Bombshell Bridesmaid Dress

I am still basking in the great success that was my me-made bridesmaid dress!  

Bridal Party!

The bride, Sara, selected short navy lace bridesmaid dresses for her traditional wedding in our South Carolina hometown.  My DIY wheels started turning when she told me I could choose my own style among the J. Crew leavers lace collection. In October I ordered the Cathleen from J.Crew but returned it shortly thereafter. It didn't fit well and I felt confident I could make something better.



Under the guise of sewing a matching flower girl dress, I emailed J.Crew's "wedding specialist" and procured three yards of the navy lace at $25/yard + tax/shipping.  Can you believe it was that easy? I only wish the rest of the dress-making process was as easy!

The dress  is Burdastyle (5/2011 #122A).  I mostly used the instructions in Gertie's Bombshell dress course (no longer available on Craftsy).

I planned to sew a test dress (the "jungle dress") for a New Year's Eve wedding.  I failed to meet deadline and resurrected a pink and gold brocade me-made to wear instead.  Throughout January, I continued to work on the jungle dress but ran into issues practically every step of the way.

I LOVE this fabric!  A Marchesa silk organza purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics several years ago.

As of this writing, the jungle dress is still incomplete but it allowed me to work out so many of the kinks before cutting into the blue lace for the bridesmaid dress.  2016 Holiday Party dress, perhaps?

Fitting the Bodice Pattern:

I muslined the bombshell bodice two years ago with the intent of sewing it for my rehearsal dinner dress. During this initial muslin stage I made minor adjustments that I now recognize as echoing the adjustments necessary for bramaking:  1) I graded the side of the cup to accommodate more cup volume, as I am between a B and C cup and  2) I added extra coverage at the top of the breast to the upper cup.  I still think I could add a bit more coverage as the final dress is borderline too revealing for conservative me.

In keeping with the vintage style, the Burda pattern was drafted with a fairly low waistline.  I look better with a raised waistline (empire).  After I had sewn the separate bodice and skirt on the jungle dress, Sharon pinned me in and we identified a new waistline.

Skirt is pinned into the bodice with new raised waistline  

I removed the dress from my body very carefully and immediately used a contrasting silk thread to mark the new seamline along the bodice.  I transferred this to the paper pattern by laying the fashion fabric on top of the paper and drawing in the new line.  As you can see from the photo below, the new waistline curves a great deal.




Sewing the Bodice:

Before cutting into the blue lace, I laboriously hand basted the three layers that became the fashion fabric: J. Crew leavers lace, navy silk georgette (Chic Fabrics), and silk organza (Susan Khalje).

Hand basting the 3 layers with silk thread (every 3-5 inches) and using candles (my go-to) as pattern weights

Once the three fabrics were acting as one, I cut out all dress pieces.  I had constructed the jungle dress with no seam allowances and thread traced seamlines.  I am not a big fan of this no seam allowances couture method and fail to see how it ensures more precision than a regular seam allowance.  So I added a 5/8" seam allowance for purposes of sewing the lace dress.

Ready to cut--Only used a little over a yard for the dress itself!

Right before starting to sew the bodice pieces together in the lace dress, I decided to add an additional layer of stability to all bodice pieces (minus the cups) in a quilting cotton.This means that the bodice is comprised of 4 layers (excluding lining):  lace, silk georgette, silk organza, quilting cotton.  Perhaps the cotton layer was not necessary, but I don't regret it.

Sewing the bodice pieces together was fairly straightforward.  Attaching the cups to the bodice took a good deal of patience and lots of hand basting.

Bodice Cups

The cups are a bit fiddly.  Gertie's instructions require that you pad out the bodice cups with needle punch or cotton batting.  This process is largely done by hand. I added an additional layer of batting to all three pieces of the cups on the blue lace dress to provide more shape. I still think I could have padded them a bit more in the upper cup.  When I complete the jungle dress, I will add a third layer of needlepunch to the upper cup.

Bodice Boning and Lining:

Using a light blue printed silk (Chic Fabrics) I sewed the lining in full prior to making the dress.  I picked up this sewing-the-lining-first tip from the Gorgeous Fabrics Blog.    I'm glad I did it, because it definitely helped me push through and avoid what Ann calls "lining fatigue."




In hindsight, I regret choosing this print. In spite of edge stitching the lining to the seam allowance and tacking it down by hand, the lining did start to peak out of the top of the dress along the cups, as you can see in the photo below.

Sisters!

I credit my mom in full for cutting all the boning in the days before the wedding.  The boning was inserted into the lining along every seam, two pieces on the diagonal from the side seam down toward the center front, as well as two final pieces close to the zipper.  That's eleven pieces of boning in total!  Per the instructions, no boning was inserted into the cups.

