Project Wedding Dress: Muslin Woes

After all the fiddliness of altering the pattern, I was really surprised at how quickly the dress muslin came together.  This might be the easiest pattern I've ever sewed.  The skirt isn't even gathered . . .  and just so you all know, gathering is a pain in the ass.

Here she is in all her cheap cotton glory . . .

Right away, I notice issues that need correction.*

All photos by me unless noted

 First, I made the boning channels just a little too small which means that the boning in the front especially really did not want to lie flat.

Second, my regular strapless bra is just not going to cut it in a top this close fitting.  I need a bustier.  Dammit.

Third, I have way too much room in the top which equals gaping.

Fourth, which you can really see in this side shot (where I apparently was trying to imitate Kate Winslet in Titanic), The bodice is just a little too big which caused a little pleating and blousing at the waist.

Fifth, linebacker shoulders are in full effect.  This shot right here has me considering sleeves.

Sixth, I am either short or the garment industry in general thinks everyone is six feet tall.  This skirt is supposed to be tea length.  On me it's dragging three inches on the floor.

What do you think?  Remember-it's supposed to look like this little number here . . .

Source

I didn't do all the finishing details on a muslin.  That would be crazy since I really need to focus on the foundation and the fit.  So this dress is basically the lining without the tulle ruffle or the horsehair braid to make the skirt stand out.  I also didn't include the pockets in the muslin because I wasn't sure the side seams would match up the way I wanted them to.  The pleating will be an easier detail and it doesn't even necessarily require a pattern.

With a less full skirt and a flower detail, it could be a Mimi.

Source

And I'm thinking that if I just can't deal with my bra situation or my linebacker shoulders, I might go a sleeve option with more coverage, I can add a lightly lined overlay like the Escalante.

Source

The muslin looks like crap but I am very excited because the shape that I want is there and I know how to fix it.  I detached it from the skirt and I'm already making improvements.  I'll show you that travesty later on.

*Now I will only subject you all to my personal lumpiness in the interest of a loftier goal.

Project Wedding Dress: Altering the Skirt Pattern

So I had to make room for my boobage in the top and ended up adding quite a bit of width all around.  I had to translate those changes to the skirt portion as well.

I started with the regular pattern pieces, measured my waist, and did a little more slashing and spreading to make the necessary adjustments.

I ended up adding about six inches in the front.  I filled in the gaps with that gift that keeps on giving. . . freezer paper.

Now it's time to sew up my first muslin.

Project Wedding Dress: Fitting the Pattern

Remember Plan B?

I am pleased to announce that we are a go!  My unaltered muslin of the bodice just was not happening, so I went back to the pattern and used my handy freezer paper to make some adjustments.

Most patterns are drafted with a B cup bust.  And, well, I have way more than that up top.  I measured my bust and decided to try a full bust adjustment because the difference would make up a lot of those inches in the back.  I followed these instructions from Sew, Mama, Sew! for how to make a full bust adjustment on princess seams.  If you want to try this yourself, I suggest you follow her tutorial, since she has respectable and clear pictures without all the background clutter that I have here.

First, here is the unaltered pattern which I laid out for tracing.  You can kind of see how slight the curve is so really, I should have known this was not going to handle my bust.

Note: lay out your pattern pieces the same way you would on actual fabric.  If it says cut on fold or cut two, for example, go ahead and do that.  Here is a traced off piece.  Also, make sure you label them once you trace them.  I also had to do some fiddling to find the bust point since it wasn't marked on my pattern.  (Fiddling equals eyeballing and boobage poking.)

And here, is the final bodice side front.  I spread like five inches here.

You also want to make sure that you lengthen the bodice front as required.  Here is the altered bodice side front as compared to the bodice front.  See how it is longer.

Here it is evened out.  You want to spread the same distance so don't just eyeball this.  Measure.

Now it's time to put your paper pieces together.  Follow the seam allowances called for in the pattern.  I tried to stitch mine on the sewing machine.  People stitch paper right?  That didn't work well for me, but you might want to try it yourself.  My stitches were so close together that it ended up kind of cutting the paper.  I ended up pin fitting it along the sides.

Pin fitting on pattern tissue sucks, but freezer paper didn't tear or rip unless I applied focused force so it worked out pretty well.

The finished product.  Easing the curves in creates the bodice curve.

Here it is on me.  I didn't put a zipper in or anything but I did put on my strapless bra to try it.  This was just to pin fit the pattern.

