It has continued to haunt me. I had worked out a scheme to unpick 4 pattern repeats, move the motifs up and then cut the underneath tulle to the new length matching the 2 under layers - however - I had not accounted for the fact that the motifs are part sewn and part GLUED on! There is no way to remove these without ruining the tulle they are attached to. I officially have to give up.
Gorgeous dress! Yes, a TON of work.
But what am I missing here? The scalloped edge appears to be stitched over the top of the front motifs already. As pictured on the model, those motifs would still look fine if 8" were cut out. Obviously though, the beading would be problematic. Is there enough scalloped edging to not have to remove all of it from the back and simply allow for an extended train?
Turning the 32B into a 36F sounds like the biggest challenge. My best friend at uni measured for a 42DD but refused to wear anything larger than a 38D. Physically, I don't know how she did it, the pain would be excruciating to me, but she always looked great in her clothing, even though she was large. I'm guessing your friend may be used to dressing similarly as accommodating 36F's into today's RTW can't be easy.
If the front motifs were shortened, they would provide extra lace for the chest area work that needs to be done.
Any chance of recommending someone else do the job? Around here marked down wedding dresses have been unreturnable/no refund/no exchange for decades. Unless she can find an online buyer, your friend is stuck with this dress. (Online buyers aren't that hard to find.)
[/quote]