What is everyone working on these days? My current sewing project, which I may have mentioned before, is a bridesmaid dress for my friend Erin's wedding. The wedding is June 8th so I really need to finish this soon! The three girls in the wedding will all be wearing different colored dresses and different colored shoes. My dress will be paired with bright pink shoes! :)
I'm using a vintage pattern for this project,
Vogue Couturier Designs 919 pattern from 1952.
I'm making the tea length version but the skirt will not be as fluffy as it looks on the pattern cover. For the most part the dress is going together rather well. The skirt is cut in four pieces - two front and two back - with a shear overlay that is gathered to fit the waist.
The bodice is proving the most difficult part. The bodice and bodice lining use the same pattern pieces with the exception of the bodice fronts. There is a separate left and right front that are pleated and overlapped at the center. This seemed easy enough at first but when it came to fitting the bodice I found I had to completely redo the pleats. After, of course, I had already carefully hand stitched them in place. ugh....
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| The very odd looking bodice front before pleating |
In
the pictures below you can see the left and right fronts along with the
pattern pieces. I carefully remarked the pleats using a white fabric
pencil and pinned them into place.
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| Bodice left front |
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| Bodice right front |
The bodice right front overlaps the left. After I check the fit and stitch the pleats in place the bodice and bodice lining will be sewn right sides together along the top edge, flipped, and pressed.
Looks like a lot of fiddly work. So glad you are getting to the end of the complicated part! Look forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous color! Can't wait to see the end result!
ReplyDeleteYes! Very fiddly indeed!
ReplyDelete-Emily
What a cute pattern. And I love the idea of mix-and-matching the colors of the dresses and shoes! How fun!
ReplyDeleteSo Miss Emily, have you started to plan the bridesmaids' dresses for YOUR wedding yet?! ;-) Can't wait to see what you design!
Ack, asymmetric fronts give me the willies, but this one should be worth it, especially with such luscious fabric!
ReplyDeleteWhat a diamond of a dress; wow.
Very best,
Natalie
Thank you Natalie. Actually the fabric looks nice but is a little hard to work with. It's a synthetic satin that is very slippery and that combined with the shear only adds to the fiddly-ness (not sure that's a real word!) of the whole project.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca. Yes, I've started planning a little bit for my own wedding party. ;)
-Emily
What a classic, absolutely lovely shade of green - very kelly meets fresh spring grass. I love the glamorous pattern you're working with her. Full skirts + sweetheart (or similar shaped) necklines are always a winning combo in my books.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Thank you Jessica! The color is actually just a touch brighter in person. I used my cell phone to take pictures so the color is a little washed out.
ReplyDelete-Emily