Dress Progress First Week of January

I'm starting to understand how much work there is left on my dress!  At the same time I am seeing it come together, the amount of handwork is pretty daunting.  For example, for each seam that gets sewn by machine, here is what happens by hand:

1. Baste the seamlines (2x...once per side)
2. Baste the seam (once)
3. After machine sewing, pick out all the basting thread.  The better the sewing, the longer this takes.
4. Overcast raw edges (2x...once per side)
5. Catchstitch seam allowances (2x...once per side)

So, that's A LOT of work per seam.  Phew!  This weekend I sewed 14 seams, so at up to 5 hours per seam after the machine sewing, that's a whole lot of handwork.  I am going to be out of town next weekend, but you can bet that my handwork will be coming with me!


The easiest way to track progress at the moment is by checking out the Crafty To-Do List.  I finished the foundation (mostly), cut out the  lining, embroidered it, including the buttonholes for the waist stay, and made the waist stay.

Here's a few photos with some captions...

I decided on a slightly more classic design for the embroidery.  It's the flower I designed, but my initials and wedding date in addition to the flower.  This is right after embroidery before removing the stabilizer.

This is after I removed the stabilizer.  It was quite a set of experiments to find out the right way to do the button hole, but in the end, I created on using Stitch Era Universal and using the tear away stabilizer.  Looks great!

And that's the waist stay!  I think it's pretty!