Two Piece One

You would think that being able to buy a 2 piece wedding dress would be a real breeze and the fit would be fantastic. This Wtoo Maelin beaded bustier should fit like a dream. Paired with the Nori skirt, what could a seamstresses have to do?

  

Well…after being measured and ordering the appropriate size for her bust, waist and hips, the bride shows up with this ill-fitting top: To make this top fit, the center back zipper has to be taken in 1.5 inches on each side for a total of 3 inches and also make darts at the side bust.

   

You can see from the cleavage that even with ordering a top 2 sizes larger than she needed and larger than the sample top size 12, we were in trouble. The bride kept telling me that the sample top fit her better but they ordered the larger size as she matched the size guide. No matter what I pinned out, she was not happy. She looked frumpy and dumpy but the main problem was that the bustier did not have the power to hold her in and up and support her. So…she went back to the salon and bought the smaller sample one.

While this new one fit better all around in the waist and hips, the bust cups were not big enough to contain her assets without adding some sort of straps. Of course, the bride was totally against ANY straps or halter so I said I would add a strip of twill tape along the top edge to snug in an inch on each side to help pull that top edge closer to her.

While it helped a bit, 4 more boning strips were attached by hand to the lining. In these photos you can see that the bust cups are merely foam knit and about a size B and the bride needed more room.

Moving unto the skirt we discover that to shorten the front, every single vertical panel with side ruffles has to be taken up by making horizontal tucks which will be hidden by the top layers of ruffles. In this photo, you can see 3 of the 6 panels that were altered, some as much as 3 inches deep. All those ruffles for the train will be bustled up using 3 bustle points to clear the ground for dancing. And speaking of dancing, even with the twill tape and extra boning, the top will still droop and jiggle and expose the bride which she did not want.

So, I again brought up the prospect of adding straps and I made 2 versions for her to choose. As the dress came with a matching tan satin ribbon belt that was not going to be used, I covered strips of 1/4 inch wide grosgrain ribbon and also folded the belt on itself for a softer style.

She opted for the one with grosgrain inside as it was sturdier and looked richer being padded slightly and we crossed them in the back to add some design and stability.

Mission accomplished with straps that the bride now loves and ruffles up  and hidden under the top layers and out of the way for a night of dancing.

I don’t know who has decided that 2 inch wide horsehair braid is now the “thing” to add to all the ruffle edges but it makes altering a real challenge and coming up there will be another skirt like this with even more issues and more horsehair braid!

As Summer has turned into Fall and the veggies have slowed down production, I wanted to share the star of the garden. This year I planted seeds for a Russian Giant sunflower that was supposed to grow to 10 feet tall. Here I am reaching up before the flower emerged:

Now the flower is open and soon the birds will be feasting on the seeds before Winter arrives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you all a great week of cooler weather in the Northern Hemisphere and as we have had our first snowfall in the mountains it has aided the firefighters in battling and trying to get our forest fires under control. Hooray!