Silky Squares at 2.30 am

What do you do on a Good Friday, when you take your youngest for a four hour dance session... in Leamington Spa...time you get home, time to turn around and go back...NO! you Google fabric shops and mooch!! Oh yes, my friends, four hours was not nearly long enough (the debit card took quite a bashing) but came back with some beauties to top up the old fabric collection. 
The colour way in this silk is not what I'm normally attracted to, but you know how it talks to you (in that high pitch squeaky voice) " Oh, take me home, and I promise to turn myself into something spectacular !!"    

                                     

The pattern used was  McCalls 6883; originally I had ideas on completing view C with the under slip, yet somewhere along the line a change of plan took place and View B was thought to be more suited, although it was touch 'n' go on having enough fabric.

Everything about this fabric oozed evening, slinky and special.If you've read my recent posts you will know about a wedding that I was very excited about and planned on changing for the evening reception.. the day dress here .

Allow me a slight digress here- time was not on my side and after a total melt down over my daughter dress, that did not happen! (the bodice was just to tight when the lining was inserted) and at nine O'clock the night before, the poor girl needed to go to bed, thus resulting in a quick trip to the local shopping centre at 9 am the following morning to kit her out ( Awwwww the shame and the guilt of it, but then again she's not on a RTW fast!) Think I was forgiven after I did her hair, pretty awesome. 

To appease the self doubt and lick my sewing wounds, I set to task at 9.30 pm the night before the said wedding...just to see if I could put together the planned evening dress.

The fabric had already been cut (boy isn't silk flipping hard to cut) a total mind of its own, it's as if it gets ticklish when you show it the cutting shears and it starts to wriggle about!

Due to its transparency, a nude/champaign very silky satin lining (sorry, not too technically exact there) was used to underline it along with copious amounts of pins to anchor and tame this serpent.  

Sorry the photo a little  out of focus - or was that the wine!!

Front and back darts were inserted  by sewing both the lining and silk together, I had envisaged tiny wee French seams down the side-seams so it would be fluid and flow!! but as time was not going to allow that- so again,  both lining and upper fabric were sewn together. 

Thankfully, my fairy sewing godmother(FSG) must have been looking over me and one concealed zip went in first time! Huzzar, Huzarr. The fitting was fairly minimal as the elasticated back ruching was an absolute godsend. 

The neck band ended up been a little skew but I figured it was on the curve of my shoulder, so not too noticeable. The fastener suggested a hook 'n' bar but I'm never to keen on these - mainly that if they not positioned just so, they can come unhooked! and I certainly didn't want any wardrobe malfunctions, thank-you very much. Instead I went for a decorative button- that should have been way too heavy for the fabric, but FSG again looked after me and it did just the ticket.     

 

When it came to the hem there was no way the two fabrics could be sewn together, hmmmmm but with the seams joined, this posed a head scratching moment (not needed  nor appreciated at 1.30 am!!) don't give me problems, give me solutions I cry...treat each section individually...four tiny weeny rolled hems later, done I felt like Cinderella by having a new frock to wear to the ball! 

On the day/night I was really happy with the result - perhaps not my best sew technically but it did the job, I even managed to stay upright on them heels as well!!

Have you ever done a mammoth sew into the early hours, just to have something to wear the next day?