So, it's my mom's birthday tomorrow, and my sis and I wanted to do something special for her. We're having a family BBQ next Sunday with the entire family, but we need to do something *on* her birthday!
So my sis and I decided we'd make her and her entire class cupcakes! Her classroom colors are purple and orange...after this picture we decorated the tops with little musical notes (since her classroom is very music-centric)
(Spice cake with cream cheese frosting)
I messed around with the bodice yesterday since I wasn't feeling well and skipped Coronation. Here are the pics:
I finally got the toile worked out, and it wasn't too bad in the end. I added 1" to the front neckline, took out about 1" at the lower back, and added 3" at the front.
I basted the pieces together, and added the piping to the shoulders and the side back on the back pieces.
Then sewed the front center pieces together, pressed and flipped over, and sewed the side back and shoulder seams, pressing them open. then I tried the whole thing on again. I roughly pinned the gathered pieces to the waistband, then marked the pieces. I cut off the pieces that were too long, which ended up being about 2" at the very back and then tapering down to the side front--you can see the piece I cut off lined up on the bottom in the picture below. I actually remembered to transer all the changes to my paper pattern, so next time I make this dress, it will go together in no time. (Most of my time was spent fiddling around with the toile!)
I overcast all the seams to they are not quite so raw. I really hate leaving raw seams, but apparantly it's extremely period. Gah!
Here is the bodice pleated into the waistband, and the piping at the neckline pinned in.
I didn't take any picture of the sleeve making, but it's pretty boring - just your standard back seam puffy sleeve gathered into a cuff. I didn't check the cuff before I made it, and the pattern was measured to have hook and eye at the ends for attachment. If I had thought about it, I would have added some for buttonholes, I would have prefered that. But oh well, it'll work!
So, I bought a pattern, the Galla Rock "Gathered Bodice Workdress, Daydress". The picture on the front looked *very* promising, but I've been having a crisis with this pattern. Most of the time, I don't even *use* patterns, but since I'm new to the CW era, and most CW patterns are based off extant garments, I feel pretty confident. My purple dress was made directly off of the Past Patterns "Full High Gown" Making this dress was one of the best by-a-pattern experience I'd ever had, fit like a dream, and the instructions were very clear, with a ton of historical notes. I guess I was spoiled with such a great pattern, because I am EXTREMELY unhappy with Galla Rock.
Here is a picture of the pattern, and the fabric I'm hoping to use for the dress. I have enough that I can make a mistake or two and still have enough to finish the dress. (I hope!)
The pattern is hand-drawn, which in of itself is not a terrible thing, but the lines are thick and messy. There are spelling mistakes and scratch-outs ON THE PATTERN. Really? Come on, now. My measurements are a bit extreme, and I knew I would have to do some adjustments (my waist measurement is 31", and my bust is 45") so I usually have to do a 14 or a 16 for the waist, and anywhere up to a 22-24 for the bust, but the pattern ONLY came with 16 and 18. And the side back seams do not match up at all. Grrr. I bit the bullet and decided to do a mock-up, and edit from there since my confidence in the pattern was about nil. (As it should have been!) I went searching around the web for a reputable CW gathered bodice pattern, but I didn't find anything that struck my fancy. Besides, this is going to be one of the projects that I want to work on over the long weekend, so I'd have to wait for the new pattern to arrive.
As you can see, the back is far too large and about 1-2" too long (it's hard to tell exactly while wearing it. I'll have to get Kao to mark the waistline for me sometime this weekend.)
The side fits OK, but still kind of feels funky. I'm not *too* worried about it since I'll have poofy bishop sleeves that hopefully will cover a multitude of side back seam sins.
And the front. *le sigh* It fits relatively well up to the side front area, then drastically juts up to 2 1/2" too short (from mah boobies) The neckline sits just about perfect as-is, so I'll have to add in seam allowance. I think I'm going to end up cutting the front extra long, and then cutting off whatever is too long after gathering to the waistband. (The front is pinned slightly open - this is actually right, since I cut the toile out of the lining, not the fashion fabric, and the lining has a facing for the button holes and buttons.)
Now I have to re-draw the patterns and cut a new toile. Wish me luck, K? I need to do some more research and figure out what buttons I should be using, and how to do a dog-leg closure. Anyone know how??
