the prom dress ~ part 2 sewing the bodice

Whilst we were waiting for the fabrics to arrive I got on with drafting the patterns for the prom dress.

I shall explain a little about the organic approach I took;

I first drafted a close fitting bodice block to my daughter's measurements from my Winifred Aldrich book and then altered it to a sleeveless bodice block which i made up as a toile .

Whilst fitting  I  decided to lose the waist and bust darts and create a princess line for the front bodice to give a smoother line so altered the calico toile. I marked in  the crossover at the front bodice  and marked a high waistline to accommodate the wide waistband.

I then re-drew everthing to create a paper pattern.

For the pleated chiffon top layer i used a layer of cheap poly chiffon to mock up the pleats by draping on the stand and then adjusting this whilst draping on my daughter. This gave me a good template to draft the pleated fron bodice pattern from.

Cutting out came next; we cut out the  bodice in the sanforised mull to use as a pattern when cutting out the satin back crepe. Satin back crepe moves so much that i decided to use this instead of paper as the mull grips to the crepe and stops it shifting. we also cut out the lining fabric of the bodice using my paper pattern  and also an interlining in the eqyptian muslin.

After transferring all the markings for darts, we tacked the muslin onto the reverse of the crepe to interline and then constructed the bodice and the lining for the bodice.

Using my pleated front bodice pattern i mocked this up again in the mull to check the pleats before cutting the chiffon.

The mull also worked as a pattern in the same way as before and helped me to cut more accurately around the silk chiffon without it moving. All my pleat markings were transfered through the mull on to the chiffon using tailor tacks, very time consuming but essential.

Next the chiffon top layer of the bodice was constructed and then mounted on to the crepe and muslin layer.

 

The lining layer was attached at the neck edges and armholes. clipped, understitched and turned through. the front panels and armholes where also interfaced for a little extra structure.

The bodice was completed by sewing the shoulder seams and one side seam (the other was left open for the zip)

The waisband was mocked up in a similar way and then attached.

At this point i had copious glasses of wine to celebrate stage 1 completed!

See part 1 - the prom dress here

Comments

[driftwood]

wow. I am in awe x

[Jenifor Kristen]

The dress is beautiful and fits perfectly!