Pure Happiness

“Grammom, I want to make a ball gown. When can we work on this?” Now, Lauren is twelve years old and I’m wondering why she needs a gown. I decided it was prudent not to ask my question and focus on the quality time we would share together. We set aside the coming weekend to begin work.

On the appointed day she arrived in my work studio armed with pages of sketches and pointed to “the one” to be made. I explained that we needed to develop a pattern from scratch, then we could think about buying fabric which she already visualized to be a dark blue or purple. So we cut a bodice pattern out of non-woven interfacing to match her sketch. After she sewed the darts and assembled the pieces we made some adjustments; then we worked on the skirt portion which had to be gathered and full enough to fit over a triple-hooped underskirt she bought off Ebay.

After the initial “design” session Lauren called asking if we could work on the gown with a stop first at the fabric store to look at what was available. She chose several bolts of fabric from the store shelves and laid them on a table. Then she went searching for a “see through” fancy fabric as a top layer on the skirt section. She narrowed her selection to a deep blue for the whole gown and deliberated over a lace overskirt or a fine chiffon with a touch of glitter. Her PopPop preferred the lace, which is a fabric she loves and uses in her wardrobe. I chuckled to myself that this preteen wanted her grandfather’s opinion. In the end she chose the bit of glitter. She explained to us that the lace created a “romantic look” but she was after a “sophisticated look”. She’s how old? Twelve????

She decided to reconfigure the bodice after admiring a pattern at the fabric store. We purchased the pattern and redid the bodice. Several adjustments were needed because the pattern was not available in her size. She tried on the mock-up and was satisfied with the fit. She disassembled the test garment and laid it out on a table to estimate the yardage of fabric needed to construct the gown. Armed with the necessary info we went back to the fabric shop and purchased the materials she had previously chosen for the project.

Back in my studio she cut out the pieces of fabric needed to make the garment. I helped her mark and pin the pieces for assembly. She did all the stitching, pressing, and clipping. She inserted boning in the bodice and lined it. She found the time needed to assemble the gown much greater than anticipated. The end product was stunning, but quite plain.

I gave to her my collection of Swarovski hot-fix crystals to embellish the bodice. She spent an evening making a design for the placement of the various crystals. The next day she applied them to the gown using a special heat gun. The asymmetrical design was dazzling on the dark blue fabric.

Her next request was a “photo shoot” in the gazebo located in the community in which we live. She used a curling iron on her hair, applied a bit of makeup and donned the gown with hoop underskirt. Getting her into the car was interesting but manageable. We used our tech gadgets to capture her joy as she twirled in delight inside the gazebo. On our way back to the house she tugged on my arm and said, “Grammom, thank you so much! I love it!” The look on her face and the excitement in her voice spoke volumes.

A few weeks later she got her dad to do a video that included a segment in which she wore the gown. She spliced the film and added music. The end result played on her ipad was fantastic! And so my question “why would a twelve-year-old need a gown?” was answered – for the joy of it!! For me, precious memories.

Written July 12, 2013; Revised April 29, 2016                                Sandy Schuler