Next step was the lace selection and Paige wanted a mint color lace (popular for spring). She looked at the incredible laces on Mood Fabric's online shop and we knew Mood had an even a wider selection at their at their store in NYC and LA. Then the best thing ever happened, Oonaballoona and Carolyn, volunteered to go the NYC store and take pictures of laces for us. We emailed them what we were looking for and all morning they sent pictures to our phones. I would look, ooh and aahh and then forward the picture to Paige.
This is the lace Paige selected, the perfect mint color and a beautiful lace pattern.
The pattern Paige picked was McCall's 6699
I ordered the lace, a matching silk charmeuse for the lining, a yellow silk taffeta for the waistband the the back slit, thread and a matching mint invisible zipper. The fabric arrived and the mint lace was incredible, a soft hand and wonderful design, this started my excitement for the dress, such perfect fabric.
I went to work on the muslin first to perfect the fit. This step took a few tries. The muslin was perfect in the hips and waist but a bit tight in the bust and Paige commented very tight in the armscye. My first thought was the seam allowance was not removed in the armscye, so I stitched the seam and trimmed close to the stitching. I mailed this muslin to Paige and the bust fit better but the armsyce still tight. I pullled out the fitting books and found that she is probably long from the shoulders to the bottom of the armscye. The suggested fix was to add length at the upper chest and then the corresponding sleeve area. Since I did not have a sleeve, I just added to the shoulder seam and raised the neckline accordingly. Yes, this was the perfect adjustment. Paige sometimes states RTW is tight in the shoulders and she moves her arms around trying to figure out where it is tight. Now we both wonder if it is more with this fitting issue.
Muslin out of the way, it was time to cut. Oh, I tell you I was so nervous cutting into this fabric but all went well and it didn't take long with so few pieces.
Next step was to baste the lace to the silk, I used some of my weights to keep all the fabric in place.
After basting the layers and the darts, I serged around both layers to keep the lace from fraying.
I was so pleased with the invisible zipper insertion. Whew, I didn't have to unsew! On hindsight, I probably should of used a lap zipper (Carolyn stated the same thoughts). The zipper wants to catch in one place, right above the yellow waistband. If this dress was to worn frequently it might be more of an issue but it will be a special occasion garment so the zipper won't be used as much.
I have sewn lace one time before (BWOF jacket), so it wasn't something I had much experience doing but I loved the sewing steps, each one brought more satisfaction in the garment. The only part I was nervous about was the final fitting, oh I hoped it fit Paige perfectly. We both had last Friday off, so I drove the couple hours to her house for the moment of truth.
It fit perfectly and the mint color looks gorgeous on her.
I think the yellow is just the right accent color for the mint. The bodice is fully lined on the dress, while the skirt is just underlined with the silk.
A closer view of the dress
Another picture of this stunning dress on my beautiful girl, this shows the bust darts and waist darts on the skirt
A fun feature of the pattern and a way to showcase the yellow fabric is the turned-back slit on the skirt
a bit closer of the slit and fabric.
This dress was fun to sew and the only thing I had to work on three times was the hem, I just wasn't pleased with the way it would hang. You know what they say, third time was a charm!
Paige was so happy with her dress and I was so happy to sew it for her. Paige isn't one to ask for many things, so when she asked for this dress, I was more than happy to do it.
Head over to Mood Sewing Network and see all the fabulous lace garments. Thanks.