This is a much better fit than the first, unaltered muslin.  It comes up higher in the front and fully covers my breast.  More to the point, it now meets in the back.

Next steps:

I need to take this apart and retrace these altered pieces and transfer and relocate markings. 

I think I'm going to buy some plain muslin to fit as well so I can have a nice clear background and to get a better feel for how it looks along the upper edges and pin out any extra fabric.

I also have plans for sweethearting the bodice front. 

Then, I think I will probably add more boning and more support to the bodice than the pattern calls for. 

I also think I'm going to use a skirt from another pattern so hopefully I will only need to adjust for length there.

Then . . . I will take apart that muslin and use those pieces to cut out the pattern for the real deal wedding dress.  Definitely a long way to go but I'm excited to be making progress.

Fitting Woes . . . and Plan B

You might recall that I decided, because I'm awesome like that, that I was going to sew my own wedding dress.  You might recall this dress from my inspiration post.

Source

I love this dress.  It's a strapless A-line, sweetheart neckline, cummberbund detail that could give me the illusion of a waist, and pockets! It's looks so light and airy.  (I also can not find the name or style to save my life.  It's a Watters gown and the Mojave looks the most similar.)  I was thinking about making a short version . . . and I still might, but I might go long for the wedding.  Why?  Well, in my mind that means I don't have to worry about shoes.  I like that option.  I am tempted to go for white for the same reasons and also because I'm having trouble finding fabric in a shade of pink I like.

I went shopping at Jo-anns during a pattern sale and I found this.

Source

The bones are there. Just disregard the tulle, the ribbons, and the fake flowers.  I will admit though that an organza overlay might be the business--and a nice fit for obnoxious baby pink.  It doesn't have a sweetheart neckline or pockets, but pockets are an easy fix and I think I could play around with the neckline a little as well.

The only problem?  The largest size doesn't fit--by like a lot.  (Insert horrified face here)

I couldn't wait too long to get my hands into it, so I went ahead and cut it out of a sheet I bought from goodwill to fit the pattern.  The bodice covers my boobs, but it doesn't come close to meeting in the back.  Agony! Defeat.  This thing must run pretty true to size because in the past I could always make it work.  I didn't take any pictures of that first fitting . . .  but I will as I go on.  Because I'm not giving up on dream dress.

I have a plan.  And that plan involves freezer paper.

Source

 I am going to make this dress fit.  I think a full bust adjustment and adding a few inches in the back would do it.  However, these call for alterations to the pattern.  I usually skip the pin fitting pattern tissue step because it is fucking ridiculous to try to wear tissue paper.  However, fitting paper would possibly save time in the long run so I thought maybe freezer paper would work better.  It's a little heavier, a little more sturdy.  (It also has all kinds of craft applications)  This could work right?

My plan is to trace my pattern pieces onto the freezer paper and I am going to baste that together on my machine and fit that.  If I can get it right on paper, I'll do another muslin and if it looks right in cloth, then I'll order the good stuff and get to work on that.

World domination would probably be easier . . . but as I can barely find that dress on Google image search it's the best I got!

Dressperation? The DRESS Unplugged? Eff It. . . This Post is About my Plans for the Procurement of a Wedding Dress

It ain't cute but it gets the job done.

So . . . wedding dresses.  They can cost the Earth, even at a classy establishment like David's Bridal.  I don't particularly relish the idea of repeating my dress shopping experience and I have a sneaking suspicion that what I want exists in my size only in my head.  What's a girl to do?

Well . . . if she's somewhat handy with a sewing machine she could consider doing it herself.  Which is what I'm going to do.

So what does this dream of mine look like?  Feast your eyes on this little number.

1, 2, 3, 4

My wedding dress inspiration.

Number one is a short pale yellow silk with an attractively poofy skirt that illustrates the length I want.  Number two is the one that I have dirty, dirty dreams about.  Pockets, a sweetheart neckline and some cumberbundy action around the waist that I find oddly attractive.  Three is a sleeve option I like if I punk out and want to cover it up some.  Four is a color story I'm particularly in love with.  Also, I have a deep appreciation for the use of what looks like eyelet.

To summarize, I want short, poofy, clean lines and very, very pale pink.  My plan is to Frankenstein a couple of patterns together and play with them until I get the look I want.

What do you think?