I sourced additional spiral steel tips and white casing from Daytona Trimmings.  Unfortunately, I bought the wrong size tips and didn't realize it until I was already in South Carolina.  Mom to the rescue – My mom removed the existing tips, cut the boning with pliers (it's not easy) and then reinserted the tips before sliding the boning into the casing.  Next time I make this dress, I will be sure to leave a bit of extra margin for the casing.

The Skirt:

I had MANY problems with the skirt in the jungle dress! I had originally cut out the skirt pieces in the jungle dress to make the Burdastyle sarong style skirt.  But I quickly realized that the silk organza did not have the proper hand to be flattering in the sarong style.  In the picture below you can see where I barely squeezed a straight skirt front out of the bias cut sarong piece.



Finishing:

While I had dutifully followed Gertie's directions for more than half the construction, when it came to finishing the dress I was low on time, patience, and everything in between.  My RTW finishing deviated a bit from Gertie's couture methods. In particular, I joined the skirt to bodice by machine instead of using fell stitches per Gertie's instructions.  Further, I opted for an invisible zipper instead of the vintage lapped zipper that Gertie favors. Finally, I used twill tape instead of petersham for the waist stay.

With the bride before the ceremony

Bolero

In the interest of taking the bombshell out of the bombshell, I selected Vintage Vogue 8812 for a simple bolero to cover my shoulders in the church.  I cut out the bolero pattern pieces before flying home and my mom sewed it up two days before the wedding.   (Yes, Maman to the rescue AGAIN.)  Luckily, she had previously made the same pattern for herself in the same size.  In fact she also wore it to the wedding!

Different fabric, same bolero!

The bolero pattern does not include instructions for a lining.  Instead, it has facings.  Maman sewed the lining separately, trimmed it down, and then attached it to the facings by hand.  She also angled the bust darts down about an inch.  The size 8 bolero fit properly, but if I make it again I will use a size 10 for my back and retain the size 8 in the front.



It was a special dress for a special celebration.  Easily the biggest sewing challenge I have ever undertaken!  I felt so much more confident in this dress than I ever did in the J. Crew version and am very proud of the construction throughout.  Still not the best testament to my time management skills, but I guess that's par for the course when you have a full time job/full life and still commit to a hobby!  I was absolutely down to the wire to finish and couldn't have done so without my Mom's help.

Family photo with the bride and groom! 

best friends + husbands = my NYC family!

NYC Sewing Meet Up: Manus x Machina @ the Met

It's almost here!!! The Met Costume Institute's Spring exhibition, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of Technology opens May 3rd. The exhibition highlights the tension between machine made (Ready to Wear) and handmade (haute couture) and explores how technology has upended the time-honored view of handmade's superiority.   The exhibition will include reproductions of couture workrooms, as well as 150+ garments and objects.  Video preview of the show here.

I would like to invite you to visit the exhibition with me on Saturday, May 14  +  a post-exhibition lunch  and opportunity to meet other local sewists.

Please RSVP to me at domesticcoquinette@gmail.com by Friday, May 6.  I look forward to meeting you and connecting over our shared passion!

-Claire (aka Domestic Coquinette)

                                   Schedule of Meet Up Events:

10am: Meet on the North corner of the front steps facing 5th Ave (side closest to 85th St)
 Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue) 

• We will plan to visit the galleries from 10am-12:30pm. You are of course welcome to stay for however short or long you would like, or hop to other galleries.  (Could be a good opportunity to visit the Vigee LeBrun exhibition if you haven't already. It is closing on May 15.)
• Note on ticket price:  Please bring $ for admission.  Admission to the Met is pay as you wish, with the suggested ticket price of $25.  Official ticketing details from the Met are here.  (For unofficial details on why you should not pay the suggested ticket price, see this Atlantic article.  You're welcome 😀)

1pm – 4pm: Drop in for lunch and post-exhibition schmoozing at Claire's in the Upper West Side

• Note on food:  Please be my guest for a tea party style lunch (scones, tea sandwiches, assorted desserts, etc.) It may be dainty, but it will be plentiful!  Vegetarian options will be provided.  

• Note on location: My apartment is a 15 minute walk west across Central Park from the Met (5 minutes by crosstown bus).  Address and directions provided when you RSVP to me directly.  

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Please RSVP to Claire at domesticcoquinette@gmail.com 

by Friday, May 6 

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P.S.  Feel free to share the meet up details with others in the sewing community via Instagram, blog, word of mouth, etc.

