Sewing a Choir Dress. Ugh.

[blackhillsbiker]

DD brought home fabric for show choir. I need to get a dress made. I used to sew almost all their clothes. That was when they were small (no curves, and not too picky). I'm really in a panic about this. I make Halloween costumes and do the odd mending jobs. I don't even know anyone around here who sews, except for quilters. I'm tempted to get some cheap muslin and try out the pattern first on that.:confused: :(

Deb

[sjane]

Do you get to pick the pattern or did they provide you one? If you can pick, I've found that Kwik Sew and Jalie are much, much more reliable about sizing than Simplicity, McCall's, etc.

[malkin]

Oh, I'm sorry!
For high school concert band, my mom let me hire someone. It was the biggest relief ever.

I was happy when DD went to ballet boarding school and I was off the hook for ballet costumes.

[blackhillsbiker]

I think you'll be fine!

I have a sewing maching...somewhere!

Hmm, it might be underneath my bicycle tool box.
:D
You sound like me! I bought some fabric to try the bodice out first. The skirt shouldn't be a problem. She waited too long for me to hire anyone.

I'd rather be riding!

[bmccasland]

Deb,
Using the cheap muslin to make a fitting is good idea, especially if you're not sure of the fit. You could also buy sheets and use that for your mock-up fabric. You are using a pattern right?

[blackhillsbiker]

The only thing I have made without a pattern was a Princess Leia costume (ages ago). DD had picked out a very complicated Buttrick pattern but I made her find a different one after I read the instructions and realized there's no way I could have it done in time. I go tomorrow to pick up a simpler Kwik Sew pattern. I used Kwik Sew patterns to make all their clothes when the girls were little. I hope the adult patterns have similar easy-to-follow instructions. Wish me luck.

Deb

[Becky]

I love Kwik-Sew patterns! Even I can make that stuff turn out right, and that's saying something about the quality of the pattern.

You might check out patternreview.com. I use their reviews to select patterns, and learn about pitfalls or improvements in advance.

[uforgot]

You need to give yourself a little credit. It sounds like you already know how to sew! The only advice I have is to take a lot of time when cutting out your fabric. If you are using a pattern, make sure it fits and then cut verrrrrry carefully. That is the key to sewing. If you cut it out correctly, the rest just falls together.

Let us know how it goes.

[MomOnBike]

Making a muslin is what the pros do when they want to be sure of a fit. When I made my sister's wedding dress, I think I made about 3 of them. Just buy cheap fabric and only make up the parts that matter, like the bodice, and maybe one sleeve, for length. Don't do any finishing. Throw the muslin away when you're done, or use is for quilt scraps.

[blackhillsbiker]

The dress is nearly finished. My friend Karen helped me. :) We'll finish it up on Wednesday night. I was too tired to tackle a zipper tonight. We went with a Kwik Sew. Now I remember why I always liked them.

Deb (breathing a sigh of relief)

[sjane]

Yay! I'm glad it's going well. Will we get to see pics when it's done?

[blackhillsbiker]

Pics later this week. We're finishing it up on Wednesday.:p

Deb

[malkin]

Way to go!

[blackhillsbiker]

Finished it tonight! I'm really happy with how it turned out. Pics to follow (tomorrow when I'm not too tired to look for the camera).

Deb

[blackhillsbiker]

Here's the front. I just have to put a hook and eye closure on the back. :)

Deb

[sjane]

It looks great, Deb! Nice job!

[Becky]

That turned out really well!

[blackhillsbiker]

It's very fitted (the muslin helped me refine the fit a bunch!). All the seams match and the pleats are centered perfectly. She looks lovely in it. I'm so proud of myself. :D I was really apprehensive about this whole project. The fabric was very slippery and wouldn't take a good crease when ironed.

Thanks for the support and kind words.

Deb

[MomOnBike]

I knew you could do it. It looks wonderful.

[malkin]

Way to go!
Working with slippery fabric can be agony.

[Catrin]

Beautiful! I do not sew, but do a lot of needlework of different kinds, and slippery fabric is just a challenge.

[Tokie]

Wow! that is a really beautiful dress - I would never have guessed that it was a "quick" type pattern. It looks very sophisticated. Nice work! tokie