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Bridal dress – check!

Apart from a final fitting tomorrow before I sew the zipper in properly, the bridal dress is finally finished! Things has gone really well all in all, but I totally underestimated how difficult and time consuming it is to make a corseted full lace dress. I also had some difficult “lace troubles”. The skirt is fully underlined and it’s hard getting the lace to stay flat on the lining on such large chunks of fabrics. Plus bias cut netting lace grows different than bias cut lining, so getting the two layers on the skirt to stay even is really hard. The lace “pop-upped” in some places. So I had to open several seams and realign the lace.

One lesson that I’ve learned the hard way when working with lace and lining as one layer is that everything should be staystitched from the very beginning. I didn’t do that, and had to pay the price. The ribbon embroidery went better than expected though, it was fussy and time consuming, but thanks to the English detective drama Murder in Midsomer, the time spent hand sewing still flew.

And some cheating confessions. I feel a little bit self conscious about the hem, as it’s more ready-to-wear than couture, but the bride and I nixed the idea of a scalloped hem as it would be too time consuming and fussy. So I did my usual blind hem method, first I serged the edges, then I hemmed using the machine blind hem stitch. I will also admit using a glue stick to secure the edges of the lace to the lining before I serged the two together. The glued bit was cut away, so there is no glue on the actual dress, but I still feel a little embarrassed admitting my working method!

And some random life stuff 
I have been so stressed lately that I haven’t had any time or energy for blogging. Things has been both really stressful at work with the Swedish election coming up, and at night all my orders has kept me more than busy. And now I am going away on a job related photo course for a week (though I am glad to take a break from the election, my day job is primarily about covering city hall politics for a local news paper and with the election it’s just insane).

I soo long to start sewing in a more creative way again! We have also decided to hire a cleaning service, that comes to our apartment and do a bi-monthly cleaning. Cleaning has never been a forte in this family and hopefully this solution will make everyday life a little easier. I don’t have any friends who uses it, so I don’t really know what to expect, but I think this is the right step for us to take. And it will free up both time and energy.

13 Comments

  • annet
    September 4, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    wow, that ended up gorgeous! i love it!

    Reply
  • Ann's Fashion Studio
    September 4, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    WOW you did an amazing job. Looking back at all the posts on the wedding dress you should be very proud of yourself. It looks beautiful and I believe she got what she wanted 🙂

    I hope things slow down for you and you get to enjoy some sewing time for yourself 🙂

    Reply
  • sdBev
    September 4, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    The gown is fabulous! Don't feel bad about anything you did. In the end you produced a beautiful gown. Many of the sewing tricks we use today, started in the couture and made-to-measure houses. If it's OK for them, it's perfectly legitimate.

    As for housekeeping services, I can't say how it will be in your country. The people I've know in the US, say that what happened to them was the day before the cleaning service was due, they spent the time cleaning their own house!

    Reply
  • Anonymous
    September 4, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    What a truly lovely gown you have created!!!! Combined with all the other demands in your life, this is even more exceptional and impressive. Thanks for taking the time to keep us updated through it all. And don't feel bad for one second regarding method – the best method is always the one that works! 🙂 Hope you spend some time on yourself soon, rejuvenating and enjoying some creative sewing. You deserve it!

    SherryV

    Reply
  • Nancy K
    September 4, 2010 at 9:12 pm

    Regardless of your difficulties, it is a lovely dress. I love the green ribbon contrast; it provides a touch of off beat to a traditional dress. Beautiful job!

    Reply
  • Johanna
    September 4, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    >>Annet: Thanks!
    >>Ann: I do feel proud, it has taken forever, but at least I am finished before the wedding
    >>Sdbev: Lol about the cleaning, I suspect there will be some frenzy here too, one doesn't want to subject the cleaner to the actual mess!
    >>Sherry: That is very encouraging to hear, I felt even embarrassed to admit it on my blog to be honest. But I try to keep it real!
    >>Nancy: Aww, thank you!

    Reply
  • Dilliander
    September 5, 2010 at 12:17 am

    Simply beautiful – I love it too! You did a wonderful job Johanna.

    Reply
  • Antoinette
    September 5, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    It is so so so so beautiful! What a lucky bride. Don't fret about the finishing. If you could see the insides of those two dresses I made for the runway show last month you wouldn't feel so bad admitting these things, at least to me. LOL

    Reply
  • Gail
    September 6, 2010 at 3:34 am

    What a beautiful dress – your friend will be so happy. Sorry to hear that things are a little hectic in Scandiland!

    Reply
  • MrsDagnell
    September 6, 2010 at 9:09 am

    I am so impressed! I really like your blog and think you do wonderful things.

    Reply
  • Cindy
    September 9, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    The dress is gorgeous! You should be so proud. Please post pics from wedding day!!

    Reply
  • Christina
    September 9, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    The dress turned out just gorgeous! What a labor of love 🙂 Lucky bride.

    Reply
  • Lisa
    November 11, 2010 at 2:40 am

    I just bought the simplicity pattern you used for the base of this dress and I can't tell you how helpful it is to have found your blog where you practically did a step-by-step guide! Yours came out fantastic and it makes me think even more that this will be the dress for me.

    Reply

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