Missy's had a makeover!

To help with fitting Helen's wedding dress when I don't have access to her as she lives and works in London and I'm further north, I decided to use a dress form.

This was an old dress form. It had been stored, badly, for many years. It was adjustable in width at bust, waist and hip, although one of the dials was broken. There was a small vertical adjustment to the waist length,  but not enough for Helen now or me then. There were a couple of other problems. Helen is nearly 6 ft tall with the long body and legs that implies;  the model was nearer 5 ft. Although the waist length could be adjusted,  the amount available wasn't nearly enough. Also,  although adjustable, it isn't possible to adjust apex height, shoulder width etc without a lot of work. Talking about shoulders - they were not collapsible and it was difficult to get garments on. Worse still,  the glue attaching the outside cover to the form had disintegrated and lots of rust coloured powder was the result and this got on to anything I tried to try on it.

I confess I flirted with buying a new polystyrene form as recommended in our class; by that I mean I did buy it but although I bought what I thought was the correct size, the measurements were too much. Too little is workable with but not too large. I had considered sawing it in two and lengthening but too big was a deal breaker. This model now has a new home! I considered buying the smallest size but that was shorter still in the body length, too.

I mentioned my problems with the model in my blog and Mary of Cloning Couture kindly pointed me to her posts covering form customisation and made some suggestions.

So David and I decided to go ahead with the major makeover required to make Missy work. If possible.

We were basing the adjustments on numerous measurements taken on Helen's body, my previous well fitting toile for her and Rory’s tightening of that,  leading to me making a further close fitting version which didn't meet at the waist,  so obviously I did something wrong as it clearly fitted when Rory was pinning it.

The steps are cut down here as otherwise this would be an exceptionally lengthy post.

1. Remove old cover
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. wash body to get rid of glue residue
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   She's pretty small in her native state!

3. minimise width sizes
4. lengthen model to maximum using adjustment available
5. Add to body length; David lengthened the body itself by adding cardboard and aluminium tape to the bottom (this was done after the model was rotated and redone); this lengthened it about 3 inches.. Previously the marking for the position of bum fullness was below the form body. He also added to the length of the upper body by extending the whole upper torso by placing a roll of masking tape about 1 inch wide on the internal top support plate on which the torso rested. 
   
   
   

   

   The reason the glue residue is back is because we had to take apart and redo after Fabulous Fit foam had been stuck on.

6. fill in gaps and joints with padding and aluminium tape. By this time the model was a lot taller and was beginning to feel sturdier - she had previously been very shaky. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. I used parts of the Fabulous Fit system to create hip and bum contours and also bust shaping and apex position
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. I might add that when we attached the upper part of the model to the lower part,  we got it the wrong way around!  None of us involved in the process (I took it to class and the tutor was also involved at this stage, as was David) noticed - it took someone else to query it. The tutor thought it would be fine but David and I retracted a few steps and corrected this when we returned home. When this was corrected,  David took the opportunity to reinforce the gaps from the inside too.
9. add layers of padding (bump,  mainly) , taped with masking tape. I couldn't find the materials mentioned by Mary. 
   
   
   
   
10. I used one of Helen's bras over an already padded bust area (Fabulous Fit pads) to add more definition to the bust area and to position the apex properly. 
    
    
    
    
11. amount of padding and distribution based on a close fitting calico toile which I tried on the form repeatedly. Helen has never tried on my toile - this was the toile I made from the adjustments to make the previous one much tighter fitting and I think I made a mistake in interpretation as I couldn't get it to meet in the zip area. So I had to loosen it a bit. I decided against tightly fitting the back into the bum until I had Helen present.
    
     
12. We then covered with a stretchy dress form cover, recognising that a bit of extra padding at the seat was probably required
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. I then made a final cover from the bump again using the sizes I used earlier - closer to Helen's original toile than the extremely close fitted one. I hoped this would give a lovely smooth and pinnable final surface. (I have toiles all over the place,  they’re taking over!)

