I just wanted to let you know Sarah, my webmaster is working hard to get the problem with my posts solved… I know some of you are getting them a day late, some not at all and some 2 times a day… Has ANYBODY been getting them regularly every time I write one? Charlotte sent Sarah a copy of the 2 versions of the posts she’s been receiving and Sarah began to figure out the problem from those pictures. Thanks Charlotte! I hope the whole issue will be solved soon…
Well, Glory Be! I did it! I fixed that saggy back side of Rebecca’s Civil War dress. It took me 3 hours, but it was the only way to do it right. As you remember, the dress was too long in the back… and because it was a plaid, it wasn’t an easy fix…If I tried to just shorten the back, my plaid design wouldn’t be straight around the bottom. If the dress had been a print it wouldn’t have been a problem at all; I would just have shortened the back! Period! But the plaid in this dress presented a bit more thinking…
However I woke up this morning and somehow through the night the answer came to me… I would have to take the skirt off the dress from almost the front Vee section and around to the back. Then I’d have to shorten the skirt part from the top section where it had been sewn on. I’ll show you what I mean… in pictures… you might not get it, but you can see how it ended up looking… Much Better…
So here goes…
This was the problem… the dress was this far off the floor in the front…
…and when I held that little cardboard piece on the back side of the dress it hit here…
So the side of the dress looked like this…
It was pretty droopy in the back… So I measured the spot that my cardboard came to on the back side and put a safety pin there…
Next I had to take it all apart… starting with the hem and that facing at the back side.
I had to take out the serging and the seam around the waist… (almost to the middle…
I used that piece of paper I had marked the distance it was too long on and moved that up to the top at the back edge and allowing for a 1/4″ seam allowance, I put pins across the top edge of the dress skirt.
I used a ruler and marked from the edge and tapered it into the front side area…
Then allowing for that seam allowance, I trimmed it off… (that was pretty scary…) If I miscalculated, I’d have to cut a new skirt…(If I had enough fabric…) I used that piece of fabric and laid it on the other side to get them the same and trimmed of that side…
So now both sides looked like this…
I ran two rows of basting stitches… and pulled them up.
I tried to evenly distribute my gathers between the end of the back edge and the side front near the Vee…and stitched it on.
I used my serger to neaten up the edges and get the inside looking as nice as could be..
I even managed to get the snaps sewn back and the dress hemmed again… (I ended up taking out the hem so I could make sure it was even at the bottom edge.)
So do you want to see it now?
The front…
…and the back…
…and one final look at the new non saggy dress! YAY!
Well, writing this post certainly was faster than the alterations on this dress… Oh well… it got me back in my sewing room again…which I LOVE!!
Now on to that crinoline and pantalettes and the rest of this set!
Oh, and I got quite a few more birthday wishes from some readers… Thank you SO much for your kind comments! They really made my evening!
See you soon,
Blessings, Jeanne
Yay you! That’s the way that sewing women use maths and engineering skills to fix problems.
Rebecca’s dress is looking awesome.
I get your blog regularly around 6pm the ‘next day’ (it’s 6.38 Friday currently) If you send it out just after midnight I get it at the right time. I also get two extra ‘copies’ of the post at random intervals in the next 48hrs – no problem.
HI Jane,
Math isn’t my cup of tea, but I guess my sewing is… I’m glad the dress was salvageable because I checked and I didn’t have enough fabric for a new skirt!!
Thanks Jane,
Blessings, Jeanne
I knew you could do it!!!! The dress looks absolutely lovely!! It’s Jeanne just usin’ her expertise! The material print is so pretty and even though I didn’t understand everything you did to correct the length, it was interesting to see how you did it.
Hard to believe it’s the end of August. Where does the time go?
HI Paula,
Thank you for the compliments on Rebecca”s dress. It’s nice that I could salvage it. It’s going to be a pretty set I think…
I can’t believe it’s the end of August either…where has the YEAR gone???
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne… this is a perfect photo tutorial showing how to adjust hemlines from the top of a plaid!
Yes.. it was the only/right way:) all that ripping is no fun though:)
So nice to see that you are back in the sewing room.. although working with a ripper isn’t fun!
I’m one of the fortunate people who see your posts every day. I’m on Safari… hope your webmaster can `Get get that annoying problem solved quickly.
Thanks Shara,
It’s nice to be back at sewing…even if it is doing alterations! I’m glad you enjoyed the tutorial.
I’m glad at least someone is getting things correctly.
Thanks Shara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Working with plaids is always extra work, but I like how you solved the problem.The person buying the dress probably would not have even noticed, but I am like you, it has to be perfect, because I see it. The dress turned out great!
Thank you Marla,
It’s nice when someone notices that doing things the right way is the best and only way to do them.
Thanks Marla,
Blessings, Jeanne
I knew you could make the save! Grand idea to adjust from the top. What a wonderful difference it makes.
As to the posts, I receive one on the regular day and then another, same one, the next day.
