Friday Confession

I've undertaken a pretty crazy project. A friend of mine is going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in a couple of weeks. She had to order her dress last Fall. Not surprisingly, when it showed up six months later, the fit wasn't perfect... Following Murphy's Law, this particular dress has been discontinued! She asked if I could fix it for her.

Unfortunately, it's too SMALL around the bust and midriff, not too large. (I'd feel a lot more confident of my ability to tighten it up around the back zipper.) Still, she's a very good friend, and she isn't asking for a couture fix - she just wants something that will stay on (and allow oxygen to her brain) during the ceremony and reception. So I said I'd do my best. ;)

I decided to add the extra fabric to the side seams, so that the extra seam lines are mostly covered by her arms. She said I could cut up the matching shawl to make the panels to be inserted. As you can see above, I'm still carefully seam-ripping my way through the fabric, the lining, and the two layers of inner corsette (plus boning).

My plan is to sew the panel along one edge of the open seam and then fit it to her and close up the other edge of the open seam. Once I have the fit right on the outer layer, I'll do all the inner layers accordingly. Part of me knows that it's a crazy project to take on, but part of me is kind of jazzed by the challenge. I'll definitely let you know how it comes out! :)

So, how about you? What's the craziest project you ever took on? How did it come out? I'd love to hear your stories! :)