This shows the bum shaping required at right

She looks good doesn't she?

I've still to add vertical (mid and side) and horizontal bust,  waist and hip) lines. However, I've discovered that while the bust size is great with the thick bump cover, the waist is marginally too big, made worse by the seam allowance. Too small would have been okay. Also, I think I need even more bum padding. So I reckon I use the bump for bust and hip but remove from the waist area so I'll need to cover with a thinner calico cover - does that sound about right?

Obviously, a dress form can never take the place of the real body, unless it's truly custom made from some sort of body cast.  Although this isn't right and probably never can be,  it will be a useful tool for me. (I must get around to customising my own dress form!)

Yesterday (Saturday) I had an individual lesson with Rory to help me with Helen's wedding dress, and the bridesmaids dresses.  We discussed the pros and cons of the styles I had pictured and drawn in my sketchbook. We discussed materials and construction. I used Missy to drape a practice wedding dress. This was very enjoyable and I was surprised at how well I got on. I feel it was important to start,  to get out of the mental block I had. I've emailed Helen some photos as even at this early stage there is a decision to make.

I've ordered metres of practice fabric. Also, I'm going to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate next week, on Friday. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a few useful pieces…

Helen is coming up in 3 weeks and I have a few tasks to complete before then so that we can use the next booked session with Rory to the fullest. While she's here I'll make final adjustments to Missy.

Pleated skirt - a long ago promise still not fulfilled

Some of you may be aware that my husband got some tartan specially woven. I say some - it's a lot!

This post is not going to cover our tartan sagas - I'll leave that for David. He'll post about that and our tartan silk adventure at a later date

The first time was nearly 15 years ago. The tartan had to be specially woven as his tartan is not a tartan that is woven or even appears in any of the tartan encyclopaedias. We found note of it on an Internet search (we didn't have such searches when we first sought it) and were able to get a company to weave it and make David his kilt. It cost an absolute fortune as we had to agree to the minimum print run as well as a very high price per metre. Nice tartan, though, heavyweight.

David in his kilt, casual mode.

My youngest daughter requested a mini kilt made of the tartan. This was in my pre-sewing days so we were going to have to get it made and that was another stumbling block. We felt the tartan was too heavy and were able to order some medium weight tartan from the same company. There was a long time between the request and the new order!  At least 5 years perhaps a lot longer!  This time, our minimum run was 30 metres but the cost per metre wasn't so high.

I finally thought it was time to consider making up her request. However, it wasn't clear what she wanted. She pointed out various designs. Skirts with a couple of box pleats, some with yokes but she also mentioned kilts and full pleated skirts…

When I made her a skirt recently, it's clear she's now wearing her skirts longer than she used to. She's getting older!  They're still short on her endless legs, though!

Anyway, I finally decided now was the time to try. I have Helen's measurements (I'm going to be customising a form for her next week using a tight fitting ‘moulage’) but there was no point in asking about styles as she is too busy following moving into her flat and thinking about and arranging renovations to consider the question. Originally I thought I'd make a skirt for her birthday later this month.

• First decision - I decided to make a toile. Using tartan but not ours. A much cheaper option. Reasons - I've never tried to match a plaid - well I've just realised that's not true - the skirt above as a slight plaid effect, what do you know! Anyway, I've never made a successful pleated skirt (I did try a skirt with a front pleat way back),  and couldn't be sure that the size would fit.
• Second decision - I decided to make a full pleated skirt.
• Third decision - I wasn't going to use a pattern.

I looked at Winifred Aldrich’s book ‘Metric Pattern Cutting’ and also The Great British Sewing Bee ‘Fashion with Fabric’. The latter has good instructions but for a kilt. The former’s instructions are minimal and only cover the fabric folding not construction techniques. Both say to work directly on the fabric, no pattern needed.

