I just finished a custom order and am so happy with how it came out.Last month I had a customer request that I make my Cheryl dress in a different fabric. I gave her a bunch of fabric options and she chose this beautiful Amy Butler fabric. I don't think I could have chosen a better fabric myself.
I love custom orders but at the same time they make me super nervous because I'm always scared I'll have an accident during the project and have to start all over. This project was especially difficult because I could not get a hold of the fabric locally. I had to custom order it which meant if I messed up I would have to re-order fabric. Although I'm familiar with Amy Butler fabrics I'm always nervous to order fabric online because I can never be sure it's going to be exactly what I'm expecting.
As soon as I got the fabric I laundered it and got to work. Last year I bought pattern drafting software which has been an enormous help for my business. I used to do all of my pattern drafting and alterations by hand and it was incredibly tedious and time consuming. Now when designing new garments I just open up my CAD software and start designing. What makes this great is that all I really have to do is enter my customers measurements in the software, add ease and print my pattern. But to be extra sure this dress would fit I went ahead and sewed a muslin mock up, measured it and made extra sure it would be ok.This dress took a really long time to finish because I was so careful but it was really exciting to see it completed. It's one of those projects that makes my job that much more fun!
