mattie complete

After a long break, I've finally found the time to finish dress #2. I am really pleased with how it turned out. It fits me perfectly, is comfortable, and seems like the perfect dress for a girl getting married in a barn... The diamond pin I attached to the front of the tie is actually a clip-on earring that I got from an estate sale years ago.

draping 101

I've never technically learned how to drape patterns. I've always used pre-made patterns or made my own patterns by combining existing ones. For the longest time, I've looked for local classes or stores that could teach me to make my own patterns or drape patterns, but I have been unsuccessful. Unless I want to attend design school, I am stuck learning by myself. I couldn't even find a good video on the internet. So, I invested in a few new handy tools: some draping tape that is used to tape the desired seam lines on your model, and a french curve ruler. To be honest, this ruler seemed a bit of a mystery to me, but then I kept hearing the people on Project Runway act exasperated when Michael C. didn't even have a ruler so I figured they must be quite handy. Here I go, trying to figure out on my own how to drape a bodice.
I started off simply enough with taping the general seams on my dress form. I changed my idea from my original design to include a yoke. The front and back yoke will be in the lace, while the bodice portion will be in the silk. This tape is pretty fun to use. it is basically really thin-cut duct tape. It follows curves nicely, sticks to the dress form, and is slightly raised so it makes it easy to trace the lines of the dress through the fabric. Which leads me to the next step.




Next, I draped and pinned a piece of muslin over the dress form so it fit snugly. I took a sharpie marker and drew lines over the tape to show where the seam lines would be.








Once I finished that, I took the muslin off the dress form and used my french curve ruler to smooth out the curves and straighten the straight lines.





After adding on a seam allowance, I cut the pattern piece out and pinned it to the dress form.






Once the yoke was pinned to the dress form, I used those seam lines to drape the bodice as well. Before marking the lines, I had to fold the darts in the appropriate place and make sure everything was nice and smooth.




I lay the pattern pieces on the dress form one more time to be sure they all seem to fit together










Now I sew the muslin pieces and try it on myself, adjusting the seams until the bodice fits me perfectly. While wearing it, I tried my best to create a pattern for a sleeve as well. This proved to be quite difficult as I don't currently have detachable arms.




The finished sewn muslin bodice. Please forgive the awful picture. If I knew my camera better, I could adjust for the dark room, but alas, my years of high school photography have gone to waste. I did just order some studio umbrellas on ebay this week so perhaps I'll have some better light in my room for my late night sewing fests.


Now that I've got the bodice perfectly fitted, I unpicked all the seams and created new pattern pieces for the bodice. From here, I am ready to cut the pieces from my actual fabric. That's the part that is scary! I will need every little inch of that gorgeous lace!

Project 2: Mattie

My second project: Mattie. I'm naming this dress after my paternal grandmother, Martha "Mattie" Sharp who passed away this last year. She was such a classy, elegant woman who had such a wonderful laugh. She was the type of woman who raised a house full of boys (5 boys and 2 girls) but still managed to have her hair and makeup done every day. Shortly after my grandparents got married, my grandfather was called to serve an LDS mission. He told them that he wouldn't go unless he could bring his beautiful bride with him. With a special meeting, he got permission. She's a woman worth fighting for...and my grandfather seldom left her side. Shortly before her death, my grandparents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary

Not all the materials I'll be using will be recycled. Two years ago, when I decided that I wanted to marry Bartek, we went to New York to visit his parents. As a fan of the show Project Runway, I decided that I needed to visit the fabric store Mood to look for some really great fabric for a wedding dress. I found this incredible French lace and fell in love with it. However, it was quite expensive and I wasn't sure if I was just loving it because it was from Mood or because I really loved it. I ended up getting a fabric sample and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the fabric district to see if I could find anything else. However, weeks after returning from New York, I couldn't get that lace out of my mind. So, I called my friend Leslie who lives in Manhattan, sent her the fabric scrap and some money and had her buy me a yard. I don't regret it. It is so beautiful and unique--unlike any lace I've ever seen. I'll use this for the bodice of the dress.

The fabric I chose for the bottom is from a dress that I bought at a local consignment shop while looking for shoes for my sister's wedding. I love the combination of these two fabrics. The lace has a paisley pattern to it which really compliments the circular motion of the tulle on the skirt. I'll use silk from my last dress to make a tie that will go around the waist and break up the two busy patterns. Overall, I think this dress is going to be an elegant but fun dress. Definitely not a typical wedding dress style, but will be perfect for the right bride.

Here's the sketch and a quick drape to show what these fabrics will look like together.