Velveteen JSKs Restoration: The Sewing (Neckties)

Project 13, part 5 – It’s Buttonholer Time! (Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 here)

Welcome back to Mukashi no Sewing! This week I was able to finish the last piece of the restoration for the Velveteen Princess JSK – the neck ties! Honestly, this was purely for my own sake – they’re removable pieces that attach inside the neck ruffle, so no one would have known they were missing. But I’d know, since I have the original photos of the dress from when it was released, and I wanted to have the option to wear them!

I bought some double-sided red velvet ribbon from Mood Fabrics after trying several options for matching the velveteen itself. I couldn’t find a good color match, for one, and for two sewing velveteen is a huge hassle! So ribbon seemed like the perfect option. I have to admit it’s a little wider than I would have wanted in a perfect world, but the color and texture was spot on so I focused on those instead.

It took a few tries to get the buttonhole centered on the ribbon…I don’t know what my issue was, but I literally kept putting it in the same off-center place over and over. 😀 Eventually I managed to sort myself out, and from there it was super easy to finish the buttonholes and to sew down a rolled hem on either end just in case. This ribbon is super high-quality and seemed pretty fray-proof, but, better safe than sorry!

And just like that, I was done! The buttonholes are a bit larger than my buttons – my buttonholer attachment didn’t have a guide for the size of buttons on the dress, annoyingly. But because they’ll always be under tension due to the nature of the ties, it really doesn’t matter!

I’m SO happy I could return this dress to its former glory! Especially since the weather where I lived skipped straight from summer to winter almost overnight, so velveteen is feeling like a pretty attractive option suddenly. 🙂 There might even be some snow in the works for a photoshoot…fingers crossed! No matter the weather, I look forward to sharing the final reveal with you soon here on Mukashi no Sewing! ❤