New pictures

WOW - no wonder you don't have time to read your new book. Amazing work.
Love the colours and style. Fabulous result.

Viviane

"BEI Design" wrote in message
news:2dJic.27175$aQ6.1544380@attbi_s51...
If you've been there before, just skip over the first three pages. I
was working this week on the maid-of-honor dress, and made a little
progress. And with the new camera, I don't have to wait for
developing. A few of them are kind of fuzzy, I'll get better, I
promise.

http://home.comcast.net/~beidesign/wsb/index.html

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

Kate Dicey wrote:

I also decided (in consultation with the MOH) to make the hemline
follow the same diagonal as the neckline, I think anything off the
strict horizontal is more flattering for plus-sized women.

Ha! Don't I know it! It's horrifying how many people just don't
see it when you explain...

Well, I'm making up a muslin right now, which is against my better
judgment, we'll see when she tries it on. If she insists, of course
I'll make it her way, but I take _no_ credit/blame! You all can be
the judge when the pics go up. ;-}

I'm keeping some spare fingers crossed that it's all plain sailing
from here on in!

Thanks so much! I hope to cut out the flower girl's dress tomorrow.
But I still don't have the two-thread converter for the Huskylock so I
may end up having to do a narrow rolled hem by hand. sigh

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

"BEI Design" wrote in message
news:WVYic.35387$_L6.2028714@attbi_s53...
Kate Dicey wrote:

I also decided (in consultation with the MOH) to make the hemline
follow the same diagonal as the neckline, I think anything off the
strict horizontal is more flattering for plus-sized women.

Ha! Don't I know it! It's horrifying how many people just don't
see it when you explain...

Well, I'm making up a muslin right now, which is against my better
judgment, we'll see when she tries it on. If she insists, of course
I'll make it her way, but I take _no_ credit/blame! You all can be
the judge when the pics go up. ;-}

I'm keeping some spare fingers crossed that it's all plain sailing
from here on in!

Thanks so much! I hope to cut out the flower girl's dress tomorrow.
But I still don't have the two-thread converter for the Huskylock so I
may end up having to do a narrow rolled hem by hand. sigh

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---



You two are so good!! I'm picking up lots of pointers for my dress, which
my first big thing. You guys totally motivate me to want to do it right
vs. quick and easy.

Lisa wrote:

You two are so good!! I'm picking up lots of pointers for my
dress, which my first big thing. You guys totally motivate me
to want to do it right vs. quick and easy.

In my estimation, "doing it right" is _always_ the better choice.
When you put time and effort into something, you want the result to be
"great", not just "ok". Too many novice sewists give up in despair
when they take the short-cut methods on the "quick-n-easy" patterns,
and the resulting garment is total unwearable.

Keep up the good work! How's yours coming along, still struggling
with the bodice? Maybe someone here can give you a tip.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

BEI Design wrote:

Lisa wrote:

You two are so good!! I'm picking up lots of pointers for my
dress, which my first big thing. You guys totally motivate me
to want to do it right vs. quick and easy.

In my estimation, "doing it right" is _always_ the better choice.
When you put time and effort into something, you want the result to be
"great", not just "ok". Too many novice sewists give up in despair
when they take the short-cut methods on the "quick-n-easy" patterns,
and the resulting garment is total unwearable.

There's also the happy medium to be struck between the unwearable square
rag and the couture finished designer special. Simple flattish things
help you learn to control the machine and follow the pattern and
instructions, get used to fabric and patterns and pins. Chosen well
with an eye to flattering the figure to wear them, they can be great
teaching tools. Chosen badly, you end up looking like you came third in
the sack race. A lot of sewing newbies choose patterns because they are
simple, which is ok, but without thinking about whether or not this is
the sort of garment they usually wear.

I also find people using cheap fabric and spending days finishing things
off as if it cost £500 a metre! The only time I do this is when making
costumes for the school: I use them as experimental garments for new
techniques, or things I need to brush up the techniques on, like using
fabric that cost me 85p a metre for a suit for a lad in Hotel California
and giving the seams a Hong Kong finish!

Keep up the good work! How's yours coming along, still struggling
with the bodice? Maybe someone here can give you a tip.

Yes, do: and never think there is something you CAN'T do until you've
tried it 3 times!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"Viviane" wrote in message
u...
WOW - no wonder you don't have time to read your new book. Amazing
work.
Love the colours and style. Fabulous result.

Make that styleS. Each attendant is deciding what she wants, the
color is non-negotiable. I had a meeting today with another one, made
some adjustments to her muslin, and will be starting on her dress this
week. The first gal is coming tomorrow to check fit and mark the hem.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

Good morning,

I viewed the photos for the dress you are making (BEI Design). They are
wonderful and very detailed. I've been reading the posts between BEI and
Kate with great interest. My niece is getting married in two years and has
asked me to make her wedding dress, something I've never done before. Don't
mind telling you I'm scared to death! I have a question ... do you always
make a muslin dress first and is it just the bodice or do you do the entire
gown?

