Halloween 2011 - Royal Wedding - Lace on bodice

My wedding day Kate Middleton Halloween costume is well under way! Here's a recap on the making of the petticoat, satin part of the bodice, and skirt.

Now, lets take a look at how the lace part of the top was made.

I based the lace layer of the bodice off of McCalls pattern 6120 instead of attempting it on my own, to prevent damage to the lace from unnecessary alterations.

To do this, I traced the McCalls pattern onto a large piece of paper and made these adjustments:
1) Made the front into 1 piece (a v-neck cut on the fold)
2) Made the back come up higher
3) Lengthened the sleeves
4) Pointed the sleeves at the wrists
5) Cut the back into 2 panels, as it will be buttoned instead

Below is a look at some of the pattern pieces:
(the sleeve pattern is on front)

Here's the front and back panels pinned on the dress form:

Once everything was sewn together (with a zig-zag stitch), I turned the lace inside out and lined it up on the dress form. Then, I pinned 2 darts on the front, making it more fitted.

I sewed the darts in place, then moved on to the sleeves.

The sleeves needed to be taken in a lot:

Fitting a sleeve on yourself is a time consuming task. But, with the sleeves inside out, I slowly pinned where they needed to be taken in.

Here the sleeve fits nicer, but there is still more room than I'd like at the wrist. So, I will likely be adding buttons there later to make it more fitted... we'll see.

Once everything was fitting right I trimmed the fabric close to the seams, and flipped it right side out. I pinned the lace layer over the satin bodice on my dress form and tacked them together at the seams.

Halloween 2011 - Royal Wedding - Sewing the dress together

Now that the satin part of the bodice and skirt are done for my Royal wedding Halloween costume, it's time to sew them together.

I lined the pieces up on my dress form to see how everything looked (with the help of my feline assistant). Then, tried it on to make sure the placement worked on me before getting started.





I ended up fixing the pleats on the back of the skirt since the photo above was taken. They just weren't laying right.

On the picture below, I've got the bodice pinned to the skirt. (remember, for this dress, the shiny side of the fabric is the "wrong side")

Here it is sewn together:

Then, I added an ivory, invisible zipper in the back and pinned the bottom of the dress where I thought the hem should go.

I tried everything on and made some adjustments and was ready to move on to the lace!

Halloween 2011 - Royal Wedding - bodice (take 2)

When I scrapped the bodice discussed in the previous post, I decided to use an actual pattern to get quicker results for my Kate Middleton wedding day Halloween costume.

Luckily, I found McCalls 3635, which is for a 2 piece dress (top and skirt) and was nearly perfect for this costume. The top had the princess seams and zippered back that I was looking for, but the neckline had to be changed, no big deal.

I went straight to my satin to make the top from view A. Since the fabric frayed so easily, I ran fray check around the perimeter of each piece before sewing it together.

McCalls 3635 view A

I left the neckline the way the pattern showed until I had my lace layer figured out for the bodice.

For a quick link to the first post on making the dress click here.

For ideas on how to accessorize the Royal wedding day look, click here.

Halloween 2011 - Royal Wedding - bodice (take 1)

As I said before, the process of making my Halloween costume was interesting. I knew right away that I wanted Hubby & I to be William and Kate on their wedding day. I somehow had this brilliant idea that I'd make my own pattern...

I did. And it was time consuming, but worked out alright... until I got rid of the wrong set of pattern pieces that I made for the bodice (that'll happen when you should be sleeping, not sewing) and somehow couldn't revive the muslin I made to make a new pattern.



Here's the bodice I made, before it met it's fate as a scrap piece of fabric:

I made a ton of measurements and cut some muslin for the bodice. Then, I sewed the bodice together & added a zipper.

I tried it on, and using grey thread, basted the muslin in areas that needed to be taken in so I could quickly make adjustments. (I also wrote all over my paper pattern & muslin making notes for additional length, etc.)

Then, I cut the pattern in the lining material & added boning. (not sure if I did it right, never used it before)



I'm not sure exactly what happened, but somehow the above bodice didn't make the cut. Since I couldn't find my pattern again, I pulled out my trusty real pattern stash and found one that could be modified to work.

