How to Use Your Bridal Trousseau to Make a New Family Heirloom (Christening Gown!)

Hi all... it's been a crazy few weeks.  There are a few exciting things happening, and I think they'll bring lots of inspiration, pattern fitting and other fun stuff to my blog.

First off (on an unrelated note), I just got back from shooting my first destination wedding (as "b camera girl"-- b video footage and first assistant to my pro videographer husband).  The wedding was beautiful, I learned a lot about my new camera, and Jamaica was lots of fun... can you pick me out of the conga line?

Jamaica was beautiful too... and bonus, it was a full moon!  Here's a "practice" night photo -- the view from our hotel room--

Any... back to sewing business.  I'm teaching a master seamstress class in URI Master Seamstress Program--The Jeans Workshop.  This class has given me an opportunity to really test all of my jean pattern adjustment techniques.   There are 11 wonderful sewer girls in the class, and they are all proud owners of great fitting muslins. I've decided to adapt the handouts for the class into a Jean Pattern Fitting Book that I will debut at the Wocester Expo next week.  Stay posted, after the expo, it will be available on my website as an E-Book that you can download and print yourself (or you can order the hard copy).  It's a very comprehensive guide to fitting the J Stern Designs Jeans Patterns to your figure... It deals with things like getting the waistband to sit exactly where you want it and adjusting the width of the pattern pieces.  Have you every wondered why wrinkles seem to collect across the back leg under your butt?  Those wrinkles are caused by now having enough room "to sit in your jeans".  Learn how to find the perfect balance between body space vs. how wide your pattern pieces are (positive vs. negative space).  (And there's a lot more too!)

Another exciting development is that I will begin teaching at Gibb's College in their Fashion Design Program.  I'm thrilled because I know I'll have the opportunity to inspire and be inspired by the students.  I plan to share some of the fitting, design and other fun stuff I teach/learn in class right here in my blog... I've already got visions of a new "flare skirt w/ straight of grain at the side seams" dancing in my head. (That's one of the extra credit assignments for the class, and I plan on designing a few to wear to class!)  

Finally, I want to share an interesting project with you that one of my sewer girls is working on in my studio.  She has been saving her brial trousseau (beautiful slips and night gowns) along with a vintage christening gown pattern so she would be ready when one of her granddaughters gets married.   A few weeks ago she decided to start working on the christening gown.  

The pattern pieces inside the envelop were so tiny, we had to add 1/2" to some of the seam allowances so that it would fit a 2010 ish baby! 

I thought it was really interesting that they included technical drawings of all the pattern pieces on the back of the envelop... along with a unique "flat" view of the christening gown.

We settled on silk dupioni for the fabric because the white color wasn't brilliant white.  It blended well with the ivory lace trims from the slip and night gown that Jan wanted to use to embellish the hem and sleeves.  The first few weeks were spent cutting out pattern pieces and picking the lace from the slip and night gown.  (I have to admit that it's much harder to see white thread on white lace now that I'm 42!)

In addition to the laces that we repurposed from the trousseau, we decided to use 3/8" cotton insertion lace between all the vertical seams and cotton edging lace around the bottom of the yoke. 

Here's  a snap of one of the slips.  I was truely amazed by the beautiful details and secretly I really didn't want to cut them apart...  I think there should be a slip revival (how could you not feel pretty when you're wearing something like that under a dress?)

But, cut apart we did... To trim the sleeves we decided to use a portion of the wide lace at the hem of the slip.  Deciding that we needed lace that was about 1 1/4" wide, we used a washaway marker to draw a line parallel to the hemmed edge--1 1/2" from the edge.  Then we sewed along the line using a straight stitch.  Finally, we cut the lace edge away 1/4" from the stitching.

I was careful to sew in the direction of the tiny pleats--feeding the trim under the presser foot with my finger as I went.  This helped to gather it up a little bit.

Here's how the lace looks when it's sewn to the edge of the sleeve.  It's going to look really pretty after we add the elastic to the casing!

And, here's a peek at the lace I picked off the night gown that we're going to use to embellish the hem!

I'm so excited about this project--it has such an interesting mix of old and new.... I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished christening gown as soon as it's finished!