Hi Ladies,
I normally wouldn't post this here, but I'm having issues with my wedding dress my sister is making for me! It's a big-butted pouf skirt with layers of lace, pleats, and taffeta. Ie, it's so heavy that its making my hoop skirts push forward.
From googling online it seems a bum pad might help, but i did a quick test of one and the bottom hoops are still swaying forwards.
What can I do, weigh the front of my skirts down with fishing weights?
(I'll try and post pics on the weekend if it will help...the dress is at my sisters)
It sounds like there is a lot of weight in the back, forcing it forward. I'd like to see a picture before making a recommendation, really. There could be any number of things forcing the skirt forward -including simply the way you stand! A bustle could help but only if it's a weight issue.
Thanks isabella, I'll try and grab a pic tomorrow night or saturday morning.
The overskirt of the dress has 3 large poufs down the back, and two poufs on each side, with pleats and 10" beaded alencon lace inserted between the poufs. Each pouf has gathered netting to give it the oomph, so it's really the weight of the lace thats the biggest contributing factor.
The skirts are VERY similar to this one:
(http://photo.storeofdress.net/PNI/BR/B200913/B200913.jpg)
As for the way I stand....yes, i have a very bad sway back and tend to stand with my pelvis tilted down (like a bowl spilling forward), which also thrusts out my butt. I need to improve my posture.
Maybe hoops aren't the best support for the skirt? Maybe something with greater support all the way around (like a cage crinoline?) would better distribute the weight of the skirts so they don't collapse inward and forward. Also, I'm wondering if something that's more oval than round (like 18th century supports) would help.
This is spit ballling here but, could you add a "bustel" petticote over the hoops to help keep the shape?
I would second the cage crinolin idea that Gem had. Yes it is a bigger pain, but the style of dress is simular to late 1800's with more oof in the back. Having more ridgid support back there might help. If it is more weight on the sides look at pocket hoops.
Throwing a thought out here (for those that actually sew, I don't) - but she doesn't mention what type of hoop. If it is one of those single (bottom) hoops wouldn't that make a difference?
Hi Ladies,
I've tried two different hoops with the dress.
One is an assymetrical (eg longer in the back) hoop skirt that has two hoops, one at the bottom and one at mid-height.
The other is a 4?5?6? hoop round skirt. Both have the same problem.
While I have the pattern for a cage crinoline, I cant find a local source for hoop steel. :(
My wedding is August 12....
Ie, my crinoline looks alot like this one, but with only two hoops - one at midway, and one at the bottom. (http://i.ebayimg.com/04/!Brt9nnwCGk~$%28KGrHqMOKjMEvNg7S!9+BL06otp8!!~~_1.JPG)
I tried adding a bum pad, it helps a bit but not fully.
I looked at simplicity pattern 7216 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B004EUG1PA/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=2617941011&s=arts-crafts (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B004EUG1PA/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=2617941011&s=arts-crafts)) that suggests using a "control panel" to help prevent this "tipping" of the crinoline, which someone comment was similar to this pattern http://trulyvictorian.com/catalog/103.html (http://trulyvictorian.com/catalog/103.html), but while it keeps the top hoops from tipping, the bottom one still is pushing forward. These are spring steel hoops btw, not rigilene or plastic boning.
Also, is the only difference between a hooped crinoline and a cage crinoline whether or not there is fabric between the hoops? Not sure if I'm missing something here...and does having the fabric between the hoops really make any difference to how it sits?
I keep wondering if i should add more hoops to it, but i dont see how that would stop the bottom hoops from swaying forward under the weight?
(http://trulyvictorian.com/catalog/103pic.jpg)
This is exactly what I was thinking of in my first post, and the description is why:
QuoteOur Elliptical shape is narrow over the hips, close to the body in front, and dramatically expanded to the rear.... The self-supporting, elliptical shape is maintained by strategically placed vertical supports, as well as ties on the inside of the 4 top hoops.
It's that shape--wide at the back but close in front--and the "strategically placed
vertical supports" that I think will help with the issue you're having.
It looks like yours already has a similar shape (?); perhaps bolstering the vertical support is what's called for here.
I took another good look at the hoop skirt today - while it is cut to the same shape, it had the hoops slanting downward towards the back of the hoop...which was causing the problem.
I've started sewing purely horizontal casing sfor hoops, and its already behaving better!
We'll see how it goes...
Well, think its time to cry and give up on the wedding dress of my dreams (two days til the wedding).
Built an elliptical crinoline cage like the previous poster showed...it too collapsed and swung out under teh weight.
