Two Looks One Dress

 I met with a mother of a bride one afternoon to talk about lining her daughter's wedding dress.   The dress had a short beige underskirt with a floor length beaded lace overlay.  At first the idea was to just extend the underskirt to the floor and by the end of our conversation it was a detachable skirt- formal for the ceremony, fun for the reception. What a great idea!

 

The body of the dress was a spandex blend.  I was looking for fabric that would have body and could "fan out" at the bottom similar to a bell shaped skirt.  Liking the feel and weight of shantung, I was able to find a shade of beige that came very close to matching the dress. Wondering how obvious the line was going to be between the dress and new skirt, I thought of adding a few pieces of lace and beading to help camouflage the line, if needed.  Putting that idea on hold, I started constructing the skirt.

Using a pattern I had for a mermaid skirt, I used just the bell shaped bottom and was able to make it fan out to the edge of the train.   It fanned out enough to line the train of the overlay.  My next thought was how to make it detachable.  I always think of the most complicated ways first, I have no idea why. Naturally, I thought of a zipper.... crazy!  Eventually the rational part of me kicked in and I ended up using hook and loop tape.   After sewing the hooks to the underside hem of the dress, I covered them with shantung so when the skirt was detached, nothing would not be rub against the bride's legs.  The loops were sewn to the outside edge of detachable skirt so when it was hooked to the hem of the dress nothing showed on the inside and it was a smooth line.

The line between the original dress and new skirt was barley noticeable (except to me) thanks to the lace and beading on the overlay.  The skirt was easy to detach after a few practice runs by the maid of honor and mother of the bride

The line between the original dress and new skirt was barely noticeable (except to me) thanks to the lace and beading on the overlay.  The skirt was easy to detach after a few practice runs by the maid of honor and mother of the bride.

Prom and bridal alterations send a wave of nerves through me every time during a final fitting.  I know it's because it's a special occasion and I'm striving for perfection, to capture exactly what someone is envisioning.   It was no different this time but the look from the bride was all I needed to calm my nerves.  

Giving life to a well loved pair of jeans

 Your most favorite pair of jeans or maybe your best fitting jeans are starting to wear, some holes around the knee and thigh area are cool... you can even buy jeans with holes already worn in those areas.  But other areas -- the back pockets, the inside thigh, those are usually warning signs that your jeans are about to become unwearable in public - about to become "house-jeans."

A few years ago, someone brought their very loved pair of jeans to me with some scrap fabric and asked if I could just mend them and it was ok to mend them so the fabric showed.  I took a closer look at the mended jeans and noticed all the fabric patches.  Now, I know this isn't a look for everyone but there was something really unique about these pants and they fit the personality of my client perfectly.  I loved them, I'm not sure why, they just looked really great to me.  So I mended them and didn't think much about it until recently when my girlfriend asked if I could patch her jeans.  I used this method only on family, mainly my college student daughter who was trying to nurse her jeans until the very end of their life.   So when a girlfriend asked if I could repair her jeans, I thought she'd be perfect for my new favorite technique!

As you can see, it's quite a rip, one that could possibly be sewn together in a very tight neat stitch but I wanted something fun, something to match my friend's personality. 

I used fabric from a repair I made on my daughter's jeans and thought this would be perfect.  Serging the edges so nothing would fray that wasn't meant to fray and top stitching around the rip would hold everything where it needed to be held.

The repair wasn't a forever fix, but it did give add some more time to these much loved jeans. Eventually my friend blew a hole through the center back seam and had to retire them.

Inspiration from a sketch

I love when my daughters come to me with ideas, it's a chance to experiment.  A few years ago, my middle daughter brought me a sketch she found online and an idea for her prom dress.  She wasn't sure who the character was but really liked the style of the dress.

Looking at the sketch now, Elsa comes to mind immediately... Frozen was just released about a month before and it was unknown in our house so when I saw the sketch, I had no idea who it was either.   Knowing now who it was makes it even more special. Disney was big in my house when the girls were younger.  Honestly, I think it's still big or maybe its just the memories that are.  Either way, this sketch holds a lot of meaning for me.

The sketch was a pencil drawing with lines that were hard to see so I penciled in my own.  Finding a pattern that had a similar skirt, I had a place to start.  I made a mock up version out of leftover fabric.

The skirt was right but my daughter wanted
a different bodice. So we played and ended
up with a ruched/gathered bodice with a lace
up back.

Bodice back attached to front. 

Getting ready to hand tack the folds in place.

Bodice attached to skirt.

Getting ready to attach the loops to the back. 

Here is a test to see if the hooks were placed in
the right spots.  Next step, making the modesty panel
and ties and adding the lining.

Finished look - modesty panel in place, ties and
lining attached.

A lace up back gives a comfortable and secure fit to a strapless dress. With a zippered back, it's sometimes hard to get a snug fit that doesn't move.  Installing a waist stay helps to keep a strapless dress with zippered back in place. A lace up back is not for every dress but for some it's magical - tightening in all the right spots to give a fit that stays put.

 Prom ready....

One of my favorites.

8 Inch Heels?

If there was ever a dress to match a sweet teen's personality, this was it. Everything about this dress was perfect for her  - the color, the style, the detail. The only obstacle was the train. Could she wear 8 inch heels? Maybe,but for now, that was Plan B.  I needed Plan A.

When she showed up with her mom and grandma, I wasn't sure how to go about it at first.  I thought of removing layers but prom was quickly approaching and there were a lot of layers. I didn't think I'd have the time to remove layers so I started rethinking that idea. Looking at the way the skirt fanned out behind her, it looked a lot like a wedding gown to me (ignoring the color and the many many ruffles.) That's when it hit me, why not a bustle? Of course, a bustle.  But how?

Starting in the front with a layer that was even with the floor, I picked up pieces, pulled them up and under the ruffles until it was even with the floor and hand tacked it to the body of the dress. It was a lot easier than I imagined it was going to be. Remember, my initial thoughts are always way more complicated than they need to be. Happy to say, we did not have to resort to Plan B - 8 inch heels.

The end result was just as I hoped it would be. I will never forget this dress, it was so fun to alter because all I used was a needle and thread, hand tacking my way from one side to the other. Don't get me wrong, I value what I can do with my sewing machine but there's just something about hand sewing whether it's adding beading to a bodice or hand tacking a ruffled train. Maybe it's the simple fact I sewed it with my very own hands using just a needle and thread.

Whatever the reason, this girl was ready for prom.