Showing posts with label dressmaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dressmaking. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Making a Petticoat

Since I have enjoyed the dress I made so much I wanted to make it a little more special with my very own petticoat. I'm thinking these will come back in style if they have not already.
After stumbling across a few Pinterest pins referring to petticoats I decided, I want one too. Practically everyone claims how easy it is to assemble a petticoat and while I don't disagree there is however a certain amount of time involved.
Mine as you can see is a simple 2 tier petticoat with an added underlining or slip to avoid the stiffness and the scratchiness of the petticoat net. I purchased a net/tulle that specifically said petticoat on the label. It's pretty stiff and could definitely add a lot of fluff. I could have really bunched up and gathered my tulle and had tons of fluff but I wanted this to be practical with the dress I would be wearing it with. An example being if my dress or skirt was more like a circle skirt and very full then it could accommodate a lot more fluff from my petticoat.
No matter what tulle you purchase even the smaller finer net is near impossible to cut perfectly straight. I tried several things with my mats, ruler, weights and other sewing notions and still struggled to get a perfect cut of fabric. Is there a trick to this? Does anyone know? I am assuming that since people have been making these for ages that either there is a trick this or there is no "perfect" with tulle, and you just accept it and move on to the next step. So if it's not perfect don't fret.
I used thick floss to gather my tulle/net and then I sewed it in place before attaching to my waistband. I did a simple folded over waistband and attached my tulle/net layer to one side and my slip/lining to the other. I also added the bias binding to my tulle/net hem to avoid scratches and add a decorative element. Usually in the posts I've seen petticoats have a shiny ribbon like binding. I did not see this at the store and did not want to attempt making my own slippery binding so I made my own out of cotton fabric. I think it turned out very well gave the garment that extra something. Maybe even a little more grown up than the ruffle fluff bottom of other petticoats.

Thanks for reading♥ Olivia

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Adventures in dressmaking

Adventures in dressmaking... It's been a while since I've attempted making a garment. Usually I am disappointed by the fit or lack there of and just give up. Then some time passes and I think hey I should make something I can wear. And sew it begins.
I took the leap and altered a pattern I had already purchased. Ages ago I made a dress, loved it but the garment never fit and alas sat in my closet for almost ever. I really liked the style so I decided to increase the size of the dress on my own and do some bust altering to better fit my boobs. Below is the completed garment (sorry I'm not wearing it) I will photograph the fit the next time I wear it. I loved how this turned out so much I plan on making it again in another fabric.
Have you tried your hand at making adjustments to a pattern? How did it go?

Thanks for reading♥