One other problem / question. Another niece is getting married this May
29th. Her mother planned to make the flower girl dress but fell and broke
her arm. Now the project is mine to do. The bride selected Butterick 3351,
view A, in a size 5. I am making a first draft from Pellon as a test
pattern because the notions list calls for a 16" zipper which sounds really
long for a 5 year old little girl. My sister in law requested I make a
removable net slip for the dress so the skirt will puff out. I know how a
child is going to react to a netting slip. It's going to be a nightmare. I
suggested I make a slip for the kid from Tricot to protect her legs from the
scratchy netting. In the end it all seems like too much fabric for a little
girl. In addition to the slips, the dress has an overskirt too. Therein
lies the question. Any suggestions for the netting slip / under slip?

Thanks for your help. I really enjoy this newsgroup!

Liz


"BEI Design" wrote in message
news:WVYic.35387$_L6.2028714@attbi_s53...
Kate Dicey wrote:

I also decided (in consultation with the MOH) to make the hemline
follow the same diagonal as the neckline, I think anything off the
strict horizontal is more flattering for plus-sized women.

Ha! Don't I know it! It's horrifying how many people just don't
see it when you explain...

Well, I'm making up a muslin right now, which is against my better
judgment, we'll see when she tries it on. If she insists, of course
I'll make it her way, but I take _no_ credit/blame! You all can be
the judge when the pics go up. ;-}

I'm keeping some spare fingers crossed that it's all plain sailing
from here on in!

Thanks so much! I hope to cut out the flower girl's dress tomorrow.
But I still don't have the two-thread converter for the Huskylock so I
may end up having to do a narrow rolled hem by hand. sigh

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

Liz wrote:

I viewed the photos for the dress you are making (BEI Design).
They are wonderful and very detailed. I've been reading the posts
between BEI and Kate with great interest. My niece is getting
married in two years and has asked me to make her wedding dress,
something I've never done before. Don't mind telling you I'm
scared to death! I have a question ... do you always make a muslin
dress first and is it just the bodice or do you do the entire gown?

First, don't be scared to death! Think of a wedding gown as "just a
pretty dress made with difficult fabrics". ;-} I don't make a muslin
for most items I sew, a pattern tissue fitting will usually serve.
But for wedding gowns/attendants' dresses I do, and in this case since
I'm essentially designing different styles of dresses for each woman,
I have so many changes to make to the basic pattern that a muslin is
the best/only way for me to be sure that the fit and line are what I
intend.

One other problem / question. Another niece is getting married
this May 29th. Her mother planned to make the flower girl dress
but fell and broke her arm. Now the project is mine to do. The
bride selected Butterick 3351, view A, in a size 5. I am making a
first draft from Pellon as a test pattern because the notions list
calls for a 16" zipper which sounds really long for a 5 year old
little girl.

Very cute dress! Let the size of the pattern pieces be your guide for
the zipper. It should extend at least 7" down into the skirt. A "too
long" zipper is preferable to a "too short" one. Since I don't want
any broken zippers to repair on the "big day", I am making all the
zippers a couple of inches longer than the pattern suggests. Two of
the attendants dress will have separating zippers in the bodices, and
the skirt zippers are 14 to 16 inches long. With a hidden zipper, it
really doesn't matter.

My sister in law requested I make a removable net
slip for the dress so the skirt will puff out. I know how a child
is going to react to a netting slip. It's going to be a nightmare.
I suggested I make a slip for the kid from Tricot to protect her
legs from the scratchy netting. In the end it all seems like too
much fabric for a little girl. In addition to the slips, the dress
has an overskirt too. Therein lies the question. Any suggestions
for the netting slip / under slip?

You might consider using tulle instead of netting, and sewing it to
the outside of something softer. If you look at the picture of the
petticoat I'm making for DD the bride, you'll see that the base is
periwinkle taffeta, with tulle ruffles in three layers sewn to the
outside. I'll upload better pictures. She wanted the colored
petticoat (against my better instincts), and then decided after it was
assembled that it showed just a little too much blue through the white
satin of the gown. So I took it apart at the yoke and cut another
skirt of white taffeta and added it over the top of the tulle. Now,
it is very smooth, the color is still there, and it looks wonderful.
DD has very sensitive skin. I lined the yoke of the petticoat with
sheer cotton batiste, so she doesn't have the taffeta against her skin
up near the waist.

Thanks for your help. I really enjoy this newsgroup!

I do too! ;-)

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

Ward wrote:

Good morning,

I viewed the photos for the dress you are making (BEI Design). They are
wonderful and very detailed. I've been reading the posts between BEI and
Kate with great interest. My niece is getting married in two years and has
asked me to make her wedding dress, something I've never done before. Don't
mind telling you I'm scared to death! I have a question ... do you always
make a muslin dress first and is it just the bodice or do you do the entire
gown?

There really is nothing to be scared of, and you have plenty of time to
acquire and perfect any techniques you haven't use before.

For something like a wedding dress I DO make a toile - and possibly two
or three! It depends how complex the pattern is... And yes, I do one
of the skirt, too! If you look at my web site (URL below), you can see
the toile for thew tops of the pink bridesmaid outfits: I did some for
the skirts as well, but they are not on the site. They were made out if
fabric that was wonderful until you opened your eyes! Felt great, had a
pattern as ugly as sin on it! ;D If there are sleeves, make a toile of
those too - especially if there are likely to be fitting problems due to
chubby biceps, muscular shoulders, or skinny pin arms!

