Just under the wire!

The Prom Dress was a winner this year.  It is not your typical prom dress -- much more elegant -- but that was the goal.

It is even prettier in person, as the metallic details are more evident.  I highly recommend the lace.  In addition to being quite beautiful, there appears to be no right or wrong side to it, which made it easy to match.  I was pleased with how nice the pattern matched in the back.

Since I was running about a week behind, Stephanie made the necklace, which turned out quite similar to the inspiration piece (Breakfast at Tiffany's).  

We took pictures all over town, apparently that is the tradition here. It seems we spent more time taking pictures than she spent at the actual dance.  It is much more of a "red carpet" dress than a party dress, anyway.  

I managed to finish the last few stitches 20 minutes before departure, with just enough time for a final pressing.  The second batch of silk dyed quite nicely, and matched the first batch perfectly.  The underlining is a 12 mm crepe de chine, and the lining is 8 mm silk habotai.  Together, they are the perfect combination of opacity.  

The pattern (Butterick 4343) is a keeper.  It's a classic design, and fairly easy to sew.  It comes with options for a short version, as well as a one-shouldered version.  

The lace was Gorgeous Fabrics blue/silver Chantilly lace; the silk lining and underlining were both from Dharma Trading, custom dyed by yours truly.  I enjoyed the entire process, and am looking forward to trying some more "dye jobs."  Now that I'm comfortable with the process, there are many creative options available.  

B4343 Progress: A Fine Mess

The B4343 fitting is complete -- in addition to the FBA and swayback adjustment, it needed an additional FIVE INCHES in length.  I normally add about 2.  Glad I did a muslin first.  Wish I had given the same attention to detail to a few other items:

Lesson 1: Thoroughly dissolve the dye powder in water before adding the fabric.  Yes, it's a classic rookie mistake, and I don't know what I was thinking.  It's even stated clearly in the dye directions.

After waiting more than a week after the silk arrived to finally dye it, carefully calculating and re-calculating how much dye to use for the initial batch (don't want it to be too dark), I poured the powder directly into the pot of water on the stove and stirred it up really well.  Or so I thought.  It was a black pot, and apparently I couldn't see the dozens of little red pieces that didn't dissolve before I put the fabric in the pot.  

Lucky for me, I started with the lining fabric. Once the underlining is over it, the itsy bitsy red dots speckled across the entire piece of cloth are not visible from the outside.  More good news: the base color is spot on (no pun intended) -- it's the perfect shade of "nude." At least my calculations were good.

Out, damned spot!

With two layers and the lace, I don't see anything...but I know it's there.

Lesson 2:  Make sure you buy enough fabric.  Duh!  Who wouldn't buy enough fabric?  I can't remember a case when the fabric requirements listed on the pattern envelope have not been overly generous, which explains my piles of left-over fabric ranging from a few inches to a full yard.  There have been several times when I've squeezed out a jacket from 2 yards when the pattern called for 3!

So I ordered exactly three yards of silk habotai lining and three yards of silk crepe de chine underlining, just as suggested.  Of course, that was before the final muslin where I added five inches to the length. 

With two weeks to go before Prom, and the muslin fitting complete, I felt like I was way ahead of the game.  On Saturday, I calmly started to cut the lining fabric, planning one final "muslin" out of lining before cutting the lace and underlining.  Oops.  I'm about a foot short of silk habotai.  WHAT?  It's not like I can just run down to the corner and buy more!  I have to order it, wait for the shipment to arrive, wash it, dye it, wash it again and press it before I even start cutting and sewing...AAAAGHGHGH!

I tried several different layouts -- surely there's one configuration that will work?! I even sketched it out on paper, refusing to believe I couldn't solve the problem with more calculations.  After a few frustrating hours, I gave up and ordered more silk.  Of course I had to over-order, since the pattern pieces are full length bodice-to-hem pieces.  Thankfully, I ordered enough lace the first time (it's sheer luck).

Lesson 3: When in doubt, upgrade to 2-day shipping.  Now I'm worried it may not arrive in time for me to finish it over the weekend.  I really only have Saturday and Sunday to sew, because my work and kid schedule is just way too busy during the week.  Why didn't I pay the extra $7?  Isn't it worth the peace-of-mind?   

So, I've gone from a peaceful, easy feeling of having plenty of time to finish, to a state of panic over losing an entire weekend.  "What will I do if it doesn't come before the weekend?" I asked my husband.  "She can wear an old dress" he answered.  With a completely straight face -- I think he was serious! Hilarious. At least I got a good laugh from that!

SWAPus interuptus or Prom 2013

I have taken a very long break from SWAP...against my wishes, of course.  First came the Snow White costume. Then two back-to-back business trips -- one that extended over a weekend, my prime sewing time.  Returning from the second trip I was greeted by a very sick husband and a messy house, then came Spring Break.

Contributing to my lack of time for sewing is my general malaise resulting from the ruling that I can't use my jacket for SWAP.  Technicality: it was started before the rules were made public and finished after the start date.  It would be allowed if I had finished before the start date, or if I would have purchased it.  I briefly thought about purchasing a cardigan or jacket that would work with both capsules, but doesn't it seem silly to buy clothing for a sewing contest?  So I have come to the conclusion that I likely won't complete or compete in this year's SWAP "contest", but I will finish my plan.  Eventually.  I think I have planned some really great pieces that will work well for me, and I am happy that SWAP gave me the momentum to finish the jacket.

Moving on to Prom.  My daughter changed her mind about her choice of dress, which is fine because I like the new one better. In fact, I like it a lot. I was really excited when I saw that it was "Fast & Easy."  Of course that means that I need to give myself some obstacles and complicate it a bit.  I lean more toward "long drawn out and complex" projects.

Butterick 4343 (view D)

It is a very classic sheath dress that reminds me of Breakfast at Tiffany's, at least in the front:

The suggested fabrics included crepe to get that great drape. We had trouble finding a color that we both liked. As classic (and useful) as black would be, it just doesn't scream "prom."  Stephanie suggested hot pink, so I reminded her of the hot pink crepe back satin that we nixed for homecoming.  Instead, I suggested lace with a nude underlay.  "A nude underleg?!" my eavesdropping son replied (clearly horrified).  "What is a nude underleg!?"  Underlining, that is, which reminds me of Roman Holiday.

Audrey Hepburn's lace dress from Roman Holiday (designed by E. Head)

So Stephanie ran with that idea -- she settled on this sparkly blue lace fabric.  Who wouldn't love this?

Elie Saab does lace right.

Of course, this fabric is most likely a beautifully hand-beaded piece of art that we wouldn't be able to find or recreate on our timeline or budget.  Stephanie does have great taste. So we found this instead, at my old standby: Gorgeous Fabrics.  Because I was so distracted with work and didn't order it until yesterday, I got it on sale!

Blue/silver metallic Chantilly lace

As for the underlining, we are going to attempt to dye some silk crepe.  Sounds a little bit scary, doesn't it?  I did, in fact, have a nightmare about it last night.  Just another complication, though.  I'm sure it will be interesting.