Narelle's Bridal Emergency Kit: what to tote to prevent wedding day disasters

Having heard many horror stories of wedding day trauma caused by a variety of mishaps, I prepared a Bridal Emergency Kit to have handy on my sister's wedding day. I was determined that she would not suffer from any such distresses if I could help it.

Narelle's Bridal Emergency Kit

Stowed in a tote bin:

Bottled water
Include bottle of water+salt for hayfever cure (¼ tsp of ground rock or sea salt per litre of water)
Box of tissues
Small rubbish bag
Chair, footstool, cushion
Rain umbrellas or shade parasols
Cool-weather shawls for bride and maids
Handheld fans for hot weather
Non-messy energy snacks
Phone, payment card, and cash in case of vehicle breakdown or empty fuel tank

Stowed in a zipped purse:

Adhesive tack
Paper & pen
Wet wipes
Another small rubbish bag
Sewing kit (needles, reel of white thread, sharp scissors, straight pins, safety pins)
Painkiller (water bottle in tote bin)
Lens cleaner
Cotton buds
Bandaids
Mirror
Makeup
Nail file
Tweezers (I packed my SwissCard multi-tool)

The key to creating an effective emergency kit is envisioning likely difficulties. Of course, sometimes things happen that no-one would have imagined, and it's then you have to get creative with what you have.

On the wedding day, the nail file was needed to smooth the bride's rough shoe heels that were snagging and tearing her net petticoat.

The sewing kit was in high demand, used for finishing the principle bridesmaid's dress hem, fixing parts of the groom's costume, and cake decorating. (Scissors, needle, and thread to bind the flower bunches, straight pins to skewer the calligraphy poster to the icing, tweezers to position the sugar-sticky loose petals.)

There were two items I wished I had: an extra clothes peg to hang my music from the microphone cord when I played the piano at the reception (the peg I used at the wedding ceremony got lost in transit), and a cigarette lighter to seal the ribbon ends on the cake decorations when I became the emergency cake decorator.

I hope this list helps you and your loved ones be prepared for unexpected mishaps on your special occasion. Relax, laugh, work together, and I'm sure you'll have a good one.

Fiat lux.
Narelle

Click here to view more modest and gorgeous wedding details.

A Better Stripe: How to Upcycle a Miniskirt into a Pinny Apron

What might a modest woman do when she's given a miniskirt?

She might upcycle it. Here's the miniskirt I was given...

It looked worn and dirty, stapled together at the front, saggy and stained at the back. But the label said linen/cotton, so I thanked the giver with delight and gave the brief little skirt and its self-fabric tie belt several rounds of attentive laundering.

Many of the stains remained, but for what I had in mind for it, they would be in good company. With a crisper fabric in hand, I deconstructed the skirt, removing the side zipper and back pockets and unpicking the side seams.

Here's how I reconstructed it, turning a miniskirt into a pinafore apron.

1. Shape sides of pinny bib. Keeping the skirt front in same position for pinny, use the skirt back for the pinny bib. Flip the skirt back topside-down so that the waist band stays at the waist and the skirt hem is now under the chin. Fold under the extra width until it's a good fit at the shoulders, and stitch these flaps down the sides at the seam edge (but not across the top).

2. Reattach pockets. Cut and stitch linings for the two pockets, then sew them to the bib.

3. Shape upper edge of pinny bib. Pin about 5 inches of 1 inch cotton tape at centre front on the reverse side to stabilize the fabric (the linen had stretched and warped where the skirt got sat on). Sew a gathering stitch down each side of the tape, securing the stitches at the bottom end. Pull up the gathering threads, arrange the gathers, and handstitch the threads to secure the gathers.

4. Prepare skirt front. Stitch any seams or hems that were opened during the deconstruction phase. (Do this also with the waist edges of the bib.)

5. Join bib to skirt. Lay the bib waist on top of the skirt waist, making sure they are centred. Pin and stitch together.

6. Prepare straps. Cut tie belt at the halfway point. At upper edge of bib, insert raw ends of belt into the outside corners of the facing created when folding in the bib sides. Pin. Stitch across upper edge of facing.

7. Add hanger loop. Using a strip of cotton tape or bias binding, attach a bar behind one strap so you can easily hang your apron on a hook.

8. Sew button holes. Use an interfacing on the underside to give the buttonhole stability. Mark location for buttons and stitch on buttons.

