Mother of the Bride dress: Custom Belt!!

The last step of the mother of the bride dress: A custom belt!

It is common to see vintage dresses with a matching belt and fabric covered belt buckle. I love that look and actually I remember that it was not too long ago that we could purchase packages in the local sewing store to cover belts similar to how you can cover buttons. Those are getting very hard to find today. I have looked online and found a few, but nothing that really excited me.

Since I really wanted the belt for the mother of the bride dress to match the dress as well as have a covered buckle, I was resigned to the fact that I might have to cover the buckle myself. Now I can make the belt, no problem. But the buckle proved to be another story. Since I only wanted a 1" buckle, trying to get my fat fingers to cover the buckle with the slippery silk fabric proved to be a challenge. A challenge that was driving me nuts! I really didn't want to spend more time on the belt and buckle than it took me to make the whole dress!

However, I found the answer to my problems! I located online in one of my vintage blogs I follow a post about a women in California that covers belts, buckle and buttons in a business out of her home. I investigated a little further and found out the following:

Pat Mahoney is a woman who has a custom button and buckle business out of Lodi, CA. Apparently back in 1965 the Singer company discontinued it's button and belt covering business in Lodi, Pat purchased all the equipment and began her own business covering buttons and buckles. I called Pat and she suggested I send $5 to her address, and then she would send me a catalog of her items. Once you receive the catalog, you simply fill out the envelope with what you want, add the fabric and the payment and send it back to her. She completes the order and will mail it back to you. She doesn't have a website and her catalog is something that looks like a simple presentation from Kinko's. But her workmanship is fabulous!!! I cannot say enough about the quality of her work or the simplicity of the process. I added an additional $5 for the rush charge as I needed it soon for the wedding (and was unsure of her turnaround time) and rush it came!! I mailed off the envelope on April 29th and received the completed belt and buckle on May 8th! Amazing!

Simply contact Pat at the information below:

Pat Mahoney (Pat's Custom Buttons and Belts)
PO Box 335
Lodi, CA 95241

Send her $5 and a little note asking for a catalog and she will get it out in the mail to you. Totally worth it!!

The cover of Pat's catalog

Perfect buckle!!!

I seriously couldn't have done this!

 See below to a link for an interesting article about Pat. And stay tuned for final mother of the bride dress pictures complete with gloves and shoes!

This weekend it's off to the Bay Area for the first wedding dress fitting!  So excited!!!


Pat's custom buttons

We have a hat!!!

We have a hat! I'm a little behind in my blogging what with life and all! But we have a hat for the wedding. And I didn't have to make it!

While in Berkeley last weekend Meghan and I went to the Berkeley Hat Shop on Telegraph and I found The One!!

Details below on Berkeley Hat Company. They are this little hole in the wall place in Berkeley that you have to look for to find. They carry all kinds of hats, from funky hipster hats to Kentucky Derby hats and everything in between. Not the most organized shop and you have to dig for stuff, but a great place to kick around. Street parking only and no extra charge for the drunks and druggies hanging out on the corner!

Address-Phone: Berkeley Hat Company, 2510 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley CA 94704 -- Tel. (510) 962-4428
http://www.berkeleyhat.com

Berkeley Hat Company

As you can see from the pictures it is a cross between a hat and a fascinator. I didn't really want the "church lady" look and a small fascinator didn't really work for me (and I couldn't find one I liked). Meghan and I came across this beauty! It has a real 1950's look to it, which works because the dress is from a vintage reproduction 1951 pattern!

Now I know, it's not gray! Well, there was no gray to be had. Anywhere. So since this one fit the style I was looking for, I went with it. It also gives me the option to carry a beige handbag and that means that I don't have to shop for a bag!

So excited since it was also only $60!!!  Seriously. I looked at some hats in shops and online and there was a price range from $100 up to $500. I just wasn't going to pay that. So this beauty was carried home with me!

Now you may ask yourself "how am I going to get that on the plane to go to Europe?"  Well I have the perfect solution! Meghan gave me a floral hatbox she had in her apartment and it worked perfectly on the plane. It was something she picked up at a yardsale for $2 to hold yarn or notions and she gave it to me to carry my hat some with me. The idea was that this would be a trial run for the June trip. Well, not only did it carry the hat without getting crushed. It set on the top of my handle of my luggage so wonderfully it will be no problem at all to take it with me. And my plan is to fold up my dress and place it under the hat so that I can carry the wedding outfit with me on the plane. Fits perfectly in the overhead compartment and I don't have to worry about what to wear in the off chance my luggage gets lost! Yay!

So with the hat purchase complete we are just about done for the wedding! I have the hat, gloves, shoes and handbag. The dress is basically done. I have sent away to have a custom belt and covered belt buckle done for the dress so stay tuned for that post soon!

A terrible picture of the hat in the car!

I was trying to be silly. It came off more stupid than silly!

Wow! Someone needs some makeup!

A great side view

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!!!

Shoes and Gloves. Gloves and Shoes!!

In between the hours spent working on the mother of the bride dress, I have been searching for the perfect gloves and shoes to go with the dress. (And a hat too, but more on that later!)

I initially bought a pair of silver/ gray shoes (shown in another post) that I was unsure of. I only brought them home in the event that I couldn't find anything else. I wasn't really sold on them, however. So the search went on!

This weekend I found not only the perfect shoes but the perfect pair of gloves! Apparently finding gloves to match or coordinate with an outfit is rather difficult. I am about 40 years too late for that!

I found these fabulous gray suede pumps on Zappos. They were exactly what I was looking for! Classic, slightly pointy toe and the perfect gray color. So excited when the UPS man delivered them yesterday! Another bonus: I can wear them for work once the wedding is over!

The perfect suede shoes!

Now on to the gloves! I had been searching the web for weeks to try and find gloves. As well as going into shops, stores, etc. They are really hard to find. And if you do, they tend to be very shiny or "prom-like". Not what I was looking for. I wanted something that would have been worn int he 1950's by a lady on her way to an event. I finally found the most perfect pair of gloves (in gray, no less) on Etsy. They are supposed to be vintage from the 1950's and were fabulous! They are the perfect color to match the shoes, fit my hands, and are of a soft, lightweight fabric. Not sure of the exact fabric, maybe a cotton-poly blend. Not to matter, they were fabulous! I ordered them and even with shipping they were less than $20! Amazing! So excited when then showed up on Saturday!

So there you have it! I have now purchased the gloves and shoes for the wedding! The other pair of shoes I an return as they really were not what I was looking for. Now the problem becomes finding a hat! I am very picky about that and although I plan to keep looking, I may end up making the hat as well. How hard can a simple modified pillbox hat with a veil be??   Famous last words!!!

Mother of the Bride dress: Take 2!

So here we go! I have been working on the dress a little here and there during the week in the evenings. I am lucky that right now I am not traveling for work (at least this week!) so I am making good use of the evenings to sew! I want to get as much done as possible in the hopes that I will be on a new project soon and will have to travel.

The main portion of the work that I have done is on the bodice of the dress. It is very fitted and a rather challenging pattern with the neckline and the draping. Luckily I have made up a muslin of this so that I was familiar with the instructions as well as and shortcuts that I may have found.

One of the decisions that I needed to make was how to finish the seams. Since I am underlining the dress, and not simply lining it, I needed a way to cleanly finish the seams. The silk ravels quite a bit and I really wanted a nice, clean finish on the inside. Not only does it make the wearer of the garment feel good, it does extend the life of the garment.

So I decided on a Hong Kong finish on the seams. This is basically when you enclose the seam allowance in bias binding on either side, so that it completely finishes off the seam. It gives a rather nice look and doesn't add bulk to the seams. Vogue Sewing details it out below:

Hong Kong finish

How the finished seams look

I added the finish to the darts as well

The back seam of the skirt, with the Hong Kong finish

 I found that the extra time taken to use this finish really pays off. You have a garment that is as beautiful outside as it is inside! And no extra "threads" hanging around!.

The finished bodice is shown below. I have added all the draping and finished the seams and darts inside. It is hard to tell from the dress form, but it looks lovely on the body! The draping on the lower bodice will extend into a draped panel from the waist of the skirt and will fall down to the hemline. Because my dress form is so much smaller than the "real me" is now, it really is hard to judge the outcome. But the lovely silk fabric has worked up so nice and I am excited to get moving along!

The final bodice, with the draping attached

 Stay tuned for further dress making adventures! Only 8 weeks to the wedding and I still have to finish this dress, work on a gray casual skirt I am making for the trip, find gloves and shoes for the wedding. And then decided on either purchasing a hat or making one. Arghhh!!!

Mother of the Bride outfit: Let's get started!!

 So here we go....!

The first cut!!

 Today I have started work on the mother of the bride dress! I had previously worked on a mulsin to do all the fittings of the dress and see how it will turn out. The idea of making a muslin is to do any alterations on the muslin instead of the fashion fabric. This way you don't "overhandle" the expensive fabric. And you can make any adjustments on the muslin as well.

I am planning on several changes to the dress. The original dress (which is a 1951 reproduction pattern) has a zipper on the side of the dress. I am planning on having the zipper down the back like similar dress of the current era. (Many dresses from that time frame had zippers on the side of the dress. Some of them even had zippers on the side with a small closure at the back neck as well.) I don't really like the zipper on the side of the dress. I find it uncomfortable. So I will put the zipper on the back of the dress.

The very fashionable muslin of the bodice!!

Not much to look at

Looks like a mess, doesn't it??

I also had to lengthen the bodice as I am very long waisted. I had to extend the sleeves a bit as well. In addition I will have to shorten the overall length of the dress because I am short. Care will need to be taken to not shorten it too much to take the overall effect of the dress.

After a few hours of cutting out the fabric, cutting out the lining and working on the bodice I have the main part of the bodice started.

I must say it was a little nerve wracking starting to cut in to fabric that cost $95 a yard! I was a little nervous at first but as I went on I treated it the same as $1.99 cotton. Just go slow and pay attention!

So not bad for a few hours work. The hardest part going forward will be to make sure that the fitting is correct as well as the lining matches up. So far so good. Stay tuned for future posts! So excited to work on this dress. I must say that I am THRILLED with the fabric. It works up so nice and has a fabulous feel to it. Paired with an interlining, the dress should fall beautifully!

Say tuned!!

Mother of the Bride outfit: Shoes??

So, in this weekend’s shopping (or as I like to call it: helping out the economy!), I found what I think to be the shoes for the wedding. I am not crazy about the open toe, but they are actually very comfortable. The right color for the dress and they flatter my foot. Still deciding whether to keep them or take them back. I won’t wear them of course until the wedding so if I find something else I can always return them.  Any thoughts???