Readers, a word of advice: never say you'll make a dress for somebody, assuming that by the time you get around to it they will have forgotten. THEY WILL NOT FORGET. And you must make the dress.
Some of my younger readers with sharper memories may remember that back in October, my sister-in-law, Prachee (that's her up top) asked me to make her a dress -- or I offered; I can't remember which. In any case, she even sent me a photo of a dress she saw on Madison Avenue that she wanted me to copy. It's this:
When she and my brother went to India last December, she came back with fabric for the dress. (She means business.) So yesterday, after a belated birthday lunch with them, she came over and I took her measurements.
She's basically a contemporary pattern size 12 pattern (or very close) and in my stash I happened to have a size 12 Vogue sloper I picked up a long time ago at the flea market along with a bundle of other old patterns. It goes to show you: you never know when these things are going to come in handy. Have you ever made a commercial sloper? Do they even still sell these things?
Anyway, this morning I searched for the fabric she brought back from India and I couldn't find it anywhere. I don't know how you organize your fabric stash but mine is a bit of a mess. Won't you join me on a quick tour?
This is what my stash looks like on a good day.
I used to have one box that was just old sheets for making muslins, another for old muslins I was saving, another for fabric people have sent me, another for large pieces left over from projects, etc., but somehow everything has gotten a bit mixed up.
Within a few of the boxes are bags with assorted stillborn projects. Remember Mom's skirt? Eek!
How about Michael's suit? (Belch)
What's this vintage dead stock long-line bra doing here?
Still couldn't find Prachee's fabric; I looked everywhere!
Then, right on my bedside table next to the printer, in a clear plastic bag, there was the fabric and trim! It's sort of a coarse gray silk.
We'll see if this works for the dress or not. It's a little stiff, imo and the trim is just OK. We may want to upgrade...
I hope to have a muslin for her to try on by next Tuesday (that's when we're scheduled for a fitting). And then we'll take it from there.
Readers, two questions, no three:
1) Have you ever made a dress for your sister-in-law?
2) Was it a positive experience?
3) Do you store your fabric in well-labeled boxes, all neat and everything?
I feel fortunate that Prachee will probably be a pretty easy fit and the sheath-like dress shouldn't be too difficult to pull off, right? Right? I know one thing for sure: I must make this dress.
Have a great day, everybody!
I made dresses for my mother-in-law. No fitting possible as she was in Albany and I was in Ohio. Muumuu's and skimmers, getting progressively shorter as she lost height.
ReplyDeleteMy stash was one neatly rolled and stored so I could see the tops of things. In the last 15 years, people donated to my stash as a rate faster than I can sew. I've moved twice, and now am constantly surprised by what i find in my unlabeled boxes.
i would never make a dress for my sisters in law ! no way !
ReplyDeleteAnd my stash... It is in a closet... That's it...
Every now and then I try to make nice sharp bundles of it but after two days it is a mess again.
1) Not a sister-in-law technically speaking, but I did sew/knit several items for the Sisters of a Former Boyfriend, and recently sewed for...the Current Girlfriend of an Ex-Girlfriend? Is that weird? Probably.
ReplyDelete2) Yes on all counts, actually. I really enjoy sewing for others, because it provides a good dose of variety in my craftlife--the challenge of fitting a different body, as well as that of, usually, sewing something completely different in style from what I'd put on myself, is really satisfying for me. I find I tend to get in a style rut with the clothing I make for myself, using the same silhouettes over and over (hey, below-knee wiggle dress; how's it going, kneelength dirndl skirt; what up, ridiculous modified men's dress shirt) and attempting to fulfill someone else's style vision puts a new spin on things.
3)No. The half my stash I moved with me for the year is in a hamper under my not-even-vaguely-clear sewing table; the half I stored while I'm in the states is vaguely rolled and imprecisely folded, then shoved willy-nilly into the trunk my roommates and I use as a TV/media table.
Peter, I sew for other people but I don't promise ANYTHING, ever. When people get sewn gifts it will always be a surprise, that way there are no expectations. Plus it's so hard with these custom pieces to truly match the vision someone has in their mind.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of fabric storage, one of the joys of the NYC apartment is that it will never be perfect. I'm starting to accept that fact...
The stash was getting so unwieldy I finally broke down and got more bins so things could be all organized and labeled. It is much better now.
ReplyDeleteI have sewn for myself, my sister, and my mom. Fitting others is easier than fitting yourself, as you can have a 360 view, but getting others to stand still during a fitting can be a challenge! I am doing some costumes for non-relatives for the first time this year. I sort of enjoy it, but then I am always happy to get back sewing for me!
