The bodice is finished

The final piece of chiffon was applied to the bodice last evening (or rather very early this morning).  Just to recap, the bodice shell is made from the silk/cotton fabric and is underlined with silk organza.  Gathered strips of silk chiffon are applied to the shell to give it a draped effect.  1 and 2/3 yards of silk chiffon were used in the construction of the bodice.

Here is the front view.

This is the side where the chiffon piece were pieced together.

This is the back view.

I used hand stitches to maintain the gathers.  Some of these stitches will be removed once the bodice and the skirt are joined together and I can see how the chiffon drapes.

Overall, this was a lot hand sewing.  My hope is that at the end of the day, the hand sewn stitches will be invisible and you will  only see the drape of the fabric.

Hand sewing is about as exciting to report on in a blog as paint drying.  So to spice it up a little bit, here are some pictures of the flowers blooming in my garden.

These are lady slippers, an orchid that grows wild in our neighborhood.  These are on the hill in front of our house.

The Updo

When I was in Boston a couple of weeks ago, I went for a practice hair appointment.  It took a while, but I feel like it paid off.  In the end, I had what I believe people with normal hair call ''volume."  This was a foreign concept to me, but I quite enjoyed it.  The stylist said it will be easier, faster, and--if I want--bigger for the real thing when I'll have an extra two inches of hair.

There will also be a fascinator perched on top.  I'm going for the trifecta of big head, big hair, and big hat.  I took notes, so I will try to replicate it for the other celebrations.

The whole thing definitely had staying power.  After the appointment I went to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls with my dad.  At the end, there was nary a hair out of place, although I did get some strange looks.

The Bodice

The bodice is the part of this project that I have been most nervous about because I do not have a pattern to work from and am making it up as I go.  I am pleased to report that progress is being made and my stress level regarding the bodice continues to go down with each day.

The bodice is constructed with a princess seamed v-neck foundation draped with silk chiffon.  The foundation is made from the cotton/silk blend with a silk organza underlining.  This foundation was made and fitted when Ginny was visiting two weeks ago.

The chiffon is sewn in place by hand.  The panels are cut 12 inches wide and then gathered to 3 inches before being pinned to and hand sewn onto the foundation.  I started on the left side of the bodice.

This is the left back.

 This picture of the right front shows how the chiffon is pinned in place.

 I then hand sew the chiffon to the foundation to create the draping effect.

 This shows details of the shoulder hand tucks and cap sleeve.

This shows the shoulder and sleeve from the front.  It also shows the hand stitching around the armhole to hold the chiffon in place.

The bodice should be completed soon.  I will then turn my attention to finishing the skirt before attaching the bodice to the skirt.  Almost all of the remaining construction will be done by hand.

The dress will be close to completion for the final fitting in NYC on June 15-18.  It will be completed by the Z family reunion on July 6.