Step 1: Done!

Step 1 is done: the practice dress has been "finished", at least as far as getting it to the point of being able to try it on. Yay!

Unfortunately there is a bit more work before I can start adding the chiffon/tulle layer. My inspiration for the top layer is a custom Alexander McQueen wedding dress shown in Vogue back in 2005 and the concept of puffy clouds. Um, we'll see how that goes. For now I need to make the base work. I was afraid the wimpy pseudo corseting on the top wasn't going to be enough, but now I'm pretty sure it'll be good enough (no full/separate corset needed). However the fit is still a bit large, so I need to pull it in a bit and alter the pattern for the real dress. I'd also like to put in a semi-sweetheart neckline and make the back a whole lot poofier (its kind of a sad drape right now).

It definitely feels good to have something that I can try on and have it look almost like a real wedding dress. Sewing the netting really felt like it took forever, and that's even with a ton of shortcuts! Shortcuts include not sewing a small stitch before sewing the basting stitch for gathering (that saved ~32 yards of sewing), tacking separate netting pieces together in three places rather than along the whole length, and using masking tape as a backing for sewing the netting in spots (then ripping it off). Here are all the pieces before coming together:


Milestone 1 down. So much more to go ;-)

The Projects

My most recent project, a necklace, was caused by a gray rainy day. It just seemed like there should be some way to capture the look of dark water droplets. Luckily I had picked up some Czech glass beads a while back that had yet to inspire me. With a few architectural acrobatics in wire I was able to create this:


I decided to call it 'Waterfalls' because of the two separate clusters of beads (I couldn't put beads in the middle because they deformed the shape of the chain, making it hang at angles rather than draping). Overall I'm happy with the effect.

From the world of design:
At the moment, I'm sewing netting and rapidly learning that it sucks. The pattern instructions simply say to sew it, but the fact that its made of more air than material causes headaches for the sewing machine. I've decided to use scraps of muslin/plain white fabric along the seams, though its made the pinning process quite slow. After sewing it I trim the scraps very close to the seam so that there isn't a lot of excess fabric. It just isn't a fun process, but I'm hoping the end results are worth it.

Miscellaneous:
The other project is a dresser. I picked it up for $50 intending to repaint it (the green is godawful ugly) but the wood underneath (see the picture of the drawers) is actually very nice, so I'm thinking I might change my mind and refinish the wood instead. Its quite a bit of work sanding things down. I've already done quite a bit of it and got a great workout for my arms :-) Most of the information I've read on the web about refinishing was VERY intimidating, mostly because of the sanding, but I really don't think its that bad. I also haven't worked with paint stripper yet though, which I will likely have to do if I want to get rid of all the green. Dilemma... I already have the cranberry red paint to change the color. Should I really go through all the work to refinish it?

Oh boy, so many things to work on. I also picked up the cheapest dress form I could find to make the designing/sewing process a bit easier. We'll see how it goes.

Until later...