I’ve shamed myself into updating this diary after working on the hairdo page yesterday, so here after practically a whole day’s worth of editing pictures is…(drum-roll, please! Thank you.) THE SKIRT construction page!
So, let’s see…we left off on the first page where I had pieced together the three shower curtain panels, being really careful to line up the designs. Monk would be proud of me.
Once that was done, it was a matter of temporarily pinning the raw edges of the top of the skirt to a waistband and putting the thing on my mannequin (with the proper underpinnings, of course!) and cutting it to length.
Sounds simple, right? Well, it wasn’t. I had decided that I wanted to have a straight edge for the hem so as to not interfere with the embroidered design…and because I wanted an excuse to try the technique.
Cutting the hem on the straight grain meant that I would have to allow for the curvature that you normally get at the hem, at the waistband. Since I planned on using the dress when playing an Englishwoman (QEI), I wanted to have a bumrolle and Spanish Farthingale as underpinnings. My reasoning was that even though she liked Italian styles, she would have adapted them to suit her own taste in fashion, and I just can’t see ole Queenie in Chopines and petticoats…tho I did find a cool pair of platform shoes that I’m going to adapt…someday…just for fun…
So anyway, I stuffed the excess fabric under a temporary waistband and with the care of a Rami, gently arranged the fabric so that the side seams were evenly spaced, the hem was even, etc. Once this was accomplished, I marked out where I needed to cut, un-pinned everything, laid it on the ground, corrected the curve, said a silent prayer, and CUT.
And guess what? It WORKED. You get a slight natural “pouffing” at the bum, which is perfect to accommodate the bumrolle underneath. And I’ve actually worn it without the bumrolle or Spanish Farthingale, just with a bunch of petticoates underneath and it still looks good. Of course, I do have a natural bustle, so your results may vary…
Anyhoo, so then I had to decide how I wanted the guards to look. Here is a picture of my two options. I chose the wider one with two rows of venetian lace to simulate embroidery. The picture next to it shows the construction of the guards. I didn’t have a lot of this fabric, so I had to be very frugal about the layout. I chose it because it’s a shot olive with rust that complements the main fashion fabric very well, though you may not be able to see that in the pics.
Once the waist edge was cut, the venetian lace attached to the skirt, the lining fabric cut out to match the fashion fabric, and both attached at the outside edge of the guards, it was time to attach the waistband. Now, before I start getting comments about gathering not being period, I have just one thing to say: how do you know for sure? I thought about it before doing it, and decided that it’s a perfectly viable attachment technique, and so I gathered the waistband. I think the deciding factor came down to just not wanting to deal with cartridge or box-pleating, since I’d be doing it on a curve. OH! And one last thing: I decided to have the opening for the skirt at the side, so to attach the waistband took some calculating. Here is a picture of what I mean, with the end result at bottom right. The piece of paper is just there for contrast.
And in case some of you are curious, I did calculate where the trim should be attached along the bottom of the guards so that I’d end up with one continuous length of cording along each guard.
Whaddaya think? Leave me a comment or wait until after you’ve read…
UPDATE! 02-28-08: The Bodice!
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