Making a mod dress- update

I finished the dress! I should have taken a "before" picture, but this is what I did:
1. Pulled the over sized dress apart. It had horrible long sleeves, it was way to big at the waist, and way too long (it went down under my knees).
2. I kept the top part together. I like how it was constructed.
3. I cut the skirt to make it shorter. Since I wanted to keep the lines at the bottom, I cut the skirt at the top.
4. Took the top in about 1 inch on each side. Hemmed the sleeve holes.
5. Took in the skirt, keeping an A line shape about 3 inches on each side (It was huge!)
6. Connected the top to the bottom. Since I took it in so much, it was a little hard to match all the seams and lines, but it's not too obvious.
I am definitely not the kind of person who "measures twice, cuts once". Maybe I should start doing that.

Anyhow, here is the result:

Making a mod dress

Here is another one of my sewing adventures...more like reconstruction. My wonderful friend Kelly is having a super cool Mod/factory/Andy Warhol party, and we are dressing up. We spent most of our Saturday shopping at the Haight, and came across a really fun vintage store.
I ended up buying two dresses. On of them fits pretty well, but the one I really like was too big, too long, and had long sleeves. I love the pattern on the bottom...very Mondrian-like. Here is a detail of the pattern:



So far I have cut the skirt, cut the sleeves, and pinned it together. It looks pretty frumpy right now, but I assure you it will be fabulous! I'm so excited!

Wedding dress- Part 3

My pattern arrived in the mail a couple of days ago, and it looks a bit more complicated than I thought it would be. I have never lined a garment, and much less made a cummerbund.


Today I bought some cheap fabric to make my practice dress with. I got about 6 yards, in case I mess it up. It has a pretty, retro looking pattern, but I really wasn't too picky. I just chose something from the sale rack that didn't involve seasonal prints!

I also saw my dream crinoline at a vintage store in the Castro. Puffiness supreme! I hope they still have it when I am not so broke, and I actually have a dress to put it under. My goal is to look like a cross between a ballerina, and an upside down cupcake.
:)

Wedding dress ideas- Part 2

I have ordered a beautiful, easy, retro-looking pattern to make my dress. I will try to make a practice dress with a cheaper fabric, to make sure I don't completely ruin my nicer fabric. I'm thinking of a higher-end cotton, with some turquoise applications. I love the neckline applications on this dress:


I also love the waist sash and the flower, so I think I will be including that. The skirt will be super poofy, like this dress from www.vintageous.com:


If my dress-making abilities fail, my back-up plan is to buy a vintage dress, or maybe just a really fun summer dress. The only downside is that most vintage dresses have a 24'' waist! Where ARE these tiny people?!

Making my own wedding dress

I'm not great at sewing, but I do take pleasure and stand in awe after I put a few pieces of fabric together and made it into a garment. So far this year I've re sized t-shirts, made a skirt, a dress, and a shirt. Now I'm moving to the big leagues, since I am thinking about making my own wedding dress.
Why?...you might ask. It's as simple as this: it would be more meaningful, cheaper, and it would be so much fun to reply "what..??! this old thing???....well, I made it myself!".
The only problem is that I haven't found a pattern I like. I'm looking into tea-length poofy dresses, and use a fabric other than satin. I cannot sew satin! It is the hardest fabric to work with. Instead, I am thinking about making a cotton dress with some lace.

Here are some inspirations: