I wanted to make a new ball gown for the upcoming Lincoln ball this coming Saturday night. I found some silks that I liked at the local fabric store, but they were in excess of $30.00 per yard (this kind of dress takes about 5-6 yards) which puts them way out of my price range. This is the first time I'm completely modifying a bodice pattern too, so I wouldn't want to use expensive fabric anyway just in case the fit isn't right or I mess it up completely. And that kind of money for one dress to wear a couple of times a year is probably more than I would want to spend even if I could afford it. I had some Taffeta in my stash that I dedided to use, I have no idea what the fiber content is, but I do know it isn't silk. This is my experiment, my learning project, and my laboratory. I am nearly finished with the gown, now I just have to try it on, sew the bodice to the skirt, and put in the fastners...and I absolutely hate it. It photographed so very shiny, (expept for the middle front where I didn't fasten up my cage crinoline so it's leaving a kind of indentation) it's fairly shiny in real life but not to the extreme that shows up in the picture. But it is still a different look than the silks that are going to be worn to the ball by others. If it fits, I will probably wear it Saturday night and then start work immediately on another one in another kind of fabric, maybe some less expensive silk if I can find it. This tafeta stuff was incredibly hard to work with as it was really slippery and came unraveled just by looking at it. I decided not to put a tucker on the dress even though I'd made one, I just don't want to waste any more time or resources on it if I'm going to get rid of it pretty quickly. I really love the ribbon and lace trim, but I can recreate that on another dress in the future. We were in Gettysburg last weekend and I asked one of the ladies clothing shop owners what the ball gowns that were for sale were made from and she told me "taffeta". Hmmmm, I'm not sure, but I don't think this is quite the same fabric. In any case, lesson learned, I don't like working with it.
Monday, February 04, 2008
What I've been working on
I wanted to make a new ball gown for the upcoming Lincoln ball this coming Saturday night. I found some silks that I liked at the local fabric store, but they were in excess of $30.00 per yard (this kind of dress takes about 5-6 yards) which puts them way out of my price range. This is the first time I'm completely modifying a bodice pattern too, so I wouldn't want to use expensive fabric anyway just in case the fit isn't right or I mess it up completely. And that kind of money for one dress to wear a couple of times a year is probably more than I would want to spend even if I could afford it. I had some Taffeta in my stash that I dedided to use, I have no idea what the fiber content is, but I do know it isn't silk. This is my experiment, my learning project, and my laboratory. I am nearly finished with the gown, now I just have to try it on, sew the bodice to the skirt, and put in the fastners...and I absolutely hate it. It photographed so very shiny, (expept for the middle front where I didn't fasten up my cage crinoline so it's leaving a kind of indentation) it's fairly shiny in real life but not to the extreme that shows up in the picture. But it is still a different look than the silks that are going to be worn to the ball by others. If it fits, I will probably wear it Saturday night and then start work immediately on another one in another kind of fabric, maybe some less expensive silk if I can find it. This tafeta stuff was incredibly hard to work with as it was really slippery and came unraveled just by looking at it. I decided not to put a tucker on the dress even though I'd made one, I just don't want to waste any more time or resources on it if I'm going to get rid of it pretty quickly. I really love the ribbon and lace trim, but I can recreate that on another dress in the future. We were in Gettysburg last weekend and I asked one of the ladies clothing shop owners what the ball gowns that were for sale were made from and she told me "taffeta". Hmmmm, I'm not sure, but I don't think this is quite the same fabric. In any case, lesson learned, I don't like working with it.
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1 comment:
I don't know how you found me, but thank you so much for your kind words offered on my blog. I am not a whiner, but the past week has just been too much for me. I would rather be "sleeping outside in the rain and mud" (which I have done several times so I know) then going through all of this at once.
I love your blog!!!! and will put you on my list of "people to see and places to go" so I can visit more often. I have always wanted to do some Re-enactment stuff. Fun!!!
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