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in over my head...help

Started by Nina, March 18, 2009, 06:13:23 PM

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Nina

Been working on "designing my own" noble dress for oh, 3 months or so now.  Will the nightmare ever end????  First, the bodice has turned out to be a bit short, so i added trim to the top and I am contemplating whether to do the same to the bottom of it.  Or maybe add peplums (not sure if that is correct term)to it?  i had sewn it right sides together already like to keep the bodice a separate piece, but now that I have done that it seems short.  I could rip it out but then what???

The other problem is the skirt that i have done nothing about yet. I have 3+ yards of heavy 60' upholstry fabric to work with. Do i really need to cut it into pannels and sew it back together??

I have read countless articles on pleating, so I am going to brave that part,  but can't decide whether to attach it to the bodice or make it a separate skirt.  I want it to open down the front in an "A" line to show the underskirt(s).  The bodice opens down the back only, so i also need to allow for some type of opening on the back of the skirt.  I've been stuck like this for weeks now not knowing what to do.  I'd love to have this all done

All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Dayna

If the fabric is Not Patterned and Does Not look different top to bottom or side to side, turn it sideways and sew it on that way, you'll have a lot of pleats.  However, if you're going to do that, it's best to cut the bodice also in the same direction, just in case the fabric does have some "give" so that all the pieces "give" the same way.

As for the bodice, someone else would be better to advise you on that.

Dayna
Dayna Thomas
Nixie's Mom
Bristol FoF Hench
Education Goddess...yeah, right
FoF Merchant Liason/Merchandizing Maven

LadyDracolich

My suggestion is to NOT attach the skirt.  You never know, you could mix/match the bodice with another skirt.  Personally, I love having several different bodices to wear with different skirts.  And the skirt.. I don't see any reason why you can't make a simple circle skirt w/ a split w/ out cutting it and sewing it into panels.  However, me thinks you'll be better served to listen to the advice of some of the more seasoned seamstresses here as I'm not overly adept at sewing the likes of noble garb.

Good luck!!!!  
I don't know what you've heard, none of it is factual, but it's all true.

LadyOren

Now I haven't made the style of Nobles garb that you seem to be making, but I do have a set, and the skirt is unattached.   The seamstress used clips to achieve that connected look once the outfit was adorned.    Best thing is take your time.  This sounds like it's a large project for you. Just to note, I worked on a Italian style outfit 2 years ago, it took me 7 months to complete it from cutout to finish.  You will be so pleased when your finished, be sure to take lots of photos in progress and keep notes for next time.
Best Wishes
When I'm gone look for me beneath your boots, for I have returned to the ground from which I came.   Walt Whitman

flidais

It sort of sounds like perhaps you sewed your bodice lining and the outer fabic together right sides together and then when you turned it right side out it them was too short.  Am I getting that right?  If so perhaps you didn't take seam allowance into mind.  You could take it apart, lay your outter fabric and your lining fabirc so that they have the right sides out.  And then stich all the way around the outer edge, and treat it like it is one piece of fabric.  I don't know if you are planning on using any boning or not, if so that can be easy too.  You would just need to add a piece of fabric as an interlining.  Anywho.  Once you have the "one" piece of fabric for your bodice (and I'm guessing that maybe your bodice it just one piece?) then you can take twill tape, satin ribbon, bias tape or something like that and use it to finish off the edges and armholes.  Then you could add tabs or skirting. 

I used to always make my overskirts as just one big rectangle of fabric.  Just like it came off the bolt.  Tunrning in about 6 inches on either end so that the front opening would be pretty, cartridge pleat the one edge to a waist band (although I have a few that I've done right to the bodice) and then hem the other edge.  And this is terrible, but I've done it several times, I just hem the bottom straight across.  I don't wear a bum roll and somehow them hem always looks fine over my hoopskirt.  I don't recommend doing that at all if you're wearing a bum roll, and now that I've been doing this a few years, I hem it the correct way.  But it can work, and may make life easier.  Makes putting trim on the bottom nice and easy too, since it's all a straight line.  An d as unilady stated, you would want to make sure that you cut your bodice out the same way.  But since your bodice is already cut out that might not be an option.  Once again, I in the past have had dresses where my skirt and bodice were not cut the same.  I taught myself how to do all this and well, I've made alot of mistakes.  Depending on the fabric it may not be noticable, that they are different. 

I feel like I'm teaching you alot of bad habits here.  But they are all things that I did when I started making nobles, and I've learned as I've gone on. 

Dayna

flidais,

I do the same thing, 45 inch wide fabric, a separate piece for the waistband, so an inch goes into the waistband if knife or box pleated, a 3 inch hem and Voila a 41 inch long skirt which is perfectly even when wearing a hoop skirt.

Now, wearing a bum roll, that wouldn't work.  Also, in the real-world, my own natural bumroll means that skirts are 38 in the front and 40 in the back, 2 inches for waistband and just ease it around the bottom cutting off the correct amount to leave a 2 inch hem all the way around.

Dayna
Dayna Thomas
Nixie's Mom
Bristol FoF Hench
Education Goddess...yeah, right
FoF Merchant Liason/Merchandizing Maven

Nina

Thank you everyone.  I had lost interest and was about to give up.  These tips have inspired me and are greatly appreciated.