to piece or not to piece

[LadyMeg]

I've been working on a dress similar to the green dress seen in Legend of the Seeker worn by Kahlan for a little while now.  My dress is short sleeves (for hot faire weather) and a lovely coral/salmon/light pink color in cotton.  Now, it's all going together lovely, but for the waist cincher/belt/corset thing.  I have some leather I 'inherited' from the costume shop I work at during the school semester, bits and pieces, but there is a section that fits my waist measurements, but it's only 3 1/2" in width.  I have a long torso, so I'm worried that it will look, well, nothing more than a belt, which isn't what I'm going for.  I thought I could cut it into strips to piece it together vertically, but I don't have enough of that specific color leather though I have pieces of similar leather (different tints to the coloring).  I can't decide if it is better to go with the 3 1/2" width or to cut it up and try piecing.  I don't have a lot to play with, so I kinda have to decide before I cut... Which is the better way to go?


Images here:

[sealion]

Hmm...Can you piece it in such a way that it looks like you intended the leather to be different shades all along?

[LadyMeg]

I think so.  I also have some slightly colored leather I could use for more purposeful accenting...

[gem]

Ok, well, it looks like you have a waist cincher *with* a belt, there.  What were you planning on for the belt portion?  Do you have enough of the one piece of leather to make *either* the cincher *or* the belt?  Or can you piece in such a way that you're only using the leather for the bits that are visible above and below the belt portion?  So it looks like it's a solid piece topped by a belt, but isn't really?

[LadyMeg]

I hadn't thought about that...hmm...  That's another option.

[Katie Bookwench]

What about peicing so that the front center 6" (or so) and the back center peices are of the different leather. That would highlight your belt buckle and also make it look as if it is a design element, rather than a necessity of having to piece the leather.

If you shaped the pieces to a roughly hourglass shape it may make your waist look that much thinner.