No more time for Prom Dress Procrastination - My Adventures with Vogue 2929

26 Days and Counting

I've had the materials to make my daughter's dress for her senior prom for months now. I've hemmed and hawed and fretted over this task for a few reasons:

1. I've been intimidated by a four-letter word that is in the pattern description-- "bias".
2. The pattern pieces are unusually shaped which could be a challenge if there are any fitting issues to address so a muslin will be necessary. 
3. No time for my busy high school senior to stop to be measured or to assist with the basics like fabric and sewing prep between college applications and scholarship essays, working to maintain her GPA, and a myriad of other tasks and extra-curricular activities that have kept us apart and out of the sewing room.
4. The self-induced pressure of making this dress as special as the first prom dress I made for my daughter two years ago. 

According to the calendar I have about 3 weeks until prom.  Yikes!  Talking about time flying.  Time has booked a flight on the Concorde and taken off leaving me at the gate!

My daughter has chosen Vogue 2929 for her senior prom gown. If you looked at the link to the first prom dress you may have noticed that my daughter for some reason seems to favor Advanced Vogue Patterns!

So far I have managed to find time to cut out the pattern pieces, study the pattern instructions, and assemble what is needed to sew this dress. As of the date of this post I am waiting to receive the hook and eye tape I had to order from this Etsy shop since none of my local fabric stores carries this notion.

Materials

Additional supplies

Goals for this week - It all starts with a solid foundation. 

I decided not to follow the order suggested in the pattern.  Instead I am going to begin with the foundation. This will allow room for fitting errors. I can work out any bugs on the layer that will not be seen by the public. Hopefully by the time I get to the actual dress I will already have a feel for any pattern adjustments that maybe needed and can then focus on handling the bias cut pieces without distorting them.

By the end of this week I hope to:

1. Cut a muslin from the foundation pattern pieces, baste them together for first fitting, and fine    tune the fit. 
2. Set up my serger (change thread color - I really hate this part) and sewing machine.
3. Once the test foundation is properly fitted, cut out and sew the foundation from the fashion fabric, insert the boning, and install the hook and eye tape.
4. Check fit of foundation and determine whether or not to add a waist stay for added insurance (don't want daughter tugging on her strapless gown all evening trying to keep it in place).

If I accomplish these goals I should be off to a good start.  Wish me luck!

Until next time... Sew something you love!