Mother of the bride dress! Making good progress!!

After a long week with both work and what is happening in the world, I spent a good majority of the weekend working on the mother of the bride dress. And I made great progress!!

I started out by working on the side drape and adding the skirt section to the bodice. The drape is attached first to the skirt portion, then the skirt is added to the bodice. I also used grosgrain ribbon as a waist stabilizer, because the skirt is so much heavier than the bodice and it helps to keep it's shape.

The side drape on the skirt

The skirt attached to the bodice

 Then I started working on the sleeves. I had already constructed the sleeve itself, hemming it and finishing off the seams but now I had to add the sleeves to the bodice of the dress. Not a necessarily difficult step, but it is very important to get the fit right so that there is no puckering or pulling of the sleeve. I basted twice and then stitched the seam, finally finishing off the sleeve seam with seam binding.

We have sleeves!

 Then it came time for the zipper. Recall that the original pattern had a zipper on the side of the bodice, and I changed that by adding a zipper down the back of the dress. This was done by slicing the pattern piece in the center back (after adding the necessary allowance for the zipper) and inserting a 22 inch zipper down the back of the bodice and skirt. I decided to attach the zipper by hand, which is a more couture effect. I made this decision for a couple of reasons. First, you have much more control of the zipper when attaching it by hand. Sometimes a zipper can slip when machine attaching it and I didn't want the bodice and skirt to be askew. Then you have to take into consideration the type of fabric. The silk fabric that I am using is not really delicate but it can snag. So I wanted to have the least amount of potential damage to the fabric. Lastly, the hand applied zipper is a finish that is not done much any more. This dress is fast becoming more of a gown and work of art than a simple dress!

Adding the zipper by hand

A terrible picture of the zipper

 So far it is coming right along. As you can see from the picture, the dress is hanging on the dress form, so that the bias on the panel can set before I hem it. I probably won't tackle any more today, needing about 24 hours for the dress to "settle" before hemming it. I still have to work on the belt and do finishing as well, such as adding the button to the top tab.

Not done, but looking good!

Very pleased with the results so far! I will post a pic with me wearing it once it is done enough to model.
Also, I have made the decision that I am going to make my mother of the bride hat. I have been very disappointed in the selection of hats, either the price is wrong or the color is wrong, etc. So I decided to make it myself! Stay tuned for more excitement!!!