Bridesmaid Dress: It Turned Out OK.

Here's a short sewing interlude before I start catching up on all the new-house-related projects Mr. Mac and I have been working on.  My best friend B of Reviving the Hondamatic got married last Saturday at a farm on beautiful Whidbey Island, and I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid!  I shopped downtown Seattle for an appropriate dress, but sage green is not this summer's hit color, it turns out.  So I decided to buy fabric and make my own.  I went to Pacific Fabrics Outlet and chose a couple of yards of green cotton and this pattern.  Unfortunately, I neglected to check the size chart and bought the wrong pattern size.  Whoops.  I consulted the Internet and foolishly decided to try it without a pattern.  I calculated, measured, and cut panels for a simple skirt and bodice.

And then I sewed the panels together.  The result was a saggy, baggy, shapeless mess.  I don't have the words to describe it properly, because hideous and disappointing don't do it justice.  That's when I decided to alter my store-bought pattern and Make It Work.  I went back to the fabric store, where they had run out of my original fabric, and bought a patterned green fabric, which I hoped would look good with the original.  I used the patterned fabric to make a pleated waistband, then cut it to fit my altered pattern.  

Since I had run out of my solid green fabric, I decided to make a paneled skirt using the patterned green fabric.

Then I followed the pattern and constructed the lined bodice.  My first ever lined garment...it went ok!  The armholes were slightly wrinkly, but I wasn't about to tear them out and do it again.  I applied interfacing to the waistband and attached it to the bodice.  The pleats in the center of the bodice were my own addition...when I altered the pattern I made the pieces slightly too big (better than too small, but still a problem).  I had to do a bit of messing with it to make it fit.  

Next I attached the skirt to the waistband.  Again, more pleating and ootching to make it fit.  My pleats were not ideally placed, as I found out when I tried it on, but a little too much emphasis on my belly pooch was the least of my problems.

It took me THREE tries to insert the zipper.  Damn and blast, that was annoying.  The first time my bobbin ran out.  The second time I got part of the skirt stuck in my stitching.  Obviously I am not a professional and need some practice.  

The finished product!  It started life as a Frankenstien's monster of a dress, patched and pleated and brought to life with sweat, tears, and a couple of drops of blood from when I stuck myself with a pin.  But in the end it turned out just fine, the bride was gorgeous, the ceremony was beautiful, we had a great time on the farm, and it was a wonderful day on Whidbey.