See how the next bodice was made soon!

For a quick link to the first post on making the dress click here.

For ideas on how to accessorize the Royal wedding day look, click here.

Halloween 2011 - William & Kate, Royal wedding style

I've loved Prince William for as long as I can remember. When he and Kate Middleton announced their engagement last year, I was extremely excited (only slightly jealous), for the Royal wedding. They're such a cute couple.

Another thing I love besides the Royal couple is Halloween. So, it only seemed natural to try to replicate William and Kate's wedding attire for the festivities. Luckily, I have a Hubby who (slightly resembles the prince... coincidence?) puts up with me and agreed to go as Prince William for Halloween if I made his costume.

My version of Kate Middleton's wedding dress has been an interesting process. I'll start from the beginning and will have multiple blog posts to show it (posts on the process of the Prince William costume will be in the future too).

First off I made a Bridal petticoat (with tutorial) for super cheap. This was important to have ready when determining how many yards of satin to buy.

Then, I bought 10 yards of muslin to make my pattern for the dress. (I ended up using less)

Armed with my favorite magazines featuring the Royal wedding, and my sewing scissors that I hide from Hubby, I got to work.

Here's where the dress is now (it still needs trim and other touches):

Kate Middleton's wedding dress for Halloween costume

More posts to come on how the dress was made, in case you want to be Kate Middleton for Halloween too!

Here are some key accessories to consider when dressing as the Duchess of Cambridge

Look into the future... here is how I made the satin part of the bodice, the skirt, and how it was sewn together

Swimsuit cover up/dress TUTORIAL

Last week I posted about the swimsuit cover up I made. Thanks to the suggestions of readers, I will now have a lighter suitcase, since many felt this could double over as a dress.

There was a lot of interest in how the neckline was done so you'll find the tutorial below.

On a side note, I'm not sure if it is the "correct" way to go about making this neckline, but it worked for me and the whole project took less than 10 minutes so I'll take my chances :)

Here's what the final product looked like:

Here's the tutorial:


1) Starting at one shoulder, drape your ruler across the neckline to the other shoulder. Place the ruler so that the point of the V shape is where you want the neckline to be the lowest. Remember (or write down) this measurement.

(mine ended up being 19" from shoulder to shoulder)


2) Measure the desired length of the dress by measuring from where you want your shoulder strap to lay to the bottom of the dress.

3) Fold your fabric in half, right sides together and cut it. You'll likely be cutting a large rectangle, here are the dimensions:

Top of the rectangle: Your measurements from step 1 plus 3 inches
*if waist/hip measurements are larger than this you should account for that measurement accordingly and the fabric cut will not be a rectangle*

Sides of the Rectangle: Your measurements from step 2

*Make sure you're cutting 2 layers of fabric at these dimensions*

4) Starting at the location of the lowest point of your arm hole (you may want to measure this) sew the two pieces together on the blue lines (see picture below) and trim fabric closer to seams.

*since the fabric had a stretch to it, I used a zig-zag stitch*


5) Using your measurements from step 1 (the distance from shoulder to shoulder including the plunge of the neckline) mark where the shoulder straps will be made.

To do this, measure 1.5 inches in from each side (and 1.5 inches down from the top) and mark a dot. This dot will be the center of your shoulder strap.

6) Sew the top corners of the dress together, using the dot marked in step 5 as the center of your seam, sew at a 45 degree angle to form your straps, as seen in the diagram below (marked with green) and trim close to seams


7) Turn fabric right side out, taking each shoulder strap separately either pleat or gather the fabric and tack it in place (this helps encourage some of the fall of the fabric along the neckline)

8) Tie a piece of scrap fabric or some sort of a belt around the waist area and you're done!

*When the cover up is not actually being worn, the shape of it looks pretty crazy as seen below. The top looks really wide, but that's because it's laying straight across, not in the V shape*

Here is what is looks like when the shoulder straps are in place and everything falls the way it should.

