I am now an official member of the Costume Guild West.
And on April 26th was a Tea Party for member Mela Hoyt-Heydon.
Mela is a professional costumer AND amazing milliner so I had to go.
BUT, this was the costume guild and I realized I would need a "costume".
First stop was my hat collection and I settled on this wool cloche I made a few years ago.
Luckily I had also previously purchased this
1940's dress pattern by Decades of Style from Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle
( fabulous store, see link on right under Great Stores in the NorthWest ).
Not so lucky all these ideas came together just days before the Tea Party.
Tuesday April 22, I purchased the fabric at Joannes before my night class.
Of course I needed 3 yards and there was only 2 1/4 yards left of the ideal fabric.
I decided to risk it.
Wednesday April 23 I stayed after class to use the extra large cutting tables.
Wasn't sure if I'd have enough fabric for my design idea to have
some stripes vertical and some horizontal.
( hint- draw on pattern pieces desired direction of stripes )
I managed to squeeze the necessary pieces out of less than required fabric.
As I was cutting I decided to add length to the bodice ( because I am 5' 11" )
and add a little to the side seams at the waist and hips
even though my measurements were exactly what the pattern listed for size B.
Thursday April 24 I finally started sewing.
As the bodice came together I was really glad
I mixed the direction of the stripes to create subtle visual interest.
There was a lot of finishing edge stitching on the bodice and here's a tip my students love.
Instead of backstitching to secure the stitch leave a long thread tail.
Thread the thread tail through a needle, bring it to the wrong side and hand tie it off in a knot.
No visual hiccup of thick back stitching on the garment front.
This garment required an invisible zipper in the left side seam.
Invisible zippers are my sewing Achilles heel; they're never invisible!
I took the time to try an experiment.
First I basted a seam and then sewed in the invisible zipper like a centered zipper.
Complete and utter failure.
Had to just do my best with the traditional invisible zipper installation method.
I kept sewing and overlocking late into the evening on Thursday
because on Friday I was in LA for the entire day.
Got the dress assembled and realized my great idea of
cutting pattern a little bigger on each piece added up to the entire garment being way too big.
The clock was ticking but I had to fix it.
The morning of Friday April 25 I removed the skirt and took out the invisible zipper.
Then I could shorten the bodice length and take in the side seams.
Later Friday evening ( after field trip to LA )
I re-sewed the invisible zipper in the left side seam,
made the side seams tighter,
re-attached the skirt,
created the sleeves,
and sewed everything together.
Miraculously it all fit wonderfully!
Saturday morning, April 26th,
I stepped outside of my comfort zone and put on my first "costume" ever
( besides Halloween )
The Tea Party in Fullerton was indescribably delicious and
the guests were incredibly warm and welcoming...
and dressed in fabulous outfits from all different periods.
These women are not lunatics; they are lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.
that find dressing up great fun!
The guest of honor was Mela Hoyt-Heydon who is the department chair at
Fullerton Community College in Theater
AND an amazing milliner.
I wish I could be a Mela when I grow up!
There were also dozens of hats by Mela on sale.
Each one more spectacular!
She easily sold at least 30 hats.
At the end of the long day I literally let my hair down...
And wished I had just worn it long.
The Costume Guild West is a really fun group of people
and I am now very excited about attending my first
Costume College this August.
And just maybe my 48 hour 1940's dress is
just the beginning of my own "costume" collection :)