So, now that you are back on sewing, will you be painting cabinets soon? I’m looking forward to seeing them white and with the handles you purchased. I know, always squawking around here.
Have a fun weekend.
HI Joy,
Thanks for letting me know how you receive the posts…every little bit of information helps.
I’m glad I was able to save the dress…Rebecca too.
I was thinking about getting the boxes where I have them primed, sanded and painted today, but I’m thinking about finishing up my curtains…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, we all knew that you would figure it out (chuckle)! The dress looks beautiful. Have a great Labor Day weekend as we slide into September.
Thank you Dorothy,
I’m glad you like Rebecca”s dress. I’m glad I stayed up late last night and finished it…well, at least the dress part. I have an idea I just might add to it…
Thanks Dorothy,
Blessings, Jeanne
I’m late again! I just knew you would be able to fix that hem, and you did! I was thinking about maybe taking the dress apart, but the thought surely you would be able to do it without me saying anything about it! It looks just darling,and you get an A++ for your efforts!
Have a wonderful Labor Day holiday, Jeanne! And that goes for all you wonderful ladies too!
Thanks Linda,
I wasn’t relishing the idea of taking the dress apart, but it really was the only way to do it and do it right! Thanks for the A++!
I’m not sure what we are doing for Labor Day but next weekend we are heading to St. Louis again for a 3 month check up… We are going to spend a day or 2 with my sister in law, Gloria, who just moved to Alton, IL… so we’ll have fun…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh gosh, three months already? Time sure flies! Michael used to work in Alton, so I know where that is. They have some really neat shops there ,and if you have time go see Pere Marquette State Park, it’s really a pretty place!
I guess Gloria has family there, if she moved from Salem to Alton? Looks like we are still having summer heat and humidity for awhile yet. No fun!
The dress is beautiful. Way to go with fixing it. Quite ingenious if you ask me. Can’t wait to see the entire outfit. I get your posts the next day. Don’t know if that helps or not. I also am looking forward to seeing your continued work on your kitchen. Carole
Thanks Carole,
I’m hoping to work on the pantalettes or the crinoline tonight… like everything I do… it seems to work bit by bit! I guess this dress set will too!
Thanks for letting me know about the posts coming to you the day after I write it.. another clue to the puzzle.
Blessings, Jeanne
An ingenious solution! I think it even gave the skirt a more “belle” design”. That is always a plus on Civil War dresses. I just can’t believe August is over now. Where did the summer go??
Thanks Laura,
I have a small poufy slip that I used under her dress last night when I took that last picture. A crinoline should make it look even better… I better get busy!
Blessings, Jeanne
I agree with Laura — I think the skirt is more bell/belle shaped. It wasn’t the easiest repair, but you could see the solution right away and figured out how to make it work. I’m glad, because it’s beautiful fabric and if you didn’t have enough to re-cut it, the only solution was to rescue it. Is Rebecca wearing one of your famous petticoats?
What kind of sleeves were you thinking of? I think when I looked them up, sleeveless dresses began to appear in the 20s. I can imagine short puffed sleeves — nice for this time of year, when fall colors are beginning to appear but it’s still hot. Officially we still have 3 weeks of summer, but I keep hearing about snow in Montana and Idaho.
I’m glad to hear that Sarah’s working on the blog. I seem to get it on the right day, just at unreliable times. I like being able to start my day, whenever I start, with your blog.
HI Marilyn,
I do have a little slip underneath Rebecca’s last picture of the dress. It’s just a little something I keep around when I need to show a dress puffed out.
I woke up this morning with an idea for some sleeves too…I think they’ll be sweet…
It’s strange about the blog posts…Sarah gave me some more information about it today… I’ll have to put that together in a blog post and let everyone know about it.
Thank you for starting your day with me! :o) :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
It’s 12:36 here in Colorado, and there’s no new blog. I don’t know if it’s because there isn’t one or I’m not getting it, but if it helps Sarah, back before the trouble started, I could get the new entry right after midnight here. I wonder if it would be useful to send out an entry, no matter how short, every day until this is fixed. Even “no entry today” would help people track when they get the message and give Sarah more feedback. Would that help?
Sleep is amazing for giving our minds answers. I’m glad about the sleeves and will check in later to see if there’s a new entry.
That is exactly what I would have done to fix that dress, Jeanne!!! Great job!
That was the way I’d have fixed it, but I couldn’t figure out how to explain it without pictures and counted on you, Jeanne, to figure it out, and you did! I hope you saved the piece that you cut off so you could make a pattern for future use. Find that scrap! I have a pattern like that but can’t lay my hands on it right now.
Thanks for letting us follow your process. I always enjoy your posts.
That was ingenious…the perfect solution. Looking forward to seeing what kind of sleeve you will use. That fabric really works for that dress too.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Thanks Kathie,
For some reason, you comment didn’t go through but I found it under my dashboard… one of these days it will all be straightened out…I hope!!!
Thank you, Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne