Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Prom Dress

My sewing business allows me to do many things. I replace zippers in coats, pants, even one in a cushion. Sometimes I make things from scratch, sometimes it is just an adjustment on ready-made clothes. I hem pants, skirts, sleeves, reline coats, let in and take out things for those who have changed their weight. I reupholster chairs, couches and car seats. But probably my most favorite thing to do is to work on Prom Dresses.

A couple of months ago, I got a call from a mother and daughter who had purchased a beautiful prom dress on a discount because the zipper was broken and it was missing a hook and eye. She also wanted me to please add some sleeves or straps for a bit more modesty, if I could. I love these challenges.
The first thing I did was to fix the zipper, etc. Then I purchased some yellow satin and dug into my beads and sequins. Then I proceeded to attach hundreds of these to the yellow satin. It took a little while to attach all these beads. As you can see, the fabric is yellow satin with the salmon tulle gathered on top. I looked all over Salt Lake for this same color and it doesn't exist. So I had to do the next best thing. I purchased some yellow tulle. The dress has both colors of tulle in the skirt. I then proceeded to steal a section from the back under layer and replace it with yellow. This way the straps would match the bodice.
After gathering the tulle, I then pinned it with my yellow glass head pins. That is the yellow "beads" in the picture. This is where I attached some red sequins on top with invisible thread.

After attaching the straps in the front securely, I called her back to try it on and make sure it fit her just right, then I attached the straps to the back.
I just love fixing prom dresses. They are so fluffy and pretty. I hang the work-in-progress in the front room for inspiration and I fluff it and touch it almost every time I pass it. I just feel like a party is about to happen when these beautiful dresses grace my house.
The girls who come to have me "modest-ify" their dresses are always so very cute. I have gotten to know a lot of High School girls because I do this.
I only live 3 blocks from the High School, so they can come for a fitting during lunch. I text them when it is ready. They are usually surprised that I text from my cell phone. It is pretty cute.
They are always happy with the results and I have made many new young friends. One even wished me a Merry Christmas on her cell phone this year. I was so touched.
Anyway, this is one of my most favorite sewing jobs that I get.

6 comments:

Significant Snail said...

Awe, that is a fun sewing job - you make dreams come true!

It's funny how kids are shocked when grown ups use technology!

Kay Dennison said...

How lovely, Annie!!!! You really have a gift!

Katie said...

Love it! You are uber talented!f

Anonymous said...

Just like those saris, huh. Amazing!!!

RisibleGirl said...

LOVELY!!! I love it that girls still want to be modest in this day and age. I'm so glad that I didn't have daughters and didn't have to have those talks about why this dress isn't proper!

Anyway, I was watching a show on TV (can't remember, but it was one of those news shows) that talked about the horrible economy that we're in. The person being interviewed said that services like yours (seamstresses, handymen, etc) will do very well. I immediately thought of you.

Anonymous said...

Excellent job.!! That prom dress turned out so amazing, truly beautiful..

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