I told my good friend who's a nurse that I'd love to make some scrubs for her. Easy right? well, yes, but she brought me a top to copy which includes welt pockets (my first attempt was only so-so), and I haven't made it past the muslin and fitting. She brought me 3 different fabrics. This project has been going on for months...
ReplyDeletenever again. I'm not sewing for other people (except that negroni for my husband). It's just not as much fun.
Yes, it's an agonizing chore and I know once you finally get it done you won't ever do it again!!!
DeleteBack in the early '80s, my then sister-in-law was having conflicted feelings about her upcoming wedding. She kept putting off finishing her wedding dress. Finally, at 11PM on the night before her morning wedding, she called me in tears because she still had so much to sew and no hope of finishing. So I drove out to her house and stayed up until 5 AM sewing until we had a finished wedding gown. She looked beautiful in it. Her maid of honor had large dark circles under her eyes and kept yawning.
ReplyDeleteIt's now thirty years later and they've been divorced longer than they were married. People, if you find yourself unable to carry out your wedding plans, do yourself a favor and call the whole thing off.
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeleteI have, a few times, successfully softened up stiff silk by machine washing and drying it. *GASP* I know! I don't care! I do machine wash and dry silk sometimes, and I might go to hell for it, but it works!
I have sewn three dresses for my sister-in-law, well two dresses and a skirt/vest outfit. When my husband's mother died 4 years ago, quite suddenly, I felt compelled to offer to sew the projects she had lined up to do. Two pieces of fabric she had intended to sew for herself and one for her daughter. I sewed them all for her daughter. My SIL doesn't sew, so she really appreciated both the effort on my part and also the sentimental value of wearing her mother's fabric. Incidentally, my SIL is a bit difficult to fit, but just enough to make it really satisfying to fit her well.
Lastly, my fabric stash is a sad, sad jumble. My goal now is just to use it up. I'm sewing stuff I may never wear to make good on my new year's resolution to a) sew more often, and b) make my stash smaller.
Wash the silk. You won't regret it.
Thanks for this. I was thinking about washing some silk I have, but I was afraid to ruin it.
DeleteIt will change it. Shouldn't ruin it.
DeleteNo. No. And no...
ReplyDeleteI promised to copy a dress for a friend once, got round to a muslin of the bodice and... she was in the middle of a divorce, losing weight and dropping bust sizes with every fitting, and like the supportive friend that I am, I'm afraid I gave up at that point...
My fabric stash is not only considerably less organised than yours, but it is also divided over three floors, four rooms, some in boxes, some in draws, some in cupboards, and some just plonked wherever I can find a space... No need to say it usually takes me an age to find the fabric I'm after.
I have never made a dress for either of my sisters-in-law, although I have given the one who is mostly my size a dress that I made for myself, and participated in the planning and fabric-buying of a dress for the other one (her mother, who was a professional seamstress, is going to make it, apparently). I don't suppose Prachee would fit Cathy's hand-me-downs, though.
ReplyDeleteYour stash is tame and tidy compared to mine. If I ever disappear from the blogosphere, you will know it's because my stash has finally collapsed upon me and buried me alive...
Wash a five or six inch square of the silk to see what happens first. If it looks fine, toss the whole thing in. My stash is sorta organized. I swatch it to cards and mark with length, width, content and place. Most of the time I can find it, but there are sometimes I have pulled it out and stuffed it back somewhere else. That kind of defeats the purpose of the 3X5 cards and is really annoying.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a pretty simple shift. I'd go for it...just make sure you measure for hi low dart, nothing worse when the dart is too high, or better yet do a princess seam...oh and measure her hips so she has plenty of room when sitting. It'll be a breeze...trust me! She looks really friendly :)
ReplyDeleteLove the silk! If it doesn't work for a dress, wouldn't it make a beautiful opera coat?
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear others have problems sewing for in-laws. I sew for my daughter in law and darned if she isn't a different size every time we try to fit something. Sometimes it changes during the same day..frustrating for her and me!
Hi there, I'm Kelly S. In 1994 I sewed 5 pink lamè bridesmaids dresses for ladies of various sizes. That was THE. LAST. TIME. I ever sewed for someone else. The fitting was a nightmare and the lamè was horrid to sew on. Nope, now I sew just for me, and me only.
ReplyDeleteI've done outfits for colorguard and the dance team.....I feel your pain.
