Adventures in Dress Hunting, Part 1: Step Away from the Dress!

I spent the last several weeks strategizing with Kirsten (16) on how to outfit her for both her Basketball Banquet and Prom -- events one week apart.  The most logical solution -- the same dress for both events -- was naturally out of the question (not for me, of course...).  Boring, ugly, traditional and immodest dresses were not an option (the latter criteria made buying and wearing dresses "as-is" completely impossible).  Expensive dresses were out of the budget.

And so you see, we were in for quite an adventure.

Knowing how difficult it is to find a modest semi-formal dress that is long enough for a 5'10" girl (esp. since the styles are short to begin with), our solution for basketball banquet was to make Kirsten's dress.

I'll forever be grateful to my mom for teaching me how to sew.  I, in turn, have taught Kirsten how to sew -- but not nearly as well as my mom taught me.  Additionally, I hadn't sewn an actual garment in several years (only home decor on occasion) and was reluctant to dive in when a banquet dress was on the line.

But I was brave.

I hid my fears under a blanket of optimism and confidence while Kirsten and I experienced some memorable bonding moments choosing fabric and a pattern that most closely fit the dress that Kirsten had already sketched on paper.

If you're thinking "red flag" about now, you'd be on the right track.

We hit several snags.  The fabric was a nightmare to work with since the sequins were attached with adhesive that gummed up the sewing machine needle and tore the thread at random and extremely inconvenient times.  It was also difficult to finish edges because the sequins would force the needle into not-so-straight lines.  Plus, the pattern needed to be altered quite significantly.  Kirsten just eyed things like the sleeves (originally cap but she wanted them long) and started sketching and cutting while I closed my eyes.

In the end, the dress went un-hemmed (it had somehow gotten cut shorter than planned and I didn't want it to be too short), without a zipper (which would have looked awful due to the difficultly getting the needle to sew straight lines -- luckily it was just stretchy enough to be pulled on over her head), and with mostly un-reinforced beginnings and endings of lines of stitching (since the thread broke every time we tried to reverse the direction of stitching due to the gummed-up needle factor).

We joked that Kirsten better not tell people she had made the dress, because as soon as she did, a seam would surely split open.

I warned Kirsten not to make any quick moves or contort her body in unusual configurations.  I prayed a few times and brought safety pins in my purse just in case.

I exaggerate, but only slightly.

The dress was stunning, as was the girl wearing it.  Kirsten received the most compliments -- by far -- of any other girl there.  I was proud of her for her fashion vision and hard work, awed by how beautiful she looked.

Until the New Year's Eve dance (where she plans to wear the dress next), I have but one request:  STEP AWAY FROM THE DRESS!!! No touching, no running your fingers over the sequins and definitely no twirling.  Hang it up and leave it.

I would really love for it to last through at least one more event.