Friday, April 3, 2009

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! :)

5 comments:

gwensews said...

Good luck with your project. You know what you're doing--you'll be fine.

I did alterations for years, both working for someone, and also had my own business. A gentlemen once brought me a trench coat that he wanted shortened "13 inches from the floor". When I asked him to put it on so I could pin up a hem, he kept insisting to just hem it "13 inches from the floor". It took me a very long time to convince him that would be impossible without him putting the coat on!

Summerset said...

Um, wow, after doing alterations for years, I've seen and done a lot of crazy stuff. A lot of stuff I promised I'd never do again. Let's see. How about sew a Star Trek Next Generation uniform - you remember those body suit style costumes? How about reducing the size and replacing all the satin binding on a down comforter that had been chewed by the client's dog? There were feathers for weeks! Then there was the bride who brought me a shiny silver prom gown to fix up for a wedding gown. Where was her mother when she bought this?!? I could go on, but mostly I'm trying to forget these things. Really.

joannely said...

I do these bridal alterations every day...it is my business and I have a few photos on my website: www.itsmysite.com/joannely
Most of the brides buy a dress 2-6 sizes too small because they fall in love with some aspect of it. Then we scramble to find fabric for side gussets, panels and taking out back zippers to make lacing just to get the dress closed in the back. Good luck!

AmeliaSews said...

Good for you. I like those kinds of projects- they give me a chance to puzzle out how to fix things and I usually learn things about the construction by tearing it all apart.

I had one customer before Thanksgiving that wanted me to make her niece an apron. All she wanted to tell me was she was a big girl - now that can have all sorts of different meanings... I insisted on at least a waist measurement and height so I could size up the one-size-fits-all pattern. I added 5" to the waist and made the ties extra long.

I was happy to learn that the niece absolutely loved it and wears it every time she cooks...
at least it's a story with a happy ending.

Anonymous said...

Gwen, you are the best! I am sure it will look great no matter what the solution :)
-Natalie