DeleteI have sewn for others. I don't have a sil. Getting them to come for fittings and stay on a reasonable time table was giving me murderous thoughts. At some point I will sew for other adults, but I'm keeping it to kids, quilts and me! Now, who's gonna come over and my make dressform look like me so i can fit myself? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI never seem to make time to sew something for me, probably the fitting thang and the fluffy bod thang lol
Yes, I do store my fabric in well labelled boxes - well now I do, because I just sorted them last week! Previously, however...
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will have fun sewing for Prachee, it is fun and rewarding seeing a client/sister-in-law happy with their new dress. I always made a muslin when sewing for others, even if it is only to satisfy them what the outcome would be like.
Plus, NEVER say anything is going to be simple, because in my experience that is when the sewing gods turn on you and make everything act up, turning the 'simple' project into a nightmare, hehe!
I think the selfish sewist has the right idea.
ReplyDeleteOrganized stash is an oxymoron.
I've sewn for my MIL, my mom, my sister, and two bridesmaids--variable success. I make a point of explaining that hand made may look a bit different from their imagination, and for the most part everything worked great. One memorable mistake: Under pressure from Mom I made a gorgeous Thai silk (handwoven) dress for my sister, even tho she wasn't available to measure. Had to guess at size and guessed wrong, so the dress was way too small, but the didn't dare blame me!!! Good sense on their part, but I was upset. Simpler things ever since, robes & caftans etc. I was given a lovely "breakfast coat" as a wedding gift, made by a friend's mother, and I just loved it. It made me feel "gift wrapped" at breakfast, as she put it, and my sewing for others is also a gift of love. Also a great learning opportunity.
ReplyDeleteMy stash is a disaster as far as organization goes. Too many plastic bins, divided between basement & sewing room, no organization whatsoever, sounds like a summer project. Digital systems here I come, also donations to local sewing groups. Met a real couturiere once who said it's important to really purge the stash periodicially, gat rid of fabrics one really won't ever sew. Sigh. Such good advice.
PS Sorry for typos above! I also sew for my husband, FIL, and for my father when he was still alive. Menswear is easy and fun, involves less tricky fitting, and the guys love it. I've made many robes, vests, shirts, swimwear, plush pullovers and cardigans, pajamas, and a tailored suit out of a wonderful wool tweed. Part of my motive for sewing for DH is to save $$$--the shirts I make him compare to $100 and higher retail, custom fitted and finished. Had fun sewing for my toddler nephews too, including toys and stuffed critters. My beanbag turtles are now entertaining my grand nephew!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'm Katie L. from Idaho. I have sewn for others with varying results. I believe the finished items are always made with lovely fabric, beautifully sewn and fit well. I have a dear friend that I have sewn several items for and given to her as presents. I always take a lot of time with the fitting and the sewing, paying attention to small details. The items have always turned out very nice and have been well received. Sewing for N. is always stressful because she has selective taste and I’m afraid I’ll do something to hork up the finished garment. I've sewn a bit for my husband. Wow! talk about not very appreciative. When the finished product is nothing short of good looking and distinct a turned up nose and discarded garment is kind of hard to take. I’ve also sewn for my mother that lives in another town and is hard to fit. After multiple fittings before completing the garment, the first thing she said was, ‘No, I won’t wear that’. I think what I’ve learned is that it’s always more rewarding to sew for myself. I always love what I sew and wear it with pride. A nice store bought present that can be returned is a lot less stressful, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteMy fabric is stored in a very big trunk from my fathers army times and at good days I might be able to shot it.
ReplyDelete(Remnants are in a second even bigger trunk, bolt and sarees are somewhere down in my wardrobe. Where DH doesn't see them.)
If the silk is to stiff, try to wash it or cut it on bias. Washing often softens silk (try on a sample first), cutting on bias might also give you the result you are looking for.
1. Yes
ReplyDelete2. Yes, it was a joy.
3. No, it's all over my house. I do have shelves where I attempt to be organized. Then my 3 daughters and 9 grandkids come over and all hell breaks loose. Luckily my sons don't sew or it could be worse. I firmly believe creative people tend to be a little messy.
I don't have a sister in law, but I do sew for other people - mostly my husband and kids. I would never want to take requests for a project though, it sounds like to much pressure. I just sew what I want for other people and they either like it or they don't.
ReplyDeleteAs for my stash I did have it in boxes in the closet by type - knits, cotton, bottom weights, wool, etc. I recently moved everything to open shelves, so I can see it all and feel a twinge of guilt every time I go in my sewing space. This is helping me to stop buying more and use what I have.
