My mother is this master seamstress. She grew up making her own clothes and she made all of our clothes when we were younger too. I mean you name it, she can make it especially if there is fabric involved. She made all of our barbie clothes too and she is an expert quilter. She made all of our prom dresses and our wedding dresses for us. She was so good that you could describe what you wanted and she would go get a few different patterns and mold them together until she had your dream dress. I had to learn this the hard way because the first formal dress I had her make I didn't do that, I just chose a pattern that was modest, picked out fabric and it turned out to be a disaster on me. From then on, I had to really think about my body shape and what would look good and what wouldn't and that made all the difference.
~~~
Growing up with this amazing women I grew a deep love for crafts and needlework. Unfortunately the talent isn't genetic. I've made things here and there that turned out pretty good, but usually she is right there with me every step of the way.
~~~
Before I got married she also made me a temple dress. It was the same pattern as one of my Grandma's dresses that we would always dress up in and use for costumes at halloween. She adjusted the pattern to be temple appropriate by raising the neckline a little but still made it look cute on me. She also designed it so that I would be able to wear it for the first few months of pregnancy for whenever that should occur. I loved it and it was a pretty comfortable too... for the first few months.
~~~
About 6 months into the marraige I went to Orlando, FL with my sister's and we decided to check out the Temple. It was on that trip that I realized I no longer fit into this beautiful temple dress. The dress itself was alright but the sleeves had no give and I couldn't get it off by myself. I figured, OK, easy fix, just take off the sleeves and replace them with stretchy fabric. Well... I love my mom but sometimes she doesn't make time for every little project so it sat there for months and months and months. In the mean time I got pregnant, had a baby, nursed her and the few times we did go to the temple, I wore one of my Grandma's old temple dresses. However that one wasn't designed for my body.
~~~
One day we finally decided to tackle the sleeves on the other dress. She had me remove them and then try on the dress again. Well... I got it on.... but... ummm... it didn't look cute anymore. To say the least, I continued to wear my Grandma's dress. But then the sleeves on that one started to get tighter and tighter. (Why do all my dresses keep shrinking?)
~~~
In January, there was a ward temple trip and John and I were pretty excited to go with people we knew because we usually just go by ourselves and squeeze it in where we can. About a week before the trip I decided it would be super cool if I had a new temple dress to wear since I would be going with people I knew. My mom was on this huge deadline though so I knew if it was going to happen, I would have to do it myself.
~~~
I went to JoAnns picked out a pattern that I would not have to adjust (remember my first formal where I did that, It didn't turn out that pretty) except for the sleeve and skirt length. And then I went and got some white, double knit fabric that would be nice and stretchy. (I don't forsee myself gaining any more wait except if I were to be pregnant again but I still wanted to make it comfy and flexible.)
~~~
The lady that cut the fabric for me saw my stressed expression. When I told her this would be my first experience making a dress by myself, she said not to stress about it. The important thing is to have fun and if I make a mistake, I can unpick and re-do it. So that made me feel better... Until I got home and realized the hard part wasn't in the sewing it together. It was in the fitting it and cutting it out part. I stared at it for a couple days and wanted to run to my mommy so badly. But I really did want to believe in myself and tackle this project so that in the future I could make my own dresses and dresses for Vivian too.
~~~
I cut out the pattern and tried to fit it to me. I had John help me and he told me it was too small so I adjusted the pattern as needed to make sure it went around me and then I started sewing it together. The bust was designed so you just gather the stitches together so that was easy enough. I had some trouble figuring out the sleeves and my mom wasn't answering her phone so I just made it work. (Later she told me I was supposed to do the same thing as the bust, gather a few stiches on the top.) I got it put together and the neck line was a little too big. John suggested doing the same thing, gathering a few stiches in front. It totally worked.
~~~
So here is my new temple dress.
~~~
Growing up with this amazing women I grew a deep love for crafts and needlework. Unfortunately the talent isn't genetic. I've made things here and there that turned out pretty good, but usually she is right there with me every step of the way.
~~~
Before I got married she also made me a temple dress. It was the same pattern as one of my Grandma's dresses that we would always dress up in and use for costumes at halloween. She adjusted the pattern to be temple appropriate by raising the neckline a little but still made it look cute on me. She also designed it so that I would be able to wear it for the first few months of pregnancy for whenever that should occur. I loved it and it was a pretty comfortable too... for the first few months.
~~~
About 6 months into the marraige I went to Orlando, FL with my sister's and we decided to check out the Temple. It was on that trip that I realized I no longer fit into this beautiful temple dress. The dress itself was alright but the sleeves had no give and I couldn't get it off by myself. I figured, OK, easy fix, just take off the sleeves and replace them with stretchy fabric. Well... I love my mom but sometimes she doesn't make time for every little project so it sat there for months and months and months. In the mean time I got pregnant, had a baby, nursed her and the few times we did go to the temple, I wore one of my Grandma's old temple dresses. However that one wasn't designed for my body.
~~~
One day we finally decided to tackle the sleeves on the other dress. She had me remove them and then try on the dress again. Well... I got it on.... but... ummm... it didn't look cute anymore. To say the least, I continued to wear my Grandma's dress. But then the sleeves on that one started to get tighter and tighter. (Why do all my dresses keep shrinking?)
~~~
In January, there was a ward temple trip and John and I were pretty excited to go with people we knew because we usually just go by ourselves and squeeze it in where we can. About a week before the trip I decided it would be super cool if I had a new temple dress to wear since I would be going with people I knew. My mom was on this huge deadline though so I knew if it was going to happen, I would have to do it myself.
~~~
I went to JoAnns picked out a pattern that I would not have to adjust (remember my first formal where I did that, It didn't turn out that pretty) except for the sleeve and skirt length. And then I went and got some white, double knit fabric that would be nice and stretchy. (I don't forsee myself gaining any more wait except if I were to be pregnant again but I still wanted to make it comfy and flexible.)
~~~
The lady that cut the fabric for me saw my stressed expression. When I told her this would be my first experience making a dress by myself, she said not to stress about it. The important thing is to have fun and if I make a mistake, I can unpick and re-do it. So that made me feel better... Until I got home and realized the hard part wasn't in the sewing it together. It was in the fitting it and cutting it out part. I stared at it for a couple days and wanted to run to my mommy so badly. But I really did want to believe in myself and tackle this project so that in the future I could make my own dresses and dresses for Vivian too.
~~~
I cut out the pattern and tried to fit it to me. I had John help me and he told me it was too small so I adjusted the pattern as needed to make sure it went around me and then I started sewing it together. The bust was designed so you just gather the stitches together so that was easy enough. I had some trouble figuring out the sleeves and my mom wasn't answering her phone so I just made it work. (Later she told me I was supposed to do the same thing as the bust, gather a few stiches on the top.) I got it put together and the neck line was a little too big. John suggested doing the same thing, gathering a few stiches in front. It totally worked.
~~~
So here is my new temple dress.
(Yes, it's a little bagish looking, but that isn't the dresses fault.) I was so comfortable in the Temple the next day. I could lift up my arms and everything. There was only one thing wrong with it... I forgot pockets!!! I will be adding those in before our next visit to the temple. The biggest thing though is I am now more confident in my ability to do things for myself. I think I could make a few dresses for Vivian now.~~~
As for formal dresses for myself... I think I might need my mom's help because it is really hard to fit it to myself (John didn't really know how to help. It really wasn't too small and the whole dress turned out a bit big since I adjusted it for that. However I wouldn't call it a disaster like my first formal dress.) So I still need my mom's special ability to picture what I want and blend patterns together to make it work. But I think I should loose a few pounds before going through all that trouble.
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