One other problem / question. Another niece is getting married this May
29th. Her mother planned to make the flower girl dress but fell and broke
her arm. Now the project is mine to do. The bride selected Butterick 3351,
view A, in a size 5. I am making a first draft from Pellon as a test
pattern because the notions list calls for a 16" zipper which sounds really
long for a 5 year old little girl. My sister in law requested I make a
removable net slip for the dress so the skirt will puff out. I know how a
child is going to react to a netting slip. It's going to be a nightmare. I
suggested I make a slip for the kid from Tricot to protect her legs from the
scratchy netting. In the end it all seems like too much fabric for a little
girl. In addition to the slips, the dress has an overskirt too. Therein
lies the question. Any suggestions for the netting slip / under slip?

Rather than netting, which has all the friendliness of knitted barbed
wire, why not use a poly organza? LOTS of bounce without the scratch!
Mount it on a slip made of anti-stat poly lining, and remember that poly
organza frays like crazy if you don't finish the edges properly.

A 16" zipper sounds waaaaay too long! Take a look at the instructions:
you may find that it asks for a concealed zip, and these come in a more
restricted range of sizes. It may be asking you to shorten it. On the
little pink bridesmaid dresses I use 12" zippers and shortened the
little one. I think I did the same with the burgundy and cream lot, and
I KNOW I bought 16" zips for the ivory flowered silk lot, because they
were concealed ones and I had to shorten them quite a lot even though
one of the girls is quite tall.

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Kate, Beverly, Thanks again for your kind words. The upcoming wedding
dress itself isn't so much of a worry. She wants a strapless bodice and I
have plenty of fabric in my stash for test runs. It's the beading that has
me concerned. She saw the dress of her dreams in a shop window about 2
years ago. I sure can't go look up the dress now. The entire bodice and
the attached train were beaded. The other night I had a dream that she was
pulling on a thread and as I was running towards her in slow motion
screaming, "NOooooooo" every bead on the dress started popping off. It's
just a nightmare. I'm so detailed oriented it boarders on neurotic. I'll
be ready when the time comes.

That's a great idea for the flower girl dress. I have some very light pure
white muslin in my stash. I can put the net on that. I also finished the
test dress and the opening in the back from the seamline at the neck to the
zipper mark is 16 1/4". Still seems like a really long zipper to me. I'll
fit the child, then make the adjustments.

Thanks again to both of you.

Liz
"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...


Ward wrote:

Good morning,

I viewed the photos for the dress you are making (BEI Design). They are
wonderful and very detailed. I've been reading the posts between BEI
and
Kate with great interest. My niece is getting married in two years and
has
asked me to make her wedding dress, something I've never done before.
Don't
mind telling you I'm scared to death! I have a question ... do you
always
make a muslin dress first and is it just the bodice or do you do the
entire
gown?

There really is nothing to be scared of, and you have plenty of time to
acquire and perfect any techniques you haven't use before.

For something like a wedding dress I DO make a toile - and possibly two
or three! It depends how complex the pattern is... And yes, I do one
of the skirt, too! If you look at my web site (URL below), you can see
the toile for thew tops of the pink bridesmaid outfits: I did some for
the skirts as well, but they are not on the site. They were made out if
fabric that was wonderful until you opened your eyes! Felt great, had a
pattern as ugly as sin on it! ;D If there are sleeves, make a toile of
those too - especially if there are likely to be fitting problems due to
chubby biceps, muscular shoulders, or skinny pin arms!

One other problem / question. Another niece is getting married this May
29th. Her mother planned to make the flower girl dress but fell and
broke
her arm. Now the project is mine to do. The bride selected Butterick
3351,
view A, in a size 5. I am making a first draft from Pellon as a test
pattern because the notions list calls for a 16" zipper which sounds
really
long for a 5 year old little girl. My sister in law requested I make a
removable net slip for the dress so the skirt will puff out. I know how
a
child is going to react to a netting slip. It's going to be a nightmare.
I
suggested I make a slip for the kid from Tricot to protect her legs from
the
scratchy netting. In the end it all seems like too much fabric for a
little
girl. In addition to the slips, the dress has an overskirt too.
Therein
lies the question. Any suggestions for the netting slip / under slip?

Rather than netting, which has all the friendliness of knitted barbed
wire, why not use a poly organza? LOTS of bounce without the scratch!
Mount it on a slip made of anti-stat poly lining, and remember that poly
organza frays like crazy if you don't finish the edges properly.

A 16" zipper sounds waaaaay too long! Take a look at the instructions:
you may find that it asks for a concealed zip, and these come in a more
restricted range of sizes. It may be asking you to shorten it. On the
little pink bridesmaid dresses I use 12" zippers and shortened the
little one. I think I did the same with the burgundy and cream lot, and
I KNOW I bought 16" zips for the ivory flowered silk lot, because they
were concealed ones and I had to shorten them quite a lot even though
one of the girls is quite tall.

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!