Best of luck on the sister in law dress!
I have sewn for so many friends and relations that at the fabulous 40th surprise party they threw me, every person in the room singing Leonard Cohen's So Long Maryanne (my name) when I walked in, was wearing something I had made for them!
ReplyDeletePeter, after years of struggling with those plastic bins, I binned them in favour of several two door kitset cupboards. SO much easier to keep track of fabric folded on a shelf. To demonstrate: http://www.amamus-amatis-amant.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/trophy-wife-unplugged.html
Peter,
ReplyDeleteIt seams that we are very much alike: I hate to sew clothes for other people, but I often find myself offering to do it! I must bite my tong! I have luck that hardly ever the person accept or insist on my offer. But lately I had the great idea to make a shirt from scratch for my husband and he got very enthusiastic... I have got yet the fabric and everything I need, but I have no mood to sew it... and as you, now I MUST make this shirt! Aaaaarrrg!
Oh, and to share the experience of sewing for others - I pick my projects and insist on complete artistic control. If I don't like the pattern, fabric or combo, it doesn't happen. Self preservation. :) I have sewn 50 garments for others to one for myself, so the 'otherness' is not the point of difference, it is the relatedness and doing it for free, or peanuts. I want to enjoy sewing, which is hard when you've been a bespoke seamstress, and so I filter out the unenjoyable projects.
ReplyDeleteTop tip for that dress, tape the top seam from strap around to centre back on both sides. It will be the secret to success. Tute here: http://www.amamus-amatis-amant.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-get-neckline-not-to-gape-art-of.html
Sorry about the dual cross blog plug, but sometimes a post is better than a comment for getting something across :)
Oh Peter! Your posts and reviews always make me laugh. I sure don't have a whole drawer of sunglasses nor do I own a wig. I have lots of old bras. Never know when you lose weight they may fit!
ReplyDeleteNever sewed for a sister in law. Have sewn for my oldest daughter, now 37. Her step mom tells me I'm crazy to try as she is fussy. I once made this slinky dress using this great sparkly design in a sheath but I doubt she ever wore it as she had gained weight and it was a bit too tight. In college I made her this dress from $46/ yd hologram fabric. They were discs set on black knit. The colors were amazing. I had silver chunky heels from about 1968 I sent with it. She called it the "disco ball" dress. The good thing is she had friends who wore it to dances even if she didn't.
I don't know why I keep trying but I do. I keep thinking I'll get it right!
I sew for my grandchildren and other daughter. Right now I'm working on some simple clothing for local kids in need.
It looks like a fairly simple design to make up. I think she will love it. Have you read "the selfish seamstress" blogs? I love them!
NO my fabrics are not organized and labeled well! I did start over a year ago so some are in like type fabrics in bins. Some were left stacked on this table and my cat napped on them. I've been sewing much longer than you have. Believe me it gets worse. One thing for me is, I do not save scraps. It has to be fairly large amounts of left over fabric, like 1/4 of a yard to keep.
I love love love liberty of london prints! They are so hard to find and so expensive!
ReplyDeleteI love your dress. Add just a bit of pink/ rose lipstick for your photo sessions. You can experiment with a lipstick liner pencil and go slightly outside the natural lines of your mouth.
I prefer to sew for others (especially daughters). It's easier to fit someone else than myself. Plus, it's easier to enjoy it on someone else. I've also sewed for two dearly loved friends; but not for a sister-in-law -- though I have four of them (two on my side, two on my husbands). I've sewn for my husband and son, too. And my stash is in two states, everything I had up to last year (minus a large amount of purged yardage) was neatly folded and put in a lovely shelved wardrobe. Everything was organized by fabric type and color. Then everything acquired since then is in piles about my messy sewing area, including several hopeful matchings of pattern and fabric to inspire me to get the energy at the end of a long work day to thread up my machine. It's not been working.
ReplyDeleteYes - my fabrics are well organised. I have a spreadsheet (that I try to keep up to date) of what I've got (but no pictures) and where it's stored, so I can use that to find out if I've got enough of something to make a particular pattern. I really should add pictures to the spreadsheet, but that would just be a little TOO OCD even for me. I have three large plastic boxes, plus a set of drawers for the "dancewear" type fabrics, plus a bin with fabric on rolls for when I've got lots of any particular fabric. Then there's the stuff that's just dumped on top of everything else. Oh, and the UFOs are sitting each in its own plastic shopping bag on my sewing table waiting for me to get my sewjo back on them. THere's a grey chiffon dress that DH says I should finish (but I lost interest because the pattern wasn't well explained and seemed to be missing bits) and there's a half-made Wonder Woman costume based on the unaired pilot from last year; if the show had been picked up it would have been a good costume to wear to conventions. Now I'm not so sure...
