Friday, June 25, 2010

Fitting the muslin! - June 24, 2010

6/25/10

Hi all!

So yesterday at lunch, my friend Erin's mother-in-law Temi and aunt Zoja stopped by my office--taking time out of their vacation--to help me fit my muslin.  I admit I was nervous to have a real sewer look at my work so far...are my seams straight enough, my pressing passable, or is my entire effort so far just laughable in general?  Luckily, it seems that my budding sewing skills are off to a great start, because everything went fine, and we had a bunch of fun for the hour or so it took to fit the muslin.  I don't have any pictures of us fitting the dress--we were in the locker room of our gym, for Pete's sake--but as soon as I get back from my vacation, I will take some pictures of the pinned and marked muslin.

First, we fitted the foundation.  All three layers of the dress had to be taken in about 2 inches in the circumference.  I am not sad about that!  I hope I have to take it in another 2 inches before the year is out.  :-)  Also, it turns out my waist is about 2 inches higher than the average person's, so closer to my bust than my belly button.  We got some ideas on how long the foundation should be--not to long that it bunches up when I sit, but not so short that I have to worry about sucking it in when I sit. 

Next, we fitted the lining.  We decided to fit the waist to thigh portion of the dress a bit more than a conventional A-line dress.  If you have the curves, why not show them off, right?  And, if the skirt starts to flare at my natural waist, it looks weird. 

After the lining, we fitted the dress itself.  The train is a nice short sweep length, and I will likely be bustling it with a French bustle.  But I will save the experimenting with that for another day (or month, more likely).  For the hem length, we pinned the front about 1/2 inch off the ground, so I won't step on it when I'm walking.  Luckily the ruffles inside also help to prevent stepping on the dress.  I had my actual shoes with me, so we used those when choosing the length. 

Finally, Temi and Zoja taught me how to sit and stand in such a complicated dress, very helpful indeed!  I was made to practice, and now I've got it down.  Well, I could be a bit more graceful, at the moment I look like I'm moving boxes, but all will come in good time.  But, at least I don't need to worry about just plopping myself down in a chair on my wedding day and causing a wardrobe malfunction.

Many many thanks are owed to my gracious fitters.  Thank you Temi and Zoja!!!!

I am really excited to continue working on my dress.  I finished the right sleeve of my wrap on Wednesday evening, so all that's left are the shoulder, side, and armhole seams, and I'll be finished.  Cool.

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