My nice camera is MIA...I am very sad because it was a gift to myself a few years ago and I think the SD card had our Paris pictures on it. As a result of the missing loved one, we settled for my husband's iPhone camera, which he swears "takes great pictures." Not sure I agree.
Good news is that the dress was finished by the 10th, in time for the peformance on the 11th, washed for the dance on the 13th, then washed again for another wearing at the National Honor Society induction on the 24th. Sadly, I have few pictures of the last event, since my husband was out of town and I only had my Blackberry, which takes terrible pictures. However, I am thrilled that she has worn the dress three times and has declared that it is her new "go-to" dress for concerts! I'm always happy when the "big event" dresses get more than one wearing, even if this was an easy-big-event-dress.
I know, it's hard to see any details. And from far away, it resembles a slip (my mom asked what she was wearing over it)! But it is lovely and simple and apparently comfortable. I think our version fits nicer than the cover model's version (which resembled a loose potato sack).
- All seams were of the French variety, since (a) the satin frayed terribly and (b) the lace was transparent. I even left the darts un-cut for fear that they would fray away completely.
- The stretch satin from Hancock was a pleasant surprise! It was a nice weight, gives a little when she sits down -- which is quite a bit if she's wearing it for a concert. The only downside was the fraying, but any satin I've sewn with has given me that trouble.
- The self-made "stay tape" that I concocted with pieces of black interfacing were a terrible disappointment. I have bad luck with fusible interfacing, so I am going to try something other than Pellon before my next project. The lace was surprisingly stable, so I probably didn't need it to begin with, and I pulled all the interfacing off before I completed the dress.
- I love the lace - as mentioned, it was easy to work with and it's simple and elegant. I hope I have enough left over for a future project for ME. I would even consider making myself one of the other versions of the same pattern.
- The only alteration to the pattern was to lengthen the skirt. A shorter length would have been fine for dancing, but since she wanted to wear it while playing the violin in a chair (and in some instances on an elevated stage), we decided an extra couple of inches would be best.
Here are some really nice pictures of her and her chamber group at the event. Photos are courtesy of
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the kind and talented photographer they hired for the evening,
Stephen Ironside. She wouldn't allow us close enough to snap any shots, so we got creative and asked the photographer to be our surrogate. It's a gorgeous setting! She gets to go back for another performance in December...I'm hoping that she won't need a new dress.
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| Stephen Ironside Photography |
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| Stephen Ironside Photography |
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| Stephen Ironside Photography |
