The idea was to make a happy sparkly dress for my trip to Las Vegas next month (woo!). I found some beautiful feline-esque sequin mesh at Gorgeous Fabrics that I decided I needed to have. After much deliberation, I had a vision of a cowl neck and a straight skirt. So I combined two patterns that I have successfully made in the past (my mashup plan is pictured above): the Vogue 1351 bodice (for the cowl and the full lining) and the McCall's 6612 skirt (short and straight with no waist seam). What I did not take into consideration was the drape of the fabric (or rather, lack thereof). It should have been obvious, I guess-- but I had a vision and was blinded to anything else. Anyway:
Yeah. It just looks weird!
My first thought was it looked kind of space-age the way it just kind of sticks straight up/out. Ha! (Gah-- I should have sucked in my belly more too... keeping it real here at the Crafty Musings! :P)
I did attempt to mitigate by cutting off the cowl and working to finagle it into a tank-style neckline without undoing everything else. That was a fail too (no pictures of that). So I went nuclear and took it all apart.
Unsewing sequin mesh fabric is about about as much fun as it sounds. But it is done. On the bright side, I have definitely learned some things that (hopefully!) will help me make some better choices. Skill building!
Now to figure out Plan B.
I know you have taken it all apart but could you have sewn some pleats? I am no expert mind you.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great thought, Carrie! I did consider that, as the lining is pleated at the top as well. But the sequins are just too bulky to make the small pleats, and I am too lazy to remove the individual sequins on the off chance I could make it work that way. So I tried instead to just ease the sequins along top edge onto the lining. But it just wasn't working-- everything was a bubbled mess. The front and straps just didn't sit right at all. I think it is in part because the pattern is drafted so that the lining is slightly more fitted and the outer is supposed to kind of "float" over it, in order to create a smooth silhouette (they are two separate pattern pieces). In addition, there was fabric pooling at my lower back, which I think is normal for me (judging from photos of previous dresses)-- but the drape of the sequins exacerbated the issue. That was eye-opening! Now I'm researching how to deal with that for future projects.
DeleteSo both front and back just weren't working. It was too much. I needed to move on and try something different.
On the bright side, I have successfully managed to salvage enough from the dress to make a simple tank top. So, at least it isn't a total loss!
I am definitely learning a lot. Learning on $30/yd fabric is maybe not the way I would have preferred to do it, but I am trying to stay positive. :)
--
Robin