One of my oldest and closest friends got married this month. It was a beautiful backyard wedding in CA and we had such a good time celebrating with them. I wanted to make my dress for the wedding so I set out some fabrics for my husband to choose from (after all, it was a weekend away without the kids!) and he chose this polka dot silk. We matched it to the excessively pleated and now out of print Vogue V1223 by Anne Klein. The fabric was in the bargain bin at Michael Levine in LA due to some spots where the dye ran but most of those I was able to cut around or hide in the pleats.
Before I made the muslin I made a protruding belly adjustment (I call it my mama belly adjustment) to the pattern. This is my most common adjustment no matter what size I happen to be in. It requires extending just the front pattern pieces at the waist only. I actually nailed it on the first try and the muslin fit perfectly! In addition to the mama belly adjustment, I shortened the dress by about 4" in order for it to hit above my knees since I'm 5'4" on a good day.
There are SO MANY pleats on this dress and they start and end randomly. I cut a test piece of fabric and tried a number of marking tools but everything ended up leaving a mark even after wetting it. I ended up tacking every... single... pleat... and... dart. Pain in the butt, totally worth it.
The dress came together well but I picked a cheap lining fabric---and boy did I pay for it! The silk sewed up like a dream... the lining fabric snagged, twisted, puckered, billowed, you name it. Ugh, lesson learned! Anyway, I finished it in time and paired it with a thin yellow belt, a me-made denim jacket, and a pair of my favorite all-day heels.
Congrats, Jenni and Endy! Lots of love and happiness in your new life together and thanks for letting us celebrate with you!
