Button, Button, Who's got the Button

As promised, here are some pics of the ceremony dress in progress with the two button options. I only had a few buttons done---in the final look the buttons will go all the way up the back. Ok, so the red ones are just scraps of fabric cut in circles, but it gives you the idea.


Sunburst



Red


I like the red more than I thought I would, but am still a bit torn over which to do. Plain ivory ones just disappeared into the fabric, so those are definitely out of the running. But I like both of these and am still open to suggestions. I need to get hopping on a decision though.

ETA: There will be 20 buttons going from the point of the red train up to the neckline of the dress.

A separate issue.....anyone out there know how to make the train keep that pretty pretty circle shape even as I walk down the aisle in it? The beaded edging definitely helps some, but it does collapse a bit as I walk.

AAAHHHHH!!!! Less than two weeks!!!

At least the train looks good.....

The reception dress is now mostly put together. And of course now I am seeing all kinds of problems.

Here are some pics as is. The facings are not in and the red bit at the top is just tucked in so I could see how it would look. The side pleats in the skirt are also not pressed. I am planning on hemming it just below the knee. And I will eventually have a petticoat to wear under it as well.



I obviously need to do a bit more pressing of the princess seams, but what is really bad is all those wrinkles/pulling all over the bodice, especially on the back. I am wondering what I did wrong, as the muslin did not do this. Maybe a waist stay would help some, keep the heavy skirts from dragging down the bodice so much? Any other suggestions out there? Particularly any thoughts on how to fix it WITHOUT starting over?

Sigh. One step forward, two steps back.

As far as the ceremony dress, here is a picture of the ginormous red train, inside and out. This is based on the back pieces of the Truly Victorian Fantail Skirt pattern, although I lengthened it a bit. The white strip on the inside is where the ties will be inserted to gather it in the back.



I dropped it off last weekend with a fellow costuming buddy who very kindly offered to do some beading on it as her wedding gift to me. I can't wait to see the results! Now I just need a dress to attach it to......

Parting shot:
Fred has been getting all the attention lately, so I thought I would shine the spotlight on his brother George for once. George is missing his friend and consequently is very wild and crazy playful. Here he is in one of his rare moments of rest.

Proof!

I did some work this weekend! Muslins for both dresses are done and fitted, The Boy's pants are started, and the petticoat for my reception dress is about halfway completed. Here are some pictures of the ceremony muslin.

Me in Muslin



It was interesting to fit the bodice of this dress. It is constructed in two layers and I decided to make the underlayer red and have it peak out above the overlay. I raised the neckline of the underlayer about 1.5 inches, both to show more of the red and because it was a little too low cut. I did the usual FBA for princess seams on the underlayer, and it was good to go.

The overlayer was more of a challenge. I didn't want to change it too much, because the fun pleats are a main element of the design--but the B cup pattern was not going to fit me right out of the envelope. what I ended up doing is making the pattern pieces with no alterations and just pinning them in place over the underlayer in whatever way they fit. I ended up taking out a fair amount at the side seams, especially on the bottom so it would fit nicely over my bust. I took a tiny little dart out in the side to make the armhole lay better, but I don't think that took anything away from the design. It worked out in the end I think. It would have been MUCH harder if I hadn't wanted the underlayer to show, but since I did, I didn't have to worry about raising the line of the overlayer or anything like that.

Back Train



This is a horrible shot of the back with the train, but you can get the general idea. I split the vogue pattern and the red bit is the fantail skirt which will cascade out the back split. I am going to have buttons down the back to the point of the split. There will be a slight bustle effect in the back, all the better to hide my natural bustle (i.e. Big Butt) a little better.

The Boy's pants are not finished, but the most time consuming parts are done--i.e. the pockets! I never thought before just how much time the pockets take, since most of the pants I make for myself either don't have pockets or aren't made under a deadline. Here is a little shot of the back welt, which still need a little more pressing.



Tomorrow I will try to post about a shirt I made last week for an office bowling party....my first Jalie disappointment. Sigh.

No more procrastinating.

Work proceeds on the wedding clothes. I have settled on designs for and made muslins of everything. Some final tweaking for fit and I will start cutting the "real" fabric this weekend.

The Plan for the ceremony dress is a combination of these two patterns, an OOP Vogue pattern and the fantail skirt from Truly Victorian.



It will have red fabric around the neckline in the front and a loooong red train, which if I have time will be beaded. I have pictures of the muslin of this, I will try to post them tomorrow.


The reception dress is based on this vintage Vogue.



I am dropping the sleeves because they restrict movement too much and this dress is specifically for dancing. I could probably do something with a gusset if I was bent on keeping them, but frankly I don't have the time to mess with it at this point. Plus if it is sleeveless it connects back to the ceremony dress more, which is a nice bonus. The trim around the neckline is again the red fabric. And I have some fabulous red netting with a little bit of silver sparkles to make the petticoat.

I am also covering a pair of shoes in the red fabric. If I have time. :-)

The Boy's suit is moving along ok. I actually have the real fabric prepped and cut out for the pants. The jacket muslin has been approved so I can move forward on that. I still need to muslin and make the vest, but if it comes down to the line, he says I can drop the vest, so that might be the last thing I work on. I am also making him a tie out of the red fabric from my dress.

Shew!!

I love Summerset's Parting Shots, so here is one of my own. Orange kitty Fred with his leg in a cast. Awwwwww!