This dress was a lot of fun to make! The client is local to me, so we were able to meet in person to purchase fabrics and for her fittings. She needed a dress that was very modest to wear to a conservative church, but that still flattered her figure and reflected her personal sense of style. When she came to me, she had already spent a good amount of time looking through commercial dress patterns, and had fallen in love with Vogue 8408 for its dramatic, asymmetrical collar. So we started with the Vogue pattern, but altered from the original to have a narrower, pencil skirt, a closer fit through the waist, 3/4 sleeves with cuffs, and a longer skirt with a small side slit instead of the kickplate in the original design.
This beautiful corset was made with a stunning silk brocade fabric over high quality cotton coutil. It was custom designed with a high back and open bust. The corset has a front busk closure, and laces up the back through 44 metal grommets! 22 pieces of steel boning provide incredible support and beautiful shaping.
My friend’s husband joined the army recently and he’s been away in Basic Training for the past couple of months. She hasn’t seen him at all, and has only gotten to speak to him a couple of times for brief intervals – about 15 minutes in the past two and a half months!
Today I’d like to share a rare non-sewing-related post with you all.
It’s an older home, nestled under the spreading branches of a half dozen mature oak trees. It is full of windows. In every room of the house, every single exterior wall has at least one window, and in many rooms the windows stretch nearly the full length of the wall. Furniture placement has always been a challenge. My mother has never minded. She loves the natural light, and loves the beautiful views of her ancient oak trees, her hibiscus and boganvilla, the curly leaf philadendron and king sago palms, the plumbago, and the two dozen other varieties of plants growing cheerfully in her Florida garden.
What she came up with is simply stunning! The blue and green are both brilliant shades. The hand cut sections of glass form waves of color. The patterns are irregular, asymmetrical – and yet beautifully balanced. The whole thing continues to be interesting even after gazing at it for quite some time. I was delighted to be able to present such a gift to my mother for her birthday this year, as she was to receive it! This newest piece, I’m told, was granted a space in a window sill in the living room, where the light shines through it all day.