How to behave at your alterations appointment.

I work in the alterations department at a bridal salon. I have seen things you wouldn't imagine. Here are my pet peeves.




#1. "Well I sew a little bit aaaaand......." With those words you have ruined the day for me. I know that I am in for an hour or more of nit picking, whining, and general nastiness disguised as "concern for the bride". Brides leave the crafty people at home for your alterations appointment. Now if you are truly a seamstress and know how garments are constructed I don't mind. Because then you will understand when I say, can't be done, my hands are tied by the company.



#2. We don't stick you with pins! When someone is pinning you there fingers are between the pin and your skin. I have only accidentally pricked one bride and she was twitching so much I could not see where I was pinning. (she stopped moving after she got pricked, lol)





#3. Yes *eyeroll* we steam your dress. Its included in the price of your alterations. And YES *double eyeroll* Your dress has been steamed. Does it look wrinkly? And no, I am not talking about the tiny tiny almost invisible wrinkle on the waist from where you bent down to put your shoes on.





#4. "So how much is this going cost?" I honestly don't know until I have examined your dress. If you have an expensive dress chances are you will have expensive alterations. There are up to 8 layers in a wedding gown, that means I have to take in all 8 layers and then sew them back together. That takes a while. Since our alterations are priced at $1 a minute I have to complete the alterations in the minutes that corporate says it can be done in. (I think they employ elves)





#5. NO Alterations are *NOT* included in the price of your gown. We have no clue how the dress is going to fit you after you get it in from the warehouse. We don't know what you want done to it. Alterations are a separate price because every bride is different. Don't look at me after I have quoted you a $250 ticket and say "I was told that alterations was included, what did I pay for?" Um you paid for a designer dress and half of your dress price was a name. That is not my fault, and you were clearly told when you ordered the dress that alterations were a separate cost, and when I called you to confirm the appointment you were told that. No excuses.



#6. Don't cry. Just don't. When you put on your dress in my room, its been in a box for 6 weeks or more its not steamed, and it wont fit just perfect. THAT'S OKAY. Its okay for your dress not to fit. That's what I'm for. Because as women we are all different, and different is good. So please don't cry, I can fix it. I promise.



#7. That little pudge between your arm and your breast? Everyone has it. Size 2 has it. Size 24 has it. Nobody cares.





#8. I hate it when people are late to appointments. And you all seem to show up at the same time. So I have a bride on my platform, and 2 in rooms waiting with their dresses on waiting for me to finish with you. And then I get complaints that you feel "rushed". If you would show up for your appointment, or even call to say you will be late you wouldn't feel rushed because I have a time just for you!



#9. "The lady down the street could fix that!" First of all wedding gowns are a completely different kind of sewing than quilting and dressmaking. I know that the techniques used on wedding gowns are vastly different from regular clothing. (jeans, shirts, dresses) And the lady who does repairs and hems out of her home does not have the equipment that we have available to us.



#10. Shave your armpits! You can not believe all the nasty armpits I have had my hands up in. 99% of people need the side seams taken in. So my hands are in your armpits. PLEASE shave and deodorize before you come.



Well that's all for now but I'm sure I will come up with more as our busy season begins.

LOA

I am going to take a pause from sewing for a while. I got a new job at a bridal store and
I dont have a machine that works at the moment. So goodbye for now!

Purple Dress

So I went to JoAnns for the Labor Day Sale and picked up a new pattern See & Sew B5478 and a beautiful purple fabric with shiney thread running thru it. 
So here it is!

Front and Side views

Unfortunate back view, I don't know why there is a pucker at the end of the zipper, I have tried to steam and iron it out but its stuck.

I had some issues with this dress:

The neck is way to wide, I don't have football shoulders so the dress is almost falling off.
The neckline was too low for me, but I think a wider seam on the shoulder will help that.

Lets take a look at the inside.

Zipper that I am so proud of. It turned out perfectly!

Lining.

Hand stitched understiching on the armholes and hem.

Well that's all for now, I have to make some jackets for work!

Some exciting news!

I am starting a job at a wedding dress store this week, I am super excited. I think that my skills will improve so much, and I am happy to be doing work that I love.

I went on a little trip with my In Laws and husband and Miss Emily up to Indianapolis. I saw a Hancock's and decided to hop in and see what they had. I don't usually shop at my Hancock's (shame on me) because I am on a tight budget and they are known in my area to have some of the higher prices. But when I walked in this Hancock's you could tell that it was vastly different from mine. At mine its mostly quilting fabrics and huge piles of fleece, here they had the dressmaking fabrics front and center. It was clean and well spaced. The staff was very nice, and there was always someone at the checkout and the cutting table. At my Hancock's you have to wait for someone to finish cutting and come to check you out. I was so happy with the store and Miss Em was behaving like an angel so I broke down and got some flannel for a pair of pj pants, 1 1/2 yards of an on sale purple print for a dress for Miss Em (with pink flower buttons she picked out herself) and a Halloween remnant.

Here is the skirt I made from leftovers from her zoo shirt and the Halloween remnant.

It looks so good with the zoo shirt and she enjoys wearing it!

Well that's all for now but I am trying to catch up on the stuff I have sewn in the last couple of weeks, so expect some more posts!

So little sewing...

I haven't been sewing much this year, I don't know if its because I am not inspired or my daughter isn't asking me for a new dress every other day. But whatever it is I am glad to finally feel like sewing again.

I made these shorts for Emily's friends at church.

I also made a few things for Miss Em this week but have yet to take pictures because my camera needs to be recharged. Hope to see y'all soon!

PS.  Before I forget, Happy Birthday to my wonderful Aunt Driddle http://personalsideeffects.blogspot.com/ Who always comments on my posts! Love you!

Project Project Runway

Challenge #1 – “Come As You Are”



You can use either the clothes your model is currently wearing OR a 10″ x 10″ square of fabric similar to your own pajamas. On top of that, you can use a handkerchief worth of white cotton or cotton-ploy blend fabric. The standard woman’s handkerchief is 10″ x 10″. You can manipulate the fabric anyway you want with dye, fabric paint, etc… You can also add things like buttons, velcro, and trims.



Time Limit – 18 hours (spend no more than that amount of time working on your design)


Okay I started with some pajama pants that I wanted to make into shorts anyway, and a 10x10 square of pillowcase fabric.

I then made the little pleats for the top of the dress and the jacket out of the pillowcase, and the main body of the dress out of the pants. And here is the final look!

Getting back in the swing.

Summer has been a fun time filled with swimming and playing and not much sewing. But I just registered my new 1st grader and I am eager to get back to sewing! I am planning on re-creating a look from Pushing Daisies.

And this is the fabric and pattern for my version.

Well here is hoping that it will turn out well.

Project Project Runway!

So I was so excited when my Aunt Driddle linked me to This project.  So I sent off an email as quick as my little fingers would go! I have my challenge for this week. I cant wait to get started!

Quilt Fever

I love to make quilt tops but unfortunately I hate the actual quilting part. But my daughter was wanting another play quilt to tote around with Elizabeth and Samantha so here it is.

I got the 2 pink fabrics and batting in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby. I had this really light almost white purple fabric from my aunt that I made the binding with. Total Cost: 12$
I tied it with embroidery floss.

Front

Back

Close up

Busy, busy, busy

So I made my stepmom a dress for her wedding to my Dad. She chose a lavender silk satin from my stash with ivory accents.

Front and back views, sorry for the crappy lighting the camera is not very good.

The Happy couple!

My Stepmom, Brother, Sister and Daughter.