The New No. 3: The January Plum Dress - The Concept

...and now we move on to the next project!

The other day I was home for the evening to see my sister's play. While we were waiting for it to start, my mom was talking to me about various things and eventually mentioned that she was going to send my sister and me out on Black Friday to go look for dresses for our cousin's wedding, which is in January.
My immediate response was, "Why would I buy a dress when I can make my own?"
My mom's reply was, "No."
I explained that I was actually on the verge of completing my latest work and she shortly said, "Well, wear that one, then."
Unfortunately, I don't think this last dress was one that would be appropriate for a wedding. It's a little costume-ish to go over well anywhere that's not a slightly eccentric cocktail party...and it's way to garish for an event where the wearer is not supposed to be the center of attention (i.e. someone else's wedding).
Anyway, my mom did a whole lot of that exaggerated eye-rolling she tends to do when she disapproves of something while I tried to explain what my latest dress looks like and why it isn't really wedding attire. Finally, in a last bid at discouraging me from making my own dress for the wedding, she came up with, "You don't even have a pattern!" Which is a) irrelevant and b) not true.

So, long story short, I had to come up with a new dress that was not too ostentatious (so, no scarlet brocade) but still fun and fancy and in my style. Because otherwise I really might well just take advantage of Black Friday.

Originally I was going to move on to this:



...and I've started acquiring materials for it. However, this dress is fluttery (it's based around chiffon), light and white. I have sort of a qualm with wearing a fluffy, white, fluttery dress to someone's wedding. So this one will have to be put on hold for the time being. (Also until I can afford all the materials for it.)

So I came up with something that I feel might be more appropriate:



The cut is simple and slim. There's not too much poof there, and yet I still have a nice little flair at the bottom there. The main dress is going to be in iridescent plum dupioni silk:



Yeah, a little flashy...but deep. It's not going to stand out like red or gold-orange. It's dark enough to be somewhat...discreet is probably the wrong word. We'll go with "not eyeball assaulting."

Here's the contrast. It's more eye grabbing and will definitely pop against the dupioni. It's taffeta in black and white stripe, a staple for any quasi-goth dress enthusiast/fan of Colleen Atwood:



After looking at the rendering and picturing everything in my head, I realized that this was what was in the back of my mind. Christina Ricci's dress in the finale of Sleepy Hollow:






It's the final pop of black and white stripe...something that happens in every Tim Burton movie. You spend all of Sleepy Hollow waiting for it to happen and then it finally does in the last two minutes. Brilliant movie (especially in terms of design...I believe it won the Oscar for Production Design because Rick Heinrichs is a BEAST). Brilliant costumes. Brilliant Colleen Atwood...whom I worship.

And here's a little something special to set off the edging at the top and hem of the plum:



Well, I sure as hell am excited. This should be fun and hopefully not too challenging...because it's not like I'm throwing another cosmetic stitching curve ball in there for myself. Of course, I say that and everything will go wrong. Oh well...

No. 2: Ruby Rag Doll - Completion!

Funny story...I was winding a new bobbin for this project and then suddenly, out of nowhere, I ran out of thread. Yes, I ran out of black thread...even though I was under the impression that the spool was unused.
Normally I wouldn't care too much and kind of keep going in a different thread, figuring that no one would ever know the difference anyway. But that wont work on a project where there are copious amounts of cosmetic stitching that require black thread.
So a little bit of a speed bump there...but I pilfered a new spool of thread from my parents' house when I was there this weekend and was quickly back in business. And subsequently, I finished the dress yesterday on my first day off in thirteen days.

So...here's the concept:



And here's how it turned out:






Pretty good for completely disregarding all laws of cutting and bias. And I think that all the cosmetic stitching will actually help stabilize the brocade so it doesn't combust in a spray of sparkling fibers. The zipper didn't go in as neatly as I would have liked, and the cosmetic stitching could be better. That's something to work on: precision. I'd like to take her out and do a real shoot with her to heighten the glory a bit and gussy the portfolio, but until I get that figured out we're going to have to make do with me awkwardly posing with a camera in the mirror.

The base material finally arrived for the next dress project, but that might have to be put on hold as I need to come up with something suitable to wear to a wedding. Meaning not too flashy. My mother has no faith in this endeavor (and rolled her eyes overly dramatically when she heard the the words "Sally" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" in the description of this latest work), and I'm out to prove her absolutely wrong.

The Piecing Process: No. 2 - Ruby Rag Doll

My current temp job is categorized as “data entry” but the job description is really more along the lines of “stare at the wall for seven hours because we don’t have the forms in yet for you to enter.” It’s pretty mind-numbing. That’s why it’s really nice to get out of work, crack open the Cherry Coke, and start stitching.

