Readers, I lied: we will be discussing McCall's 9152, the strapless cocktail dress, today. My apologies and thanks for all the topic ideas yesterday. Will you accept a raincheck?
The dress is not finished, but it's getting there. And I have some questions for you. First, most importantly, do you agree that, despite the floral print (or because of it) the bodice really needs the black (velvet, grosgrain?) 1 1/2" wide ribbon along the top, that ties in a big bow? Or would it be gilding the lily?
What would Helen Rose do?
My concern is that, given the informality of the print, the whole thing ends up looking like a sundress. Of course, black gloves and pearls will help dispel that, but still.
Yea or nay on the ribbon?
Next, can I show you the inside of the bodice? Not bad, right?
OK, you're probably wondering why the two long front bones extend beyond the waistline. They were too long and I wasn't able to shorten them with the tools I had. I could have gone back to Steinlauf and Stoller to buy shorter ones (they're pretty cheap) but it was SO hot yesterday. Instead, I just added a little makeshift casing to the protruding bottom and allowed them to extend below the waistline.
The only problem -- and I'm not sure this wouldn't have happened anyway -- there's a slight tendency for those long bones to want to push the lining up over the neckline a bit. (This happens whether or not the dress is on -- it's a little shifty since the bone is not sewn directly onto the fashion fabric, only the lining).
Now I bought grosgrain ribbon for a waist stay and that should anchor those bones in place. And I think Cathy's admittedly pubertal bosom will help keep things snugly in place as well; all I have is a hollow.
To keep the neckline smooth, I also picked up some plastic boning nearby, and I thought I'd anchor that to the neckline edge, which should also discourage the shifting I describe.
BUT, since I have to go uptown and get ribbon anyway (yes, I'm opting for the ribbon), I should probably just get shorter spiral steel bones, right? Of course, there's no guarantee the bone won't still want to shift...
Friends, these are the kinds of conflicts I'm dealing with today. They say your external conflicts are just a mirror of your internal conflicts, but I'm not sure if these qualify as external or internal. We went out for burgers last night around 7 pm and it was still 99 degrees. That's hot, very hot. It's hard to think straight. (Two burgers, one fries, a milk shake, and a beer = $30. Welcome to New York.)
Oh, before I forget: the bolero jacket. I was going to make it, then I wasn't. If I'm going uptown to the Garment District I suppose I can pick up a yard of something for that, too. Lace? Satin?
Enough! No more dress drama.
Hey, check out my lapped zipper. No drama there; though I did break a needle.
OK, I'm really done now.
I hope you're all busy sewing away, or at least not sewing and sweating, which make for a very bad combination. I had to put a towel on my legs while I whipstitching the bodice lining, so the dress wouldn't absorb my sweat. It was that or long pants.
Happy weekend, everybody!
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