or take two, the re-vamp

November 2004
I’m taking a break from toile-ing Bridget’s Elvish dress. We have been in negotiations about "re-vamping" her Elvish Gown for a few weeks now. After wearing it to every costume event this year, Bridget is a bit bored of it. I am bored of seeing her in it as well, to be honest. Unfortunately, it’s the only costume she could possibly wear for Twelfth Night.

Once we decided Bridget really did new something new and I was willing to do it for her, I actually suggested a quickie new frock (about the same amount of work really) but Bridget didn’t want to lose all the effort that went into the beading, so we settled on a re-vamp of this one.

We will be splitting the front open, adding an under dress and embellishing the edges of the new over-gown with beading. I’ll be doing the sewing and Bridget will work on the beading, per usual. The idea is based on Arwen’s "Angel Dress". The beading design is also copied from that gown. We don’t really have original ideas. :>

We went shopping yesterday and found the perfect fabric at Hancock’s. It’s a shot blue/green/yellow cotton, found in the Christmas section. It goes remarkably well with the green chiffon in the sleeves and really makes the gown "pop". We haven’t bought it though. I’m working on the toile today, so we can determine the needed yardage and buy it this weekend.

Back to work then...

Nov 8

I fitted the toile and figured out the finial yardage estimates (5yd) on Saturday night. I’m making the underdress a bit more fitted and longer than the original blue (which somehow ended up almost too short) but other than that I didn’t change much on the toile.

On Sunday, we went out and bought the fabric. As I mentioned before it’s a textured cotton/nylon blend, shot blue & gold. It’s actually more blue in person than in the pics. The flash brings out the gold I guess. It really shimmers when it’s moved. *sigh* I love shot fabrics.

Dec 9
I cut B’s re-vamp today, among a few other things. I really have put this off too long!

Dec 17

I worked on Bridget’s Elvish re-vamp a bit today.

In addition to the new changes, I am also attempting to fix old "issues". It’s really amazing how much I’ve grown as a seamstress in such a short time. My fitting skills have definitely improved since I drafted the pattern for this gown almost 9 months ago. The shape of the bust on this gown come out odd, something that has bugged both Bridget and I. Originally I thought the darts were somehow to blame but when I took the sleeves off tonight and examined it, I realized that it was a side seam issue. Simply put, the fit is too tight at the top of that seam, throwing the fit of the bust off. I’m going to make some little gores to add some extra fabric there, correcting the fit. Luckily the "patches" will be right under the arm so no one should ever notice them. *wink*

Once I had sewed together the under dress, I had Bridget try that on. It looked and fit just fine, actually better than the original. :> I then had her try the over dress on. We worked through the bust issue above and discussed our plans for the rest of the re-vamp.

Bridget took the gowns off and I proceeded to cut a slit up the front and remove the back gore, creating a second slit up the back. I also removed most of the bodice lining, leaving just a few inches at the neckline as a facing. Bridget then tried on the gowns again. I was rather amazed at how well the slits worked. We decided at that point to remove most of the side gore as well to create a better silhouette for the over dress. I quickly hemmed up the slits before calling it a night.

So now that I have pretty much taken the entire gown apart I have to put it all back together! *rolls eyes* I’m really happy with the way it’s looking though. This is definitely one of those styles where Bridget's height is an advantage. The first dress was pretty but I think I'm doing a better job of accentuating her height and proportions on this re-vamp. Makes me wish our party room was a bit bigger, to better show off the gown's elegance.

Oh yes, B started the beaded trim last night... wow! It's going to make the dress.

Dec 20
I worked just a bit on the re-vamp. Real life stuff kept getting in the way. Of course I did sleep in super late and then kept getting sucked into ROTK. Bridget's idea of taking a break from studying is to add beaded trim to her gown while watching Lord of the Rings. Meanie.

Where was I? Ahh yes, the re-vamp. I cut the side gores down to the proper size. I then cut out the upper side seam wedgies (as B and I call them). I got one side put back together before deciding to call it a night.

Dec 21
Worked on the re-vamp some more today. Sewed up the side seams, messed with the underdress neckline, had a fitting with B, cut out more wedgies because the first ones were totally wrong...

Do I sound bored? Well, I am. It's all little, tedious, nit picky stuff that is even more lame to write about than it is to actually do.

Don't mind me, it's really not that bad. I'm just bored stiff and starting to feel pretty un-motivated about life in general. I think I need a guilt free vacation time. How many days left until Christmas again? :P

Dec 30
The List™:
finish hems, sew dresses together, insert wedgies, re-attach sleeves.

Jan 1
I worked on the re-vamp some. I finished hemming the overdress, so B can finish the beading. *whew* I also inserted the new wedgies. They aren't a perfect fix but I'm not willing to mess with them anymore. B will just have to shrink into the dress to get it to fit better – I’m done!

I attached one of the sleeves as well but I want to have a fitting with B before I go any further. She was already in bed, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Jan 2
I’ve finished the re-vamp!!! *throws much confetti* ...Or I should say my contribution to the project. B still has a bit of beading to do. I'll try to take soon pics tomorrow, but really no guarantees.

I’m so glad to cross that off my list. I’ve discovered I don’t like doing re-dos. I just as soon make a new garment. I can’t say I won’t ever do it again (it is a practical, cheap option and in general I have to be a very frugal costumer) but I’m going to avoid the process as much as possible. Yuck!

Jan 4

Lots more pics of the finished re-vamp on Narcissa can now be found in the gallery. I’m pretty amazed at how it came out. It almost looks like this was the original design, instead of last minute fabric finds and changes on a whim.

I’ve said it a few times already, but beaded edging is what really makes the dress. It draws it all together. It adds weight and drape to that wretched cotton, and great sparkle to the whole ensemble. I have a series of pics to show how the edging was made too. I’ll be posting them as a beading tutorial on my site sometime this month.

I can’t wait to see the gown on B, with her hair and makeup done. It looks twice as good on her. *wink*

Jan 11
Pics the finished re-vamp on Bridget are be found in the gallery.