The skirt--part 2

The skirt is now sewn together and ready for a fitting.  Since last week, I have gathered the skirt and basted it to a silk ribbon waist band.  It is so exciting to see the flat, two dimensional material transform into a three dimensional design.

Here is an interesting statistic:  120 inches of fabric was pleated and gathered to 30 inches--a 4 to 1 ratio.  (I can't get away from my engineering DNA--I guess I am just a sewing nerd.)

Three rows of basting stitches were sewn to gather the skirt.  I also finished the raw edge at the top with a 3 stitch zigzag stitch.  This prevented the material from raveling while I manhandled it as I gathered it.

Most of the gathering was done using 3 rows of machine sewn stitches 1/4 inch apart.  The three rows of stitching leads to even gathers and helps eliminate puckers in the skirt.  One panel I basted by hand  hand because the threads broke while I was gathering the material.  I am using silk thread which makes gathering much easier.  I used buttonhole twist for the hand basting since it is much stronger than the regular silk thread.

Here is a close up of the gathers.

I added about 1 inch of ease to the waist (so Ginny can enjoy the parties without worrying about busting a seam).  The gathers were evenly distributed and then pressed only in the seam allowance so they will lay flat.  A silk ribbon band was basted by hand to the inside of the skirt to hold everything in place.  If adjustments are needed after Ginny tries this on, I can easily remove the ribbon and make the adjustments.

Here is the inside of the skirt showing the ribbon band.  This section includes a pleat.  The machine stitches you see are basting to hold the pleat in place.  These stitches will be removed after I attach the skirt to the bodice.

A quick note about the silk ribbon I used.  This ribbon was woven by my Grandfather Rockel.  He was ribbon weaver at ribbon mills in Allentown, Pa.  In the 1920's he was a union organizer and activist at these mills.  Because he was a union organizer, he was blackballed by the mills and unable to get work during the 1930's.  He was able to get work during World War II.  I think this ribbon was probably made in the 1950's.  Ginny can count this ribbon as the something old for her wedding dress.

The skirt has sewn up very nicely.  The silk organza underlining supports the gathers very nicely.  The skirt is currently residing on the dressmaker form in the basement.

A close up of the gathers.

The skirt is now ready to send to Ginny for a fitting.

I will be starting on bodice and the corset.  My goal is to have these ready for a fitting when she gets back from Myanmar in early February.

The skirt--part 1

The material has been cut and the sewing has commenced!  It is always a big step to actually cut the fabric.

I started with the skirt because:

• I had the pattern ready
• It is the easiest part to make
• It has the largest pattern pieces and uses the most material.

The skirt is from Vogue 1044, a Vintage Vogue pattern.  It is an original 1956-1957 design.  It is a gathered skirt with 4 inverted pleats--one on each side, one in the center front and one at the center back.  Here is a line drawing of the skirt from the pattern envelop.

The skirt's finished hem circumference is 10 feet.  This is far less than the 20 feet of big blue, so it should not scare the groom.

The skirt consists of three layers:

• Crepe de chine is the outmost layer.  The lace will be appliqued to this layer.
• Cotton/silk woven blend is the next layer.  It provides opacity and structure.
• Silk organza is the underlining for the cotton/silk layer.  The organza is a great underlining for the skirt.  It is crisp, yet lightweight, and gives beautiful support to the gathers.  The underlining will also hide any hand sewn stitches I use for the hem or to finish the side seams.  The organza is basted to the cotton/silk before the seams are sewn.  I then handle the cotton/silk and organza as one piece.

A total of 12 panels were cut out, 4 for each layer.

The 4 crepe de chine panels were sewn together using French seams.  I used a techniques from Kenneth King's Cool Couture book.  I love these seams--they are so easy to do and look great.

The first step is to serge the pieces together using a rolled hem stitch.  This trims and sews all at once.  Here is what this step looks like:

This serged seam is then enclosed by the fabric and the second seam is sewn using a sewing machine.  Here is the final seam that will be inside the skirt.

