Finishing the red rayon dress + photoshoot prep

Good news! Except for sewing in the shoulder pads, Cathy's new frock is finished.



Rather than hem the short sleeves, I added my own bias tape.  It gives the sleeve edges a bit more heft.



As you can see up top, I also made a self-fabric belt.  It's faced with a poly charmeuse I wish I had never bought -- it's too thick for most projects.



We're going with the red gloves, I think, and some tasteful bling.



With the summer sun and Cathy's fair complexion, a picture hat is a must.  But Cathy's only light-colored summer hat is a shapeless affair with more of a Thirties feeling than a Forties.  What to do?



I happened to have some wire specifically made for hat brims, purchased back when I thought I might try making my own vintage-style hats, which never happened.



I measured the circumference of the hat, cut off a piece of wire, and stitched it to the hat edge with a dense zigzag stitch.  Now I could shape the hat how I wanted and the shape would hold.





What I wanted was something like this -- quick, name that movie!





Here's what I was able to come up with -- still a work in progress but getting there.





If Cathy doesn't oversleep or break out in hives, we're shooting this outfit tomorrow; please pray for partially sunny skies and cool river breezes.  If all goes well, we may shoot some video for Sunday's vlog -- Cathy's film debut!

Finally, I couldn't resist this well-priced accessories pattern on eBay yesterday -- I blame my cousin.



Have a great day, everybody!