Why an estimate cannot be given over the phone ;)

I am often called and have emails on how much something would cost. Although for a straightforward alteration like an ordinary hem shortening or a sleeve shortening a rough estimate can be give out.

 For bespoke its next to impossible ( as a client could be an easy shape or a very difficult shape). Furthermore dresses could be difficult cuts or easy cuts, so for bespoke I often arrange a meeting first as I have to make the dress pattern from scratch.

 The bulk of work I am given, I have found, I cannot give an estimate unless I have seen the item or discussed the pattern with a client.

Every item is made to a different standard of finishing so the cost of every alterations and bespoke(made to measure)  varies considerably.

Just in the case of alterations: I have an example for why I don't give an estimate: Over the phone this would have been just a few inches off the hem and taking in along the side seams and bustling up the train at the back....

Here is the Atlanta bridal dress that needed shortening and grading all along to two sizes down .

 Shortening it required; Unpicking the lace which is mounted with the invisible thread on both sides. It also had three further layers of net and tule underneath as well as lining to be shorten to the right length.

To shorten had to unpick along cut line on both sides .

 The client had lost a lot of weight so all the amount between the red thread marks had to be taken out.

The amount is marked precisely with red or black thread

 Here is the finished result  after the alteration.

Not for the faint hearted ... lace dress shortening

People often ask me how I do shortening of a lace bridal dress. I have done massive shortening of lace dresses (upto 5 inches or more!) as unfortunately they never come in perfect length increments to cater to everyone's height.Sometimes the dress has a waist cutline which makes life a lot easier but sometimes you just have to do it the hard way.

If the dress has no cutlines at all ,the trick is to find the narrowest part of the dress. If its a figure hugging dress the best place is just above knee and if its an empire cut line dress then it could be just under the cut-line. Take a picture of the part of the dress where you chose to add the cut-line.

Unpick carefully so the netting does not get any holes. 

Think of an imaginary cut-line that you would put under the lace in order to shorten it, bearing in mind where the zip is placed in the dress.Now start unpicking on both sides of your imaginary cut line this could be in a diagonal on certain dress styles along the back if a zip is present at the back.. but this always varies..(mark it with a thread. I usually mark the amount needed to be taken out with a black thread). Most of  the wedding dresses have lace mounted on the netting with an invisible nylon thread on the outer side and a white thread used in the bobbin.

The extra seam allowance created  after the stitching needs to be cut off .

When you have unpicked sufficient amount of the lace make your cut-line by pining.Tweak the cutline by placing on the mannequin to ensure all is visually symmetrical .Then stitch the cutline as a seam using a nylon invisible thread on one side and a white thread in the bobbin; now cut off any excess fabric keeping the seam allowance 1cm maximum,

 All that is left now is to reattach all your lace pieces looking at a picture taken at the beginning to keep it similar to how it was attached to the dress before the unpicking. The most easy way is to do them by hand as trying to do it by machine is sometimes not possible. Now readjust the side seams according to new hip level if shortening was done above waist.to finish off the dress redo any embroidery needed on the lace.Shorten any other layers of the dress as needed .

I find adopting this method is the best as all the lace dresses I have seen always have heavy beadwork on the hem and the hems are so wide. Shortening through the hem is not an impossible job as I have done that as well if the design cannot accomodate a cut-line,but its an extremely time consuming and costly job.

Here is how the dress looks on the body

Alterations or Bespoke

If bespoke is like a luscious creamy sinfully chocolaty cake alterations are my bread and butter... I cannot exist without them both. 

I must say that I absolutely love love love doing my bespoke projects. At the moment as I work for specialist shops, the alterations have taken over almost completely ...I do have a handful of bespoke projects at the moment but they are going nowhere as I have deadline for the shop clientele. It is regular work so I have to keep it going.

I am trying to work on new patterns and projects all the time but every May the wedding season starts and the Brides and Mums all need outfits to be fitted.

I also make jewellery and do silk painting as well as embroidery  and crochet when I can. Its something I enjoy immensely to be creative and use my training to its full potential .

I am hoping to start on a dress by the end of this month as I need atleast one bespoke outfit every month for my own sanity as alterations are tedious and sometimes the remodelling is so drastic that I might as well have made the outfit from the beginning. 

Here is a link to most of the work projects I have worked on to date
www.tailor-alter.com

For alterations portfolio its
https://www.facebook.com/Zenub.s.qurashis

My Magic Potion for unpicked seam marks

When I was working at Catherine Walker I found this magic potion that settles down seam marks when something is altered or let out. Here is a before and after picture of an outfit in organza I let out for someone.

Before Magic Potion application.

After Magic potion Application and pressing.

The reason I am talking about it today is because I let out a menswear trouser. After letting it out I had my doubts whether the potion would work as the marks were really terrible but as it turns out it has absolutely no marks at all! I didn't take a before and after picture of the trouser unfortunately.

Learning to do things differently

I feel sewing has made me a more relaxed and patient person. I love sewing and being creative and inventive all the time with what I am doing. A few days ago when I was fitting the San Patrich Atlanta style dress I found a new way of adding a bustle.

 This is the Atlanta style dress

The image above shows a traditional bustle on a dress i did a while ago.

The image above has the hidden loop method I use to bustle up lace.

I usually bustle up lace and net dresses in a different way to the traditional bustling up as it looks better on lace.The inner heavier material is traditionally bustled up while the outer lighter lace has the hidden loop bustle. I  had a different problem with the Atlanta style dress as the tapering was so far down the last button at the zip end could not be used to hook the bustle up. So I thought of putting in a hidden button behind the lace to loop in the hidden loop . The pictures will be up as soon as I am finished working on it .

An Alberta Ferreti Inspired dress in red

This is  a dress I recreated for a client from a dress that was her favourite. I didn't need any fittings or toiles as I managed to take out the pattern by just measuring the dress.It had twenty four rectangular panels of silk chiffon and pure silk fabric  in the skirt. They all had to be roll hemmed at the start due to the pleat formation needed in the skirt. Surprisingly the most difficult part of the dress was not the belt with the cut work pieces but the neckline; chiffon is such a slippery fabric to work with!

The stole to go with the dress had a zigzag panel of chiffon stitched in it .It was made in double with the sheer chiffon panels .I had to use a lot of bias organza binding to secure the chiffon with the silk . 

The fringes with 4000 Swarovski crystals was quite a laborious task but the end result was worth all the work.

Hello everyone ! welcome to my new blog!

I would like to start by letting everyone know about my website
 http://www.tailor-alter.com/

and my facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Zenub.s.qurashis