I was inspired while at JoAnn's by this fantastical fabric. I had to have it and I knew what I wanted right away. I think all the supplies and fabric cost about $50 or $60.
First I "sketched" out the design in Photoshop using a croquis I found online.
Then, I traced my L Rose skirt on some large white craft paper as the pattern. I cut out the design and I now I have a basic skirt pattern. The skirt is three panels, one in the front and two in the back.
Next, I traced the bra shape from my Great Loop--which fits me perfectly--onto craft paper to use as a pattern. I also had a bra from a Delta Burke body suit that I bought for $6 at Ross. I used the body suit portion for a tummy cover and was able to use the bra for this part.
As a result of my diligent tracing onto craft paper, I now have nice patterns for sleek skirts and bras. :)
Next, I needed to reinforce the bra. I knew that the bra wasn't going to be too heavy because of the design, so I decided not to line the original bra. Instead, I used a couple of layers of Aleene's fabric stiffener to help them maintain their shape. And because the purple lycra glitter dot was so fragile, I decided to use fusible interfacing on it. Well, it was a pain in the butt to get that interfacing to fuse onto the fabric. Such is the nature of a 4-way stretch fabric. You live you learn!
I also needed some strong fabric for the side-straps of my bra. I decided to use the heavy-duty outdoor canvas that I had used to recover some porch furniture. I stitched neatly around the edges and then went back and sewed the allowance down on the inside
While watching "A year in provence" (it's a four-hour film), I sewed the fabric onto the cups.
At this point it was really coming together...
Then, I had to make the rouched bit. That sort of left me scratching my head, but I used the tried and true gathering/ruffling technique and it looked pretty good.
Repeat on bra:
After showing this to Adam and Seher, we decided that the rouching was too long and that the zipper didn't match...
So, ugh, I had to redo the skirt, but I think it looks much better now.
All that was left was embellishments. Taking a break from redoing the skirt, I decided to bead the bra using iridescent sequins and reddish pink seed beads.
I decided that the red blended in too much with the pink fabric, so while at JoAnn's to buy a new zipper, I took a look at the beads. To my surprise they had a new stock of bead...no more red beads, but lots of purple ones! Well that settled it. I am much happier with the new color.
I also bought this awesome cotton fabric to line the bra with:
So here we are as of yesterday at 6:00pm or so:
As I mentioned, today I was sick so I spent all day beading and watching tv. Boring, yet productive.
All I have left is to finish the fringe, attach the bra strap, add hooks and line the fabric. I will be done in no time...Now if I could just get over my cold...
More pictures at http://s708.photobucket.com/albums/ww88/andalee-oriental/pink%20dots/ (oh and the thumbnails are clickable).
No comments:
Post a Comment