We'll Call This Done

Well, I'm feeling a little homemade in these pictures, but the afternoon sun is very harsh and hopefully the room will be darker. I also need to iron it a little more.



I think the main problem is that it's just too big. The black one was really big and I took in huge seam allowances, but I was scared to cut a smaller one since the fabric was different (shantung vs jacquard) and other reviewers had different results following muslins.



The shoulder seams kind of float over me unless I pull them out away from my neck, and I do plan to double tape my bra straps to the dress - pardon me for the exposure! If I had another week, I'd tweak the fit of the back a little more, but I'm so tired of taking darts in that I'm calling it quits.



I'm also opting for the "sensible" black heels that are a little lower and squared off instead of pointy - I'm apparently the only one in love with pointy shoes these days. These are definitely more comfortable. And I guess overall this came out okay - let's not forget that it could've turned out as bad as this!

Which Shoes?

I'm in the home stretch with the dress - this is a fitting before sewing up the basting for the last time - ignore wrinkles! But I don't know which shoes to wear, so I need your input. This is my favorite pair of black heels, though they get a bit tiresome after a long evening.



Don't forget about my roach-stompers - Dean's LEAST favorite shoe, though actually reasonably comfortable. It's kind of bronzey-gold and you can compare it with the black heel.



I don't think the clear one looks dressy enough - it looks like I'm barefooted and I don't have time to get a pedicure! And this gold-ish one - I bought this pair years ago in Boston and wore them once. They got all kinds of comments but the ties came undone and fell around my ankles after a night of walking around. Dean thinks this is the best color but says they make my feet look like skis because they're so long.



The straps may be too much with the dress.



Once my mom helps me with the final stages (and hemming - God love that woman!), I'll post some more pictures and do a formal review at PR. I'm only concerned because the back now is poofy like one reviewer mentioned, and that lady had to take out horizontal darts to fix it - ACK!

We Interrupt This Jacket...

Yeah, didn't I say I was making a fleece jacket for my sister? Well I actually got the whole thing cut out, then I realized I needed a dress for a cancer benefit we're attending in a couple of weeks. I was thinking of a fancy skirt and top I have...then I was told it should have some pink since it's Breast Cancer Awareness month - doh! A sewing challenge is born. I actually have a chance to sew up that Butterick 6582 retro dress with the smoking hot blonde on the front!

So here's the fabric - it's "polyester shantung" for $12.99 at Joann - I debated the silk at Hancock's, but it was more expensive and even more obnoxious than this color.



And here's the muslin in $3.99/yd jacquard from fabric.com - I considered it a muslin since it was cheap and in the stash for over a year. I think it's a hell of a muslin myself!



Forgive the wrinkles, unhemmed-ness, and hanging threads - I was so excited to finally get it fit that I wanted to take pictures. My mom helped me with alterations and was my camerawoman, but she made me put on lipstick and refused to take any of the poses I wanted. (You know, my attempts at being sexy that are so totally...not. She's so serious sometimes.)



I see a side seam that I need to straighten, but I'm hopeful that the widely spaced shoulders in back will balance the wide load below.



This dress was officially started at 1 PM yesterday and pretty much done by 10 PM, and subtract about 3 hours for dinner, zipper run and Scouting event at 5 PM, and 3 loads of laundry. And this pictured below, which was begun by Lucas at 8 PM and finished at 10 PM after 2 tries. He really did this by himself but didn't understand what I meant by "seam allowance," so the first attempt was half the size he wanted.



The lady at Hancock asked what I was going to make and I told her HE was going to make something, to which she replied, "Are you going to sew on your mom's machine?" He said, "No, actually I have my own machine, but I don't know what I'm going to make yet." She exclaimed that we had a designer in the making (good response, lady, and God bless you!) and asked him to bring whatever he made back in so she could see it.



If you look closely you'll notice his name, and you'll be amazed to know that he freehanded it at the machine. Takes after his mom, that one.