So…progress? Yes. There has been progress on the project at hand. I’m somewhat loathe to post progress pictures because not everything has been worked out and the edges are still raw…but the point of this is the process, so I can’t not document the less glamorous stages.



The bodice needs a bit of help yet. That cinching problem needs to be fixed or masked. I’ll probably end up doing something in black ribbon…but that involves finding some black ribbon. I’m also probably going to be needing to add shoulder straps to this thing...or some other means of holding it up.

I'm using a more industrial zipper than the average cocktail dress might have. I think the hardware adds something to the look of the thing, and since I'm highlighting the seams, why not bring out the zipper?



I will say that I’m pretty satisfied with how this is working out so far. I’m using a couple of unconventional methods here, including laying out pattern pieces and cutting on my lap (instead of a flat surface), guesstimation, and completely ignoring every bias ever. I think I can get away with ignoring the bias because the material is so thick and doesn’t really flow. This project would not result in good things if it involved chiffon. However, because I’m using a heavy fabric that doesn’t really drape too much one way or the other and because the chunks of fabric are small enough that they don’t have the chance to flutter or flow or go wild, I think we’ll be ok. The skirt is flowing decently, and that’s the big indicator.



I haven’t entirely decided how to hem this thing yet. I was noticing a certain effect achieved by putting a solid strip of fabric along the bottom, but I’m not sure it’s the effect that I want for this particular project (though it’s been duly noted for the future). I want it “raggedy” yet stable. I’m more concerned about stability. I’m trying to keep my edges uneven, with a shorter skirt in the front and longer in the back. Under the skirt I’m inserting almost a petticoat of black tulle, so that ought to add a bit more oomph.

Opulent Opportunism: An Introduction to No. 2 - Ruby Rag Doll

Wonder of wonders, I’ve actually started working on a dress. A planned dress. Remember the Ruby Rag Doll that started off as No. 3 and then got bumped to No. 2? Yup, so that’s what’s up.

So far I’ve actually accomplished the bodice of the dress. I’m still working out a few kinks in it, but for the most part it’s actually looking pretty good. The really scary thing about this one is that I’m basing off a pattern that I’ve never actually used before (seeing as how I can’t find the pattern I prefer to use as a basis) so I’m not exactly sure how well it will turn out in the end. I’ve already run into a little bit of trouble in the bust since I tried to get around the cinching they have patterned in, but instead ended up with a slightly awkward lump where the cinching should be. I think I’ve got a way to fix it and mask it…but we’ll get to that.

Let’s start at the beginning: the inspiration.

You’ve all seen the rough sketch for this (under the above link), so I wont repeat that. I’ll elaborate on the inspiration a bit more and the concept.

There are two sources of inspiration, really. The first is one of my all-time favorite costume pieces: the scarlet dragon robe from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I love the material, I love the look, and I’m distressed that there’s really no great picture of it on Google images. The vibrancy isn’t really done justice in any of these screen caps, and unfortunately there’s no good overhead shot of it…because this thing extends to crazy lengths. I’ve actually heard it called the Romanian Wedding Dress by some fellow Dracula fanatics. And I’m so dedicated to doing this thing proper justice that I even went to YouTube to look for a clip of it in action…but tragically it looks as if any clip that might involve it might also entail listening to a terrible angst-ridden emo love song, so I’ll spare us all that misery…oh, someone’s dedicated their life to putting the entire movie in parts up on YouTube. Here's a tiny snippet.





If you love costumes and visual awesome, it’s well worth the two hours. And there’s the added bonus of Keanu Reeves as the world’s most unperturbed Jonathan Harker and a graphic vampire bride encounter that will be parodied until the end of time. Netflix it.

Anyway, the point is that the color and sheen play a huge role in this project. I’m also looking to achieve that strange degree of elegance. The robe doesn’t have what I’d call a conventional elegance, as it drags behind him as he sort of slithers about with his shadow, but there’s something weirdly fluid about it as it slides heavily, yet handsomely.

The second source of inspiration for this number is from one of my all-time favorite movies. This one I’ve loved since I was a small child and will continue to love for as long as I live: The Nightmare Before Christmas. The method of assembly for this dress is based on Sally and her whole…vibe.




I love the piecing in her dress (and the piecing of her) and am looking to emulate that. What stands out to me is how it seems as though she really pulled her dress together by using little scraps and making what she could out of what she had…which is also the challenge behind making a Frankenstein-type creature, or so I’m told. That’s the driving force behind this project, actually…using what I’ve got to get a result.