:'(
Have you tried some serious padding UNDER the cage, covering your rear, so that the cage CAN'T swing forward? It might not be the most comfortable thing you've ever worn, and you probably wouldn't have a prayer of sitting down in it (like you could sit in that, anyway...), but just about anything is worth a try at this point, right?
Or even strapping the front of the cage behind your legs... I know, out there, but with two days to go, and only one wedding dress, I think I'd be trying everything I could think of. I wonder if you could somehow even... remove the front of the cage so there's nothing there to be pushed out? Just close off the back of the cage so that it would hit the backs of your legs and have no where else to go...
Not really practical, I know... just throwing ideas out there in hopes they might spark your own imagination to come up with a solution, I guess. I have no real experience with these things, though, and I'm sure the amazing seamstresses here will have far better advice for you. GOOD LUCK!!!
Quote from: Naween on August 09, 2011, 11:31:05 PM
Well, think its time to cry and give up on the wedding dress of my dreams (two days til the wedding).
Built an elliptical crinoline cage like the previous poster showed...it too collapsed and swung out under teh weight.
:'(
What did you use for hooping? You need heavy gauge flat steel hoop boning.
I was using 3/4 in steel strapped from a hardware store.
Try strapping a pillow to your bum! that may give it support.
Im not a pro like a lot of these ladies are but can you 86 the hoop altogeather? You and your sister are the only ones who know it will be a tad limp. And use a straight up crinolin to give the poof, maybe add a ton of extra tulle to it for the lift?
Dont panic sweetie you will be beautiful!
What about removing some of the rigid structure in front, so there's nothing to push forward? Replace it with oodles of tulle/crinoline, etc, as Adriana suggested, to give the desired "oomph" without the structural issues?
QuoteYou and your sister are the only ones who know it will be a tad limp.
QFT. Your guests (and your fiance!) will be completely overawed by your beauty and the sumptuousness of your gown; there is NO WAY they will ever even notice that there's something "wrong" with it.
...And 15 years from now, when you look at the photos, neither will you. Promise. (I hated my headpiece/veil with a white hot passion, but it looks beautiful to me now.)
HAVE A FANTASTIC WEDDING!!
PS--When I got married, I was adamant about not stressing over the details (which I am usually a master of! Give me a detail, and I will stress that baby into the ground. LOL). If anyone came to me with the slightest hint of worry or trouble in their voice, I would firmly say: "As long as Milord and I are married at the end of this day, it will be perfect.
Nothing else matters." Everything else is just frosting.
Did you try the weights in the front of the hoops? I have read a blog or two where that worked. Test it out by pinning something weighted in and if it works it's a simple fix. If not.....
Echoing what the others have said. You're getting married tomorrow! :) :) :) You'll be walking down the aisle in a beautiful gown your sister made, surrounded by family and friends who love you and toward a new beginning with the man of your dreams. Many happy wishes. :)
This is worse than a soap opera - DID SHE MAKE IT WORK????
*bites nails*
I know right! The suspense is killing me!
I just found this thread tonight and it was like reading a book where the last few pages had been ripped out.
I NEED to know!!
Quote from: Naween on August 10, 2011, 06:21:24 AM
I was using 3/4 in steel strapped from a hardware store.
I would think that might be far too flexible. This is one of those times when using the real stuff pays.
Happy Wedding Day. I hope you got your skirts worked out for the walk down the aisle!
I missed the actual date for this! Hope everything went well, and you had a lovely day.
Quote from: Kate XXXXXX on August 10, 2011, 05:51:45 AM
Quote from: Naween on August 09, 2011, 11:31:05 PM
Well, think its time to cry and give up on the wedding dress of my dreams (two days til the wedding).
Built an elliptical crinoline cage like the previous poster showed...it too collapsed and swung out under teh weight.
:'(
What did you use for hooping? You need heavy gauge flat steel hoop boning.
Is this what you mean?
http://store.corsetmaking.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BN-HBP12&Category_Code=HB&Product_Count=1 (http://store.corsetmaking.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BN-HBP12&Category_Code=HB&Product_Count=1)
I'm planning to make a short bustle, and an elliptical cage crinoline.
Yes. That's the stuff I used for the cage crinoline:
(http://pics.livejournal.com/katexxxxxx/pic/004781r8/s640x480) (http://pics.livejournal.com/katexxxxxx/pic/0047c8wc/s640x480)
How it was done, including mistakes:
http://dressdiaries.livejournal.com/521397.html
http://dressdiaries.livejournal.com/530862.html
Hi Ladies,
Sorry for the delay in posting!