ReplyDeleteI haven't made anything for my sister in law, but I did make a tshirt at the request of her daughter (my niece). i don't think it was appreciated, and I won't be doing it again in the near future.
1) I made my SIL's wedding gown when she married my brother, it was their wedding present (2nd marriage for both)
ReplyDelete2) Yes she's peach and I adore her
3) I have all of my fabric in a closet by itself outside my sewing room. The closet in my sewing room has the doors removed and has a built in shelf system for storing patterns, trims, books and tools
I made clothes for my kids especially the two girls when they were little. They loved 90 percent of it. I have a 3 generation sewist stash in a large mahogany hope chest that I inherited - this works but inside the hope chest it isn't sorted very well.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, I feel your pain...only I end up making extremely complicated period correct costumes for my son and his Civil War buff friends! Like last November - the memory gives me hives...time constraints and patterns that were not true to size! Anyway, I think you'll have a much easier time of it with the dress for your SIL :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Sewing!
#1 yes, I have happy to do it. #2 no, sadly it wasn't. #3 yes, but I wish I had it in a space where it were easily accessible.
ReplyDeleteWasn't there some sort of hoo-ha around the layout, support, darts, or backside of this dress?
ReplyDeleteAny verdict yet?
On the Q.T.: Is Cathy tight with Prachee, or simply cordial to mask her being quietly miffed that you sew for other relatives?
1) yes, but not a dress, other stuff, different stuff for each of them.
ReplyDelete2) nerve-wracking but yes (mostly nervous that they wouldn't like it)
3) LOL
I have about 1300 yards of fabric living with me, mostly in my garage (which hasn't seen a car in over a decade and never will again). I have 15 big plastic tubs and 12 small ones plus several assorted nice bags. This is all arranged on several large racks. There is also some current project fabric living in my living room. I have every last bit of it inventoried in a Google Docs spreadsheet with images for quite a bit of it along with pertinent details about each fabric - location, amount, colors/designs, source, etc. I can find things pretty easily, but it still isn't too in your face for my husband.
ReplyDeleteAs for sewing for others, I am extremely selective. I love sewing for my children and occasionally for my husband, but I tend to sew for my mom as a surprise or a gift - my offer, not her request. She used to sew a lot herself, so she is appreciative and never pushy about it. She gets it...as for others, no way. Not happening.
How do you keep people off your back begging you to make them something or even worse......to do alterations???!! You know they get wounded when you tell them no! They act like it should be a piece of strawberry shortcake for you and resent it when you don't comply! I don't even tell people I sew just to avoid the attitudes!!!
DeleteMy fabric (half of which I donated earlier this year) is stored by color in stack-able plastic bins with drawers.
ReplyDeleteYour SIL has great taste in fabric. But that's expected, she wouldn't have been allowed to marry into the family otherwise, eh :-)?
ReplyDeleteBut do watch out for old slopers! I don't have Vogue chronology at the ready, but pattern companies change their basic slopers at random intervals, and you won't be able to tell whether you're using something current or not because 1) no dates on patterns 2) no published list of sloper changes, they just hope we don't notice. Disaster looms if you fit an older sloper and expect that to translate to a modern pattern.
I have sewn for other people, and have the stories to prove it--like the girl who got upset that her skirt didn't fit (when she'd lost 10 pounds after the final fitting), or the time someone was shocked that her dress was shorter than she'd envisioned (after she'd brought me Liberty fabric from London w/o taking the smaller width of the fabric into account), or the woman who swore her kimono was different from the one I'd copied it from (it wasn't.) Most folks, including my SIL, are far more appreciative fortunately. My sewing room looks like a bomb went off in it, no lie, and if I ever stop reading all these comments today I just might need to go in there and do something about that...might being the operative word. However, you have no choice but to face your sewing tasks: having published your SILs measurements on the internet, there is now no turning back!
ReplyDeleteI guess I was hoping somebody would take the initiative and sew the dress for me!
DeleteYou wily ole' devil you! Especially since you just had a birthday! LOL!!
DeleteFace the music kiddo.... at least I know I won't be suffering alone when I start cutting out those damn scrub tops!! Curses and curses again!!!!!
