Sunday, April 05, 2009

Belaboring the blue coat, and prom time

Okay, this time, it is taking me so long to blog because the coat was NOT speaking to me. I somehow did not want to be bothered cutting it out. And when I started, it kind of slid around on me and the selvages would not line up and behave and I felt discouraged. So I left it alone for a while and it mocked me from the sewing room every time I went by. So I kept on cutting it out, bit by bit, and now all the blue pieces are done and I even discovered I had enough lining in my stash to completely line it.
blue coat
I did however, have to make the second shortest view (View B) because the skirt is wide enough that I couldn't overlap the pieces with the fabric that I had. I'm still going to make the pockets on the side seam, not the patch pockets.

In the meantime, I have promised my niece that I will make her prom dress and so today, we went looking for patterns. She had seen some nice dresses on the internet and leaned toward a one-shoulder style (no pun intended). Unfortunately, there were hardly any one-shoulder style patterns out there (in the books that we looked at). In the end, we bought two very different patterns and she is going to talk to her friends and think about which one she would prefer for the prom.
prom time
This one is cute and young and because it is short, she may be able to wear it somewhere else, later. We'd make the pink view bodice and band, with the yellow view bubble skirt.
prom time
It will take about 2.7 metres of fabric.
prom time
This one is much more sophisticated but I still think it wouldn't look too old on her, as long as she didn't make it in black (and she is not wanting black - we looked at some lovely turquoise silk charmeuse).
prom time
It will take 3.8 metres of fabric. Both dresses are fully lined so she can choose any fabric and not worry about revealing anything. The Vogue dress is much more structured and the midriff is all top-stitched. Plus it has the effect of two skirts and a small train.

I don't want to influence her one way or the other. This is a once in a lifetime event and she should be happy with her dress without feeling like she "should" choose one sort of style over another. It may even turn out that we will look at more patterns after I make the bodices in a muslin for fitting. This will be the first time I have made a muslin! Patterns generally fit me right out of the envelope so I never bother with a muslin. But sewing for someone else is a different proposition.

12 comments:

gwensews said...

You made some progress on your coat! Hooray! It's a beautiful color. I have that pattern, waiting in the wings.

Good luck with the prom dress.

Marty said...

Oh I love to sew prom and wedding dresses! You can take your time to make them pretty.

Chicago Sarah said...

I can't wait to see what she chooses for a dress- how awesome are you, to make her prom dress?! I love the elegance of the Vogue, but the shorter one is really cute...

Carmen said...

Oh, that Vogue pattern!

Anonymous said...

I'm calling you whe the kid's prom comes around. Do you sew for non-family members? Because I know she's never going to find something she likes to fit her. She's very slim. Actually, I think the whole prom thing is kind of nuts, but I know she's looking forward to it.(PS: Make sure your niece's prom dress is VERY difficult to remove)

Petra said...

That is so cool of you to do. Let us know what the choice is.

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

Both dresses are very nice! I used to make my nieces prom dresses and 1 of them wore a dress I made for her wedding. I just allowed plenty of time and then extra time because their schedule did not always meet my schedule! Will be fun to see what she picks!
Cheers! Evelyn

JuliaR said...

Thanks for all the comments! It seems I am still slow at blogging these days. But the good news is that my hair has started to come back! It is just a white fuzz that blends in with my white scalp but I can feel it! By June I might be stylin' again. :)

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Christine said...

Julia you have so many great ideas. I like how you're making your niece's prom dress. I'm actually getting married next summer and I need to start looking at bridesmaid dresses soon. That'd be a great idea if I knew how to sew. I like the patterns you guys picked out! My wedding is next June, summer. Do you have any dress ideas? What style or color you think would look best? We're getting married in a pavillion, so it's like a tent-like place. Let me know what you think!

JuliaR said...

Heavens Christine, I wouldn't know where to begin! I would look at pattern books and bride magazines and start a collection of the looks you like best. Good luck!

Jane said...

A perfect needle I found that complimented the project is the
Piecemaker Tapestry Needle made in Japan. Thank you!