Lace Wedding Gown

Here is the wedding dress I made last month on the lovely Mrs. Rachel Watkins Toone.  Best wishes to the new couple!

Kahuku Prom 2015

Only had about a week from the end of the play to Prom but I managed to squeeze a few dresses in.  I did one custom dress, 5 dress alterations, a shrug, and 2 sets of suit slacks.  Here's a few pictures.

Beautiful Talianne loved her dress so much last year she asked me to make another.  She brought me her design ideas and I custom drafted the pattern for her and made her the dress of her dreams.  She looked stunning in the black and gold lace gown.

These lovely girls found their dresses in Chinatown and just needed a few adjustments.  The sister in blue wanted a shrug and a little taken in from the sides and the sister in red wanted some sleevelets.

I couldn't leave out my son! We purchased his suit at Nordstroms Rack and really lucked out. It was a great price and fit him pretty much right off the rack, only required a simple hem.

Beautiful Nu'u

I was honored to work with Kahuku's homecoming queen this year.  She didn't have much notice but fortunately she already had a good idea of what she liked. This custom full length princess seamed formal has a lace overlay, scalloped neckline and cap sleeves.

Alterations for JuliAn

I sure enjoyed working with this beautiful bride and her gorgeous dress! Installed new sleeves and a modesty panel that extended from the front, over the shoulder and around to the back.

Pin tucks

The first project back from vacation is under way. I am making a new temple dress for Joann, a replica of the dress her mother made her years ago that is now getting old. 

Here's the original

The first order of business was double checking the old pattern Joann found and making sure it was indeed the same one and that all the pieces and alterations were included. The altered sleeve pattern piece was missing so I made that. 

Second order of business is underway today: pin tucks. I am marking and stitching what feels like a million little rows. A little tedious but will look so cute when finished. I have to take breaks at intervals to keep my sanity however 

Unpressed but underway

May Day Queen 2014

My sewing project this week was this beautiful dress for May Day Queen Jordyn Tuliloa, a near replica of the dress worn by the actress portraying Princess Kaiulani in the movie of the same name.

Queen Jordyn as she walks onto stage

Back view after being crowned and receiving her lei's

 The skirt was changed to mermaid style to accentuate her hula and fabric was changed for the same reason. The dress was made of Ivory taffeta and gold lame contrast and lace trim. It is fully lined with a built in corset and petticoat and an invisible zipper down the back. The double poofed, off-shoulder sleeves are supported with a net interior lining. The large rosette at the front and 3 mini rosettes at the back are hand made. The front rosette is made from one 45" long bias strip. All rosettes have silver beads at the center.

Back view of dress in movie

A little over a month ago Jordyn's mom brought me these two pictures, clips from the movie, and asked if I could replicate it. I looked for a pattern that was similar but found nothing so I set out to make it from scratch. The entire pattern was hand drafted and fit to Jordyn. Due to other engagements I was unable to do the bulk of the work until the week before May Day. I was grateful that the Tuliloa's were understanding of my schedule restrictions and trusted me when I said I could get it done.

Front view of dress in movie

When all was said and done I spent over 50 hours on the dress. This includes the time I spent researching, shopping for fabric and notions, making patterns and mock ups, constructing the dress, conducting fittings and hand finishing the whole thing.

I loved working on this challenging project and was so pleased that it was received with rave reviews by her parents, extended family and community.

I love my job!

A Dress for Me

It has been a LONG time since I made something for myself. Last night I stayed up all night (no sleep) to make this white dress for choir this morning. I made the pattern and sewed it all together. I haven't sewn for myself since I lost weight 2 years ago so had to make a new sloper too. Since it was the middle of the night I had no one to help me with fitting so I'll be making a few minor fit changes this week but it worked for choir. Thanks Amy Gold for keeping me awake through (most of) the meeting.

Custom Wedding Dress

Dalys knew what she wanted when she showed up for her fitting. She had a binder with pictures, some swatches of fabric and a clear vision of what styles flattered her figure. There was only one problem: she had less than a month to her wedding date. Lucky for her I am a sucker for a beautiful wedding dress and clients with a clear vision of what they want. This past month has been a whirlwind of fittings and shopping and sewing and beading and pressing mixed in with my steady stream of regular projects.


