J/F Faery Dress Ideas Wanted

[Orphena]

Hello Ren Sew-ers! Sorry I'm late - it was for a good cause - I've been working on our FaeryFest Cast Costumes - We have about 20 girls age 8 - 12 on cast so I've been having to look at actual patterns!

I am currently working on a dress for a character called "Waterfall". I have a basic dress pattern - very simple, the base is already cut and pinned together. There is a front and back, only side seams, neckline is gathered by ribbon to fit. It is made from your basic periwinkle blue bed sheet.

What I would like to do is sew long wavey panels onto the dress in varying shades of blue and green so they fall vertically. Now, I tired a similar idea last year, and I think I went a little bit overboard because I sewed too many strips of fabric onto that costume, and they seemed to push outward rather than create the "wind" effect I was going for. Those strips were also rectangular in shape, rather than the wavy shape I am looking for for this costume.

Are there any tips you can offer? How long should I aim to make the strips? I am NOT planning on hemming the edges of the strips due to time contraints. How much coverage should I plan for? How closely together should I make the strips?

[Minch]

Depending on the kind of fabric you have for the dress, you may be able to get a wavy effect by melting the fabric, which is convenient as you are not planning on hemming all the strips.  To make fantastical waves in long strips, I have (with my fire extinguisher nearby: safety first!) lit a candle and carefully melted the edges of some kind of poly chiffon or organza.  This created a very wavy effect, and had the added benefit of helping reducing fray greatly.  Once you get your method down, it is also a relatively fast process.

Perhaps making a cincher, or even a little bodice from which the strips like an overskirt would be lovely, in addition to some on the sleeves.  I imagine this would help them to lay well, and maintain a feminine, fairylike quality to the dress.

I would also strongly suggest varying widths for the strips, I think this might help achieve a more watery and organic appearance.

[Erynn]

Would sewing fishing line along the edge help with the wavy look? I have never done it to create a wave look, but I have seen it done. The only time I had to do it was to help ruffles so its not the same kind of thing (Here, plus the next 2 pictures), but if you serged or zig zagged fishing line along the outside edge, it might work.

ETA: If you zoom in on this scarf, you'll see what I mean about the wavy effect.

[CountessofPhoenix]

That effect is achieved by serging over fishing line, or so my book says. Havent tried it myself, possibly some of the others have.

[Erynn]

Thanks for confirming that for me! Thats how I did the ruffles, but I wasn't 100% sure if there was anything different you needed to do with a lighter weight fabric then taffeta.