Isn't it gorgeous?  Be sure to check out the inside of the skirt when you see Ginny at the party.

The 4 panels of the underlined cotton/silk skirt were constructed using a typical 5/8 inch flat seam that I finished by catch-stitching to the underlining.  The catch stitching keeps the seam flat and prevents it from raveling.  I used tips from a Threads (March, 2012) article "Couture Construction--Build a beautiful garment with skill and confidence" by Susan Khalje.  Here is a picture of this seam.

Next blog will show the pleating and gathering of the skirt.

Judy

More on dress design

Here is a bit more information on the design of the dress.  It is a tea length dress.  Sue "Coco" Zaunbrecher drew this sketch of the dress.

This photo is also an inspiration for the bodice of the dress.

The Material

I decided 31 yards of fabric and trim were not enough, so I went back to The Silk Road Fine Fabrics and purchased more.  I bought 6 yards of silk organza to underline the skirt and bodice.  Silk organza is lightweight and provides body to the fashion fabric.  The underlining will also hide any hand sewn stitches used for the dress construction.  I also purchased boning for the corset and some more silk thread.

The fabric and trim can be divided into two groups:  stuff you will see and stuff that you won't see.

Here is the stuff you will see:

• Chantilly lace
• Lace and beaded trim
• Silk chiffon
• Crepe de chine
• Cotton/silk blend

The skirt material layered:  lace, crepe de chine, cotton/silk blend

The bodice material:  trim (for the cumberbund), silk chiffon, crepe de chine, cotton/silk blend:













What the cumberbund will  look like:

The material and notions you will not see, but are critical to its construction.  This is the stuff that separates a ready to wear from couture:

Introduction to the House of Zaunbrecher design team and atelier du flou

Welcome to my blog documenting the design and construction on Ginny's wedding dress.  I am looking forward to sharing with you the progress on this design and construction effort.  You will get to see the final product at the Grateful Wed Tour of parties later this year.

You may ask, why would anyone want to make a wedding dress when so many beautiful dresses are are readily available?  Basically, I love to sew.  In particular, I have developed an interest and some skill in the techniques of couture dress making.  Clearly, I cannot hold a candle to the master craft women (premieres mains) of the Paris atelier du flous.  However, the skill of these craftswomen inspires me and I will be researching and applying couture methods to this project.

Let's start the story of the House of Zaunbrecher and its atelier du flou in Concord, Massachusetts.

The design team for the wedding dress was headed by Susan Zaunbrecher (Ginny's aunt) of Cincinnati, Ohio.  After extensive consultations with the client (and several glasses of wine), a design was established on December 23, 2011.

We purchased the fabric on December 24 at The Silk Road Fine Fabrics in Auburndale, Massachusetts.  Gay Rodgers, the proprietor, was very gracious and extremely helpful in guiding us to choose the best fabrics for the dress.  Gay's store is wonderful.  If you live anywhere close to Boston, I highly recommend you visit her store.

The dress is a cream colored silk cocktail length dress with a shirred, surplice bodice and full skirt.  The bodice's top layer is shirred silk chiffon over a crepe de chine fitted bodice.  The skirt is a crepe de chine underline with a silk/cotton blend.  Cream chantilly lace will be appliqued to the crepe de chine skirt.  The underskirt is white tulle pettycoats.  The entire dress will be lined with silk twill.  A fitted and boned corset will provide the under structure for the dress.  The corset will be made from very soft white cotton.  31 yards of fabric were purchased to the make the dress.

With the design completed and the fabric selected, action now moves to the atelier du flou located in the basement of 402 Border Road.

The dress construction has been divided into four distinct parts:

• the bodice
• the over skirt
• the underskirts
• the corset

My next post will show picture of the fabric and provide a dress construction progress report.  Spoiler alert--some of the fabric has already been cut.

Judy