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Slow-Growing Coral

Some time ago (like a year, but who's counting) I made a sundress in the week before my family arrived in Hawai'i for vacation. I say arrived, because I stitched the hem and halter straps on the plane ride there. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to bind the eyelets, and I'd forgotten the ribbon I meant to lace the back of the dress with, so I just stabbed a big yarn needle threaded with some carpet warp I had on hand (why? I have no idea) through the fabric where I intended to add eyelets later.

A close photo of the back of a coral sundress with large, scattered orange poppy motifs. White, slightly fuzzy cord laces the back edges together; at the top of the photo is the brim of a straw hat.
If I remember right, that's linen carpet warp acting as lacing.
It's...later. And actually, at the time of this writing, I still haven't bound any eyelets—but I have at least done a bit of the finishing work.

A close-up of a needle inserted into the seam allowance of a coral piece of fabric with scattered orange poppy motifs, with a white finger holding up the stitched-shut end of the seam allowance. A white, slightly fuzzy cord is laced diagonally through the seam allowance, attaching it to another finished edge.
I was very careful not to stitch the lacing into the dress at this point.
First, I wanted to add something to stiffen the back edges of the bodice, just enough that they wouldn't crumple under the stress of tight laces. Past-me apparently had that thought (thankfully) and had finished the top and bottom edges of the bodice before folding over the back seam allowance. All I needed to do was close off the bottom opening of the folded-over section, to create a casing for my low-budget boning.

A close-up of a white hand holding the bound edge of a piece of coral fabric with scattered orange poppy motifs. At the right edge of the fabric, the folded-over seam allowance is open, and a translucent zip tie is being inserted. In the background, a canvas bag full of yellow fabrics is blurrily visible.
That is indeed more quilt fabric in the background.
Zip ties! This isn't shapewear, so no need to fuss at me: zip ties are wildly inappropriate material for corsets, stays, or anything else that reshapes your squishy bits. Spring for the good stuff for those. To reinforce an edge for eyelets, though, these do just fine.

I trimmed the ends to round them a bit and reduce the chances of them wearing holes through my fabric right away, and then inserted them through the top of my newly created casing.

A close-up of the open end of a folded-over seam allowance, showing the end of a translucent zip tie just within the edges of the fabric.
All gone!
I'm still pretty proud of how perfectly I trimmed the zip ties; when they're seated all the way down in the channels, the upper ends are just below the top edge of the bodice fabric.

I stitched the upper ends of the channels shut, and pushed the zip ties against the fold before working a tiny prick stitch to anchor them there, so they won't be prone to shifting around when I wear or wash the dress.

A photo from above of a coral sundress with large, scattered orange poppy motifs, and white, slightly fuzzy cord lacing the back opening draped over the photographer's left knee. A spool of peach ribbon is balanced on their right knee, with the tail profligately unspooled and loosely draped across the whole scene. The very end of the ribbon, at far left, is threaded in a large silver needle.
#measuring (aka How much ribbon is enough for lacing? More ribbon than that)
With reinforcement in place, I moved on to the eyelets!

That's a lie. I was making these modifications before going to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (wow, locals just call it "the Nelson") with K, so I skipped the eyelets again and just measured off a tremendously long piece of ribbon to replace the worn linen lacing.

A close photo of the back of a coral sundress with large, scattered orange poppy motifs. Narrow peach satin ribbon laces the back edges together; at the top of the photo is the brim of a straw hat.
Better, but still not quite done.
I pulled the existing lacing out one pair of holes at a time, to make following the existing holes easier. Whenever I do get around to the eyelets, I want to have minimal damage to the surrounding fabric so they'll stay nicely anchored. I may also fuss with the lacing to get it all lying smoothly; there are a few twists that're pretty noticeable in the satin ribbon.

A close photo of the back edges of a coral sundress with large, scattered orange poppy motifs. Two needles threaded with thick variegated orange-and-yellow thread are attached to either side. Three eyelets are worked at the top of both edges, and narrow peach-colored satin ribbon is laced diagonally down the rest of the back.
I didn't even buy that thread to match—it was a gift!
Obviously at the time of this writing, I haven't finished the eyelets—but I've started, and the idea is to wear this dress tomorrow, so hopefully that'll be enough motivation to keep me moving.

A three-quarter view of a pale rose with round-edged, in-turned petals. The outermost petals are slightly amber, and loosely cup the porcelain-pink center. In the background, medium-green leaves and thorny canes stand out against a pale yellow house and white-framed window. Their blue shadows pattern the wall.A direct-front photo of a pale rose with round-edged, in-turned petals. The outermost petals are slightly amber, and loosely cup the porcelain-pink center. In the background, medium-green leaves and thorny canes stand out against a pale yellow house and white-framed window. 















In other exciting news, Wollerton Old Hall has started blooming already! She's lovely.

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