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Bodice Badass (or OMG IT’S 29 DAYS TO THE WEDDING!!)

I'm not even kidding right now...but this bodice is the single most difficult and involved piece of any garment I have made to date thus far. It was the most time consuming as well. My first post about this thing was right after Labor Day weekend, so it took me over two weeks to complete, from muslin to final product. Not only that, but actually sewing it up in my fashion fabric was a very long process involving lots of handwork. In fact, pretty much everything was done by hand.

This is my sewing notebook. I decided with the start of this dress that I would write down my process step by step in case I ever need to refer to it for another garment in the future, and to refresh my memory so I can write posts like this! So, when I got to tracing and cutting out the pattern pieces in my fashion fabric, I needed to cut my satin, my underlining, and my lining fabric. For the underlining, I used one of my dad's old blue button down shirts. I guess my dad wasn't an oxford guy...the shirts were all sateen. I needed to iron some Shapeflex to the back of those pieces to give them a little more body, stability, and sturdiness. In addition to being sentimental, the underlining still had to do its job of supporting my satin from within the garment, and the sateen on its own just wouldn't do the job. The material was far to flimsy. My main satin is a very thick and creamy silk duchesse satin. I call it creamy because it's the only word I can come up with to describe how it feels in my hands to cut, pin, and manipulate. It's very easy to work with, and very sturdy. When I first started working with it I was very, VERY timid because I didn't want to do anything to potentially damage it, but it's holding up just fine. I decided to add 9 more boning channels to my bodice, because I felt that the four the pattern called for was just not enough. The shilouette was wrong, I didn't feel contained in the garment, and I really want that nice hourglass shape that this kind of bodice is meant to give.

I referenced this chart from Susan Khalje's "Bridal Couture," since it is essentially the exact same bodice I am making, and placed every single one of the boning channels in my bodice where this diagram said. I used all of the boning that came in my package! The channels were machine sewn to the blue underlining, I put stay tape on any curved or angled edge, and then hand basted the underlining to the satin along the stitching lines. I then basted my bodice pieces together, and tried it on the dress form and then me to make sure it fit...and it did!!

I sewed the lining together in exactly the same way (minus the boning channels) and got to work sewing what the pattern calls the "underlay." The underlay is essentialy two flaps that attach to either side of the bodice, that zip up and hook and eye close above the zipper to hold the bodice in place. I had a hell of a time getting it sewed up right and I don't know why...I easily spent a day and a half just on this part of the bodice. I learned a new hand stitch as well...the "prick stitch." This stitch was how I sewed my zipper into place. Susan Khalje (again) has the best description:

I FINALLY got the underlay into my lining, and machine stitched the bodice and then the bodice lining. I then inserted the boning into the channels and, using a catch stitch, sewed down all of the seam allowances in my bodice to the underlining only, to ensure the seams lay nice and flat for eternity.

One little detail that I love is my waitsline stay. This is a piece of fabric or ribbon (I used blue grosgrain 1.5" wide) that is the crux of the entire garment. My bodice attaches to it and uses it to stay up, and when I sew my skirt it will hang from the waistline stay instead of the bodice, ensuring the structural integrity of my garment remains intact. When I went to get the ribbon I saw a spool of lace that I couldn't get out of my mind, so I bought it too and sewed it to my waistline stay.

It's another tiny detail nobody will see but my sister and me, but I find it absolutely beautiful. I sewed a bra clasp to the ends of the ribbon, sewed the stay to my boning channels at the waistline, sewed a big buttonhole in the lining for the stay to exit out of, and then joined the bodice and the lining. I folded and pressed the seam allowance of the top of the lining wrong sides together, and then fell stitched the lining to the bodice.

Voila! Bodice complete! Technically, this is actually the underbodice. I need to sew the lace overlay that will attach to this creating the entire bodice. And I'll do it all while watching Project Runway.