So I worked out how to make the pleats. I folded, refolded and folded again until I thought it was looking okay. I ended up with a pleat width of approximately 2 inches. I didn't measure the main body of the pleats as I was folding with the pattern. This test tartan effectively had one plain dark green section alternating with a red striped section. The blocks were rectangles rather than squares.

My pleats were looking okay and I basted them by hand.

Next section was to reduce the width of the waist. This meant that each pleat had to be pushed over a bit more at the waistline. The calculation for how much is effectively ((hip size - waist size)/number of pleats).  To give an example, hip size 36” less waist size 24” is 12” so this amount has to be lost in the pleats - so if there are 24 pleats,  each pleat has to be narrowed by ½” at the top. These are not the actual measurements I used,  just numbers to make the concept clearer. The amount I had to lose on each pleat was somewhat larger and I had 20 pleats.

Showing the waist section; machine basting along waistline and hand-basting 3 inches down

Here came my first (known about) major mistake. I carefully adjusted each pleat, tapering out the adjustment back to zero at hip line and tacked again. Then I realised that the waistband would be fastening the wrong way around. Fortunately, I was able to turn the skirt upside down. I had to undo my tacking, recreate the waist at the other, now correct, end and release the modified waist. Then re-tack.

Looking okay.

So now I just had waistband to do. Closure. And hem.

I realised I had no idea how to do the closure. Winifred didn't help. GBSB was for a kilt not a skirt. I asked my Thursday tutor. She wasn't sure. I wondered about ‘no closure’ - I'm sure I remember having a skirt like this with just a hole inside the overlap and as my tutor said,  this is how pockets are often done. Eventually we decided I'd try an invisible zip, which in turn would be concealed under the pleat. In the meantime,  David suggested a series of hooks and eyes, hook and loop tape or poppets. I bought some hook and loop tape.

I tried the zip and it didn't work. It's possible a lapped zip could work. Not sure. The Velcro is a good idea,  I think. Although I topstitched the edge, it isn't held down so Velcro would solve that issue.

I pressed the pleats, then top stitched them down to hip level.

Before pressing

After pressing

Next discoveries:

• I think the skirt will be too big. Not sure, as there is a lot of bulk at the waist. It's certainly too big on the dress form.
• I don't know how long to make it.
• The red pleats and the green pleats are not the same width.

Now I had to remember this was a TOILE or even a proper test garment,  testing out pleating etc, not a finished garment. It can't be for Helen's birthday.

So, I am going to post it as is. No waistband, no closure, certainly no hem.  If it is too big, there's no point in continuing with this particular attempt. I may get a better idea from Helen about length and style for a future attempt.

I've learned quite a lot. Particularly from my mistakes

• How to work with wool
• How to pleat
• The importance of planning the whole garment before you start. I'd I had stated the pleats differently, the closure would have worked but not as I did it.
• The confidence of working without a pattern
• The stuck feeling when I don't have a pattern to hold my hand!
• The sinking feeling when my tutor doesn't have ‘the answer’!
• I'm rather to hung up on researching methods and practising on samples and over-thinking rather than just doing. This was an attempt to just do.

I photographed and then took out all the tacking. I found that the pleats had slipped open a bit at the waist, despite the 2 rows of machine basting along the waistline and the row of hand basting further below. This may make the waist bigger than I had intended.

Once the tacking was out, the pleats gape more than perhaps they should . In a kilt, the pleats are much smaller than they are here - perhaps I should have more pleats, more closely spaced if attempting this again. That would mean that the overlap for reduced waist would be smaller and more manageable and there would be a greater ability to alter for size. As things stand, to remove even just one pleat would greatly alter the size. And I might be wrong, but think I would have to remove two to get the pleats to match?

On the form, tacking still in place

On the form, tacking removed. Are the pleats too wide/

Again, although the skirt is too big at the waist on the form, I couldn't get it closed properly at the side.
You can perhaps just see the top stitching

I'm very comfortable with how I've left this. Helen may not like it at all and that's okay as I've had some practice. I rather think a skirt like McCall's 7022 would be more suitable - lighter weight and more youthful. A full pleated tartan skirt would be difficult to look after. However.  I'm happy to wait. I'm also sending another skirt toile I'd done for her.

