The Last Minute Details

Just like every other gala project, I was stitching away on this dress right until the last minute.  Every year I tell myself I am not going to let it happen, and yet, it always does.

Since the petticoat had horsehair braid stitched into the hemline, I did not need to bother with that for the actual dress hem.  I think it looks much nicer to have a soft hem and let the undergarments do all the work to create the silhouette.

I did add a second (less substantial) waist stay to the dress.  The corselette was going to hold me in, but having one on the dress makes zipping it up so much easier!

And yes, that grosgrain ribbon is navy blue.  That is what I had on hand, and there was no time to go and pick up a length of black.

I like to offset the hook & eyes from the center back zipper - I feel like it cuts down on any possible bulk, although I may be deluding myself that this makes a difference.

One thing I forgot to mention during my sleeve post was the second bit of elastic I added to the sleeve hem.  This one really is a scrunchie!  I tacked it to four points along the lower sleeve circumference.  This gave a little extra help to keep the sleeve in place.  I like to think of it as a less extreme version of a waist-stay; the idea is to help counteract gravity and the weight of the substantial sleeve pulling downward.  The cotton underlining was used as a cover since there was no possibility it would be seen.

Mom came over to help with the hem - thank you, Mom!  I had a hand basted line of silk thread where I guessed I would want the fabric turned up, so we started there.  Miraculously, the finished hemline was pretty darn close - somewhere between tea and ballet length.

I basted that foldline in place (that's the green thread) and removed those pesky pins.  (The pink stitches were my original guess at a hemline.)

I evened out the excess allowance and trimmed away.  This was done in a poorly lit sewing room when I was feeling quite exhausted - it is a miracle I did not clip through the skirt!

The hem was then catch-stitched to the skirt underlining. 

Next, I covered that raw edge with some seam binding.  There was a whole lot of basting to remove, and that task was accomplished sometime around 11:30 p.m. Friday evening.  There were still hook & eyes to attach, and a purse made of velvet to sew.

And that is the dress!  I promise, this is the very last construction post.  Now I just need to get through all the photos from the day of the gala.  At this point, I am sick of looking at myself, so it will take a couple of days before I can face that task - but I am not sick of looking at the dress!  I still cannot believe everything was finished in time!!