The only other person besides myself that I have sewn for is my dd and even then not much as she lives so far away.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started buying fabrics I already had in my stash it was time to organize. I started with a card file, but I lost interest in keeping that up. Then I started a spreadsheet for it, that too went by the wayside. I moved most of my fabrics into stackable totes on shelves in my fabric closet and I bought a labeler. I have things organized by type and in some cases color range. It's easy to peel off a label of a piece I've used and it's easy to add labels. The only problem with this is that I tend to also pile what I'd like to sew with this season on the top of my bookshelf that is in front of the half wall overlooking my dining room. Not exactly a great view from below. So I'm half organized. It's time to put things away and take out a current grouping only.
Oh, that silk will soften if you wash it. I'd test it out first and see if you like what washing does to it. It will remove some of the sheen.
ReplyDelete1. other than mending the DH and DS's clothes, no
ReplyDelete2. doesn't really apply, although the guys do keep wearing the clothes after I'm done mending. and keep bringing more. maybe I mend too well?
3. had you asked this question about 2 years ago, I could have said "yes" with a straight face. Since then, I've reverted to stuffing fabric in where it fits.
How timely! I've just been culling and sorting and organizing my stash! Feels totally cathartic.
ReplyDeleteI have done a bit of sewing for some of my family, but try not to make it a habit!
Those patterns are still sold, and unfortunately still come in one size only! So if you've made a mistake regarding size, you're out of luck if you've already opened the pattern tissue!
Have fun making this dress! I can't wait to see it in process...and done.
Sorry, me again.
DeleteI've made a few dresses for a close relative, and she's so very happy and grateful that it makes me feel good, even if I hate doing it after I've started and before I've finished (and always vow "Never Again!").
ReplyDeleteAs sewist we all know what "The Mood" is and we also know that when you're not feeling it, either nothing happens or things go awry! Well anyway I'm suppose to be doing some scrub tops for a friend who couldn't get someone else to do it. (He already had the fabrics) That was at the beginning of this month and I still haven't cut a single thing out! At this point, I think I'd really rather have oral surgery than deal with this! I swear, as God is my witness, this will never happen again!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for point 2. I keep fabric on plastic shelving and in bins, I threw out a lot of things I had for much too long that no longer inspire me.
Hilarious as always! Love your posts, Peter =)
ReplyDeleteThe sheath dress looks like it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'd worry a bit about the drape in the skirt with a stiff fabric...
I've yet to make a dress for my sister in-law (I've only had one for 6 months), but I have made a dress for a friend. I actually liked the project, which was made a lot easier by her living a 5 min walk away. Fitting wasn't such a huge problem. The pants I'm sewing for her husband though... complicated a lot by the fact that the family has moved to another city!
I feel with you on the fabric stash! I only last week finally gave up on my mess and organized the whole thing. I'm planning a post about it this weekend =)=
Here I go, being that person. She's not a 34B. This may potentially affect your dress-making, so I'm just saying it. If her waist measurement is 27.5, she likely measures 28-29 underbust, which makes her a 28 or 30 band, making her cup size correspondingly higher than a B, as well. In addition to changing the dressmaking, this may very well change her figure significantly, with regards to the way things fit (in a positive way!) so it's worth checking out. A site like Busts4Justice.com might be a good stop.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I'm excited to see how it turns out!
Someone left a comment on my blog mentioning you so here I am to check it out and yep - it's official. You are my new favorite person :)
ReplyDeleteAs for your stash, I'm impressed with its relative organization. We moved a year ago and I have yet to unpack my stash, which means when I need fabric I buy more. Which means my stash is growing exponentially. Yikes.
I was showing off some baby dresses that I made for a friend when my boss offered to pay me to make a few for her grand daughter. I wish I had never said 'OK' because the garment seemed to be jinxed from the start. I had to redo several pieces even though I had made the same dress a few times before. It was not a labour of love and I hope it doesn't come apart at the seams when they wash it!!
ReplyDeleteI have made at least 6 dresses for my SIL. Of course, she happens to be 14 years younger than me and she was 7 at the time, but still. It was a very enjoyable time and practice for the sewing I'm doing now for my daughter. It's awesome that she now calls me for sewing advice (SIL, not daughter). At the time, I also sewed for my MIL. It was nearly as enjoyable, although she now complains that I don't sew for her any longer.
ReplyDeleteI will freely admit that my tiny stash (compared to yours anyway!) is strewn about the house in several locations, including a cardboard box under the dining room table that arrived just the other day from Fabric.com. It will get relocated eventually, but I'm still sorting the 26+ yards and laundering the pieces that need it.