Sewing for my wedding part two: the Cutting

I mentioned in part one that I was anxious about how long it might take for the fabrics to get here. Both packages got here within a week! So, including today (in which I got no actual sewing in on either of our actual outfits, but did work on one and sew a test for the other), that's two whole weeks to sew! I actually got a lot done today because I was so excited that the fabrics had arrived.

First, I pre-washed the suiting (and only the suiting--the lace used for my bodice is dry-clean only, and there's not really a point in pre-washing the other fabric for a garment that can't be washed). I did this not only because it's good practice, but because the lace I ordered from the same company has glitter on it, and they put the two in the same bag with nothing between them, so it was covered in glitter.

While that was in the wash, I used muslin and some of the stretch mesh I got to sew a test piece of my bodysuit. I used the same mesh I got for the final product for two reasons: first, I don't really have any cheaper stretchy fabric, because it was pretty cheap (it's just some thin plain mesh that's also stretchy). Besides, since I sewed the test with such a long stitch length, the stitches are loose enough that I can remove them without damaging the fabric, so I can just reuse the same side panels I used for the test. Second, it's the only thing that can show me exactly how much it stretches, and I'm relying on that fabric on the two side panels of my bodysuit to help me actually get it on--then it can be tightened with the ribbons on the sides. Anyway, I finished that and was actually surprised by how it fit. I had predicted that either it might be too small on the waist--I went with the size recommended for my bust and hip measurements, which is, according to the size chart, several inches too small for my waist--or too tall for me--I'm short and "obese" so it's very common for me to have to wear sizes meant for much taller people (for example, my fiancee is 8 inches taller than me and they wear smaller sizes than me most of the time). In order to accommodate for the first prediction, I didn't sew the recommended darts in the back bodice of the test run, and I was prepared to adjust the pattern for the latter if it ended up being true. Turns out neither were. It was a little loose, actually--though I fixed that pretty easily by increasing the seam allowance, so I might have just been sewing too close to the edges--and... too short? I'm still extremely confused by that one, but when I had the crotch sewn, the bottom of the cups were about two inches lower than I needed them to be. Perhaps the design is just meant to let your boobs hang low (although, in my case, lower than they can physically hang, which is impressive), but either way this simply wouldn't do. I ended up undoing the crotch seam and deciding that in the final product I'll probably just have it be a shirt. This will still require a little bit of pattern adjustment (so that I don't just have loose crotch flaps), but I think it'll be less work than actually adjusting the bodysuit to be tall enough for me. Then again, I do like the bodysuit idea more than a fancy shirt, so I might put in the extra effort. Either way, I decided that I'll be including some elastic on the top back of the garment to keep it up--I might even end up having to add straps.

Almost perfectly timed for when I finished resizing my bodice, the dryer went off. I laid the ridiculously long piece of fabric on the floor folded in half (and with about half of it crumpled up still because my floor is not big enough to hold the whole thing), and asked my fiance for help pinning and cutting it. They complained the whole time, as is their right. It's terrible. Last year I was thinking "it's not worth it to buy a rotary cutter etc, I can just cut with scissors," and I haven't really sewn anything since because pinning and cutting sucks so much. It's also extra hard to pin fabric on the carpet, as we had to do because we don't have a feast table fit for an entire castle. We definitely broke some strands of the carpet (but like, who cares) and at one point they had to re-pin something they were cutting because the fabric was so stuck to the carpet it would not move whatsoever. We eventually got all but the belt cut out (and at this point I may beg them to settle for something else for the belt). Afterwards, even with another person having done almost half of it, I was so exhausted I had to just lay in bed for an hour and a half before I could do anything else whatsoever. I'm honestly surprised I'm able to write this right now (but I did just have dinner so I guess the calories are helping). I'm definitely not going to get any sewing done tonight.

But that's alright! I have two more weeks, and considering how much less energy it takes for me to sew than to cut, I think I should be fine. Their dress shouldn't take more than a few days to sew, and I can cut my suit out over the course of a couple days if need be. My bodysuit/shirt will be pretty easy for both cutting and sewing--the stretch mesh I already cut some of today and it wasn't hard, and the "lace" is really just tulle with some decorations, so it's both thin and rigid. As for sewing, it'll probably be a little harder than it was to sew with the muslin, but I've worked with lace before and know how to avoid it getting stuck. My one fear is that I'll break a needle on a bead, but I can probably avoid that by removing beads near the seams first. Either way, I'm going to test sewing on a swatch of both fabrics, just in case.

As for my suit, I decided against trying to find one in stores (because it's very unlikely I'll find what I want for less than expensive) and that I'll just order more fabric if I need to, because I already have the majority of what I need. I think tomorrow I'm going to try laying out the pieces of the suit pattern just to see if I have enough. Either way, I'm excited to sew it and dreading cutting it!

I've already mapped out the entire sewing process based on what days I have free, and I imagine some of it will take less time than I mapped out. I hope so, because the mapped out version says I'll finish two days before the wedding and I would rather be done before then. This all still depends on whether or not I need more material (and how fast it gets here if I do), but I'll make sure to prioritize my pants over my jacket just in case! I definitely have enough material for just the pants, especially considering my fiance's dress took about half of what the pattern said it would. I had bought 7 yards instead of the recommended 5 in the hopes that I could sew pants if I needed to, but now I have almost 5 yards, which is possibly enough for the entire suit.

I guess, because writing takes up way less energy than sewing and I need to take breaks sometimes, I was wrong when I said I might be too busy until the wedding. You can probably expect at least two more posts about this.