wedding skirt for snowy wedding

Kind of ironic that I am doing this right now. My client is a beautiful tall young lady who is getting married at a ski resort, on skis soon. She has white ski pants, a white sweater and wanted a white skirt to wear. So she bought 3 dresses. We picked one that fit best then I it was up to me. I cut the bodice off (and dealt with the boning), finished the edge and made sure the zipper was good. Then I had to make a casing and I put some drawstring elastic in. I was worried she would need that to hold the dress up in case the removal of the bodice would cause issues.
We fit it last night. Awesome. Now I am going to do some final stitching and deliver. She has promised me wedding photos.

still in one piece

after first cutting and finishing

drawstring elastic inserted

snow day activities

Snow days are useful if you have a ton of sewing to do. This is a jacket I am making a pattern for a client who wants to duplicate a jacket she saw a photo of. It is hard because the inspiration is of mystery fabric and on a perfect body and probably photo shopped. 

Camel worth saving

I thought this was just a "regular" repair. But it was hard!  I had to re-stuff it completely then try to sew it together from the outside.  Unlike apparel fixes, I could not turn it inside out, sew it then turn it right side out.  But I did it!

After I finished my client told me why it was so important. She had been a soldier in Afghanistan and it was something she kept with her when she was there. She brought it home and her little boys snuggle with it now.  

What seemed simple . . .

This is a heriloom doll (made by my client's grandmother) what was mistaken for a toy by their dog. Part of her face and scalp were totally gone. I thought I put some muslin in as a new base and go from there but the original fabric was so old and fragile, it was almost like I was weakening when I pierced it with a needle.
So, I had to use the fabric that was there and sew it back together. Then I mushed her head around to try to re-shape it. Then I put the  hair back in a way that hopefully hid the repairs.

300 labels

This is small run/piece work order I did for a client recently. His company (https://www.wabdag.com/) had over 300 jerseys made off shore but the labels for their company had not been sewn on. So I sewed them on,  1 by 1.  I know how that can be when a company has a pretty big problem to solve but not big enough that a major sewing house would take it on.

small run production

Very different from working in a factory that did thousands of garments a day.  It is nice to be able to do small runs for clients who are just getting started.  Believe me, in factory you cannot put a whole order for a color way on your ironing board.

step one - client inspiration

My new client (who I am meeting today) wants to wear this style for her birthday which is in less than 2 weeks. First ideas are to draft pattern from some pants and a top that fit her and do muslin mockup. Then I will fit that and go from there. This will be a challenge but fun.  Stay tuned.