Plackets, Pockets, and A Mission to Nauvoo

My dear friend, Erin Cox, called me a month or so ago to talk about how her mom is going on a mission to Nauvoo Illinois.

So AMAZING!!!!

I L-0-V-E that place!

Then she told me that one of the things she had to do before going was make her dresses.

Ahhhhh!

If you haven't been to Nauvoo you might not understand.

Everyone who is serving there dresses from the 1800's era.

It's a town that is completely restored to how it was then.

So to make it even more realistic, they dress that way also.

When we went as a family several years ago it was the highlight of our entire vacation.

So what do I do?

I offered to make the dresses for her of course :)

I love to sew.

I love Nauvoo.

I love Erin, and therefore love her mom.

Great combination!

It took quite a bit of talking and convincing on my part to get her mom, Virginia, to let me do it.

She is so sweet and really didn't want to put me out at all.

She found some dresses that someone no longer needed, but she still needed one more.

I think I was her last resort so she finally agreed to let me make it.

I was so happy, still am :)

Now, I should note here that I am not some amazing seamstress.

But I am confident enough that if I have a pattern and some directions, I know I can figure out how to make it.

I have sewn all kinds of dresses, blankets, pants, shirts, etc.

She bought the pattern from Nauvoo, so I said no problem.

Ha!

Famous last words!!!!

We started Thursday afternoon and I'm still not done.

I have never done so much unpicking in all of my life!

She showed up with a DVD taking us through step by step, or so it said, instructions, a pattern, and a dress already made just like the one I was to make.

We only ran into about 99 problems.

No pattern for the skirt at all.

Wrong size bodice.

Placket?....what on earth is a placket?!

Google came in handy for everything except the placket.

And I do have to admit that by Friday night I really didn't like Sister Green, who the movie, pattern, and directions came from, much at all.  Poor lady, I have never even talked with her. But she is obviously a person who can take 7 yards of fabric and turn it into a masterpiece without the help of anything except the measurements of the person she is making it for. While trying to teach us how to do it she kind of forgot that not everyone has that talent.

 Becky, Me, Erin, Sister Brockbank:)

It took 4 of us searching like crazy to figure it all out.

I love a good challenge though.

And I love to learn new things.

And more than anything I love to have a good time doing both of those things with good friends.

It was a perfect weekend :)

 

Saturday morning I sewed the skirt on and walked into the living room for Matt to see it on me....

Ryan said it looked like a dress from the old western movies.

I told him that was the goal, since she will be in Nauvoo.

"Oh, that makes sense now." He said.

 

I still have the hem, growth tucks (which I had never heard of until we started this), buttons, and button holes.  Other than that it's perfect.......and I have learned a ton!