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Science of Sewing: Enlarging a Sleeve
Enlarging a sleeve is something I have to do all the time! I don’t have the pencil arms patterns seem to think are normal, so I am constantly redoing the sleeves. I helps that I love a gathered sleeve head, that makes it even easier to alter. I’m working on a project that requires a rather fluffy sleeve. Having found no such pattern, I decided to make my own using an existing pattern as a base to alter to match. Note that there is some loft in the sleeve head – I’m interpreting that to be gathering. The forearm of the sleeve is also much wider than the bicep, so…
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Altering an Unflattering Dress
When I originally bought this dress from Ann Taylor, I didn’t inspect the fit as well as I should have. Totally my fault, I fell in love with the stripes and the shirtdress style combined, so I was blinded to the issues that were quite apparent that made the dress rather unflattering. While not too terrible, there were some serious issues. Circled in blue is the waist seam actually level. To do this, I had to pin up the back on the dress form otherwise it would sag in the back (highly improper for my body type unless it there is an empire in the front). This lead to a…
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Petticoat Math!
Beware: Algebra Ahead! Petticoats are not hard. I repeat, they are not hard. All of it is simple math and I’m here to help you figure out your fluff, length, and fabric requirements for a basic tiered petticoat like the one I’ve made for Anna! First things first: Fabric. You’ll need a stiff organza as your base fabric, my suggestion is to use this from Fabric Wholesale Direct. It’s easy to sew, easy to cut (fun fact, you don’t have to cut organza, you just tear it on the grain so it’s always perfectly even!), and it’s pretty. The other fabric you’ll need is tulle for the bottom tier. You…
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Making Fire
My 18th Century (specifically 1770’s) Charmander, aptly named “Le Feu du Charmander,” required a non-historical trim to create a flame effect. During the time period, fabric trims were, for the most part, various types of gathered strips of fabric or bows sewn onto the dress in artful, mirrored ways. No way would this work for the ombre look I was wanting to achieve – let alone match the texture I desired. The solution: nearly 200 individual ‘flames.’ I simultaneously regret and love this decision. I’m often quite conflicted when it comes to costuming and time-consuming techniques, this was no exception. Materials: Five 1-yard cuts of flame colored fabric 2 packs…
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Linen Petal Dress Creation
I have a few cuts of fabric that are solely dedicated for when I need a quick filler project to get my sewing fix. Yes, I am addicted, no, no help is needed. These two linen fabrics I’ve had for a while now, and finally decided to put this look together. The petal style skirt was inspired by a look of Michelle Obama’s a few years ago – I love the idea of scallops without the actual hem being curved. The visual interest of this is something that I don’t see in most clothing stores except very expensive ones – because the seams cannot be set by machine, they must…
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Tower of Terror Bellhop Hat
As a Disneyphile, there are a few cast costumes I think are cute, like the Haunted Mansion black and green striped victorian dresses, the Gibson Girl’s, and the Tower of Terror Bellhop. I remember walking past these costumes in the cast member costuming building and being so very jealous – the main entrance costumes didn’t have quite the same uniqueness to them. Then Disney had to go and release a new dress line. And one of the dresses is the Hollywood Tower Hotel Bellhop Dress… Be still my heart! The dress is accompanied with a hat and a purse, which are cute. The hat oddly…
