Wedding dress finish!

My niece has a wedding coming up in a couple of weeks. Just before Christmas. So wedding  bells and Christmas bells will all be ringing. 

Anyway she contacted me with an alteration request. At the time the dress was too long, but in the weeks since she's lost weight, so the dress was also a little big. Just big enough to need a few tucks.

She drove the normally five hours in a torrential rain for this. The dress is well made with underpinnings and boning, and interfacing, and lots of other stuff all built in. However, the structure was such that the top of the bust gaped open and looked awkward. So we had an awkward conversation about those "big girls" and the likelihood that they would escape. It didn't take much convincing since, it turns out, she didn't know how to ask for help but had great concern. The irony!

I tried a couple of ideas: taking in the sides where the armseye would be, drawing in the center of the sweetheart shape, tightening the crisscross drawstring. Nothing made me happy. Either the gap shifted forward, the bust became too tight or I created bulges in odd places. 

Finally I suggested straps. Let's just try ribbon and safety pins. No harm no foul and maybe it will work. Well, lo and behold, that was the answer! She hiked up the dress, I pinned on some satin ribbon front to back and we hemmed and hawed. Then I changed the ribbon to create a halter top and we hemmed and hawed. Lastly I crisscrossed the ribbon in the back and the dress Behaved. With a capitol B, I tell you. Just like that the dress knew who was boss. And the big girls didn't look so nervous. 

So the white ribbon stayed pinned to the top and I tackled the hips. Just a tiny little adjustment took out one the finicky curve and we were in the business of finding a good hem length. I decided to cut an extra half inch off so that I'd have enough for my secret weapon.

After lots of measuring and two little panicky hot flashes, I cut and hemmed the dress. Then I used the pieces of fabric I cut off the hem to create the straps I needed for the top. Yes, there's always a place to steal fabric from the dress. This is my third time, so I know. (Alayna's dress is here.)

I didn't even sweat over the fact that there were curves in the fabric. Instead I let that work to our advantage and turned the straps so the curves are toward the neck and could follow the shape of the shoulder. That removes any stress or pulling against the shorter side of the strap and gives a snug, fitted look. Happy accidents are nice after panic stress. 

We tried getting the dress on with the straps pinned, but that was not happening, which meant I had to devise a way to remove the straps for dressing/undressing. A couple of little white buttons on the back side of the dress did the trick and don't show at all since they are on the inside. 

To make neat buttonholes, I added heavy interfacing to the end of the straps. It's going to take time to get this chick into and out of that dress, but she looks great when she's all buttoned and strapped and busted and SPANXed in. In other words, a typical wedding gown.

I don't have an it's-finished-and-it's-perfect picture for you. That picture will have to wait till the wedding. Since it's only two weeks away, you won't have to wait long. The bride-to-be is happily snoozing surrounded by unwrapped Christmas gifts in our spare bedroom. She'll leave tomorrow with a lovely, well-fitted gown that is much less likely to malfunction on the important day. In other words, a fabulous wedding gown.