Olivia's Gown, day 3 and 4

Day 3

This is a continuation of Olivia's 3.5 day dressmaking experience.  

Check here for the first half.

Here is an example of the small adjustments I make to perfect the fit.  You can see the original seam line and the pins are indicating the new one.  Looks like it is an adjustment of about an eighth of an inch.  Silly.  

After all of the adjustments are made, it is time to finalize the bodice. That means sew the seams with a small stitch instead of the basting stitch used initially.  I have used many layers and need to trim some of the seams quite closely.  This helps the seams lay better in the end.  I learned this from Susan Khalje.  Another life changing resource for the dressmaker.  I have taken two classes from her I will forever be grateful for the things I learned.    

 I hand stitched the channels for the spiral boning on the inside.  Also something Susan taught me.  You can see the effect in above photo.  

There would have been another fitting that I don't have pictures of.  Darn it.  

We would have placed the sleeves in the appropriate place at that time.  We also marked the hem, which I am always excited about.  It just cleans the look up so nicely.  I like to use horse hair for this.  It gives the hem a nice bit of personality in my opinion.  

 This is the last fitting of the day.  Olivia and her mom are here in the evening.  If all is well, this fitting is used to address the small details, check the fit, the hem, and finalize the jewels. 

The dress is due tomorrow.  I have a huge amount to do before they leave.  I expect to stay up extremely late on the last night of an out of town bride's dress.  The finish work always takes ten times as long as I think it should. 

I always hit a wall about midnight.  That is when the BBC news comes on.  It is depressing for a bit and then I get my second wind, thankfully.  

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Day 3 for Olivia and her mom included a morning fitting, lunch in Park City, and a lift ride at Sundance Resort.  It is an enviable day in my opinion.  They then had the evening fitting pictured above then dinner at The Tortilla Bar in Orem.  That place is the ultimate when it comes to interesting and refreshing combinations of flavors.  I love the hanger steak tacos and the avocado tacos.  The melon salad is insane, in a good way.  

This photo features the lift ride at Sundance.  So relaxing.  

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Day 4

This is the final moment.  Whew.  We place the jewels on the finished dress.  Olivia and her mom found a necklace with blue stones.  I took it apart and nestled one of the jewels on the neckline for that "something blue".  

They will go on an errand for an hour or so while I sew on the jeweled neckline and add the button detail.  I am pretty relaxed at this point.  Looks like the dress came together and we can send the dress off with the bride on her afternoon flight.  

Thanks for the great experience Olivia!  It was fun to work on your dress and get to know you and your mom.  I shouldn't say this, but I think Olivia's mom teared up a bit when they left.  

Now isn't that just the perfect ending?