Ted and Shay: Feels like Christmas!

Look what arrived in the mail the other day!


30 yards of guinea feathers!!! I was so stoked I actually got motivated to hammer out more of the dress.

When I started this project back during Memorial Day weekend, I had a pattern, lining material and twice as much fabric than I would actually need.  The pattern didn't translate into what I envisioned the dress to look like, so I scrapped it and went at the lining with nothing more than some newsprint and my dress form.

After multiple "prototypes" of skirts and bodices, I finally came up with one that would work, so I went at it with the satin.

Middle section is basically done. I added an interfacing to the back of the fabric to give it more stability, but now I wish I could start it over... It just didn't sit right with the seams, but I don't have enough fabric to start it over and there's NO WAY I'm going to find the bolt of fabric I got this from at the warehouse.

So I made the shell of the top without using the interface, to hopefully avoid the problems I had with the skirt. I finished the lining, but I'm not sure the two fabric will lay together properly.... Luckily I've befriended an AWESOME gal at Hancock Fabrics named Dorothy, who told me to call or stop by anytime with questions. I think I'll be dialing her up very soon.  The BIG problem is folks, I'm a serious novice when it comes to sewing. I was too busy taking all of the science and math classes my high school had to offer to even bother with home-ec.  I've taken one sewing class in my entire life, and my ex-boyfriend had to show me how to thread my first machine.  I've read tons of sewing books though. But, when you sew as seldom as I do, that wealth of information isn't at the forefront of your mind. I should have done a more thorough refresher course before tackling this beast.

But I sunk my teeth into the bottom skirt anyway. After 4 attempts, I finally got it right!  Then I started to pin my pile of feather trim on to make sure I had enough, and found out the trim is sealed with glue!!! I'm going to have to hand sew 30 freaking yards of feathers onto the bottom skirt! OY!  Good thing I still have 3 months left.

xoshayox