Mother of the Bride and Flower Girl Progress

I have completed and fitted the muslin for the mother of the bride.

 A few comments: Marfy patterns are beautifully drafted. The pattern came in a folded piece of paper with a label, no instructions,  and no seam allowances.  The pattern has alphabetical match points and a few other notations, but that's it. 

First I made my muslin:
laying the pattern on the muslin fabric, and then with waxed tracing paper traced all the stitch lines, grain lines, notches, darts, pleats, center front, center back. 

With a permanent marker I marked each piece, top, bottom, arrows, the alphabetical match points, what piece it was, who it is for, and size.

I thread traced each seam, grain line, and dart.

My seam allowance was about 2" because I wasn't sure how close the size I got would match up to my sister in law. 

then I based all seams together, matching all the alphabetical points, guessing here and there, and it all worked out.   Every seam and point matched up perfectly and it came together nicely.

It will look much better in a softer fabric.  I let out the side and back seams a bit, she tried it on, and it fit pretty good. I had to put in a few dead darts where there was extra fabric in the bodice. I took it apart, made my dead darts, trued up the seams and the grain lines, and it's ready for the fashion fabric. We will be meeting on saturday at International Silks and Woolens to look for fabric.

 When making your muslin, be sure to extend your grain lines to the seam edge.   That way, if you make changes and have to true up the lines, it's easier and more accurate with the longer grain line. 

Next on the to-do list is the flower girl dress.  I chose this Vogue pattern because I like the little cap sleeves
The dress will be knee length since she's only 2 and I think it will look better being shorter (a two year old needs a twirly dress!)  I will be using the same fabric as the wedding gown.

Since kid pattern sizing runs large, I made a muslin of the bodice which I will fit this weekend.

I made it the same as the others except I didn't tread trace the seams and I used a little wider 3/8" instead of 1/4" elastic in the sleeves because that is what I had.  But I will use narrower in the final dress. 

Fabrique Fabric, Plano Texas

When I was in Dallas a few weeks ago at the ETA Conference, a couple of the local ladies told me about Fabrique Fabrics just north of Dallas in Plano.  My friend and I went up there and OMG... I have never seen so much beautiful fabric all in one place.  Los Angeles has lots and lots of fabric, but you have to weed through the crap... Not at Fabrique!  This is what I bought

...and I'm still stalking their website.  On Tuesdays, they have free shipping!   Every week they have a special buy  AND they give a 20% ASG discount... most places give 10%, but they give 20! Every person in that shop knows sewing and can answer any question intelligently. If you ever happen to be in the area, you MUST stop by this shop.  And if you have a 3 or more hour layover, grab a cab and go!  You won't regret it! 

The silk tweed in the middle is more pink and cream, with some blue and is going to be a jacket constructed Chanel style.  I'm taking another Susan Khalje class this summer and will use that fabric.  The knit in the lower left, looks fun and may be a wrap dress.  the sweater knit I'm thinking a short sleeved version of this Silhouette Pattern (I've seen this top in person and it is way nicer/cuter then the envelope photo).  The double faced wool, for some interesting unlined jacket, and the silk in the upper right... I think that would work nicely for the mother-of-the bride dress in the previous post. 

I just finished up a couple of garments and posted reviews on Pattern Review.  The links are over in the column to the right.  Happy Sewing! 

Mother of the Bride

I offered to make the mother-of-the-bride dress for my niece's upcoming wedding.

I saw this dress in the current Marfy catalog and loved it and thought it would look great on my sister-in-law.  I told her if she didn't like it for herself, then I was making it for me, but she had first choice.

She needs to look spectacular without outdoing or clashing with the bride.  She will also be the one that walks her down the aisle.  I don't think my sister in law really likes to dress up... she's a more free-spirited casual kind of lady... but, I do think this is THE dress for her.  She's thin and about 5'4", has nice arms, and has long brown hair that can easily be swept up. I like the thin silhouette to go with a wedding gown.

I received the pattern yesterday and will make up the muslin in the next week or so.  I think a nice silk, with organza underlining and china silk lining will feel and look great!  I can't wait to see them walk down the aisle! 

I also have on my sewing list the flower girl dress.  I'm going to use the same fabric I used for the wedding gown.  I like this Vogue Pattern for the flower girl dress

The flower girl will be 2 1/2 years old in June and needs a dress that twirls! 

Now all I need is some sewing time and oh, my dress!