dress progress
Facing is on, and I trimmed the bottom edge and hemmed it. I just pressed it quickly and machined it, nothing fancy, since I plan to put fringe on top. I now realize that the fringe would be better if it were white, but cream is what I have so that's what I'm using. I cut and sewed together 12" wide strips for the pleated skirt ruffle-thing (what is a ruffle if it's pleated, anyway?), and hemmed the edges - though I used the side edges of the sheet for about 2/3 of it, so that was some hemming already done.
Then I started pleating it up on my little posterboard pleater board, and it didn't work NEARLY as well as I'd been expecting! It was very difficult to get the edges to sit neatly in their grooves, partly because they were hemmed and not simply a single layer. I used a solution of vinegar (maybe 3:1 water to vinegar) but they didn't set very well. The fabric inside the pleater board also WOULDN'T DRY. I think the iron heat couldn't get through the paper...? That's all I've got. It was really frustrating. It's not going to cool if it can't even dry, and if it can't dry+cool the pleats won't set. Even on the upper parts where the iron COULD dry the fabric they didn't seem particularly crisp. So there is a lot of re-pressing in my future when I attach the 'ruffle' to the skirt, blech.
In between waiting for sections to cool/dry I thought I could cut my spiral steel boning so I can actually, you know, USE my new corset... but the bolt cutters I bought are nowhere near sufficient. The edges are as dull as they look, which might work to dent wider pieces of metal but aren't good for teeny flattened wires! So that didn't happen.
When I had about one rep of pleater-board to go my friend arrived, but I was about to go to my parents' to help my dad fix the fence, so I took her with me. Turns out he barely needed any help because the posts had to set for hours before we could start putting the pickets up, so that was mostly a bust. But we hung out and chatted and got dinner out of it, so...? We also ran to Lowe's to get more fence-post-foam and I picked up some bolt cutters that will, if I'm lucky, actually cut the spiral steel.
Tomorrow I'm off as well, and that's basically my last day to get anything substantial done, so I HAVE to be on point! There is SO MUCH LEFT *runs in circles*
Then I started pleating it up on my little posterboard pleater board, and it didn't work NEARLY as well as I'd been expecting! It was very difficult to get the edges to sit neatly in their grooves, partly because they were hemmed and not simply a single layer. I used a solution of vinegar (maybe 3:1 water to vinegar) but they didn't set very well. The fabric inside the pleater board also WOULDN'T DRY. I think the iron heat couldn't get through the paper...? That's all I've got. It was really frustrating. It's not going to cool if it can't even dry, and if it can't dry+cool the pleats won't set. Even on the upper parts where the iron COULD dry the fabric they didn't seem particularly crisp. So there is a lot of re-pressing in my future when I attach the 'ruffle' to the skirt, blech.
In between waiting for sections to cool/dry I thought I could cut my spiral steel boning so I can actually, you know, USE my new corset... but the bolt cutters I bought are nowhere near sufficient. The edges are as dull as they look, which might work to dent wider pieces of metal but aren't good for teeny flattened wires! So that didn't happen.
When I had about one rep of pleater-board to go my friend arrived, but I was about to go to my parents' to help my dad fix the fence, so I took her with me. Turns out he barely needed any help because the posts had to set for hours before we could start putting the pickets up, so that was mostly a bust. But we hung out and chatted and got dinner out of it, so...? We also ran to Lowe's to get more fence-post-foam and I picked up some bolt cutters that will, if I'm lucky, actually cut the spiral steel.
Tomorrow I'm off as well, and that's basically my last day to get anything substantial done, so I HAVE to be on point! There is SO MUCH LEFT *runs in circles*