The Wedding Dress -- Sometimes Tack(y) is Good!

I got a lot of work done on the dress. I finished hand picking the skirt's zipper and sewed the skirt lining in at the top creating the plain skirt waist that DD wants.

At the present time, I have only basted the waist line, but I plan to set it with a couple of stitches in each seam and a good press.

I wanted to make sure that the lining does not shift around and get twisted up so I used a couture finishing technique called a French Tack or a Swing Tack. I found a lovely video that was made by my couture hero, Susan Khalji. It is a great lesson on how to do this technique properly.

Here is my tack! I think it looks great. I put one in every seam  -- some at the mid point and some closer to the hem.

I then pinned the trim around the hemline of the dress. That took forever! Now I am beginning to sew the trim on. When I am done with that I will finish sewing the lining to the hem and the skirt will be done.

Still so much work to be done.

Happy sewing.

Couture Class

I've suddenly become enamored of couture, don't ask me why. I began on-line research of the subject which led me to Susan Khalje Couture. I looked at her website and decided that I wanted to take her class. Alas, I am unable to afford the near $1,000 price tag for the 6 day long class. Oh, how I wish money grew on trees! But wait! Upon further research, I found that Susan had teamed up with Crafty to put together an on-line class in couture! Now this makes a couture class affordable for me.

I quickly paid my fee and the "class" was immediately available to me; however, the Vogue pattern #8648 that was included as part of the price of the class will take approximately 10 days to arrive. That's OK by me as I want to listen to all of the lessons before beginning any project. My plan is to make either view D, E or F as I kinda like the flouncy skirt. But of course if any of you know me well, my mind can easily change. I have not decided on if I want a sleeve or not. That might be entirely dictated by the fabric that I choose. If I find flashy evening wear fabric, this may end up sleeveless, but if I find a fabric that would be great for work, it will more likely have sleeves.

So far, I have worked my way through the first 7 of 15 lessons. And it has definitely been worth the money. All those years that I made clothes and they only ever turned out "alright" because I really didn't know how to sew like this. However, couture is not quick and easy and is absolutely not for anyone who desires instant gratification. This is labor intensive with a lot of hand work and way more steps than are on the back of a pattern. Susan Khalje uses the analogy of food. You can eat with a fast-food hamburger and fries or you can eat a 7 course gourmet meal from a 5 star restaurant. Both will fill you up but they are very different.

Happy sewing!