We got married, then left the next day (afer finishing cleaning up the hall) for europe! We spent the first days in munich, then took the night train to rome! Tomorrow we finish rome then head to venise, so its been busy!
So heres the "last page" you are waiting for.
The hoop skirts continued to collapse.
I built a cage crinoline, it too collapsed.
I tried taking out the top hoops, but then the bottom ones distorted.
I tried weighting the front, but the back still weighed too much.
My sister and i had a crying fit because she wanted me to love my dress, and i REALLY wanted that pouf in order to love it.
We both went home in tears, and i stayed up til 3am working on one last idea.
I went to bed at 3am, then woke up at 6am to finish the idea.
I had to sacrifice the cage crinoline that had half worked, so if this idea didnt work i was fumbled.
9am ...still wasnt built, so called my dad crying and asking for help.
10am, my idea was working, i swear it was! Dad called me back, and i cabbed to my sisters where he met me. I showed him my prototype, and we tried it on the dress - it workd!
then we spent the next 5 hrs refining it, using more steel strapping, rivets, and yes, duct tape. Oh, and crazy carpet......"crazy carpet" because our word for the day....
So yes, IT WORKED!!! Ill post a pic later when i have one, as i dont have one on me right now, but basically it looks like a very big beetle-shaped cage that straps to my back, over my butt, and has ALOT of strength! It barely bends under all the beads and lace of my dress! And it MOVED soooooooo well when i danced! It was georgeous!!!
I have to search for a pic of the back of my dress (it slayers of pouf, pleats, lace, and roses!!!), but here is a pic of us all just outside the church. No, we did not have a theme wedidng, just outfits that me and j loved. The girls in victorianesque bustle back dresses, myself in my giant-butt monstrosity :D, and J in a 1730's justaucorps/frock coat.
My twin sister made ALL of the outfits you see here, except the mens rented tailcoats. YES, she even made J's. I designed the embroidery on my dress (it has birds, for my nickname of 'birdie', roses for my love of them, and my and js initials in the center of the bodice.)
So there you have it! A happy ending, and hope you all enjoy! Ill post more pics of the back of the dress, and close up of my bodice when i get them from the photog!
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/299770_10150264421577548_537467547_7740189_238307_n.jpg)
Good googlymoogaly!!!! That is beyond fantabulous!
Please yes, post more pics - but until then enjoy what sounds to be a fantastic honeymoon.
Oh Wow! You all look so awesome. What a fun wedding. So glad to hear you found a way to make it work. Hahaha...love the duct tape. :)
i got a pic from the photog of the back....angle doesnt do it justice, the back sticks out at least two feet from my back!
(http://pics.livejournal.com/lookintomyeyes/pic/000h47se/s640x480.png)
Glad you got it all to work. And you know what they say about duct tape... It's like The Force: it has a dark side and a light side, and it holds the universe together! ;)
You all look fab. LOVE the mix of historic styles, and the bridesmaids dark green dresses. Yours looks amazing.
WOW.
That is the single most gorgeous wedding gown I have ever seen.
It sure was worth asking for pictures!!!
I am SO glad you worked out the hoop.
I love duct tape!
I love that your sis and dad helped you with it!
I lOVE your husband's outfit.
And the bridesmaids.
I am floored that your sis made it all. She must have been sewing for a year. She is an amazing seamstress!
WOW!!!
Your wedding dress is incredible! The bridesmaids' gowns are incredible! Your husband's outfit is incredible!
To summarize, you all look amazing :) I'm so glad for you that it all worked out!
To borrow from my niece... OMG!!!
That is FAB!
I am so glad that your day turned out so well!
Oh so very lovely. Glad the hoop skirt worked out.
YAY!!!
I cried when I saw everything worked out (stoopid hormones) and the pics... OMG what a FABULOUS looking wedding party!
GORGEOUS :o Everyone looks wonderful.
Congratulations!
As things normally do, we KNOW eventually they'll work out. But the stress between (including crying) happens.
I'm so glad yours was worth it.
I love planning things, LOVE it, but at some point I cry. lol.
Your dedication to getting it to work, and your innovation are inspiring. Congratulations.
Thanks everyone for the congrats! When I get the pro pics (in another 2-4 weeks) I'll share them if you are all still interested!
I can only speak for myself ... so can I vote 4 times? YES YES YES YES!!!
I join the HOLY SWEET MOSES comments here. Wow, you all look fantastic!