Molly's Dress (an Update)

One of my daughters snapped me working away - I'm still beading!

I really thought it'd be "Drumroll Please!" tonight, but alas the beading of the bodice is taking much longer than I thought. No matter, I'd rather do it properly. Also, it gives me a chance to tell you about the gorgeous thing that happened yesterday.

Firstly, I have to confess that, in the world of sewing, hems are just not my thing. They are so taken for granted; hardly noticed unless there's a problem. It amazes me how dressmakers do it. So... no surprises then that I've had a lot of problems with the hem of Molly's dress. Yup, this is a pic of my very sad effort at pinning the hem... (This has to be character building!)

Dog's breakfast is the term that comes to mind. 

Anyway, I went through my email list in search of advice. Rosie was extremely helpful with her subtle hint of the "don't pin it, tack it with thread!" variety. This made perfect sense - the weight of the pins distorts the drop of the fabric. (Thanks Rosie!)

Then, my lovely friend Maria rang with an irrefusable offer. Her mum, Geraldina, who used to be a tailoress, had offered to "have a look". Can I just say here that the gorgeous Geraldina is one of my most favourite people in the world? Not only did she have a look, she folded and tacked and worked her magic on that fabric with a skill and sureness that had me totally in awe. I couldn't help thinking it was like communicating with someone fluent in a language with which I'm still feeling my way (literally!). She is a maestro! (Is there a female word for maestro?)

Anyway, introducing the maestro...

She is such a beautiful person. I was humbled but determined that this hem would be finished by me so I trotted home and... viola! the hem is done and it looks great. Thank you so much Geraldina!

Molly's Dress (work in progress)

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I found myself agreeing to make the formal dress of the lovely miss Molly. (I think it was meeting such a lovely 16 year old and getting all carried away with talk about which fabrics and styles etc!) 

I have cursed that decision many times over the past couple of weeks... not because of Molly... but what was I thinking?! I've never attempted anything this grand before and have had a mounting feeling of doom about wrecking Molly's formal. 

For the first week I just stared at the fabric, terrified of cutting (and destroying!). Then my terror turned on the deadline and I jumped into it, not entirely relaxed until I'd made my first mistake (!) and then I was fine. :)

I think I truly relaxed just moments ago when I reached this stage - all the planning about which part needs to be sewn first etc is done - just zip, hem and embroidery on the tulle bodice to go.