Great White!: Wedding Dress Shopping

I went to a bridal expo and was immediately ambushed by David's Bridal representatives.  Hence. . .  the appointment to try on dresses.

In the interest of full disclosure, I really was not looking forward to this experience.  I've watched enough Say Yes to the Dress and read enough wedding blogs to know that wedding dress shopping while plus-sized is something of a mine field because of sample sizes that don't fit, undergarments that won't work, etc.

I was not, however, prepared for the sheer intimidation of walking into a store, being interrogated by a creepy Barbie doll, and penned into a mirror-less dressing room to be brought merchandise, then ushered into a MIRRORED HALLWAY to view these ill-fitting masterpieces from all angles in the company of God knows who else.

Traumatized.  Party of one.  Thank God Wes came with me because I totally had a mini panic attack.  I hate to cut and run in front of witnesses so I pressed on.

Enough talk . . . show me the dress porn.

The creepy Barbie lady gave us a catalog and we marked dresses that we liked.  I had already cruised the website for the possibilities and I was feeling somewhat optimistic at that point because David's does offer a large selection of plus sized wedding gowns.  Or so I thought.  We marked ten or fifteen dresses because I had no idea what silouhette might look good on me or what I might like.

Of all the dresses we marked, they had TWO that we liked.  Uh huh.  I know.

Dress the first: Style 9T9948

Source

This is a tea length strapless lace number with a little lace shrug.  They had it in ivory and a size twenty.  Um.  No.  I know that not every dress would be in my size but as a carrier of triple Ds, a size twenty wouldn't even cover enough of my chest to decently come out of the dressing room.  It's a gorgeous dress but it was also a little more ornate then I thought it would be from the picture.  In addition to the lace, it also has beading and I'm still ixnay on the beading, sequins, crystal train.  Also . . . tea length on me = down to my ankles, lol.  The dress was so long on me that our consultant (very nice and sweet by the way) was struck momentarily speechless.

Dress the Second: Style 9T8778

Source

This is Wes' pick.  Clean lines, simple, option of a colored sash.  This one they had in a size that actually fit.  I was pleasantly surprised by how secure I felt in it and that strapless did not make me look like a linebacker.  It did fit well enough though that the only alteration I would need would be hemming.  We also liked the option to add color with the sash option and our consultant was nice enough to bring us one in the green shade we liked to see how it looked.

What was less pleasant is how heavy this dress felt.  Really, it was like the dress was standing on the floor and I just happened to be inside it.  Also, it was a little too white and a little too imposing for the wedding that we're planning.

Those are the two they had of the ones we picked.  Our consultant was a trooper though and she brought us more styles to try.  Most of them were similar to the second one in that they were very full skirted A-line dresses.  One had a corset back and one had off the shoulder straps but beyond those details they looked the same to me.  She did also bring out this little number when I reiterated casual and short . . .

Dress the Third: Style N9781

Source

It has to be said . . . I looked kind of hot in this dress.  This dress gave me hips and a little boom in the back too.  Also, my legs looked great in it and the length was pretty perfect.  In a color it would definately be the most ultimate party wear.

But . . . it's not my wedding dress.  Back to the drawing board.

About The DRESS

I have a theory about big white dresses that is intimately related to my theories about white eyeshadow and white stockings.

Everything ain't for everybody.

To me, big white dress=parade float.  Or barge.  More to the point, big white dress + big ole boobs + linebacker shoulders = floating nightmare.

Since I happen to possess said boobs and shoulders my presentation from the front is already what we might call formidable.  So, how to dress it for the big day?

No ballgowns.  No pickups.  Nothing marshmallow-y.  Not me.

No beading. No sequins.  Not me.  Also, sequins on a bodice? Will slice the hell out of your upper arms.

We are getting married in a state park, outside, weather permitting so I like casual.  I like short.  I'm short (Wes-AVERAGE height for a woman) so short dress suits me.

Not tea length-on me that is a little too short of ankle length to look deliberate.

Not white.  I'm cute with a baby face and all but I'd feel ridiculous trying to pull of virginal and white just says virginal to me.

So what do I like?

I like strapless but I'd have to see how the girls look.  I like pockets.  I like the idea of blush with a white overlay.  I like the idea of colored crinolines.  I think I kind of want to look like a cupcake.

I have an idea . . . but no real idea.  I have an appointment to try on dresses at David's Bridal (gasp!)this week.  I plan to try on some different styles and see what I feel most comfortable in and what looks the best on me.