I have pleated and attached the skirts, and appear to have plenty of room for hemming (Thank goodness). The unfortunate thing is that I did 1/2 inch cartridge pleats, and they are packed onto the skirt so densely that they are bunching and flipping over each other in groups, rather than laying smoothly. It's kind of hard to tell from the pictures though - I'll have to take close-ups. I'm hoping that once I get it on my body, they'll spring up and be pretty. If not, I'll have to rip them off and either trim part of the panels off or re-pleat with slightly deeper pleats. I've never had this problem before - this fabric is more wide than what I normally use.
The bodice front looks like it's having some weird vertical wrinkling, but it's because my dress form is significantly less curvy than my body. It will smooth out when I fill it up. Also, my camicia back is not actually V-shaped. It's pinned that way to keep it from falling off the dress form.
I think I'd like to try doing a padded hem, since this fabric is super flimsy and drapey.
I played dress up on the form, and the girdle belt that Holly made me for my elevation goes beautifully with this dress, so no need for another belt! Woo!
Next up (other than finalizing the hem/pleat questions), sleeves and partlet. I need to pick Serafina's brain on the partlet, for she is far more experienced than I.
I will probably not have the Veste done to wear to this season's court events, so I'm hoping it will look fancy enough on its own, and not too similar to my other gold brocade dress. Obviously the older one is Venetian rather than Florentine, but my mind wants reassurance that they are dissimilar enough without the Veste.
I will probably not have the Veste done to wear to this season's court events, so I'm hoping it will look fancy enough on its own, and not too similar to my other gold brocade dress. Obviously the older one is Venetian rather than Florentine, but my mind wants reassurance that they are dissimilar enough without the Veste.
Firstly, I don't think it'll look at all like your venetian. Secondly, so that's why my pleats always bunch up! I think I make my pleats too small on my gowns (.5" or less if I'm not paying attention), and they do that bunching up thing. Maybe I should do another row of stitches, too. Lastly, try the padded hem, I'd like to see how that works too.
ReplyDeleteSo gorgeous!
Woman, this
ReplyDeleteYup! I'd suggest switching to a deeper pleat. I don't do math to make sure they are perfect, I just eyeball it and spread the pleats evenly across the available waistband. Too deep seems to be an easier problem to fix than packed too tightly.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I will do a full report as I make more progress.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely change the depth of the pleats! I did 1/2" ones on my last gown, had the same problem; switched to 1" pleats and they lay beautifully now!
ReplyDeleteThe two gowns are definitely different! Both are lovely, but one would never remind me of the other.
Noelle put a padded hem on my new gown and I LOVE it! It's far easier to walk in it without getting my dress tangled in my legs, even when I'm not wearing any underskirts.
So what are you thinking for sleeves?
(OT: How do you respond directly to a comment in your blog? My responses always show up as regular comments...)
I have a couple sleeve ideas, but am undecided.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for a disqus account! It's easy to set up as a widget in blogger and does all the reply chaining for you. Also, I get email notification for comments that I never got with the standard comment system.