Asaka Kimono in Paradise

I recently returned from an epic vacation to Vietnam including four tropical nights in the Gulf of Thailand.   Phu Quoc Island is known for its white sand beaches, crystal blue waters, and red dirt roads roaming with cattle and wild ridgeback dogs.  Freedomland -- our aptly named jungle resort -- was a little piece of heaven!  

Sunset on Ong Lang Beach

What better occasion to sew a special garment than Freedomland's famous communal dinners in the jungle!

Yes, I took this picture!  Amazing 4 course dinners every night at Freedomland.

I decided to go big and bold with the Asaka Kimono by Named Pattern Company.  There was no turning back when I saw Closet Case Files' beautiful cotton version!

I am pretty happy with how mine turned out!

In our thatch room bungalow at Freedomland

The silk charmeuse is from Chic Fabrics.  Chic has a great selection of colorful prints at $15/yard.  Highly recommend when in the NYC Garment District.

Cutting this out was challenging.  With previous silk projects I laboriously hand basted the fabric to medical paper to ensure a precise cut.  At Sonja's suggestion, I tried the new-to-me method of laying the silk out in a single layer on muslin before cutting.  Presto!  The muslin adhered to the silk and the cut pieces were more or less precise. Because of the slippery fabric, I sewed with a microtex needle and my walking foot.

The slits at the juncture of the open sleeves were a little bit tricky to hem because they met at a french seam, but I figured it out by clipping at the juncture of the french seam and slit.

In lieu of the iron-on interfacing recommended by the pattern, I used silk organza to interface the collar.  Next time I will try self-fabric for the collar interfacing.  I chose not to interface the belt.

                                           


                                  

The sleeves are set in the round and I had to run some gathering stitches to get the sleeve to fit into the shoulder. This probably wasn't the fault of the pattern drafting.  I think the fabric probably stretched since I forgot to staystitch the curves.

Since indie patterns are more expensive than the Big 4, I had higher expectations of the overall experience. This pattern should have been drafted for french seams. Period.  The seam allowance was only 3/8",   so I took the extra time to add 1/4"  so that I could make french seams. Also,  the instructions  were quite minimal and the cutting layout was only for 60".  I had a scant 4 yards of 45" fabric and spent a head scratching hour maneuvering the 14 individual pattern pieces into a workable layout for 45".

I do wish that I could get the hem to fall evenly and keep the skirt from riding up in every which direction and clinging.  I have a hunch that a lot of these problems would be solved if I used a cotton.
 

Pesky imperfections aside, this make was a real confidence builder.  Working at a steady rhythm, I completed the garment over about 6 days.  Each day I had a new goal and for the most part I accomplished everything on the day that I set out to do it. Maybe my good sewing juju has finally arrived?

From Sewist to Client: a Custom Wardrobe in Hanoi

"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us."

I am still on a high from our Vietnam vacation --- inspired by the fellow travelers we met along the way, picturesque scenery, my own vanquished fears (an overnight in the 3rd largest cave in the world deep in a leech-filled jungle!), and the silliness and confusion that accompany developing world adventures. What beautiful memories!

Soon after we booked our flights I started researching tailors in Hanoi.  My husband Michael needed a work wardrobe refresh and I wanted a headstart on my wedding season wardrobe.  I quickly settled on Hoa Fashion after learning that it was favored by local expats and recommended by our guidebook.

A third generation family business, Madame Hoa and her daughter Lien are the face of the brand.  Madame is a master of fit, nipping and pinning and smoothing; Lien, a fashion school grad, has a great eye for design and proportion.   The workers -- pattern maker, cloth cutter, men's tailor and several general sewists -- surfaced from the basement to advise during our fittings.  There was a visible security camera feed on the shop's main floor and I was able to glimpse at their comfortable workspace.

We arrived for our initial consultation at 8:30pm and spent two hours with Lien and her mother getting measured, trying on existing shop samples, flipping through catalogues (La Redoute, etc.) and settling on designs.

Madame Hoa measuring Michael during the initial consultation

Michael brought along a sample shirt and I brought images of designs to copy.

From left: Pinterest pants, DVF dress, Laroque tank, Burberry coat, Simplicity 1880

Additionally, we offloaded seven kilos of fabric from our suitcase!  You really can't compare the quality of Asian textiles to their finer European counterparts, so I encouraged Michael to shop for the fabric in advance in NYC.  He purchased the bulk at B&J, including super 120s suiting, shirting, and cashmere flannel for a sport coat.  He also made purchases at Mood and Elliott Berman.  I brought two pieces of stash fabric: a cotton floral print purchased several years ago at Benevento in Venice and a yellow brocade from Zimman's in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Fabrics purchased from B&J

Once we arrived at Hoa neither of us could resist adding to our order with garments made from fabrics from the shop.  Michael added a blue linen suit and several shirts and I added dresses and separates, including a dress and camisole from Vietnamese silk, and two dresses from Korea-milled cotton lawn.

