Adventures in sewing

When Becca got asked to prom 1.5 weeks before prom her sophomore year, we had to get a dress fast! I was soooo very blessed to find a set of dresses on the KSL classifieds that the lady sold for very cheap (something like $40 for four dresses and a skirt). I donated the skirt since I knew we'd never make a top for it, and we donated one of the dresses that neither of us liked the look of. Becca wore the burgundy dress to prom -- we just added some fancy ribbon to the high waistline to make it look a little more elegant.

The blue dress has been borrowed by two of her friends, but Becca has yet to wear it -- even though it looks good on her. (Then again, she's bought three other dresses from yard sales, so the girl is not hurting for dresses. :)

The teal one had a zipper that worked only half the time -- not a great scenario if you don't know if the dress will zip up the night of the dance. We were going to trade a neighbor her sewing skills to put in a new zipper for free babysitting, but we've done a similar arrangement before (to get sleeves added to a dress) for which Becca has yet to babysit. So I knew if we were going to make modifications I was on my own. I have never sewed a zipper into anything before, but it couldn't be too hard, right? (I hope, I hope! :)

We also decided since all of her dresses are long that we'd shorten the teal dress for a change. I mean, while we're on the verge of destroying it, why not add more danger to the mix? ;)

Here is the dress before we started our modifications (ignore the wrinkles -- they're irrelevant):

My friend suggested that rather than just taking off the same amount around the entire dress that maybe we should measure where it hits a bench so that the dress was straight on her body. This was the most difficult process! It might have been easier if Becca stopped adjusting her hair and moving her shoulders around ... teens! :)

Anyway, we finally got it hemmed shorter and added matching tulle at the bottom. I also took some of the fabric cut from the bottom and put it in the neckline, which was a little uncomfortably low. How'd it turn out? Amazing. Yes, I am impressed with myself. Did I mention that the zipper is a HIDDEN zipper? And although it took me a while, I got it done and nobody (unless they looked way too closely) would even know that someone who had never done a zipper put it in. Can you tell I am very proud of myself? :)

Here is the final product:

 

Oh, and notice the matching flower. I learned how to make that from a neighbor a few days before the dance just so we could make a matching barrette. I'm so glad we did -- I think it looks great!

My fav part is the new neckline, which I think adds its own elegance, so here's a close-up of that:

Doesn't she look pretty? And not just because of our dress success? :)

I also took part of the bottom of the skirt and sewed a matching skirt for Shayla. What cute girls!