Prom Dresses

I've spent the past 3 and a half weeks making 2 prom dresses. I love to sew, and it was a blast making the dresses, but a bit stressful as well. JB's girlfriend, K's dress was a Vogue pattern that I fought with from the very beginning. I've learned through the years to make a mock-up of important pieces before I cut into the "real" fabric. It was a good thing on this dress. it looked stupid - nothing like the picture on the pattern envelope. Each time we tried it on K did her best to be diplomatic, but she and I both knew it looked awful. After several tries and finally cutting new pattern pieces, we (I) got it done. And she looked beautiful. Just before I hemmed it, I was taking a break and thought I'd Google the pattern on the computer. Up popped a page with all the idiosyncrasies and errors of the pattern! Things I spent 3 weeks figuring out were laid out there in black and white. Lesson learned: Always check your resources FIRST!

DA's dress was one I had sketched last August, and she modified. We didn't have a commercial pattern, but she had confidence in me, so I had to have it in myself. Again, after several tries, frantic searches through pattern books (to no avail) and some frustration, we got a workable product. It wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, but that was primarily the fault of the fabric she had chosen; it just wasn't stiff enough. But she still looked gorgeous in the end.

Now it's DB's turn for a special dress. Thankfully, there's no looming deadline during the busiest month of the year. I can leisurely and joyfully make her dream dress - and have it ready for next year's prom, I hope...