in mind, so it finally got to fulfill its purpose! I sewed narrow twill tape into the waist seam when I stitched it, because I worried that the weight of the skirt might drag down on the seam. After making it, I had a couple adjustments to make. I took 5/8″ off the front and back pieces at the side seam at the underarm, grading out to 0″ at the waistline. I also shortened the strap pieces by 2.5″ – they were fine, but the adjusters were practically at the front of the dress, and I want to allow for more adjustment otherwise there’s no point in including adjusters! Finally, I decided to shorten the bodice by 1″. There was a bit of bagging in the stomach area in the front and lower back in the back, so I thought that might solve the problem. I transferred all those changes to my pattern pieces and moved onward and upward!
Next up, I made a test version of my sister’s dress (another B5463, different size). I was kind of in the zone with this pattern and just wanted to do the other one straight away. I had inherited a bag of weird fabric through a chain of three different people passing along moderately terrible fabrics, and found a hilarious FOUR METRES of this jaguar quilting cotton. It terrifies me a bit to think of what the original, quite elderly owner, was intending to do with this vast expanse of animal print… Conveniently, the 4 metres were enough to make this dress! I forgot to interface the facings, but since Amy doesn’t actually want to wear this dress and it will likely get passed along to a new owner, I’m not fussed about it. I used the only longer zipper I had in my stash, which was a dark pink. I think it looks pretty good with the print! In terms of fitting adjustments, I had to take 1″ out of each back piece at center back, and I also shortened the strap piece again. In this version and the one below, I pieced the skirt from 3 pieces instead of 2 and then recut side seams in the appropriate places in order to insert pockets. The pattern calls for the skirt to be cut on a cross-grain fold, but the print would’ve gotten messed up by doing that so I couldn’t do it.
Next up, I got bored of tester dresses and decided to make my own “real” dress. For the real deal we’re using a lovely lightweight cotton voile, which is honestly pretty see-through. That meant that instead of a facing, I did a full lining for the bodice. I figured for the skirt that it would be swishy and full enough that I wouldn’t need to line it, and I think it’s ok as long as you wear underwear that blends with your skin colour. Excuse the wrinkles – I got very exhausted by attempting to iron 8 full metres of this 60″ wide fabric and got a bit sloppy. (Definitely going to wash and iron it before the wedding!) For the bodice lining, I use the facing pieces as interfacing templates and applied interfacing to the top edges of the lining pieces to give the neckline the structure it needed. Because of doing a full lining, I handstitched it down along the waist seam and zipper. As before, I used a narrow twill tape to reinforce the waist seam. It’s such a comfy lightweight dress! I think it’ll be perfect for the wedding in late August, and good for dancing (see swishiness, below). Since this fabric is solid, I was able to cut the skirt the way the pattern asked for, so it’s more full and doesn’t have seams in random places.
FINALLY, I made a quasi-muslin of Jen’s dress (M6713). This hot pink tropical knit (I think polyester) came from that same random bag of fabrics as the jaguar, and I only had enough to make a peplum instead of the full skirt. I didn’t know if Jen would be into it, but she actually really likes the fabric so I’m going to hem it for her and sew the elastic in completely. I had left the waist elastic just pinned together with a safety pin in case it was too tight or loose for her taste, but it was conveniently pinned at the exact right length! Also awesome, this muslin didn’t need any fit adjustments so I’m all set to make the real version when I feel like it. I put my sewing machine in for maintenance today because I’m participating in a music festival/workshop for the next couple weeks that is going to take up ALL MY TIME, and I’m already having separation anxiety. On the plus side, I’ve been quite productive on my knitting and feel like the end of my cardigan is coming into view! I’ll probably have another update on the bridesmaids’ dresses in a month or so, hopefully I’ll have the fittings done by then.
