Second Choice

A couple of weeks ago, the Marin Symphony produced another wonderful concert, which meant that I had the perfect excuse to finish up my Ceil Chapman dress.  But as you can see, I did not wear the dress.  Instead, after a minor catastrophe, I had to run home and to change.  This dress is what I came up with.

Everything on the Ceil Chapman was completed in plenty of time, although getting into the dress by myself was problematic, even during construction.  But that did not really concern me.  I was going to Mom’s anyway for pictures, so I figured an extra pair of hands would solve the zipper issue I was having.  But I was wrong.

Before you yell at me for attempting to use an invisible zipper with a bulky seam, I should tell you this was a metal vintage zip.  And I have had no problem in the past using them with fairly bulky seams because they are sturdy (another one worked beautifully on this dress).

But even after all the ends were tucked in and tacked down for stability, it was no longer possible to zip the zipper on my body.  With the waist stay, it should have been easy.  

The dress fits, but the darn invisible zipper just cannot make it past the seam bulk at the waistline on the body.  It works on the sewing table, although I need to get a running start at it – but that is normal for any invisible zip.

The project has been put away until I process how I want to proceed.  I think the only solution is to rip out the zipper.  I just hope I have not trimmed too much away from the corners.  Anyway, this is a job that must be done in the daylight - it is hard enough to see black thread on black wool in the best of circumstances, and I am going to need all the help I can get!

So, I am rather sick to my stomach about it at the moment, but hopefully a bit of time will give me the courage to do a little surgery on the dress.

Wish me luck!

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 5814

Wrap:  Vintage, gift

Shoes:  Via Spiga

Earrings:  Givenchy