Continuing the cutting on a stand... ..

Today I bought the muslin to the piece to experiment with pleating and how the material sits around the manequin. Initially I found this difficult as the material  was extremely light weight and had a tendency of not doing as it was told! I began by cutting a piece for the skirt that sits at the back. I realised that the padding I had used on the back was not enough to really echoe that of the picture so I added wadding to create a bigger and better shape.

From this I was then able to see how far the pleats needed to stretch accross. From looking at the pictures I also realised that the pleating was only down the back and did not carry aound the sides. I then hand stitched  loose running stitch to gather the fabric and secured it where I thought the gathering should finish. I then made sure the muslin sat flat against the mannequin under the arm hole.

From looking at the Costume in Detail book I noticed a side seam would be used under the armhole. When attaching more muslin to the pleated piece I made sure this sat at the same point as the side seam on the bodice . This actually works and blends in well. In the pictures from the Janet Arnold book it becam apparent that a slight train comes from the back of the dress also. When initially draping the fabric on the back of the mannequin I had to make sure the length of the fabric was correct.

I then pinned the two pieces of the skirt down the side seam and hemmed both parts making sure it was like that of the pictures, slightly higher at the front and falling into a nice train at the back.

From this I then worked on the top of the bodice. I began by cutting a long rectangle and hand pleating it as before. I made sure the majority of the pleating fell towards the front of the piece as this is what it is like in the picture. I then secured the fabric and tucked the rest of the muslin into the side seam.

I then realised this piece of muslin should actually be a back-to-front 'L' shape as it needs to be carried on over the shoulder. Instead of cutting a brand new piece I simply attached a piece to the pleated part. This then meant I had to un-do the pleating I had just done as otherwise it would not sit like that of the bodice.

I then attached muslin to the back part of the bodice and the strap, slimply by laying it on top and pinning it in the seam allowance.

The extra padded bottom!

The overall look. Front view.

With all the edges turned over to give a smooth edge. You can see here where I added the extra piece of muslin.

Tucking the muslin into the side seam.

Beofre I had attached the extra piece onto the shoulder.

A side view. The edges need to be sewn together and finished off.