week 17 = relative calm?

Well that was a crazy couple of weeks! Those coats that were lined up in front of the table have finally  gone to their place in the dressing rooms. Even the cape that was standing sentinel for weeks made it to the dress rehearsal. It had a bit of basting left in it and needs some finishing, but it was wearable. I even had time to clear up some of the mess and I have found my table top again!
Friday was particularly hectic as I had three fittings, a quick change rehearsal at another location, and a tech dress in the afternoon. After the rehearsal we went out for a well deserved beer and some food, then home where I immediately sat down and fell asleep.
I think everything went well apart from a pair of breeches in a horrible ultra/fake suede. I don't know if you have ever fought with a fabric but I sure did with that one. I think we will be making a replacement pair  this week!
in case you were wondering, this ultra/fake suede is likely upholstery quality- it has absolutely no give, it is extremely bouncy and resistant along the weft, so much that you cannot gather it- it just fights you- yet along the warp it will fold completely flat. If it is cut as you normally would, it looks like you are wearing a barrel, and cut the other way, well, lets just say that the seat of the breeches was odd looking! It also has horrible static cling, so the legs kind of clung to the actor in odd ways. Not good.
Note to self- just plead for real leather or suede!

Here was my table on Thursday- I was trying to organize some paperwork and also to draft up a pattern for that Naval frock coat you can see in the sketch.
It is a tale of woe, and a mistaken belief in Internet purchasing to solve budget crunches that leads me to be drafting again for our 19th century show.

Beware you who think that you can order quality costumes off the Internet to save money.
Give your head a shake too if you think that anyone will even look at the measurements you send even though you think you are getting a "custom-made" product.
The "thing" that arrived (on the day we were onstage) was so bizarre that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It wasn't just the fact that it did not fit the actor, nor had any proper shaping, or proportions that related to the human body, and it was not a full skirted frock coat but a weird tailcoat like thing.  The skirt was a strange one piece apron of fabric, bagged out with coarse cotton duck as a lining with no centre back vent opening, no relation to anything that it should be.
We dubbed it the "manatee" perhaps because it reminded me somewhat of Tenniel's drawing of the walrus from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Suffice to say that I am making one now.

That is for tomorrow though.

prom dress part three-pattern sketch

When I am getting ready to make a pattern for  garment, I often find it helpful to sketch out the rough pattern shapes. This dress is not particularly complicated but it is a helpful process to go through nevertheless.
  You can then look for potential style, cutting or fitting issues. 

So, as I would if I was actually drafting, I would start with sketching out the basic block, and then drawing in the pattern lines.


The bodice front will be in two pieces to fit closely over the bust.
  Allow enough seam allowance on the top edge so if bodice needs pinching in along the top edge, you can still correct the line. Same goes for the waist seam allowance.

The back could be cut in two panels or the two sections could be made into one, and eliminate the seam.
  If cut as one piece, allow enough seam allowance to make changes without re cutting.

The collar/neck piece shape is made by closing the bust dart from the bust to the shoulder, closing the back shoulder dart and then putting the front and back shoulders together and drawing out the shape desired.
  It could be cut in one piece but if the CF is on the straight grain, it puts the majority of the neck piece on a bit of the bias which may stretch, so it may be more prudent to allow a shoulder seam in the neck piece, which would keep the back portion on a more stable grain. Not sure how much tension can be put on this piece without it buckling on either edge. It will be a more decorative rather than a structural part of the dress. 

The pleated overlay is created by initially closing the panel seam/dart from waist to bust, then opening/flaring out the top edge. You could calculate how many pleats you want at the neck, and how deep they might be first and then measure out how much more you need open the top edge.
  The amount to add depends on the fabric chosen and what looks good, so allow enough for changes to be made. The more flare, the more the side ends up on the bias, so that may be an issue with stretching.

The bodice will also need some kind of boning to keep the shape, and provide support. The boning will have to be attached to an inner structure.

The under skirt could be cut into panels which keeps the waist seam flat and allows for flare at the hem.

The over skirt has to be cut with the bottom edge straight, so figure out how much fabric is needed at the hem, then the length at the front, side and CB is marked, and the gathering lines are drawn in hitting those marks. 
  Remember that gathering an edge tends to hollow it out and therefore shorten in the other direction, so keep it in mind. Alterations to the hem have to happen at the waist.

Pick the shoes! they are needed to get the final skirt length.

Did I miss anything? Oh yes, figure out where the closure will be and how long it needs to be. I imagine CB. It may need a waist stay, so perhaps an inner grosgrain waistband that hooks closed first and takes tension off the zipper closure.......

Okay, onwards!

First things first

First things first.
The sketch provided by the designer, along with some swatches of the fabrics chosen-I have made notes on the photocopy of the sketch that I keep in the show binder.







The next thing is to draft a pattern on brown paper. I realize that this is difficult to see well, but it gives a basic idea of what it looks like.






I am going to be cutting right into the fashion fabric as requested, so I will take my preliminary pattern, cut it out of muslin and pin baste it together to check the fit as well as design elements such as seam placements and proportion.
I have quickly added a bit of padding to the stand to more accurately reflect the person's body shape.
I change my seam lines if required, add the side skirt piece, keeping in mind the fullness of the breeches underneath, add a quick collar and have a look. Sometimes I like to draw in the trim and buttons very roughly just to see what it might look like and then I go back to the table with the muslin and change my pattern to reflect the changes I made on the dummy.
Next step:sleeves.

sketch/design:Santo Loquasto