Gallery of In Progress Projects

[Rowan MacD]

Rowan, did you pre-wash your pleating tape? I have some from Wawak, and I'm debating. I'm pretty sure I'll never be tossing the gown into the washing machine, but I still have this little nagging voice whispering, pre-treat, pre-treat.... Maybe I should try steam-shrinking it with the iron.

I will wash a sample of it tonight to see how it turns out.  I'll let you know.  I won't be washing my gown either, but the tape is supposed to be OK to dry clean (since it was intended for drapes and what all). If it works out, it'll be a big help for cartridge pleating *fingers crossed*.  It's only .99 yard, and mine has 4 rows of drawstrings on a nice buckram-like strip.

[Rowan MacD]

 Washed the sample of the pleating tape-good news and bad news:

It doesn't shrink (much) but the stiffener is starch, and washes out.
   It is now a soft loosely woven 5" wide strip of fabric with 4 strings for pleating.  That should not affect how it functions, but I would not pre-wash it.   It frays worse than linen.
  I'm going to construct a sample of the skirt, attach a non washed bit and see how it performs before I sew it on the real deal.
  The pleating stitches are only 1" so deeper pleats would still have to be hand done; but for lots of tiny pleats, I think this will work. 

[gem]

Thanks, Rowan!

Mine's a little different, I think (3" wide w/3 strings, and the tape feels more like stiff webbing), but the idea is the same. ATM my modern-fangled washing device is not functioning (fun!  ), so any pre-treating I do will have to be by hand or with steam. I might experiment a little and see what happens with mine.

[DonaCatalina]

you could always wash it in the bathtub and hang it out to dry.

[Rowan MacD]

   I have the bumroll under the skirt.  I would have used the farthingale, but there isn't room in my sewing room for both of us.  There is no forepart yet, that will be made with a pale green colored Shantung.   
   The bodice is almost done (waiting on the new corset from Lady Kathleen to finish the straps).
   Overskirt and petticoat done except for hemming and the velvet guard on the bottom of the skirt. 
   I made new sleeves to go with this gown- the 2" braid trim was too wide, so I used a brown/green/gold floral/vine pattern in 3/4", piped the wrists and made satin bias for the sleeve tops.  I also faux-poufed these, as I did the last pair.
*Bodice jewelry courtesy Sapphire & Sage- the stones aren't orange, they're gold.*

[Lady Rosalind]

Very pretty, Rowan!!! 

[Rowan MacD]

Thank you!  How goes the Garnet Gown?  I can't wait to see that in person at the DMRF!

[Lady Rosalind]

My forepart is just about finished, and I'm nearly finished with the pleats on the overskirt. 


Pleating nearly complete! by LadyRosalindWoodville, on Flickr

92 pleats total, sewn bottom and top. 10 tops left to stitch. Ouch!

[gem]

Lady R, that color is *spectacular!* And you should repost that photo in the ongoing cartridge pleating thread--I *finally* understand what you mean about sewing the tops & bottoms of the pleats to the waistband to make them stand out more.

92 pleats total, sewn bottom and top. 10 tops left to stitch. Ouch!

I second your ouch!! I've spent the last couple of days binding my new bodice... by hand. Ultrasuede binding + 4 layers of fabric.  Pix to come!

[DonaCatalina]

   I have the bumroll under the skirt.  I would have used the farthingale, but there isn't room in my sewing room for both of us.  There is no forepart yet, that will be made with a pale green colored Shantung.   
   The bodice is almost done (waiting on the new corset from Lady Kathleen to finish the straps).
   Overskirt and petticoat done except for hemming and the velvet guard on the bottom of the skirt. 
   I made new sleeves to go with this gown- the 2" braid trim was too wide, so I used a brown/green/gold floral/vine pattern in 3/4", piped the wrists and made satin bias for the sleeve tops.  I also faux-poufed these, as I did the last pair.
*Bodice jewelry courtesy Sapphire & Sage- the stones aren't orange, they're gold.*

Lovely Rowan, how about some closeups ?

[Lady Rosalind]

Lady R, that color is *spectacular!* And you should repost that photo in the ongoing cartridge pleating thread--I *finally* understand what you mean about sewing the tops & bottoms of the pleats to the waistband to make them stand out more.

92 pleats total, sewn bottom and top. 10 tops left to stitch. Ouch!

I second your ouch!! I've spent the last couple of days binding my new bodice... by hand. Ultrasuede binding + 4 layers of fabric.  Pix to come!

I was thinking of you when I took that pic, Gem! I will post it there, also.

Can't wait to see your work! You are far braver than I to tackle binding with ultrasuede. The would be painful!

[Rowan MacD]

My forepart is just about finished, and I'm nearly finished with the pleats on the overskirt. 


Pleating nearly complete! by LadyRosalindWoodville, on Flickr

92 pleats total, sewn bottom and top. 10 tops left to stitch. Ouch!

Will you be showing it to us on the dress form when you are done?   That red is just gorgeous, and it will look amazing in the sunlight with that luminous sheen!
  DMRF is going to have some colorful birds in the garden this year ^_^.

[Rowan MacD]

   I have the bumroll under the skirt.  I would have used the farthingale, but there isn't room in my sewing room for both of us.  There is no forepart yet, that will be made with a pale green colored Shantung.   
   The bodice is almost done (waiting on the new corset from Lady Kathleen to finish the straps).
   Overskirt and petticoat done except for hemming and the velvet guard on the bottom of the skirt. 
   I made new sleeves to go with this gown- the 2" braid trim was too wide, so I used a brown/green/gold floral/vine pattern in 3/4", piped the wrists and made satin bias for the sleeve tops.  I also faux-poufed these, as I did the last pair.
*Bodice jewelry courtesy Sapphire & Sage- the stones aren't orange, they're gold.*

Lovely Rowan, how about some closeups ?

I'll post some close ups as soon as I finish the forepart.  My dummy decided to slide down  to dwarf height.  No amount of tightening of the stop helps.  The dress is too heavy.
 

[isabelladangelo]

  I'll post some close ups as soon as I finish the forepart.  My dummy decided to slide down  to dwarf height.  No amount of tightening of the stop helps.  The dress is too heavy.

Lol!  Mine broke it's back a few weeks ago.  I'm going to make a new one as the old one (store bought) could never quite get the waist area correct. 

[gem]

Mine did that (kept shrinking), too. My solution was to drill a hole through the poles at my exact height, and secure it with a bolt and nut (a cotter pin would work, too, but I couldn't find one large enough). No more slouching or sinking!