Sewing Naked!

No nude pictures - sorry! If that is what you are looking for, well, you won't find it here.
Actually, this post is on my progress on the red dress. I'm just about done and will post final pics as soon as I am.
Over the weekend I worked diligently on the dress. I quickly found that it was much easier to sew (almost) naked than to strip, put the dress on for fitting, strip again, dress again, strip again, fitting again, etc . . . . than to just leave the clothes off. Nobody else was home to catch me in all my glory, so why not. It is surprising how little time it takes to start to feel 'comfortable' in your own skin! My biggest concern was that someone would happen to see me through the woods in our yard and then up through the second story window to the back of the sewing room. There are no curtains, after all.
I took Saturday off to spend with a friend, but by Sunday afternoon I had the lining sewn and attached; making an invisible hem with a 1/2 inch horse hair braid added to give the bottom of the skirt a little more body. Here is what it looks like on the outside -

And this is the inside view -

The 1/2 inch horse hair braid is sewn and hidden inside. The skirt lining will be hand sewn to the bodice -

Then on Monday I made the foundation. Basically a hip length bodice with boning that attaches at the bodice top and back. It is tacked down at the seams at waist level. I've got the foundation attached at this point, but forgot to take pictures; I will do so probably after Thanksgiving. I've attached the foundation at the top of the bodice, but not at the zipper or tacked at the waist. I have decided I need to make sure it will zip before I go any further. Normally, with a fitted garment such as this one, I've had either my youngest daughter, or my husband to help with fitting. My daughter moved out over a year ago, and my husband has been overseas for, well, way too long. He is supposed to be home late tomorrow afternoon. But that is another story. I digress . . .
With nobody here to help me with fitting, I have been doing the best I can. I believe it will zip, but since I can't do it myself, I am hesitant to finish it till I know for sure. So, tomorrow I am going to bring it with me to the bridal shop that I do alterations for. I will have Pennie zip it for me, or not(!) and go from there. I am actually able to zip it all but the last 2 inches or so, and that only because I simply can't reach.
So, until tomorrow - or probably Friday, since my husband gets home tomorrow and then it's Thanksgiving.
So - Happy Thanksgiving all - and Happy Sewing!

A Vintage Sewing Weekend

What an absolutely lovely weekend I have had!!  It started on Friday, when I woke to being 'caught up'; well, atleast for a few days. After months of a never ending stream of bridal alterations and dresses to make, I had a breather. So, after spending the morning cleaning my house (for the first time in weeks, if not months), I did something else I haven't done in months. I went shopping! My first stop was DSW where I found a pair of strappy ankle booties with open toes. I ran a few errands on the way to my next stop - Victoria's Secret. Now, I don't shop there very often. As lovely as their things are, I can't afford them. But, I had a coupon. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I made a stop at The Loft, where I found a gray sweater dress and a cute top; then on to Gap, where I found a pair of jeans and another top.

Friday evening was a quite one at home - just me and the animals. Did I mention that my husband is out of town? Actually, he is very far out of town -Malaysia to be exact. He will be gone for another week. In the mean time, I have been staying busy. Saturday began my weekend of sewing for ME. I had several pieces of fabric I've been wanting to use, as well as several patterns. I began with a vintage Vogue re-make -

I used a piece of fabric I picked up in NYC an August. I was a bit nervous about it looking like I was wearing a blanket. It was very very full through the back, and I ended up taking the center seam in 2.5 inches. It still felt huge, so I made 2 darts going up from the hem to just below the shoulder blades. Maybe if the fabric wasn't so thick it wouldn't have looked so . . . off. But it did look kind of like I was wearing a very short blanket. I think it looks better now.

Here is what it looks like on - (please ignore the fact that I don't have a stitch of make-up on and the light was glaring on my face).

And here is the back -

So, the jacket was Saturday's project. I was expecting a client to stop by Sunday, so didn't really plan to do any more sewing for myself.  But she called to cancel, and I couldn't help myself. I had purchased this lovely silk twill print this summer form Gorgeous Fabrics, and have patiently been waiting to find time for it. It was one of the rare fabric purchases I have ever made where I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I just wanted it. In perusing my pattern stash, I came across  a few vintage blouse patterns I had purchased sometime in the past. My first choice was this one -

I wanted to do view A with the long sleeves, but, after laying the pattern out on the fabric, I began to worry that it might look like pajama's. So I took out this one -

 I made the neckline more open, leaving the opening at the back closed. Instead of using the facings, I did a lining. I detest facings. I line everything. In this, I found a piece of pale pink light weight poly crepe in my stash that did the trick.  The pattern was made for a larger size, so I had to down grade it a bit. Mostly in length. But it turned out very well. I am very pleased with it.

Here you can see the pale pink lining -

So, now it is Sunday evening. Tomorrow it is back to work. But I believe I have gotten my fix; for now. I still am working out details for a dress I need to make before the end of November.
In the meantime, I will look forward to next Sunday when my sweetie is back from lands afar.