Zipper Accomplished!

When I was young I took for granted that my Mom could create just about anything out of cloth. She sewed dresses and pants, shorts and skirts. She made Halloween costumes and uniforms. She repaired things. She could even use the satin stitch on her sewing machine to make the little OP symbol on a pair of K-mart shorts. No one ever knew the difference. She made it look so easy.

When I started sewing I had all the confidence of someone who had watched a master for hundreds of hours. I thought just because I had seen it done, I could do it too. Basically what I'm trying to say is, I really wasn't that good in the beginning. As a very wise friend once said, "Everything I do looks good from 50 feet away!" That's why stage costumes and Halloween costumes are so wonderful. No one really looks at them closely. You can get away with all sorts of things. Best of all you can substitute hook and loop tape for zippers. If something doesn't fit right, just take a couple of darts of the back, no problem. That dress too small? Put some grommets in the back and make it a lace up. Of course those tricks don't go very far in the world of fashion sewing.

I've come a long way since then. I'm a decent seamstress. I'm good enough that I trust my skills to make a garment that someone can wear in public without having to worry about it falling apart. I can add boning to a strapless dress, line a bubble skirt and alter a neckline. But I still have one fear. There's still one sewing chore that causes me to shake in my wee little booties. The zipper.

Not to be intimidated, I vowed to make my eldest daughter a dress to wear under her graduation gown. We searched high and low for the perfect pattern. It had to be just right, not to short and not to long. It couldn't be strapless. The neckline couldn't be too high or low. We had lots of rules, but I managed to find a decent pattern. I settled on Kwik Sew 3682. If you'd like to see it you can find it here...
http://www.kwiksew.com/Catalog/cat_detail.cfmpid=3682&Cat=Misses&Level=Dresses&QL=MissDress.

The only problem was the 20 INCH ZIPPER! It only took me a day to find the material, cut out the pieces and put together this dress. But then it was time for the zipper. Oh no. No. No. No. I managed to do everything to put off that zipper. I spent days in the yard, I cleaned under the fridge and stove and did all the laundry. Graduation day was coming faster and faster, but I still managed to put it off. Of course I finally had to put it in or Em would have nothing to wear. I sat down and put that zipper in. I was so excited. It looked pretty good.

Too bad, when Em tried the finished dress on it was too big. I'm not sure how that happened, but it was. She wore another dress that we had purchased from the store. Sigh. So now I have a lovely green satin dress in a size four. Oh well. I'm sure this one will find a happy home.

I think it looks pretty good on the middle Miller child, but curse her petiteness, it's just not the right proportions for her. Sarah was a good sport to model it for me though. Thanks Sarah! If your interested in trying this lovely number on, let me know. I'd love for it to find an owner that loves it.