Bollywood Ball Gown- Boning and Zipper

India's date will pick her up in 27 hours.

So, the ticker is going.

These are the "bustier" pieces.

They actually go inside the lining as the foundation.

These are the channels for the boning.

You remember how I said I hate tulle?

Well, as much as I hate tulle,

I enjoy dealing with boning.

Which is a pretty good thing since India likes it so much.

I like that it adds such a lovely structure to a garment.

I like "foundation".

Says a lot about me as a person, eh?

Two important things to remember about boning are this:

1. You must round the edges of your boning before inserting it in the channels.

If you do not do this, the boning will eventually poke through the fabric and not look pretty.

and

2. Boning has a direction because it is coiled. 

So you must make sure you put the boning in the channel

going the right direction or your fit will be funny.

Oh, and yes, that is a bowl of baked ziti. I did a lot of eating standing up this week

while I was sewing. I get a one-track mind and 

simply can't be bothered to stop and eat sitting down.

Not a good habit for a mama to teach her kids, I know.

But India made the ziti and it was GOOD!

Here is the foundation with the lovely sewn channels for the boning.

For a girl who loved geometry, this is bliss! 

Isn't it a pretty look?

(Sorry, I'm a geek!)

So I took in the dress again and the fit is looking better and 

India is smiling now.

Still dealing with the sway back but better now.

Ok, this is where things are getting frustrating.

We are not really sure how to do the draping of the sari fabric.

And of course, we are running into the

awareness that India will never be

six feet tall like Nicole Kidman when she wore the

Hindi wedding gown in Moulin Rouge.

So, we may go another direction with the sari fabric.

But we have a few more things to do before we get there.

The pattern called for a zipper sewn by "Prickstitch"
or as I was taught "Handpicked".

I contemplated sewing in an invisible zipper but

decided instead to add a bit of interest to the zipper.

On the inside, I machine stitched the zipper to the seam allowance.

But on the outside, each time I prick stitched, I added a crystal bead.

Not a great picture but this shows the zipper with the 

crystals attached.

-------------------------------

Then yesterday was Ahnalin's open house at her school.

She insisted on wearing a smocked dress I made for her 2 years ago.

And I did not make bloomers for this dress.

Silly Me!

Monkey Girl was in rare form!

What a cutie pie!

Now, I get to attache the dress, the lining, and 

both pieces of the foundation.

After that I will have some hand sewing and the 

hem.

Then, I have to deal with that sari fabric! YIKES!!

More pictures to follow later today.