Swimsuit cover up

Hubby & I are coming up on our 1st anniversary at the end of the month and will be heading on a trip. Since swimming suits and snorkeling will be a big part of our outing, I figured I'd better bring along a swimsuit cover up.

Since I don't have one that fits anymore, I pulled some fabric out of my stash and created a new one.



The photo above is a front view, but the back is identical. I used a piece of scrap fabric as a belt that ties at the waist, but may end up finding another option instead.

The fabric I used doesn't wrinkle and dries really fast, so I hope it does the trick!

Since people expressed an interest in how this was made, I posted a tutorial found here.

Bridal Petticoat tutorial - 9 simple steps

I finished making a bridal petticoat (for my Halloween costume)! I know just how expensive petticoats are to buy (or even rent) so, I'll show you how I made mine in 9 simple steps and for really cheap.

Quick & easy petticoat tutorial for bridal gown:
(total cost about $8 which is really cheap compared to store bought)

Supplies:
Fabric of choice to make lining (about the size of a full length skirt)
Elastic for waistband
10 yards of netting

1. Choose a fabric to be the base lining of the petticoat (which will basically be the size of a full length skirt) I used muslin, because it was cheap and I had some on hand.

2. Cut fabric to roughly the shape shown below. Keep in mind, the length should be roughly that of a full length skirt on you, and the waist should be cut wide enough to be able to slip the petticoat on.

3. Sew the sides of fabric together & sew the bottom hem

4. Cut an elastic band at a comfortable yet secure length to fit around your waist and sew it to the waist of your skirt lining



5. Mark 3 horizontal lines across the fabric lining (front & back) as shown below in the diagram by the blue dotted lines. These will be the lines you will sew the netting to.



6. Prepare your netting: (mine was 54" wide to begin with)

a) Cut 3 lengths of netting: 2 yards, 4yards, and 4yards.

b) Starting with one piece, fold netting in half length wise (this is usually already done for you, if it is straight from the bolt)

c) Fold that netting in half again, length wise (essentially dividing the fabric into fourths)

d) Baste all 4 layers of the netting together lengthwise about 1" from the folded edges

e) Repeat with the other two lengths of netting


7. Attaching the netting:

a) Mark the front and back center points on your skirt lining at each of the three horizontal lines you previously marked for the netting attachment sites

b) Divide the netting pieces into fourths width wise and mark those points

c) Starting with the bottom of the skirt, match the markings on the netting with the centers and seam markings on the skirt and pin in place at those points

d) Gather the netting to fit around the skirt at that location

e) Sew in place following the lines

f) Repeat the netting attachment steps for the middle and upper horizontal netting attachment lines, using the other 4 yard piece of netting for the middle row and the 2 yard piece for the top row.

** It is much easier to attach the netting from bottom to top **

** Make sure the rows of netting overlap each other a bit. Ex: The middle row overlaps the bottom row a few inches and the top row overlaps the middle row a few inches. **

8. On the bottom edges of all three rows of netting (not the part sewn onto the skirt lining) there will be one folded edge left over, instead of a raw edge. Cut the folded fabric apart creating two raw edges in place of the fold.

9. Fluff out the netting layers

Your petticoat is complete!

**Note, you may want to stagger where the ends of the netting meet up while attaching them to the skirt lining to create a smoother look**

Bridal Couture

We're at the beginning of wedding season again, which is perfect timing to keep the excitement going for my somewhat large sewing project. I'm sewing a wedding gown!

Who on Earth would trust me to sew such an important dress, you ask? Well, it's actually for me... for Halloween... so it's really not a big deal at all hehe.


Good thing, because I will be the first to admit that I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm going to be totally winging this. (I'll probably get a pattern for Hubby's costume, we'll see though)

But, to help out with making the gown I purchased the book Bridal Couture by Susan Khalje. I'd read several outstanding reviews on it. So far it has been extremely helpful to me too. Unfortunately, at this point in time the book is out of print... so look around hard to find the best deal if you do decide to purchase it.

teal dress... "finished" but then torn apart

So that teal dress I was making... I thought it was done, then I tried it on and wasn't really feeling it.  (I especially didn't like the bulky attachment of the bodice to the skirt)  So, I took most of it apart, and am going to try another look! 

