u/furiana

I'm making a dress out of a very light weight cotton, almost gauze. The skirt is a full circle.

On the left, I've basted a 5/8" ribbon to the hem of the dress. The right is without the ribbon.

I'm surprised at how much body the ribbon gives. It's relatively stiff, and it's straight grain rather than on the bias. Still. It looks like I have half a petticoat on!

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Project details

Pattern: Self-drafted using instructions from Helen Joseph-Armstrong's Patternmaking for Fashion Design (see v-neck halter top p. 177 and full circle skirt p. 291). The bodice block that I modified was also based on this book's instructions.

Fabric: Woven undyed cotton, very light weight (almost gauze)

Took 1-2 years, but i got them! :)

I would use a darker brown thread for the line work on the bottom. Otherwise, which style would better suit a dress?

After shortening the straps on this muslin, I'll need to lower the darts slightly. However, even at the lower position, they still bubbled.

I pressed them over a ham; ended the darts 1.5" before the apex; and slightly curved the ends as they approach the point.

Is it because of the size of the dart intake (easily 3" or more)? Is it a design problem, construction problem, or both?

This is how the Penelope shorts pattern fits "out of the box" with no adjustments. It's not too bad, but I think I can do better.

I think I need a full belly adjustment. I may also need to increase the front waist size slightly. That should correct the side seam, which pulls to the front, and the front HBL, which raises in the center.

2. The back grain lines are slanted. Do I just redraw the lines on my muslin, then transfer the new lines to my pattern? Do I add length to the top center back and remove an equal amount from the back sides?

3. The crotch, front and back, is giving a wedgie. It goes away if i pull the pants down lower on my waist. I think i need to lengthen the raise by 1/2" or so, front and back.

Am I on the right track?

(Pattern: https://methodemathilde.com/en/product/jupe-et-short-penelope-dupliquer/)

This is how the Penelope shorts pattern fits "out of the box" with no adjustments. It's not too bad, but I think I can do better.

1. I think I need a full belly adjustment. I may also need to increase the front waist size slightly. That should correct the side seam, which pulls to the front, and the front HBL, which raises in the center.

(I'm in second trimester, and I'd like to get a month or two of wear out of these before I have to add elastic panels to the sides. It just looks nicer without them lol.)

2. The back grain lines are slanted. Do I just redraw the lines on my muslin, then transfer the new lines to my pattern? Do I add length to the top center back and remove an equal amount from the back sides?

3. The crotch, front and back, is giving a wedgie. It goes away if i pull the pants down lower on my waist. I think i need to lengthen the raise by 1/2" or so, front and back.

Am I on the right track?

(Pattern: https://methodemathilde.com/en/product/jupe-et-short-penelope-dupliquer/)

I thought this was an interesting example of two fabrics on a FN body.

The shirts are from the same pattern. I adapted the sleeves for the white shirt because I ran out of fabric, but the necklines and bodies make a good comparison of a fabric with body (yellow) and a fabric with drape (white).

I think the fabric with body is much more flattering. The deeper folds along the neckline translate to added visual interest. They also add volume to the shoulders, which I think is flattering. In addition, the fabric stayed tucked better, giving a smoother more flattering waist profile.

Any other seamstresses out there? How have you found fabric choice affecting your patterns? :)

(The yellow is medium weight plain weave linen. The white is medium weight silk charmeuse.)

I'll be embroidering poppies onto a cotton mull dress. I plan to outline everything with split stitch in brown, fill the petals with long-and-short stitch in red, and fill the centers with gold.

I'd like to buy enough thread to cover the whole project, so that I don't have to worry about changes in dye lot. I'd also like a rough idea for how long the whole project will take, to give me realistic expectations.

How do I go about estimating the amount of embroidery floss required for this? How do I guess how long everything will take? (3 months? 6 months? a year?) Do I stitch up a single poppy and multiply that by x?

Will 225 gm fabric be heavy enough for this shorts pattern? The instructions say that 500 gm is maximum, but not what the minimum would be.

https://methodemathilde.com/en/product/jupe-et-short-penelope-dupliquer/

I want the skirt to drape like a circle skirt. Is that possible? Ex, could I cut the stripes as circles rather than as rectangular strips, or maybe cut them as rectangular strips on the bias?