Posts
My dearest friend had a beautiful outdoor wedding at her parents on a lake this fall. An amazing crafter, she created everything from the invitations to the boutonnieres. As the Matron of Honor I chose to make my dress and she and I picked out the fabric. I used Amy Butler's Lotus Dress pattern.
We also made a little shrug out of some knitted delicious orange fabric. After I put the dress together I decided it needed a belt to give me a little bit more of a waist. I found some great pumpkin orange velvet ribbon that did the trick and a leather belt loop.
In typical Rachel mode of operation I finished this the day before the wedding. Overall this was a great pattern to use. Butler's directions are very straightforward and takes you step by step. Where it could use improvements is by having more diagrams of some of the steps. I follow directions easier with visuals than with the written directions. If you do the same, a few steps may be a little frustrating. This was also my first lining and it went rather smoothly. A few tips:
Use the silky nylon lining, don't bother with cotton. You will want something that lays smoother under the dress.- When doing the lining on the top where the neckline meets the dress panels, hand sew it first to match it up.
- Hand sew the hem. It looks 10 times nicer and gives a smoother finish at the bottom.
- Try it on and adjust the darts. I did a few times and was able to get a better fit.