McCall's 7022, view B - I like this view and bought the pattern after seeing it

View B

Now I need to get on with my college homework; not too taxing this week. Then I need to make our evening meal. Warming food for a miserable day,  though it has cleared up a bit.

I'd love your comments!

A very expensive week and a warning about Preston

I haven't had a good week.

I've had problems with my jaw and a couple of weeks ago had the start of root canal treatment which couldn't be completed as my dental anatomy was too complex. On Tuesday I spent a long time with my mouth open at the specialist dentist with the operating microscope getting the job completed. Quite sore afterwards and apparently it could take a while to settle.

So I didn't play golf on Wednesday as still sore and my hands and wrists, while more settled than they were, are still uncomfortable. I managed to complete all the work for our AGM on Thursday,  yesterday, so that was a positive.

The timing of my AGM meant that I would miss the bulk of my Thursday daytime sewing class. However,  I could go for 45 minutes to ask advice about a closure for the tartan full pleated skirt I'm making and then go straight to AGM.  I went to class for 45 minutes,but while reversing out of the parking space I was in (perpendicular to and off road) I crunched into a van parked directly across the road, partly on road and partly on pavement. I have no excuse. I didn't see it though I have mirrors and a rear camera!  I went to the house next to the van, assuming the driver might be there, as he was. Apparently they are ‘always’ being bumped into; they were grateful I had stopped to tell them. My insurance company is now dealing with the claim. My car remains driveable, though I'll need a new bumper and light set on one side.

I was a little shaken, only, and managed to drive for 20 minutes to the AGM which went well, though I think the sandwiches I had for lunch were partly at least to blame for my later nausea (which continues so perhaps not that at all). The AGM was more fun that expected; our retiring captain has a terrific sense of humour.

After that I had to go to my evening college course. I just had time to pop home, change out of my ‘uniform’, have a small snack and go. I wasn't feeling well but really needed to go to the class. The weather was misty and wet; quite miserable. Remember, remember, the fifth of November! Yes, yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day. (I often wonder how many people who celebrate it actually know what this celebration is about so for those of you who don't and who may not know, here I quote Wikipedia: ‘Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure’)

The traffic was appalling, presumably as a result of people making their way to fireworks displays (although many are this weekend) and the journey took me nearly 90 minutes. I was exhausted before I got there. I did get to see lots of fireworks and a surprisingly large number of huge bonfires,  which burned very well.

In class, we were working on plackets. It's clear that our coursework is going far more slowly than the tutor imagined.  Originally my course project was going to be Helen's wedding dress but everything is so slow in class that I've come to the conclusion this isn't going to work (and the tutor agrees). I'm going to arrange some individual lessons.

On my way home,  later, the air was heavy with smoke which worsened his I was feeling. I couldn't sleep last night, whether because of the continuing nausea or worry about the car or wedding dress or what, I don't know.

This morning I opened yesterday's mail and found a parking ticket from when I visited Abakhan in Preston! £75, reduced to £50 if I pay within the week (when I paid, they were going to add a credit card fee too;  I used a debit card instead). The (privately run, not council) car park there has a 1h 20m limit and I exceeded that by 12 minutes,  apparently. That's from coming through the gate on entry (and finding where to park) to going through on exit (after being temporarily blocked in and setting sat nav). I thought I was within the time (I was aware of the limit and tried to stick to it) but the evidence was included for me to see. I won't be visiting Preston again!  They didn't even have a toilet in the little trading estate I was in. The whole thing is not very welcoming to visitors. I'd much prefer to pay for parking by the hour than have free parking which is,  I would say, just not long enough. I guess if I'd been before I'd have known. On the positive side I and drivers like me perhaps keep it free for locals!

I thought Abakhan was okay but if I go again, it will be a different branch. It's a family run business and Love Sewing had an article about it in the current issue; perhaps I'd go to their original branch.

