Frustrated!

You may remember my recent post about the 18th C. gown I was trying to sew by tomorrow night...I took a vacation day from work today, so I could finish it. I spent 13 hours, with hardly a break, working on it. You can't really test the fit until most of the component pieces are made, then you pin it together. After all of this, the thing is HUGE on me! And I need DH to help pin the back (there's a swath of pleated fabric that hangs down the back). He's had a hard week at work (very long hours), and I don't want to ask him. I quit about an hour ago. I'll try to get it done for the next 3 Halloween parties next week...maybe!

I guess I'll have to wear my old one, from last year: a lavender silk taffeta gown. The blue one was starting to gel together, and looked so pretty on the dress form (Big Bertha is her name, BTW. She's a tiny store display form, with literally a 15" waist, and no shoulders. I pinned on bed pillows, and used duct tape wrapped around them, like a mummy. My corset is way too small for Bertha, and she's enormous, but I mainly made her in order to have shoulders and padding to pin things onto. She's a big lass!)

I hate sewing. Yes, I do. Really. Did I mention that I hate sewing?

I've done the same thing.... in terms of the dummy. Mine is Cruella. She's a headless mannequin (and is STILL taller than me), which I've padded with several layers of fluffy batting and duck tape. Her name comes from the fact that when I was carrying her under my arm into my apartment after buying her off craigslist, the seam on her torso pinched my hand.

I totally understand about not being able to finish things in time... I have so many ********** projects backed up, it's ridiculous. I hope I can get the ones for other people done/several steps forward this weekend...

Amanda

I feel your pain...I have a steampunk quasi-victorian sleeveless jacket that I'm trying to get up the nerve to work on. At this point I don't think I'll even get started on it until after Christmas...

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

I've done the same thing.... in terms of the dummy. Mine is Cruella. She's a headless mannequin (and is STILL taller than me), which I've padded with several layers of fluffy batting and duck tape. Her name comes from the fact that when I was carrying her under my arm into my apartment after buying her off craigslist, the seam on her torso pinched my hand.

I totally understand about not being able to finish things in time... I have so many ********** projects backed up, it's ridiculous. I hope I can get the ones for other people done/several steps forward this weekend...

Amanda

Click to expand...

LOVE the Cruella story!

The cats were having so much fun with the dress today. They seemed to be hiding under the skirt, using it as a tent. They also knocked poor Bertha over several times (she is top-heavy).

Ms. Freya, I only have myself to blame! I've had this fabric since July 28th. Every year, we go to several Halloween parties and a couple of reenactments, so my Halloween costume is really a new reenacting dress. This year, I promised myself that I would do things much, much sooner, to avoid the last-minute frenzy--these dresses require a lot of hand-finishing--the trim, etc. Last year, I literally was sewing on it until an hour before we had to leave. So what did I do this year? I started even later than usual!