For a small shop, they had an impressive fabric stash including a very small collection of high quality Vietnamese silk manufactured in the Van Phuc Silk village.

In addition to taking extensive measurements, Lien asked that I try on samples of the two designs I wanted to copy from her shop examples: a Burberry trench and a dress.   Her Burberry trench sample was on point and she told me that she had purchased a real Burberry in order to copy everything exactly.  It passed the Gorgeous Fabrics Burberry trench test!   Although I wanted to make some changes to the Burberry trench (princess seams and a flounce, a la Kate Mid), she asked that I try on her sample so she could work from her existing flat pattern to make the changes.  She quickly ascertained that one of my shoulders is taller than the other and made notes so that both shoulders would fit.

I fell in love with this dress which was destined for another client.  Since it was my size, I tried it on and Lien made notes for the pattern maker to alter the existing pattern to my body.

Before leaving, Madame asked if we would like all cotton fabrics pre-washed. These ladies sure do speak my language!

We returned five days later for the first fitting.  Hoa had prepared one of Michael's eight dress shirts and they had wisely chosen the lowest quality of the fabrics to make the initial shirt.

1st fitting.  The buttons are not placed, placket not sewn, and the collar is made out of interfacing

It was interesting to see what they had deliberately finished and what they had not.  Both of his suits were in process (no linings and only one sleeve) and all pants had been sewn.  All hemlines had been hand basted, zippers had not been inserted, and buttons had not been sewn.  For both of our garments, the collars (Burberry trench, Michael's shirts, my DVF shirtdress copy) were made out of interfacing to preserve the fashion fabric in the event of further changes.

First fitting.  Collar is interfaced, nothing is hemmed, and buttons are not placed.  Only one sleeve is inserted.

The inspiration on the left and the copy on the right.  The shape looked terrible on me, so we made it into cigarette pants.

And we did make further changes -- the DVF dress collar was a bit too tight, so Lien cut the collar at the center back and then used tape to achieve a comfortable fit around my neck. Similarly, we reshaped the interfacing collars on the alder style shirt dresses with a pair of scissors.  We discussed linings  and Lien suggested which dresses only needed a 1/2 lining.

My dress on the left and the inspiration on the right

Michael was particularly impressed that Hoa made working buttonholes and vents for the sleeves of his suit jacket and sport coat. According to Michael, most men's RTW -- even upmarket brands like Paul Smith and Hickey Freeman -- do not include working buttonholes on suit jacket sleeves.  Hoa also made several perfect welt pockets in the lining for different purposes:  a pen pocket, general breast pocket, and business card pocket.

Modifications to the pants during the first fitting.  Note that the belt loops are not completed.

Four days after the initial fitting we were back in the shop for the final fitting!  We had recommended Hoa to some fellow travelers whom we had met the previous week on beautiful Phu Quoc Island.  The girls met us at Hoa and we quickly took over the shop!

Our fellow travelers were busy in the back of the shop ordering garments!

While the girls were busy ordering garments, Michael and I made final modifications to ours.

Michael did a "sit-test" for comfort around the thighs

Matching in blue linen (Michael) and Vietnamese silk (me)!

My finished yellow dress on right (still needs a good iron) and the inspiration on the left.

We left Hoa with all garments in tow except for my white linen cigarette pants and two Alder shirt dresses. These were delivered to the hotel the following day. 

From the Grainline pattern to Mai Attique's version to my two new dresses

Giddy with our purchases and wanting to celebrate our last night in style (Michael was itching to wear his sportcoat!), we met up with the girls at our hotel's bar for its famed pho cocktail named in honor of folk singer Joan Baez.
 

With our fellow travelers waiting for Joan Baez pho cocktails; I am wearing another shirt from Hoa!

Baez was a Metropole Hotel guest during the war and recorded parts of "Where are you now my son?" in the hotel bomb shelter where she spent several nights during the Christmas bombing of '72. 

Joan Baez pho cocktail in the making!  Its pyrotechnic presentation recalls the successive Christmas bombings of '72 survived by Baez in the Metropole shelter; the flavors (cardamom, star anise, coriander) are a nod to Pho, Hanoi's iconic dish.

Tour of the historic bomb shelter where Baez and Jane Fonda were "guests."  This bunker was designed for 40 people.  Hotel staff took cover in manholes along the street.  

In my Hoa trench on our last day in Hanoi visiting the Temple of Literature

We are so pleased with our beautiful garments and with the Hoa experience!  Now back to my own dining table "workroom" where I am the pattern maker, cutter, fit specialist, sewer, and everything in between...