Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bollywood Ball Gown- Muslin and Dress Fabric


I am so sorry I have not posted pictures before this. 
I am going really slowly because (grand excuse coming here!)
I have been dealing with migraines a lot lately.

Excuses, excuses!

So, enough excuses already!

Since I had not used this pattern before, 
Vogue 2717, 
and we accidentally purchased the wrong size pattern,
I started with a muslin.
In this case, I actually used real muslin, 
but I have used other fabrics in the past for this purpose.
I like real muslin because it is cheap and you can mark it all up!


Marking is so important because then I can take the 
muslin apart to make changes to the pattern.

Shockingly, I only needed to make a few changes this time.
India is sway backed so I had to add a bit of 
width at the back side panels and even out that 
line a bit. Then I had to alter the angle of the back pieces 
to remove that wrinkle at her upper hip.
It was less of an issue than 
it could have been. 
YAY!
I am sorry I did not get a good pic of the actual pattern alteration.

 Then I pinned the pattern piece to the muslin to see how
much I needed to shorten the length. 

This pattern had me do something I have never done before.
Now for some of you, it may be a big "DUH!" 
but it was a new, and not terribly welcome addition.
It is a bridal pattern so that may have something to do with it.

But let me just tell you how much I HATE tulle!

Ok, that being said, I get it. 
Really.

Each piece of the dress 
(not the lining or the over-dress, just the actual dress)
has a layer of tulle sewn to the wrong side. 
Hm....

At first I thought it was a waist of time.
But that tulle really adds body to the satin. 
Nice!

And serging the tulle to the satin added a nice finished edge
to the dress pieces so after I sewed the dress seams,
I had a nice seam that could be easily altered. 

That is really important since I am sewing so much of this gown while
India is not here. 

This was India at 5:30 this morning getting ready
for school. She will not be home
until midnight because the upper level
choirs are gone all day at the Golden State Choir Competition.

So, I will have to grab her for a few seconds tonight before she 
passes out in bed to fit the dress on her.

So there is not much to show yet. 

It looks like a 7th grade Home Ec. project 
on the dress form there.

But after I get it fitted on her,
and start adding the various layers of lining,
foundation, boning, more tulle,
and then the draping of the Sari fabric,
it will start to look like something pretty.

More pics to come tomorrow!!


So, Ahnalin just learned to make daisy chains and is picking 
all of our daisies before they get a chance to bloom.
I explained to her that I had photo plans for those daisies so hopefully
she will let them alone for a while. 

And one more thing.
Guess who is back!!!


Yep!
The froggies have returned!!!

This little guy was
IN THE HOUSE!!! 

So Papa caught him and Ahnalin got to release him back into the pond.
Yay for our froggies!!!!

Now, back to the " Dress mines."

More pics to follow.


10 comments:

Christine said...

I think it is looking gorgeous! I love it so far!

Rebecca Nelson said...

This soooo reminds me of making my girl's wedding dress. Did the entire torso in muslin FIRST because I didn't want to wreck up the $$$$ fabric!

I love to pop in and see what you are doing!

Hope your migraines are better!

xoRebecca

Tabitha said...

glad to see your froggie friend is back!! I can not wait to see what the finished ball gown looks like...I hope your migraines cooperate....

Anonymous said...

Yea! I was hoping you would post some pics along the way. I can't wait to see the dress finished!!!!

organicmommy said...

I am totally in awe. I hope my sister gives me the chance to make her next year. It would be a wonderful challange for me.
gam

Ellie Inspired said...

I've been dying to see pictures of this Sivje!! It's going to be so beautiful. I hope that your migraines go away. It's no fun trying to work with one of those.

Mrs. Bianca said...

Looking fabulous so far!! Hang in there with the migraines. You are NOT alone there, sister. I hope India gets enough rest after her travels to enjoy prom! By the way, I want Ahnalin to do a daisy chain tutorial! :)

Laurie said...

I'm so sorry you are dealing with horrible headaches! I dealt with them for years before I had sinus surgery about 5 weeks ago - that is where I found RELIEF!!
The gown is going to be sooooo stunning!!!

Unknown said...

No, no.. your dress most certainly does NOT look like a 7th grade Home Ec. project. I think you're making great progress. She's going to look fabulous in it.

~*Aria*~ said...

Pardon me for not taking sympathy on you for the tulle. :) The wedding gown I'm working on has 40 yards of netting and 50-freaking-yards of tulle. 90 yards of this hellish stuff!! GAH!! It's indeed a nightmare of a fabric to work with. At least all it takes to make it look good for this gown is pinking sheers. Just cut that crap the length I need, though it does need to be adjusted from the waist, and is currently 108" wide all around. I should start charging a surcharge to work with it.

Every gown has a time it looks like a home ec project. That's called a diamond in the rough. :)