This week has been expensive!

Hopefully next week will be better! Monday evening (sewing bee) is earmarked for customising the dress form for Helen. I bought some materials today at a good price and my tutor is going to help. David is going to strip the old material from the frame as the glue has disintegrated into powder. This is going to be a do or die attempt! The existence under threat remains Missy‘s! I'm hoping that will remove my wedding-dress-block and allow me to move on. That and a couple of specific wedding-dress related classes. I feel things are looking up.

Death knell for Missy?

I'm stuck!

I'm trying to fit a tight fitting cover to Missy my little dressmaking model.

The idea is that I took the model down in size,  I think,  and then pad out to Helen's sizes.

It sounds easy but I've been struggling and putting off. Help!

Because I was procrastinating, I bought a stretch cover for the model in size 12 - but can’t get it on. Those shoulders!!

I fitted Helen into a basic toile made up into a dress. I'm concentrating on the skirt here,  though. I have made some minor changes to the bodice.

The skirt wasn't too bad as it was on Helen if it had just been for help in making garments. My tutor tightly fitted Helen into it. The darts were lengthened and the sides and back seam taken in a lot. A lot. The skirt was very fitted and curved under her bum at the back. The diagonal marks are the position of Helen's bum fullness. I don’t have any pictures of Helen in it.

Too big at waist and tiny at high hip, though not sure why.

Now,  I guess this does fit Helen as she was fitted into it though I can't check. It’s possible I've made some major error. Helen's body isn't entirely symmetrical according to my tutor's pinning and I was sometimes not too clear about how to pin, so maybe that's it.

Or is it that it's difficult to judge on a dress form due to the lack of flexibility?

It looked okay on - until you got to the back that is. I had to reduce Missy's sizes quite dramatically to get the skirt to lie reasonably at the back. However,  although the model size is now a lot less than the skirt size in the waist particularly,  the whole thing fails to meet at zip area at the back. 

The waist meets as does the area below the zip but the zip area just doesn't work. I'm not sure whether this is because Helen has a more hollowed back, certainly much less fullness at this point. Maybe this is due to the fact that the model is too short - the marks on the fabric for the bum fullness are considerably below the bottom of the model which means that the fullness in the model is too high.

Helen is approx 6’ tall and I realised I couldn't use the model to determine floor length for her. But it seems I can't even use skirt length!

The model is currently extended to its longest length.

The pin marks the end of the model. You can just see the shadow of the body underneath. The curved lines are to mark bum fullness.

Do I have anywhere to go with this particular model or do I have to give up with it? I'm thinking the latter. Do I ask Helen to go to one of the model making courses in London - that would get a Helen shaped model. Alternatively she would have to come home here for a weekend which would cost just as much with train costs. There would have assistance and here we'd be on our own. There would be issues transporting back to my house. Don't know what to do!…

Thank you for all the advice and comments I've already been given - please don’t stop there, though!!! I'm just off to read some blog posts as posted by Mary Funt of Cloning Couture - thank you for the head's up. Edited to add - I've now read the post (linked, now) - very interesting and a wonderful form results - but conclude that Missy is not suitable for this process. Too big, too flimsy, too short. I share Mary's view of duct tape models but then, sometimes needs must?

I had bought a pattern with plenty of seams for fitting and which looked pretty fitted at the back and I thought that would be good to try for Helen. I forgot she doesn't like asymmetry and didn't like my description of skirt C here, which is the one that attracted me to the pattern. However, I decided to go ahead and make up a toile, using straight pattern sizes 12, of the symmetrical version B.

           

I'm showing a photo of Missy in the straight size 12, made up without the lining and not hemmed but otherwise the sizes are per size 12.. Approximately fitted to Helen’s sizes. The waist is rather loose. The rest is okay but I reckon could be more fitted. I'm going to post this toile to Helen to get her to try it on.

I'm feeling rather despondent about managing to fit Helen into her dress eventually.