May 29 , 2008

Since I am waiting for the fabric I ordered for my black & pink victorian gown, I thought I might as well start on something else. Recently I made a shrug of green taffeta to go with my black-gold dragon brocade corset. Last year I made a skirt out of the same green taffeta (TV201) and the corset looks really great with this skirt. Fortunately I had enough fabric left to make this shrug and also a little tophat (see this project).

This is the shrug, front and back:

Sleeve detail:

Other trimming:

Of course just an underskirt is not enough :-). To complete this outfit I will make the wash overskirt out of black taffeta, but without the front apron. I think I will also make the butterfly train.

Fabric

Patterns used

I started with the wash overskirt.

Cutting out the pattern pieces. I only have to cut 1 patternpiece twice:

May 30 , 2008

Pieces sewn together at mid back and darts sewn into front:

On the inside I marked where the tunnel for the tie should come.

Normally you should sew the apron to the side here and create a tunnel. But since I am not making this apron, I will make the tunnel by using extra wide satin tirm.

Sewn on both sides:

On the right side you can hardly see the stitches:

They are here:

Today I have also cut out the pieces for the butterfly train:

May 31 , 2008

I thought the skirt was a bit plain, so I decided to make a pleated ruffle. Here's te long strip of fabric all hemmed and ready to be pleated:

I didn't measure the pleats, just eyeballed it while sewing:

Pleated ruffle finished:

Corner:

Mid back I changed the way the pleats are folded, so that on the front the pleats face down on both sides:

Finished skirt:

Detail of trim:

Finished wash overskirt with shrug and underskirt of green taffeta:

June 1 , 2008

Making pleats in the butterfly train:

Gathering the pleats mid back:

I am not sure if I like it, so I didn't take more pictures. Here's the butterfly train finished:

Of course it doesn't look like much hanging like that. I really should get a dressform to see how it looks. It's also really difficult to judge yourself when you're wearing it, because (of course) it's all in the back which is difficult to see in the mirror. Maybe the train looks better with a ruched trim, but right now I just don't feel like making that. I'll just let it hang for while.

June 23, 2008

More pictures here.