Progress

Ongoing Prom Dresses

You know, in my late 20's I actually had a bridal business. I made custom gowns and formal wear, and I did pretty well. That is, until I met enough Bridezillas to drive me completely crazy -- anyway, I'm not exactly a newcomer to this whole big dress thing.

That said, I was making that stuff about 20 years ago! It's still fun but I've lost my familiarity with it. Thank God for muslins!

So it's been slow going, but here's the first real progress on JB's dress. I scrapped the patterns that I began with and started over completely. Now we're on track.

This was made with some green broadcloth that I got on a bolt at a garage sale, plus some blue tulle that had been used for decorating a room -- it's a good start!

xoxoxox

Another Quick Tip

I was gathering some fabric today, and I did what I always do. Suddenly I wondered if anyone else does it -- so I thought I'd pass this tip along:

When gathering, oftentimes I have pulled the threads and ended up pulling them completely through, having to stitch the gathering again. The way I avoid that is to take both the bobbin and needle threads at one end and gently pull them at the same time. This "locks" the stitching on one end, and prevents pulling the threads completely out.

Hope this little tidbit helps you. Happy sewing!

xoxoxox

Easy Fix

Some of you may do this, but I thought I'd offer this tip anyway.

I have a work table, but I haven't had the room to use it. It's an old oak door that weighs about a bazillion tons. I've covered it with blue checked gingham, because it makes it easier to see a straight line.

It sits on sawhorses that a friend made for me, specifically to the height I wanted. So the table sits at just the right height for me. It saves my back.

HOWEVER . . . I'm currently working on the dining room table. I've had to stage my house to sell (it sold before it actually even went on the market -- a God thing), so I had to take the sewing room apart and make it a dining room again.

So today I was cutting the muslins for the prom dresses, and my back was starting to kill me from leaning over the table. It's just a regular dining height table.

Then I remembered.

So I went to the closet where everything is stored, and I got out the bed risers I bought awhile ago.

Problem solved! The table is now at a height that's perfect for me. No more aching back.

If you're working on a table that is just too low, this is a great fix. You can find bed risers just about anywhere. I've seen them at the linen stores and online, and I think I may have even gotten these at Wal-Mart.

Easy fix!

xoxox

Prom 2010

Change of plans on the prom dress. Uh, dress-es. JB couldn't really find one that fit her nicely, so she asked me to make hers.

Here's the idea for Barbie:

And here's the fabric. Can you say GOR-GEOUS????

I found this at a little shop where I took my serger to be serviced. It was a bit pricey, but at only 3 yards, definitely worth it.

And here's the idea for JB:

We're doing the view in the center.

And the fabric. Can you say GOR-GEOUS again?

Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me. I don't really have a pattern for Barbie's dress, so I'll be morphing a couple together to really get the look of the dress I'm copying.

I'm making muslins of both dresses first, in order to get the fit right. Better to have it right the first time than have to fuss with the real dress fabric .

And I should be in there right now -- gotta go!

xoxoxox

Reading a Pattern Envelope

Here's a new video for you -- it's about how to read the back of a pattern envelope.

This is really helpful information if you are:

-- new to sewing

-- have no idea what all that information is or means

You can also find it on YouTube, where I have a channel with a couple of videos I've done. I am living proof that anyone with a video camera can show what horrendous video editors they are! LOL!

Enjoy!

xoxox

Threads

I just picked up the new issue of "Threads" magazine. If you don't already know about Threads, then let me truly enlighten you: I've been getting this magazine since about 1980, and it is FABULOUS. Consistently! No kidding -- it's always full of at least 2 or 3 things that help me in my sewing.

In this latest issue are two really good articles for new sewers. The first is called "Make Your Mark" on pages 44-47. It details some extremely useful notions.

The second article is called "Ombre Effects." It's all about ombre dying -- the art of graduating color hue. I tried this last summer with Rose's graduation dress with some nominal success. I may try it again based on the excellent info in this article.

I have almost all my back issues of Threads, and I am so glad I kept them. The nice thing is that they show the major articles on the spine, so if I need to go back to one for reference, I don't have to look through endless pages of contents.

I hope you'll check out this latest issue. It has several other good articles as well.

xoxox