Here is what it looked like... for about a day :)

 

Here's what the back looked like at one point... the side seam is a pretty awful site here.

This dress is taken apart and will be re-worked into hopefully something more flattering.  Now that it's torn apart... I'm kind of regretting it...  We'll see what turns out next though!

the start of a teal dress

The teal fabric from this post is getting put to use.  I'm attempting to make a dress, and here is the start of it:

The start of the bodice.  I'm thinking a one shouldered, sleeveless dress right now.

The plan for the back of the dress right now... (I'm kind of thinking of another horizontal band, to cut up some of the open space on the right side)

My attempt at making a back panel for the dress, with a continuous edging for the front, angled part of the dress.

Chair upholstery update:  I ended up having to order a couple of things for the chairs, and am just waiting for the supplies to get here!  Hopefully I can get back to those soon.... our living room is completely taken  over by the project :)

a work in progress

dress in progress This dress-to-be has been on my Mom's dress form for about a month. I kind of forgot about it, until now. (I had to "clean up" her sewing room so it could be used for its original purpose -a guest bedroom- therefore the dress form was in a storage area for awhile... until yesterday)

It is possible this "dress" will be made into something else (shirt?) since I might run out of fabric.

Usually, I buy fabric when it's on sale without knowing what it will be used for, so, I have to guesstimate how much I will need for my "future project". In this case, I had 2 yards of the silver/grey fabric in my closet to work with. I hope there will be enough to finish the dress, but we'll see... the back is just pinned together, I keep re pinning to see if there is a way that will work. That random chunk of fabric on top of the bodice is just pinned on too.

dress bodice closeup
Whenever I would "doodle" in my notes or something, I always filled the pages with this geometric design, so I decided to give it a try on the fabric. It was pretty time consuming, even though it's just on a band.

that red patterned dress...

This pattern, Simplicity 2549, was a fairly simple sew, but it did take some time due to the interfacing, darts, and some hand stitching. I'm almost finished with the dress pictured on the lower left corner of the pattern, but still need to add a 22" zipper (which I don't have yet) and hem the length. The back of the dress comes up to the neck and is very plain. I'm torn on how I feel about that look, and might need to change it up a little, depending on how it fits.

cat helping me sew

This is my oldest cat, she LOVES to "help" me sew. Whenever I have fabric out, she comes running from anywhere in the house and sprawls out on it.


Simplicity 2549 pattern red dress



I'm not sure how I feel about this dress yet... it's very different than what I usually make and/or wear. But, that's why I chose the pattern, and it will be interesting to see how it actually looks when it's done and I try it on!

that blue dress...

I really dislike sewing with patterns but recently decided to give them another shot. Luckily, the fabric store was having a huge sale on them, so I had no excuse but to stock up. I chose a variety of patterns ranging from dresses and skirts to home decor and stuffed animals. Slowly, I hope to work my way through them and become better at construction and design of patterns so I can have better results when I am too stubborn to use them again in the future.

When I bought all of my patterns, unfortunately I did not have such luck finding nice material. So, I had 2 yards of this navy fabric laying around, and this was the only pattern I could use with it. It's McCalls pattern M6031.

I had high hopes for this one... thinking it'd be simple yet cute. First of all, my pattern was way too large. (I knew this going into it, whenever I'm right between sizes on the pattern, I err for the larger one knowing it's easier to take in a seam than to magically add fabric) Of course I had good intentions to cut the pattern smaller, but when the time came to do so, I completely forgot.

McCalls pattern M6031 blue dress
Overall, this pattern was helpful and very easy to follow. The bodice is lined and it only took a few hours to make. However, the chances of me wearing this dress are pretty slim... it may be taken apart and made into something else. But, for now, it will probably join the dark hole in the back of my closet near all of the other "home sewn" goods that also needs a little re-working or final touch ups. Some day, I will conquer that closet!