A little anxious to see how it's all going to look.

I have to stop for the night as I need some boning for the collar. I used a real heavy interfacing that I need to mold a bit too. I'm going to put boning at the bottom of the collar. I will create a casing with basically a neck facing for the collar and sew it right above seam line of the bodice and lining. I think this will help it keep it's form and also stand better without straining the bodice neckline so much.  Hard to explain but I have it in my head.

Though I had to stop for the night I went ahead and pinned the collar to the dress form and put the cape on so I could see how it was looking. Here it is. I can't wait to see it on a person!

Snow White Progress

I got a lot done today and part of yesterday. It is the little things that take all the time. I made my piping and attached it to the bodice. I left enough room to use it for a casing for the boning. Worked out real well.

I used my bodice pieces for guides to cut the cording. I then cut strips of the same blue fabric I used for the sleeves. I glued the ends of the cording so they would not fray.

I used a zipper foot to sew the piping straight and close. The bodice needs to be cut to size still on the side seams but I went ahead and put the piping on and will cut when I'm ready to attach it to the liner.

For the sleeves every strip needed to be sewn, serged turned  right side out and pressed. It was tough doing the sleeves. I started from the bottom up. I did not want the blue strips to gathered so I gathered the lower sleeve and pinned it to the arm band. I then turned it right side out and visually placed the strips. I did the same for the upper part of the sleeves. I also had to leave a little room for the poof and arm movement. They turned  out well. The arm bands won't be finished until I attach the lining. I hand sew the sleeves for a seamless finish.

My downfalls have been I cut the skirt incorrectly! I have been so busy studying the bodice that I honestly I didn't pay much attention to the skirt. I knew it was a long skirt and I cut a floor length skirt. When I looked at other pictures of  Disneyland's Snow White it is a long FULL skirt. So I wasted some silk and had to buy more. OUCH! Hopefully it won't be a total waste. I plan on finishing it and add a top to list on my Etsy site. I will post it here later.

My next downfall was I busted my serger's needle plate! That cost me time and money! $45.00! Lucky for me there is a sew & vac kind of close. Unlucky for me I could of gotten it on Ebay for $15.00 if I didn't need it right away.

I wanted to ship this by Friday but with the skirt mess up I have to wait for the new fabric. Tomorrow night's posting should have a completed bodice with collar! I've cut the collar but haven't worked out exactly how I'm going to attach it so it stands up correctly. I have an idea but will have to wait to see if it works like I think it should.

Snow White Cape & Head Piece

Without anymore rush orders I'm concentrating on the Snow White Costume. You know if you were asked to make a Snow White costume the first thing you would want to make is the cape! I needed a plush button, knowing I would never be able to find one that matched my fabric I created one myself with an oversized button, some stuffing fill and the velvet fabric of the cape itself. I used my packing tape for the pattern. It gave me the perfect circle. It was a pain to serge a perfect circle but it can be accomplished. Wouldn't want it to fray later on. 

Here is the finished cape.

I completed the head piece. It turned out really good. I used a store bought headband and sewed a strip of the red silk the width of the headband plus a little extra for the seam allowance. The bow is just a rectangular shape with a smaller rectangular shape for the center. Because Snow White's bow stands up I sewed it to the headband but also reinforced it with glue.

I don't know if I want to work on the skirt or bodice (which is cut except the lining). I can't do the collar until the bodice is complete so I know how long it needs to be.

Halter Dress Complete

This dress was so much fun to create! I loved her idea of the removable halter straps, but had to do a little more than that :)

First Voile is rather thin so for the bodice I not only did a liner but an underlining as well with muslin fabric. The muslin is thicker than the the voile.

I put the boning on the underlining instead of the lining. You can see how I put the casing together below and what it looks like completed on the dress form.

For the dress I wanted to incorporate as much of the border trim great colors to the dress itself. I intially was going to just have a beige bodice but it seem so dull. POW you have color at the bottom then your eyes go up and blah. So I used some of this fabulous color for the straps and the little collar. The straps button to the bodice. 

This isn't enough. The mid section looks boring so I created this functional sash that is going to give this little dress all kinds of great looks!

Nice little ruching on the beige section, but at the same time you can wrap some color to the front if you want.

How about taking that same wrap and bring it up to the top.

Here is a pictured with the ruched bodice with the straps attached.

One more splash of color I thought with a neat little skirt like this it needed some semi-hidden pockets:

I will be shipping it tomorrow and hope she loves it. I think it is not only classy but unique! There are so many ways she will be able to wear this dress.

Next order a flowy halter dress

This one should be fun. Here is her request:

-A classy (not cutesy) dress that can be worn to an upcoming summer wedding and for years to come.

-Strapless with a removable halter that doesn't look removable. I used to have a dress with a halter strap that buttoned on and off and I loved how it was wearable two different ways.

-A really fun full skirt with a lining layer underneath- this is definitely the part that I want the most!

-I'm not sure what kind of neckline- possibly a sweetheart? Something tasteful that doesn't make it look like the girls are strapped in and suffocated or add more volume to an area that doesn't need any extra.

-I have to be able to fit a bra (strapless or halter, I have several interchangeable kinds) underneath without it being horribly obvious.
 

Here are the inspiration photos:

I like them both but this is not a replication. She sent me a sketch too but I'm not going to post her sketch without her permission.

Here is the fabric she picked out. She wanted light weight and breezy and this is! It is a voile fabric. Because voile is thin I will be lining the entire dress. It has a neat boarder which I'm going to keep at the bottom of the skirt and use the beige for the bodice. I will also use the boarder for a sash. I haven't decided the bust line yet. I like the looks of the beige one but not sure if it would be a good option for going strapless. I could bone the top of it for support or maybe at the side seams. hmmm.... I think I need some cookie dough ice cream to help me decide.

 

Silk dress completed and shipped!

I took some pictures on a mannequin instead of the form It looks better. I don't know what it is about the forms but they just don't do justice to the outfits sometimes. Or maybe I'm just making excuses because I don't know how to take a good picture.

I know she wanted simple but it seemed like it needed a little something so I threw in a rose corsage. She can wear it in the middle or off to the side as pictured. I'm beginning to like to make these roses! This one turned out real pretty combining two colors for the leaves.

Isn't my little fairy pretty?

My little sister's newest costume

OMG I'm stopping adult fashion to make costumes. Just kidding! Well sort of. I love making costumes too. I do get to make a cat costume with some minky leopard fabric. Stay tuned later for that. I have other orders to deal with. Blah blah I just wanted to show off my sister's adorable skunk costume. Be sure to visit her shop if you have little ones. Endless Imagination. I keep pushing her yeah get busy sis I know you're reading this :) OK enough of my blabbering here is the skunk: