sewing a flower girl dress

In the spirit of the new season of Project Runway, I challenged myself to make Emma's flower girl dress (for Aunt Dana's wedding) in 1 day. Well that's not including the test muslin and I didn't make the pattern from scratch, but I succeeded in sewing a layered, lined, crinolined formal dress in about 11 hours!

We got all the bridal fabrics on our trip to Fabric Row in Philly last month. I normally like to sew with cottons & linens because they don't slip & slide all over the place. I don't love using tulle and having to gather miles and miles of it. I've never even tried sewing beaded and embroidered organza, but I was willing to try it because it was so incredibly gorgeous!

One time consumer: removing beads along the seam allowances and tying off the loose threads so the remaining beads stay secure.

Another time consumer: hemming the bridal satin underlay by hand. It just wouldn't look right done by machine. The raw edges inside were finished off with the serger.

On the outer layer, french seams in the organza overlay completely hide the raw edges.  To make a french seam, sew a 1/4" seam with wrong sides together. Trim 1/8" off the raw edge, then flip inside out. Sew another 1/4" seam with right sides together next to the previous stitching, enclosing the raw edge inside.

You wouldn't think a simple sleeveless lined bodice would be tricky to sew, but if you've ever tried it, you know what I mean. I've always sewn the shoulders first, then attached the lining to the bodice at the neck. Then you have to try to do the armholes after the bodice is flipped right side out which requires strange contortions especially if the shoulder is narrow. It's almost easier to just put a sleeve on. I decided to follow the directions that came with the pattern (discontinued pattern Butterick #4117) which calls for sewing the shoulders last. It worked well but still required some hand sewing to close up the armhole at the top.

Clipping and backstitching the neck and armhole seams is crucial to keeping the lining from peeking out the edges. I go one step further and trim 1/16-1/8" off the armhole and neck edges of the lining before sewing, so the pieces are slightly smaller than the shell and more likely to roll to the inside. I do this on collars too and it works great.

Finally: the skirt. I didn't think it was that full until I did my 2 stitch lines at the top and started to gather it in. It's always a challenge to gather that much fabric and attach it neatly to a small bodice. I basted it on by hand first to keep it from shifting and bunching. The less handling the better though, because boy does that bridal satin fray!

Help me! I'm drowning in tulle!

And then as if that weren't enough ruching, there is an attached crinoline underneath that gets gathered in to the same waist seam and has it's own ruffle of tulle- a 250" ruffle to be precise! It's absolutely necessary, though, because the poufiness that results is so fabulous!

On deck next: dapper little vests and dupioni silk neck ties for the 3 little ringbearers...

more shopping in duck, nc: boho finds

I guess you could say my vacation shopping cohorts and I spent a long time in the Urban Cottage store in Duck, NC. I already showed you the lovely sea glass-hued beach house decor they were featuring on one side of the store.

curtain panel

On the other side? Boho. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I get excited when I find pretty decor shops that are NOT Pottery Barn.

I believe most of these printed items are by Karma Living, which reminds me of the Karma Design booth I drooled over in NYC at Christmastime.

These bright spicy colors make me happy.

Nearby in the same shopping complex, we stumbled upon  Confetti Clothing Company.

These cheerful sundresses by Flying Tomato are designed to look made from vintage linens.

Bucket o' summer scarves.

Some of those smocked dresses that are also skirts, by Hessi, I believe.

That's all the prettiness for now!

shopping in duck, nc: urban cottage

I've often fantasized about owning a vacation home if only just to decorate it. Never mind all the hassles and expense involved or that our year-round home isn't exactly "decorated" either! For now we are serial renters of large generic homes that suit the needs of our group. On one afternoon of our recent stay in Duck, North Carolina, the womenfolk took a jaunt over to the shops of the little town.

Mixed in with souvenir and beachwear shops, we found Urban Cottage, a home furnishings store run by Amy Chrisler.

I'm always a sucker for appealing decor shops.

The cooling colors of sea glass evoke the beach without screaming.

I love these rug samples by Dash & Albert.

An interesting linoleum mosaic table top.

Beachy terrariums! There's no reason you can't bring a little beach home with you!

for the love of crape myrtles

Here we are heading south on highway 168, the access road to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. From southern Delaware and south, the coastal areas have such lovely crape myrtles in bloom this time of year.

I have fond memories of spotting the trees on the way to the beach as a child. It seems every house along the road whether abandoned or lived in, grand or dilapidated, has at least one crape myrtle out front.

Just about every gas station has one too.

Some consider them a shrub because of their multi-trunk, vase-shaped habit. They get as big as trees, though, especially if they've been there 50 years. They are popular because they are tough, thrive in the heat, and come in a pretty array of colors from bright scarlet to soft lavender.

When I see a big one in front of a tumble-down shack, I can imagine the home in a time when someone had hope enough to put something pretty in the yard. I think I'm partial to the lavender...

Excuse the glare- these photos were all taken out the car window as we sped along trying to make good time getting to the resort area. Shame on the hubs for refusing to stop at the roadside nursery!

4th street, philadelphia (also known as fabric row)

I've been back to Fabric Row again! Go here for a past post with a map and directions. I really should come back more often. It reminds me so much of NYC and of Project Runway which is starting it's new season next week. This time I brought my daughter and my sister-in-law, Dana. Emma is going to be the flower girl in Dana's upcoming wedding, so we were on the hunt for occasion fabrics.

Outside Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet, barrels of cheap bolts hint at bargains to be found inside.

It's not all junk inside, though. Though a roundabout series of events that I won't go into, we wound up getting this lovely ivory embroidered border organza that echoes the embellishing on the bodice of Dana's gown. It will be overlaid on ivory bridal satin.

With fabric like this I decided it wasn't necessary to reinvent the wheel with the style. I've made this simple style before. It's got a crinoline underneath for pouf and I'll add a nice fat dupioni sash to match the celery color bridesmaid dresses.

Mission accomplished, we did some wandering just for fun. Emma enjoyed browsing in Albert Zoll, a notions store.

That's a lot o' buttons!

Inside Phuongs. The place to go for tulle and perhaps to have a pageant gown made.

If you ever find yourself on Fabric Row at lunchtime, you must go to the 4th Street Delicatessen. It's been here since 1923, an amazing feat with how quickly businesses come and go.

The interior is all original black and white deco tiles and fixtures.

When in an authentic Jewish deli and you're not a vegetarian... the pastrami reuben. This is the "small".

And if you're a vegetarian... potato pancakes with sour cream & apple sauce. Oh yeah...

The guys next to us asked if we'd like to photograph their balls. Ahem, matzoh balls, that is.

It seems Barack Obama was here too. I wonder if he bought some fabric and ordered the pastrami.

order in the chirp & bloom studio!

I just completed a major deep cleaning of the studio! I just can't think when there's too much chaos, and I need order with the busy fall I have ahead... I just was notified that I am showing at the Clover Market in Ardmore, PA three dates this fall: September 18, October 16, & November 6. And I'm waiting to hear from an additional show somewhere else in October. I'd also like to do a show or two for the holidays. That means a lot of sewing & new designs ahead. I also have the finishing touches to put on our attic guest room renovation which has been dragging on forever and a flower girl dress to make for a family wedding in September. A clean studio is essential.

My fabric piles are the first to get out of hand.

I'm trying something new: using a folding board. The kids actually thought it was fun and wanted to help. For regular yardage, the procedure is to first fold the fabric lengthwise, selvedges together. Then fold the other way until you have an easily manageable piece roughly the size above.

My board is just a scrap of foam core that happened to be 1/3 the width of my fabric shelves, so it makes pieces that fit 3 stacks per shelf perfectly. I also have a smaller board for fat quarters and small scraps. Now all you do is fold the fabric over the board, and pull it out.

 

Fold the piece back on itself one last time and that forms a nice clean edge that will face out on the shelf.

Voilà!

And while I'm at it, it just feels satisfying to put my bobbins and thread in color order.

And why not the embroidery floss? There's just something about rainbows...

What the heck, here's a tour of the rest of the studio... Newly unearthed, a place for a friend to sit, visit, and peruse back issues of Marie Claire Idées and Domino

I've added a dedicated shipping station, so everything I need to send packages is in one spot. It can get crazy around the holidays and I'm determined to stay on top of it.

Individual bins for projects in progress keep things orderly. Each bin holds all the elements for one item, so labels & trims stay with the right piece. If I have more than 6 projects going at once, I know I'm in trouble.

Finally, a clean sewing station. I learned my lesson about the importance of a clean sewing area the hard way. It only takes one dirty smudge on an almost finished garment. I just don't have time for that!