First Wedding Dress - 2016

So ... it’s been a while ...

I’ve got to admit; I’m not much of a blogger and most times, I don’t have much to write about.
So I’m going to switch gears and just share what I’ve been working on. 😁

Here’s the first wedding dress I made for a lovely summer bride in 2016.

Quite a bit of hand sewing went into this - to eliminate visible seams on the lace. Appliques and a bit of creative seaming will give you that.

The ivory had to be kept clean. Hands were washed before sewing; dress was covered whenever possible.

And of course, the appliques had to be cut out and hand sewn to the top so it had more 'flowers' than the bottom.

Show And Tell

Hello there,

I haven't put as much work into my sewing this week as I usually do and I feel bad about it.
*sigh*
I hope to make that up this weekend.

Last week was very busy though - I finished and delivered 2 new dresses, alterations to 5 skirts and a new skirt. There was also an iro and buba set that was a freebie; I need to make some alterations but it was done in time to be tried on last week.
I'm thankful for all the referrals; keep them coming ...

This weekend's to-finish list:
- Tutu skirt
- Shorts
- Bow-tie
- Black, Brown and Green pants alterations
- Buba alteration

To-start:
- Jumpsuit for PGS Challenge

I got some pictures from my clients who the dresses were for so it's Show and Tell time.

:)

Ms. M's 1st Order

Ms. M's 2nd Order

Ms. M's 3rd Order (1 of the 2 dresses referenced above)

Ms. O's 2nd Order (see the dresses from her 1st order here)

Iro Wrap Skirt

Hello there,

Happy New Year!!!!

It's my 1st post of the year!!!

... and we're 3 weeks into 2016.
To be honest, I wanted my 1st post to be something grand and special like I've seen on other sewing and DIY blogs; some big revelation of an awesome resolution or a sneak peek at a new project I'm working on/just completed.
This isn't any of those and I'm just going to continue doing my thing ... there'll be time for grand posts later ... keep an eye out :).

I made this outfit on something like a whim.

I bought the red crepe fabric initially to make a dress to wear to the wedding that I made this gold lace dress for. I was going to put gold applique on the dress. Well, that didn't happen. I spent all my time on orders and ran out of time to make something for myself.
I did start another red dress with gold applique later - I'll let you know when it gets finished :). 

I've had the lace fabric for over a year: it was a gift from my mum and I was saving it for something special. I hadn't deemed anything special enough so in the stash it stayed. I saw an outfit by Deola Sagoe on Instagram and it looked like a wrapper but fit like a skirt; at least that's how it looked to me. I thought I'd try something similar but knee length and since the red crepe fabric was a perfect match, this outfit was born.

Enjoy the pictures :)

Front View

Side View 

(notice where it 'wraps'?)

Back View

(notice where it 'wraps'?)

'Twas a bit chilly out (not like the 'freezy' it is now *sigh*)

Lacy Goodness Continued

As promised in the August post of Ms. N's blue and pink dress (here), here's more on the gold fabric that she dropped off.

It was the Aso-Ebi fabric for a friend's wedding on 9/12 which is also my dad's birthday :).
She sent me a picture of a gold midi dress and asked for the same thing and I'm so happy she was pleased with what I delivered.

Stay tuned ... I'll show you what I make with the remnant and some red crepe fabric.

Enjoy the pictures and video below.

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Lady in Gold

I got matching silk lining fabric

It's got a slit and the inside seams were covered in bias tape to prevent any itching from the sequins on the lace.

Ready for a fitting

I took it in after the fitting and it no longer fit on my dress form but here's the final dress.

Took a video while she was posing for pictures. :)

I didn't have an Aso-Ebi outfit but I wanted to join in and show my support so I made a fold-over clutch.

Perhaps I will write a tutorial on that ...

Pink and Blue Lace Overlay Goodness

** Hi there. :)

Today I wish to take you on a bit of a journey from the start to finish of Ms. N’s Aso-Ebi for a wedding last Saturday (8/15). I had made a dress with overlay before (here) but not one that was fitted and then, bam!!, I had 2 lace overlay dresses in the span of a couple of weeks (see the other one here – yellow and pink). This was new territory as I had never done boning before but I decided this dress needed it.

There was a bit of crying involved but I won’t get ahead of myself. Just enjoy the journey.

Ms. N came by my place with 3 different fabrics for this dress (more on the gold one later; there was another blue fabric that she took back) and a bunch of ideas and Pinterest photos. We finally settled on a mermaid style dress with a sweetheart neckline underneath, cap sleeves and gathered ruffles.

Started with the sweetheart neckline bodice and boning.

Made the lace overlay bodice and attached to the front and back pieces of the main dress.

Started to work on the bottom ruffle and realized it might not be long enough so I sent Ms. N another option: adding the pink lace to the ruffle. She gave me the go-ahead.

Added the lace sleeves and the attached the ruffle (flounce?) to the bodice and it was ready for the first fitting.

After the first fitting, I had to make the following adjustments:

-          Remove the pink lace strip (Ms. N thought it was too much pink and the dress ended up too long; I overestimated her heel height for the day).

-          Add bias binding to all the lace seams (they were too itchy as is).

-          Take in the sides at the hip (the weight-gain plan wasn’t going as planned).

-          Use a longer zipper.

Here’s where the crying (figuratively) came in. I loved this version of the dress and it made me a bit sad to take it apart to make the changes. I wonder if other sewers feel this way sometimes …

We hit a bump when I couldn’t find a longer zipper than what I had used so I sent Ms. N a suggestion on how we could treat the back so that the zipper is lowered: something I used for the back of my lace and ankara peplum top (here).

I stayed up late to make all the alterations and dropped off the finished dress at her home. She wasn't in so I didn't get to see her try it on before the wedding.

Many thanks to Boss for getting a few pictures for me ...

I think she likes the dress :)

Inspiration

* This week's post is about inspiration...

In the last few months, I have seen/heard of/read of at least 4 designers whose work were either re-posted as someone else's or re-created without giving a nod to the designer.

I totally am against the idea of re-posting someone's design as yours. That's just stealing: you take a picture from the person's site and put that on your site and tell folks you have that item available for sale and custom orders. Not cool.

On the other hand, I think it is OK to get inspired by other designers. There are very few completely new designs out there today. A lot of folks have peplum blouses, for instance, and what makes the blouses unique from one designer to the other might just be the peplum style (single vs. multiple layer, asymmetric hemline, ruffle vs. pleated), fabric choice, print vs. solid, structured vs. flowy, sleeve design, etc. But they are all peplum tops, right? I feel like if I took the bodice from one design, sleeves from another, neckline from another and peplum style from yet another, I would end up with something that someone already has thought of. Or maybe not.

I recall describing a style to Zi and making it only to see it in a catalog a day or so later (mine here). It was inspired by a doll's outfit that was a dress with a multi-tier skirt. The top in the catalog was the same concept as mine but the bottom half of the catalog piece was more flowy and the entire top was in African print and paired with shorts versus my brocade version.

Point is .. be inspired ... don't steal.

** Anyhoo, this week I thought I would share some pictures from the web that have given me ideas for pieces that I may make ... someday …

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Liking The Idea Of A Lace Skirt Suit

 

Not a Fan of Very Wide Waistbands but I Like The Black Trim

If I Decide To Go With a Fitted Wedding Dress (versus Full Skirt)

(Paula White's Wedding)

I Was Looking Up Traditional Igbo Wedding Attire for a Client

Liking the Basket Design by Tese Needlekraft

Cascades!!! Ruffles!!!

 

Some Others