Possibly my most productive day yet!
Possibly :P
I allowed myself a bit of a sleep in this morning, managing to be at Tafe around 11ish. I had my teacher take my measurements in my corset, then I traced off the bodice pattern I needed and set about making my toile. The bodice fit surprisingly well, with only a couple alterations require, most of which are purely aesthetic. The only fitting alteration was to the side/side back & side back/back pieces which were too tight around the hip. I'll be sloping this line out to add about 2.5cm (1 inch) by the hem at each of these intersections. Other than that, the fit was perfect! As an aesthetic choice, I will be making the bottom of the bodice curved, rather than pointed, to mimic the curves in the overskirts. I'm also going to lengthen the back tail by approx 10cm (4 inch) at the centre back, and have this curve gently from the sides. The added length will also help to hide the pleating on the overskirts, though I'm still thinking of adding tails to the back.
After Tafe, I headed to Spotlight to pick up the last of my supplies: 2m lining fabric for the overskirt frills; 2m poplin for the petticoat frills; 1m organza for making roses; 2m calico for petticoat frills; 11m 25mm wide bias binding for the skirt hems; 6 sets of hook and bars for the skirt closures; Gold Wire and matching green thread for roses; a couple packs of jewellery bits & bobs to use with the pearls for a necklace. Unfortunately Spotlight didn't have the right shade of lining fabric, and Lincraft was closed by the time I got there, so I'll have to pick that up on Wed, and just do what I can with what I have. I was hoping it would be too expensive a trip, as this gown has already cost twice what I had intended to spend, but little things have a way of adding up! Fortunately I had a voucher for Spotlight, spend $100 and get $40 off! yay! I was just under the required $60, so figured for an extra $10, I could get $40 of stuff free. The voucher allowed me to stock up on a few essential things I've been needing to buy for my toolkit, but hadn't been a necessity: Extra packs of universal, microtex (Super sharp, highly recommended for sewing silks & sheers!) and finally a twin needle; glass head pins; a second thread organiser; and some stuffing. Yay for stocking up on essentials, not so yay for things costing more than intended. But that's the way things go I suppose. Unfortunately, this does mean no second new costume for Melbgeddon. I'll still be making White Diana, as I have all the fabric and just need to buy accessories, wig & hairpieces, but I won't be making Snow White this year. I still need to buy other fabric, and possibly a wig, so unless I can get what I need on sale in the next month, it's a no. Oh well, I've got lots of pretty dresses to re-wear (Aurora perhaps, or I could get Rose made finally!).
Then it was home to sew! First I tore my lining fabric into strips for the frills, sewed them together, ironed them in half and the sewed the strip into pleats. I free handed the pleats as I was sewing them, so they're not perfect, but the look find to me! It's amazing how long those frills take to make! I've sewn all the individual panel pieces of the overskirt together, now the outer and lining can be sewn together with the frill sandwiched in the middle. I'll start with the back one, as it's the most involved with all the extra pleating, and I'd rather have it finished first. Once that is done, I'll see if I have enough to put together the front apron overskirt, but I'm not confident I will, so this may have to wait until Wed.
But things still seem to be on task, tomorrow I'll finish what I can of the overskirt, and then get to work on the bodice. The toile was pretty straightforward and relatively quick to sew together, so if I don't procrastinate too much, I should actually get it complete, or almost complete tomorrow. Hooray! If I end up ahead of my schedule, I'll start on the skirt hems.
But for now, it's off to bed!
I allowed myself a bit of a sleep in this morning, managing to be at Tafe around 11ish. I had my teacher take my measurements in my corset, then I traced off the bodice pattern I needed and set about making my toile. The bodice fit surprisingly well, with only a couple alterations require, most of which are purely aesthetic. The only fitting alteration was to the side/side back & side back/back pieces which were too tight around the hip. I'll be sloping this line out to add about 2.5cm (1 inch) by the hem at each of these intersections. Other than that, the fit was perfect! As an aesthetic choice, I will be making the bottom of the bodice curved, rather than pointed, to mimic the curves in the overskirts. I'm also going to lengthen the back tail by approx 10cm (4 inch) at the centre back, and have this curve gently from the sides. The added length will also help to hide the pleating on the overskirts, though I'm still thinking of adding tails to the back.
After Tafe, I headed to Spotlight to pick up the last of my supplies: 2m lining fabric for the overskirt frills; 2m poplin for the petticoat frills; 1m organza for making roses; 2m calico for petticoat frills; 11m 25mm wide bias binding for the skirt hems; 6 sets of hook and bars for the skirt closures; Gold Wire and matching green thread for roses; a couple packs of jewellery bits & bobs to use with the pearls for a necklace. Unfortunately Spotlight didn't have the right shade of lining fabric, and Lincraft was closed by the time I got there, so I'll have to pick that up on Wed, and just do what I can with what I have. I was hoping it would be too expensive a trip, as this gown has already cost twice what I had intended to spend, but little things have a way of adding up! Fortunately I had a voucher for Spotlight, spend $100 and get $40 off! yay! I was just under the required $60, so figured for an extra $10, I could get $40 of stuff free. The voucher allowed me to stock up on a few essential things I've been needing to buy for my toolkit, but hadn't been a necessity: Extra packs of universal, microtex (Super sharp, highly recommended for sewing silks & sheers!) and finally a twin needle; glass head pins; a second thread organiser; and some stuffing. Yay for stocking up on essentials, not so yay for things costing more than intended. But that's the way things go I suppose. Unfortunately, this does mean no second new costume for Melbgeddon. I'll still be making White Diana, as I have all the fabric and just need to buy accessories, wig & hairpieces, but I won't be making Snow White this year. I still need to buy other fabric, and possibly a wig, so unless I can get what I need on sale in the next month, it's a no. Oh well, I've got lots of pretty dresses to re-wear (Aurora perhaps, or I could get Rose made finally!).
Then it was home to sew! First I tore my lining fabric into strips for the frills, sewed them together, ironed them in half and the sewed the strip into pleats. I free handed the pleats as I was sewing them, so they're not perfect, but the look find to me! It's amazing how long those frills take to make! I've sewn all the individual panel pieces of the overskirt together, now the outer and lining can be sewn together with the frill sandwiched in the middle. I'll start with the back one, as it's the most involved with all the extra pleating, and I'd rather have it finished first. Once that is done, I'll see if I have enough to put together the front apron overskirt, but I'm not confident I will, so this may have to wait until Wed.
But things still seem to be on task, tomorrow I'll finish what I can of the overskirt, and then get to work on the bodice. The toile was pretty straightforward and relatively quick to sew together, so if I don't procrastinate too much, I should actually get it complete, or almost complete tomorrow. Hooray! If I end up ahead of my schedule, I'll start on the skirt hems.
But for now, it's off to bed!