Catching up

My sewing goals for 2013:  wedding dress, Chanel style jacket, and corset (just because). In my previous post I talked about the wedding dress.  I'm happy to report that the wedding dress is almost done!  Unfortunately, I cannot post any photos until after the wedding...  I promised the bride-to-be.  But it is be-u-ti-ful!  You'll just have to wait until June (sorry) for the big reveal. But here's some of the construction

The corselette ready to be attached to the dress.

tracing the stitch lines onto the organza underlining

I started and completed most of the dress in a labor intensive 6 day (9+ hour) class with Susan Khalje!   I worked really hard and stayed focus.  My niece/bride-to-be lives in San Francisco where the class was (and the wedding will be) and I wanted to get as much done as possible while in SF and in the class.  I learned so much! My husband asked, how the class helped with the making of the dress... I said, the class helped me make a beautiful couture dress vs a cheese-ball have-I done-this-right dress.  Granted, no one would have known that the techniques and quality weren't' up to par except my sewing friends, but I know and I think the bride-to-be knows when she wears it.  The fit and feel of this dress to the RTW she tried on can't be compared.  It is lovely!  I have since agreed to make the mother of the bride's dress and flower girl's dress.  I have extra wedding dress fabric which I will use for the flower girl's dress and I saw a wonderful, but not too over the top, Marfy one-shoulder dress pattern (think cover) that I think the mother (my sister in law) will look fantastic in.  She is walking the bride down the aisle and she needs to wear something that will compliment without over taking the bride (and make the wedding gown look good).  I can't wait until June to show you photos! 

This is a dress one of the ladies in the class made using the Chanel techniques.  The top is a sheer organza. The entire dress is quilted, with self-made fabric trim.  

In the meantime, I'll catch you up to date on what I've been doing.  Besides the week long Khalje sewing class in January, I did a teen camp at Road to California.  It was an all day class for 18 tweens.  We made kits prior to the "camp" and the teens had their choice of:  pillowcase, tote bags, zippered pouch, 9 patch pillow, and skirt.  It was 6 long exhausting hours! 

but so sew much fun.  Pfaff provided machines, and the girls sewed through almost all our kits.  Next time, we are going to have more difficult projects so it takes them longer to sew and we don't end up feeling like we just ran a marathon!

The girls proudly displaying their completed projects.

This weekend, Sew Easy Knits is going to Dallas to teach 5 classes at ETA Sew Expo.  If you are in the area, stop by and say "hi" and sign up for one of our classes!