I like that this apron style is cool and light, no bands around my waist, no dragging at my neck. I tried fastening the straps with just the button in the centre, but the apron shifted around too much as I worked. Adding the side buttons improved stability. If the apron needs to accommodate more bulk under it (likely in winter, when I wear more layers), I could place buttons at the hips and not use the upper and centre buttons.

The flower was glued to a button, which was glued to a felt dot, which was glued to an earring clip.

Now you know how to upcycle a miniskirt into an apron. I hope you've been inspired today to look at old garments as new possibilities.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!

Narelle

Hummingbird Blue: Assembling an Elegant Outfit from Awkward Pieces

 

Tragically, my city no longer has a fabric store. Here's how I get over that hurdle when I need coordinating material to make an outfit. Instead of buying new fabric yardage, when I shop for an outfit at a secondhand store, I source fabric from other garments on the rack.

I look for one main piece in a fabric or colour I like. Any adult size will do, usually the larger the better. Next I look for other garments in fabric that will coordinate with my first piece. I then rearrange the fabric from these garments to create one outfit or dress.

Hummingbird Blue

When I spotted this hummingbird fabric, I immediately loved it and longed to wear it. Given that it was assembled as a spliced and skimpy jumpsuit, it would take some creativity to make it modest and wearable. But I was willing to try, because I loved the fabric so much.

Now I knew I was looking for blue. I hunted around the racks and to my delight found a floor-length taffeta skirt in a shade that matched the hummingbird beautifully. The skirt was far to big for me, but this made me even happier - I had more fabric to work with.

Then I found a chiffon tunic with a knit camisole attached to it. The tunic was too big and too revealing to wear as it was, but I really liked the drape of it and it was in a shade that toned with the other items.

Concerned about cool evenings in a sleeveless dress, I was happy to find an elegant cardigan, although this too had a fit issue.

Now I had my ensemble, but they needed assembling!

Deconstruct the Skirt

Step 1. Unpick the skirt waistband and zipper. Sew up the seam where the zipper was.

Reconstruct the Skirt

Step 2. Detach the camisole from the tunic. Sew the skirt waist to the camisole, creating a tank dress. (Before stitching them together, I added a short skirt lining using a remnant from my stash - lined skirts feel so comfortable to wear!)

Reconstruct the Jumpsuit

Step 3. Unpick the leg/crotch seam of the hummingbird jumper suit and cut away the scoop of the crotch extension, leaving a straight edge down the back and front. Unpick the hem a little on each side of the raw edges to give you room to work. Sew the fronts together and the backs together, then rehem the bottom edge. Now the jumpsuit is a tunic.

Fix Fit Issues

Step 4. The hummingbird tunic still had some gaping areas with keyholes front and back, and low armholes. These were easily fixed with some pinch and stitch action.

Step 5. The fitted chiffon tunic sat too low on my bosom, making puckers in odd places and allowing for more movement than felt safe for my modesty. The armholes were also too large. Because the fabric was so light, I was able to pinch the shoulder seam up without creating too much bulk. This improved the fit at the bust and front neckline, and reduced the armholes. I arranged the sleeve gathers to please me, then handstitched them in place at the shoulder.

Step 6. The knit viscose cardigan was designed for a lady with longer arm scye and more bosom than I have (this is also why the chiffon tunic didn't fit me). I gathered the extra fabric into a series of pleats and stitched them by hand, turning them into a style feature that encourages me to wear my hair up so they can be seen.

Styling Choices

An alternative might have been to make a long dress by sewing the hummingbird tunic to the taffeta skirt, but this way the soft drape of the delicate tunic is retained, and the outfit is more flexible. I can change the look by changing the style of tunic. I can also wear a tunic over a different dress or with wide-leg trousers.

I hope you've seen something beautiful and inspiring here today.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!

Narelle

Facing Unsolvable Clothing Problems: Searching Out the Benefits of Admitting Fashion Failure

I've resisted writing this. I'm the person who thinks up do-it-yourself solutions for everybody else's fashion troubles. It's humbling to admit I get desperately stuck in the wilderness of dressing well. To add that it happens periodically feels downright shameful.

But a mentor recently reminded me that his most raw and honest story produced the strongest connection with his audience, and the most uplifting outcome. So I will gird up the loins of my courage and share with you where I fail.

