Drum roll please!

Here it is!

 The zipper is on the dress:

I know, I know it looks a bit sloppy but I do plan on fixing it. And no it is not an invisible zipper because I HATE those things they never work! Have you ever had a dress with an invisible zipper that actually zipped up without getting caught? I have not. And you have to buy a special foot for your machine for those.

Now as for the how to I told you I found for zippers:

http://makezine.com/craft/101/sewing101_zippers/

I thought this tutorial was brilliant I had never hear of attaching a zipper this way and I did try with my dress but there was just too much fabric for my machine with all of the gathering so I did it the good old fashioned way with my own two hands.

Here is what the dress looks like on my dress form:

Unfortunately I was pretending to have a larger chest area when I was measuring (or maybe I was just hoping they'd grow by July 11th haha) so the top will have to be adjusted but I am pretty happy with the way it looks so far :)

And now for some side notes...

Side note 1:

check out this cute wallet I made for my cousin

 Made out of paper, soft lamination material, and thread

 Complete with a hidden pocket in the dollar bill spot.

Side note 2: Cleaning my machine (this will be informative)

Somewhere in the process of making my dress I noticed my machine was making a funny sound and decided I should get to the bottom of it so I took my machine apart. I want to mention here that is pays to buy the expensive thread because it is bound together a little better than the cheap thread and the cheap thread will not only leave more lint in your machine but will break a lot easier.

The above is what the bobbin case looked like before cleaning 

 Look how much lint was in there! You really have to clean out your machine often if you want it to function properly. With all the lint that builds up the parts do not move as well and will cause you a big headache.

I thought I had a problem in the top of the machine because of the weird noise my machine was making but it turned out I just needed to clean that out too it was filthy!

This is what's inside a sewing machine!

Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading

Zipper fun!

The Zipper is on!

That's right, the procrastination is over.

Before I put the zipper on my dress, I took some time to think about how the dress was going to come together and I am glad I did! 

I realized that something had to be done with the raw edge of the taffeta layer on the bottom. I hadn't done anything with it because I figured it would be hidden but it won't be hidden by anything but organza so...

I folded it under and pinned and then stitched the taffeta to the inner lining with a plain old top stitch (speaking of which I don't know if I have mentioned but I have been using a top stitch needle this whole time and if you don't know why (or don't believe that) the needle type makes a difference, ask the ladies at the viking counter in Joanne Fabrics. They will tell you all about it and I promise it is not B.S.... Maybe I will do a side note about the different types. It really comes down to the fact that each type of needle is a different sharpness and shape and every type of fabric is knitted a certain way. Anywho...

I ended up sewing the zipper on by hand here is why:

I saw this wonderful tutorial about how to do zippers easily and though I would try it but I failed miserably because there was just too much fabric with the gathers in my dress but check this out if you are putting a zipper on anything:

Ok I can't find it at the moment and I am running out of time I will have to edit this later! but... 

There is also this one for invisible zippers:

http://www.coletterie.com/tutorials-tips-tricks/tutorial-installing-an-invisible-zipper

 

I am going to leave you wondering what the dress looks like with the zipper on for the next 8-12 hours so that you come back to see muahahaha! 

thanks for reading I'll post again soon!!!

Adding the lining to my wedding dress:

After quite a long procrastination period, I finally added the lining to the top part of my gown here is how:

I waited a while to put the lining into my dress because the task seemed so difficult but now it is done! I started by measuring and cutting the lining to be fitted:

(the lining is folded in half here)

I decided that I would attach the lining to the top of my gown first and then do the sides but then I realized I had made a mistake with the dress... I hadn't finished the edges before I gathered! : / ooops

 You can see that the edges are raw and fraying which simply will not be ok when I put the zipper on so...

I used a zig zag ladder stitch (I do not know what the stitch is actually called but that is the best description I can give) to finish the edges. This step would have been much easier had I remembered to do it before gathering because it would have been just two layers of fabric (the taffeta and the organza.) Since the fabric was already gathered, it was hard no to accidentally leave chunks of it out of the finishing stitch. You can see above that I used my all purpose foot because I thought it would be easier to keep the stitch close to the edge that way but it also made it easier for pieces to escape the stitch. I highly recommend a satin foot for things like this because that one does not have a gap which makes it easier to not leave chunks out and because a satin foot is the foot you use when working with this type of material. (duh Nicole!)...yea I just used the term duh!

Yay finished edges!

Now for the liner... Which I remembered to finish before attaching. (for that I used a good old zig zag stitch since the lining was thinner and my machine was unwilling to do any other stitch without making a mess of it)

Of course after finishing the edges of the lining I realized I could have just pinned it to the dress and finished and attached it all in one go, but I insist on working harder not smarter haha! 

To attach the liner I used what I will call a half ladder stitch (the one selected in the picture indicated by the little red light above it.) I put the right sides of the lining and the dress together and stitched along the top.

TA-DA! The lining is in...Sort of.

After this I decided that, I would just do a stay stitch along the sides to hold the liner and the dress together while I put the zipper on. The stitch for the zipper will also hold the sides of the lining and dress together. I have been pretty nervous about putting the zipper on the dress because I don't have a ton of experience with zippers... And so began procrastination phase 2!

SIDE NOTE:

While procrastinating I made a very cute fanny pack check it out!

Complete with a cell phone pouch and rings for keys (I seriously needed this for my dog walking job it comes in so handy)

And it was not completely to procrastinate, I practiced putting a zipper on!

I found that adorable bow buckle at Jo Anne's (where the heck else do I shop!?) I was worried about how long it would last because it is a clasp so I expected it to come undone on me but it has held up quite well! I keep so much stuff in the pouches when I walk dogs and I am still able to jog without being careful and the bow stays in place. I am super excited to make more! And it is swimsuit season I am dying to get my hands on some swimsuit material and create beautiful swimwear :)

Thanks for reading and HAPPY FRIDAY! May your weekend be filled with sun