All alterations are completed, delivered, and no changes needed. I’m so happy the ladies are pleased and the mother of the bride loves her surprise – two flowers made from the fabric I had left when I shortened her outer skirt. (See my previous blog for photos.)
My photos don’t show the beauty of the dress. I was never meant to be a photographer!
Getting the hems to hang properly can be a challenge when the outer fabric likes to stretch and move while pinning. The satin underskirt is not as full as the flowing outer skirt, but has issues with being shortened due to the skirt itself being tapered wider at the bottom circular cut. This was especially difficult when shortening the one dress 12 inches.
The smaller dress also required extensive alteration of the bodice with a total of one inch taken in from each side seam. Due to a complete closed lining and working with a heavily sequined bodice the resewing was done by hand after only cutting a slim amount from the seam allowance and tucking the remaining seam inside so the dress could be returned to the standard size 4 in the future. This alteration also corrected the gap in the back to pull it close to the body.
The straps required a 2 1/2″ removal to fit snugly. Due to the construction of the back, it was not possible to do a simple tuck of the strap. I was able to keep the full strap intact on the larger gown by tucking the 1/2″ needed to snug the straps. This amount was easily hidden behind the closure of the back.
Only a quarter inch tapered inverted dart was required on the larger gown at the side seam to pull the back strap to fit against the dress and not gap from the waist line to the top of the low back. Tacked down with silk matching thread, it was invisible to the eye.
Now, I will return to my quilting of the quilt tops going to my sister in Texas and when the main fabric for my grandson’s graduation quilt arrives, I will have to focus on it to have it ready for the trip to Texas in May. Traveling with four quilts in carry-on luggage will be tricky if clothes are taken, too. Good thing both my youngest girls are going along! They will just have to wear layers on the plane – nine of them if they want a different outfit for each day!