The problem with making promises like “pictures to follow” is that it inflates my own expectations so that I never do follow up. Like I’m secretly (not so secretly now) thinking, “well I said pictures were going to follow, so this had better be a planned and well-written post.

Naturally, that meant I was hunkering down with some severe avoidance, ready to not update for a good two weeks.

The truth is that I would love to write a couple of full, well illustrated, detailed blog posts about the process of designing and crafting this dress. But I think that’ll probably wait a bit. Until I can illuminate things with a little hindsight. Right now crafting is still that messy process where I sit there stitching a little bit and stopping a lot to mutter to myself as I work my thoughts backward and forward through what the best way is to do a thing and what the next step will be. I had a friend over yesterday for a stitch-n-bitch, and then mostly I ignored her and talked to myself all afternoon as I worked out the tricky business of sewing the cups onto the dress without wrecking (and needing to redo) the pleats that I had just carefully planned and pinned.

Anyhow, check it out:

The right cup is still held on with pins, but as soon as I sew that right cup into place then I can pretty much move on to decorating it. I still need to cover the straps. And I need someone to come over and cut the hem for me while I wear it. And then, obviously, I will need to hem it. But that’s really it.

I’m so excited that I finally get to think about decorating it now. The swarovski crystals are in the mail.

Also! A length of copper-coloured egyptian beaded fringe! Yes!!!

I mean, right now it just looks like a wedding dress (albeit, a pretty plain one). But when I put some fringe on the hips? Shimmy-town!