The formal frock, in motion!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... but what about video??

No camera......

Ellen was all dressed and ready to go. So time for the photos......mmmm.....where's the camera?

"oh, no! I took it to school for an assignment and is it still in my locker!" OK stay calm......AHHHH!!!

What to do? Fire up the video camera and take a video. Now Ellen's assignment today is to edit the very small film, upload it onto YouTube and somehow attach it to this blog. As for me, I am off the the Stitches and Craft show at Caufield racecourse with my sister.

It's finished.....and the shoes too!

All finished (and with 2 days still before the formal!). I undid the waistband and trimmed the netting only. This left the lining and bias strip allowances as buffers against the bits of net left. After a quick wearing test I stitched the binding back on.

The picture on the right is one shoe before the make over and one after. I just put a ribbon on the shoe, tied a bow and attached a heart shaped bit of bling I got last time I was in Hong Kong. I think they were something like 10 cents, so if they don't last the night, no matter.

Here is a picture of the completed outfit. Will have some more when Ellen is all glammed up for the event. Now to go and clean the sewing room for something for me!

The skirt.

Thanks Marji for the thoughts on the waistband. I was just being lazy, thinking that the skirt will only be worn once so lets make a quick finish around the waist. I will unpick, trim the netting and probably do a traditional waistband - with interfacing. That will probably be the best. I don't have any twill tape on hand (and not in red or silver). But you are right, I need more than one layer to keep the scratchies away :)

The skirt (almost) done

Sorry, no photo. I took the camera to work to upload but alas the battery is dead!

The skirt is sort of done but I need to redo the waist band. I used a silver bias strip to finish off the waist but the netting is poking through and is spiky. I would have preferred to use some of the bodice satin, however there wasn't any left over. So I need to unpick and rethink.

We didn't have any luck with the shoe shopping. Nothing Ellen liked. We did find a nice (but rather pricy) pair of red ribbon shoes. They only had one pair left in her size but they did not match - one had a satin sole and the other leather??? We took that as an omen and did not get any shoes. So back to the silver "mum" shoes. We will try and tart them up with a bow or something.

And thanks for the thoughts on the purple. We thought that would be over the top too and will stick to silver ribbon to tie up at the back.

Now back to the skirt

A self portrait by Ellen on her phone camera - I think she is happy so far!

The bodice is finished except for deciding on what colour ribbon (and then buying) to use for the back and closing the opening at the bottom left open for bagging the lining.

We tried it on with the "draft skirt". Decision time... we will try removing the lower layer and using it to make a shorter layer. Then one more fuller layer at the top. We quite liked the purple ribbon (purple was all we had on hand) -maybe if we add purple crystals to the bodice....any thoughts?

Ellen doesn't like my silver shoes, so off to the shops this afternoon...(it is Monday and a public holiday today in Melbourne).

Bodice almost done :)

I'm a bit excited.....the bodice is starting to look like ..mmm.. a bodice! lol

Today we worked on the middle layer - we boned at all the seams. I just sewed it directly to the seams. I kept the area over the bust loose (unstitched). We sacrificed a bra to give the bust some shape. While we were at it, we decided to add a bit extra padding to the right side. No need to tell you why we did that...what can you say, mother nature is not perfect!

We stitched the decorative stitches we trialed yesterday. To make the sewing of the diamond pattern easier, I used a fading marker to draw lines to stitch on. The rotary cutter mat certainly came in useful for that!

We used a tear away stabliser to reduce puckering. Now that was lots of fun ripping off after the stitching (not!). Thanks Sofie for the help..




The outer layer was then constructed. We used the diamond stitched section in the front, and piped all the seams, except the side seams. Front and middle layers were then joined along with piping around the edges.



Ok, I'm all done for today. Time to go and watch two taped episodes of Biggest Loser (Aussie version) while I have an icecream..hehe

The piping is done...

Upon advice I changed my needle to a ball point (sorry Sandra Betzina, you were wrong :( ). The ball point worked beautifully. I used a Janome red point needle. Claire Shaeffer did say to use a red or yellow needle but didn't mention ball point. I also have to thank Claire for her instructions on how to make piping in her book "High Fashion Sewing Secrets". So the piping is made and ready for insertion.

I have also made the underskirt/lining for the tutu section. I am letting it hang to allow it to drop, should it want to. I will leave the skirt now until the top is done as we are not sure yet which way to go. More netting, gathering, etc, etc.......

And I have done some samples for the decorative stitching on the bodice. Ellen wanted something like what I did on her communion dress (just a few years ago)..

We have decided to go with the sample on the bottom right - stretch stitch. It gives it a bit more omph!

Piping - ugh!

No good news I am afraid. I started the piping with the metallic silver fabric and boy did that give me problems. 3 broken needles and only about half a metre of 5 metres done. Sandra Betzina suggests using jeans needle size 70/10. So off to Lincraft today to get some of those. I was using small sharps. They sewed well, no pulled threads, but they broke. Must be when they actually hit a thread rather than slip between. I then tried jeans 90/14 (the only jeans ones I have on hand) and they gathered the fabric. Apparently the jeans needles are stronger in the shank.


I am not feeling too good about this...........maybe I will try the skirt instead.

Ellen's formal dress

I am working on a dress for Ellen's formal. She has put the order in for a red dress with silver trim. The top will be a bustier with lacing at the back. The skirt is to be tutu inspired. We are using Simplicity 4224.

Here are the raw materials: polyester satin crepe for the bodice, nylon netting for the skirt, silver lame for the lacing and piping, and acetate for the lining. There is also an interlining layer for the bodice that I will use scrap cotton fabric and boning.

So far we have fitted the bodice - there is a gap at the back for the lacing. The pattern has then been adjusted for the changes we needed to make. Details and photos of these are here.

I cut out the interlining with the new pieces and it fits well except for the back. The sway back adjustment makes the back edges crooked. Mmmmmm.........

Well I think I will work on something else now.....the piping. I need about 5 metres. I am following the instructions in Claire Shaeffer's book High-Fashion Sewing Secrets. She details how to cut and join bias strips and then how to make piping from there.

Ok, strips all cut out with the rotary cutter. The mat makes it easy to cut bias with the markings on it. :). Having some trouble with the needle pulling the lame while sewing. Time to go and look up needles - no doubt I am using the wrong one!