Here's the time breakdown:

• 4 hours of pattern making: I was unable to find a pre-made pattern that matched her design so I created one to her specifications. She wanted a two piece dress. The skirt needed a thick 2.5"-3" waistband and a tight fitted skirt to just below her hip. The bottom of the skirt needed to flare out and have a simple, smooth and short train of about 18". The top would be a hip length princess  seamed bodice with a square neck and cap sleeves covered in beaded lace overlay. The overlay would have a higher boat neck and 3/4 length sleeves and have scallop edge beaded trim all the way around. We decided to make the top so it could be worn tucked in or left out.
• 3 hours of cutting out fabric: Yes, it takes that long to arrange the pattern pieces on the yardage and cut out the satin, lace and two layers of lining for a wedding dress.
• 14 hours sewing. This includes basting, pressing, alterations after fittings, installing zippers and closures, linings and hemming.
• 2.5 hours of fittings/consultations
• 3 hours of handstitching-beading, buttons and finish work. Oh My!

This morning, after 26 hours of work spread out over the course of 3 weeks, I delivered Dalys' dress to her.

Custom Dress for PCC 50th

This morning Shonna picked up her beautiful blue dress to wear for tonight's PCC celebrations. I am so excited to see her perform and very happy with how the dress turned out. She brought me a pattern and fabric several weeks ago and I've been squeezing it in here and there between other projects.

The original pattern was a sleeveless design with a short A-line skirt. She asked me to add some short sleeves, lengthen the skirt and make the skirt more fitted. The end result was a dress she looks fabulous in and can wear on and off stage. Good luck tonight Shonna!

Enactus Team alterations

What is with all these orders from China lately? They all seem to be coming in poorly sized. But hey, I'm not complaining because they are giving me a LOT of business.

This week I am altering the new business suits for BYUH's Enactus Team. Some of the suits came in perfect but four of them were off, WAY OFF. I'm glad they called because now they look fantastic. Good Luck in Kansas City!

Custom Formal Aloha wear

What a doll! This young lady is fantastic! I enjoyed getting to know her better and for the opportunity to make her this custom dress. I sure hope everything went well for you Jaz.

This dress is made from a Satin print and is fully lined. The pattern was simple and went together very quickly. No alterations to design or fit were necessary.

Bridal Alterations: Mari

Congratulations to Mari on your recent wedding! Thank you for asking me to help you with your alterations. To make the dress perfect we took in the side seams, fixed a pucker in the lace and did some work to the train and hem. Best Wishes to you!

Bridal Alterations for Stacey

I enjoyed working with the Beautiful Stacey to make her wedding dress perfect. We took in the side seams and darts, adjusted the sleeves, took up the hem and repaired a few small holes in the lace. While we were at it we decided to add a simple bustle to make dancing a bit easier. Congratulations Stacey and Best Wishes in your new life together!

Prom Alterations and a Custom Dress

I've been very busy this week spitting out Prom dress alterations and a custom dress. I have sure enjoyed working with these girls and hope they enjoy their special night.

Miss Kaitoku had modesty sleevelets added and the hem adjusted.

Zipper Repairs

Kelsey's brand new Brand name expensive jeans had a defective zipper. The second time she wore them it fell apart. She wasn't happy. She called me to see if I could repair or replace the zipper. Zipper replacement can be quite intense, especially in jeans, but I've done it before and was prepared to take on the challenge. Before tearing the old zipper out though I spent some time trying to see if I could repair it. A simple repair is all it needed. I returned the jeans with a working zipper and only a $5 price tag. Kelsey is happy again.

Custom Temple Dress

Working on a custom Temple Dress for my friend Hailey. She wanted a white Hawaiian Print dress with a basic design. We had fun making sketches and discussing details. Can't wait for her final fitting tomorrow. Will post pictures here :-)

Custom Made Muumuu

This week I'm working on a custom made Muumuu. My client is a mainlander who was on island visiting friends. She had been looking for a Muumuu that she liked but couldn't find one that fit quite right; however, she did find the perfect fabric at the swap meet.

Before leaving for home she brought me the fabric, her measurements and a general idea of what she wanted her dress to look like. I'm excited to get the dress shipped off to her and I'm hoping for a picture of her in her new outfit. A great Hawaiian keepsake: a custom made Muumuu.