No. 2: Ruby Rag Doll - Completion!

Funny story...I was winding a new bobbin for this project and then suddenly, out of nowhere, I ran out of thread. Yes, I ran out of black thread...even though I was under the impression that the spool was unused.
Normally I wouldn't care too much and kind of keep going in a different thread, figuring that no one would ever know the difference anyway. But that wont work on a project where there are copious amounts of cosmetic stitching that require black thread.
So a little bit of a speed bump there...but I pilfered a new spool of thread from my parents' house when I was there this weekend and was quickly back in business. And subsequently, I finished the dress yesterday on my first day off in thirteen days.

So...here's the concept:



And here's how it turned out:






Pretty good for completely disregarding all laws of cutting and bias. And I think that all the cosmetic stitching will actually help stabilize the brocade so it doesn't combust in a spray of sparkling fibers. The zipper didn't go in as neatly as I would have liked, and the cosmetic stitching could be better. That's something to work on: precision. I'd like to take her out and do a real shoot with her to heighten the glory a bit and gussy the portfolio, but until I get that figured out we're going to have to make do with me awkwardly posing with a camera in the mirror.

The base material finally arrived for the next dress project, but that might have to be put on hold as I need to come up with something suitable to wear to a wedding. Meaning not too flashy. My mother has no faith in this endeavor (and rolled her eyes overly dramatically when she heard the the words "Sally" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" in the description of this latest work), and I'm out to prove her absolutely wrong.

Dress # 1: Assembly and Completion

So this one is a bit odd in terms of tracking progress because even though I made sure to bring my camera home for spring break for documentation purposes, I managed to leave the transfer cable sitting on my desk at school. Now, however, I am back and with my cable and thus able to upload pictures. Since I don't want to make this post enormous, however, I'm going to skip the cutting/pattern pictures.

Well, here's the concept:



Yes, it's quite scanty. I cheated and cleaned it up a bit for artistic effect. The original was scribbled on the back (yes, the back) of a post-it note...to assure my sister that there was some plan in effect. Here's how it turned out:



...as it would turn out, Jean Paul Gaultier had a dress with similar tulle ruffling in his recent collection. I saw the picture in the New York Times while in the midst of assembling this creation and was quite relieved that my argument that tulle is *so* in right now was actually valid. (As far as I'm concerned, any fabric that doesn't need to be hemmed is "in.")

Assembly time: roughly a week. While most of the base of the dress (specifically, the bodice and the lining) came from an altered Simplicity pattern (no mannequin makes patterning difficult, and I happen to know that this particular pattern works well for my sister's body type)the tulle portion of the project soon turned into a frilly nightmare that was threatening to swallow poor Johnny whole.



And gathering the stuff can become tedious at times...

Total material cost: $23.00. Yup, turns out I had a ton of what claims to be Italian silk hidden in my closet from a prior project, as well as some ribbon and lining material floating around in the attic. So essentially we spent roughly $20.00 on tulle...which is impressive, especially when that tulle is coming from Wal-Mart. (If only that lucky break could follow through...)

A couple of additional views (yes, there's a bit of a hole in the back there...break ended):





So...a little less Lady Gaga than initially intended, though I'm certain that the shapes incorporated are probably going to be the least conventional at this particular prom. And I'd go so far as to say that the design is slightly Alexander McQueen (may he rest in peace), except with Wal-Mart tulle in place of glorious feathers. I suppose part of the challenge of designing a dress for someone is knowing to what extent one can go. Going full-on Gaga would probably not be practical for a high-school prom, nor did the idea of making the body look strange by means of the dress really appeal here. In this case, the dress is odd and should definitely stand out in a crowd of conventional prom dresses, but also flattering and wearable.

Save for a few minor flaws (all of which have held important lessons for future reference), I'm pretty happy with how this first dress turned out.

One down, 999 to go.