There is a fashion challenge that brings me into a state of frustration and despair, burdening me with a sense of depression I try to ignore but cannot shake for months at a time.

HELP! I've Got Nothing To Wear (That I Like)

It starts when my available modest clothing choices become saggy, stained, torn, or too small. I run out of repair or upgrade options, I don't have the time and energy available to make new garments, and shops don't stock the kind of modest clothing that I want or in my price range.

This leaves me with a sense of panic and much wasted time browsing my closet when I'm dressing to go out. It also leaves me with a sense of miserable disinterest in getting dressed for the day when I'm not going out.

Plan Something To Wear *That I Like*

I've learned to prioritize two things.

A) Prepare one smart outfit and reserve it for outing occassions. Keep it clean and looking nice.

B) Prepare one practical at-home outfit that I love to look at and that makes me happy when I get dressed. Wear it every day.

This might sound simple, but this year I couldn't even stay in control of these two solutions.

In the southern winter of 2019, while I spent hours on the couch recovering from a sprained and broken ankle, I planned one all-occasions dress for the following winter, to make me cosy and presentable whether I was visiting friends or convening a meeting.

As I regained my mobility in the spring, I got the fabric cut out...and came back to sew it towards the end of a super-hot summer. Feeling victorious, I hung it untested in my closet to await cold weather. 

Mistake Academy

When chill airs arrived, I realized that some of my newly enjoyed plumpness had departed. I'd measured the dress for a bigger me, and because it was lined, it would be a mission to resize it. I was too disheartened and too busy to fix it. The empty bodice felt demoralizing, but I had to wear it anyway.

Then I discovered I'd made three other mistakes.

The layering I'd planned for the dress didn't work as well as my mind had imagined. The drapey stretch polyester dress clung close enough to my waist to show the lumpy outline of large jeans pinched smaller. The merino top, which I'd bought specially so I had ONE without moth hole repairs, turned out to have a neckline too low to hide my cheap cotton/spandex tee (NZ $9, which after just three months' wear become saggy and off-colour). Even if I'm wearing a fresh tee shirt, the shifting tide of the different layers seems disorderly and I do not feel well-groomed.

After a winter of wearing my embarrassing Priority A outfit, I still feel frustrated at myself for not planning better. I have not yet found a solution that makes me feel good wearing it. Maybe by next winter I will have.

However, a few weeks ago I had a BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY with my Priority B outfit.

Happiness Versus Cosiness

Practical and comfortable for at-home, Priority B is the denim Yoked Tunic Dress featured in a previous Boutique Narelle post.

I realized I was feeling repelled by the delicate viscose bodice becoming unsightly with pilling and pulled threads. A tidy-up with a snag needle soon had that resolved.

Those cheap white tee shirts did not make this outfit look beautiful either, but a navy polycotton tee with a smarter rib neckline made me feel gloomy with all the dark fabric. 

A royal blue merino top was an improvement, but my *Bingo!* of delight came when I tried my aqua cashmere top with it. Merino is warmer than cashmere, but I decided to put up with less cosiness because of what the colour of this cashmere does for me when I look at it. It makes me feel HAPPY.

I haven't totally neglected the cosiness factor, because, surprising though it may seem, in southern winter temperatures, happiness won't keep you warm for long. I can say this cheerfully, because I found an aqua replacement for the warm but inky fleece I was wearing over the dress.

At NZ$9, it looked overpriced for a slightly pilly, slightly grubby secondhand fleece hoodie, but I really wanted the colour, so I took a risk. A warm soapy wash did wonders.

Thence followed a loose-thread-snipping and de-pilling session, then cottonbud application of isopropyl alcohol to stubborn stains. I've been comfortable, cosy, and happy ever since.

What I've Learned From This Process

It helps a lot to...

• admit that clothing impacts my state of mind;
• acknowledge how my closet challenges are making me feel;
• identify one simple solution to pursue;
• be patient with myself while I'm searching for that solution;
• be humble in admitting my failures;
• be kind to myself, remembering that failures are natural, acceptable, and valuable;
• encourage myself that through openness, creativity, and persistence, there is hope for success;
• take photos of the problem and discuss it with someone -- I might see it differently and discover a solution!

I hope you've seen something beautiful and inspiring here today.

Fiat lux!
Narelle