Also, while she’s a bit more delicate than Dracula, her hair sort of moves in the same way as Dracula’s robe train. Yes, her hair is made out of clay…but still, it’s the same principle of motion in a sense.

So, the concept here is I have a ton of this brocade which is cut into a bunch of pieces that are not necessarily conducive to making a regular dress from a regular pattern without massive amounts of piecing. So instead of going to lengths to hide the seams, I’m going to bring them out and really make them central to the dress. The idea is to combine the elegance and richness of Chinese brocade with utility and practicality. Hopefully the two will work well together and make something notable. And so far I’m liking my results…here's a preview:




Tomorrow we tackle the skirt...

No. 2 - Ruby Rag Doll: Brocade'd

(From here on in, due to availability of materials, the Ruby Rag Doll will be No. 2 and the Passion Fruit Pixie will be No. 3.)

Why, hello delectable red Chinese brocade that happens to be sitting in a lump in a bag in the corner of my closet-unit.

You know, I'm starting to love red and gold. I mean...I don't think I've ever been really against red and gold, but I've never really sought it out or appreciated its elegance.

And the black flowers really tie it together. I have some red and gold dragon fabric floating around the attic at home (leftover from a Halloween costume endeavor) and, while I really enjoy that fabric, there's just something about the added black detailing that lends a certain amount of elegance. I feel like it almost emboldens the red and gold. And after initially purchasing this fabric last semester, afterwards I started questioning myself and wondering if I should have gone for the straight up red and black flowered brocade instead. Now, however, I'm really glad for the presence of the gold.
And, as it would turn out, I have a whole spool of this very nice gold ribbon that was initially intended for the Gaga Prom Dress but got turned down at the last minute in favor of the thinner gold ribbon...so I wonder if I can incorporate it in there somehow...

And I think I've got the decorative stitching thing figured out, thanks to Johnny and his wonderful repertoire of magical stitches. Oh how I wish I had the time to work on this project...

Passion Fruit Pixie and Ruby Rag Doll: Concepts for No. 2 and No. 3

I have absolutely no time for extra-curricular sewing right now, so naturally inspiration has struck not once, but twice. I'm a little wary about starting more than one dress at a time for this project, but when you've decided to design and execute a thousand dresses, you really have to latch onto inspiration when it strikes. Not only does sewing a thousand dresses consume enormous amounts of time and require massive amounts of material, but coming up with a thousand unique design concepts is a bit of a feat in and of itself. The fact of the matter is that one has to have the net handy for when a design decides to come fluttering through the mind cavity. And so No. 2 and No. 3 have been conceived of! No. 2 was originally a scrapped version of what became No. 3...but with a little coloration and a switch of plans for materials, No. 2 has become its own concept...and one that I'm looking forward to working on.

First...No. 2:



It's a bit fairy-like, I think...it's got that shredded Tinkerbelle thing going for it. I'm very much in favor of executing this one in chiffon...though I wouldn't be opposed to incorporating a bit of organza (nor would I be opposed to a bit of sparkle here and there). I've not really used chiffon...and for this project, I feel like a roller foot might be simultaneously useful and infuriating. Leaving a raw edge might add to that distressed aesthetic, but I'd rather not risk the entire dress falling apart prematurely.
I've chosen purple because today, during an excursion to Jo-Ann, I encountered the richest purple/fuscia Chinese butterfly brocade ever. The color was absolutely electrifying...it was a truly spectacular visual sensation. If I can build a chiffon combination that emulates color, I'm certain that this dress will light up. (Tragically, my photograph of the rendering does not correctly portray the color of the paint, which should be a bit more red and less blue. And the paint does not do that purple brocade justice.)

And No. 3:



I'm thinking Chinese brocade. I designed this with Chinese brocade in mind since I have several oddly shaped pieces of brocade lying around my room from a project that no longer requires brocade. Because the pieces are oddly shaped and I'd probably have to seam them together in order to cut a pattern, I've decided to incorporate the odd and unavoidable stitching lines. Why hide it when you can flaunt it? The result is a sort of rag-doll effect (sort of the same idea as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas). The underskirt will be in tulle.
This project presents a bit of a challenge in terms of material. I am quite partial to Chinese brocade...it's a weakness of mine. Even though the fabric is not even remotely sturdy half the time and has this tendency to fall apart (gotta love the loose weave), I'm still entranced by the designs, sheens and the vibrant colors. Chinese brocade tends to downright disintegrate. It's a delicate fabric, especially around the seams...and this dress is a tangle of seams.
The other part of the challenge is appropriately highlighting the stitching in the seams to bring out their decorative element without going full-on Frankenstein. I'm sure a creative solution to this problem lies ahead...and perhaps whatever brings out the seams will also enforce the silk.