Glutton for Punishment

Yes, in spite of myself, I give in to challenges and interesting projects in spite of my better judgment.  This time, after watching the ballerina skirt being created, a co-worker asked if I would use the leftover tulle to create one for her.  Hhhmmm.....didn't I just go into a tirade about selfish sewing and ungrateful recipients recently????  But,......I considered it....and thought it would stretch my abilities...so I thought about it for a few days--and agreed. 

The young lady agreed to pay me, and I could use the red tulle purchased at the same time I bought the black tulle I used for my oldest niece's birthday present.   You can see it hiding below the bolt of black I used for my niece.  Remember, both cost approximately $9-10 per bolt from the wedding/party website whose location I passed along on this previous post.

The two-layer tulle skirt was a size 6 and used 36+ yards of the 40 yard bolt.  (I will probably never sew the double-layer ruffled version again....soooo labor-intensive!)  The single length skirt, however, uses far less tulle (only about 14 yards) and only four long runs of gathers, so I agreed to whip one in red for her birthday celebration coming up the first week in August.



Each Bolt Contained Forty Yards of Tulle

Now, what I thought would be interesting was computing how I would convert the lining pattern piece (which looked like a quarter of a circle) to a pattern piece large enough to go around her waist.

The only way I can explain it is to draw you a picture of my thought process.  Take a look:
The drawing is not an exact replica of the pattern piece, but the fundamentals are basic.  I took the client's waist measurement and made sure the circumference of the top of this pattern piece was one-quarter of this measurement.  I used a math formula to compute her waistline measurement as if it were the circumference of the complete circle (indicated by the dotted line) then divided it by one-fourth to make sure the dotted line below was the same number.



I finally learned how to turn off the flash on my digital camera, so you can really see the detail on this skirt.  The young lady was outside the standard pattern size (6-22), so I used my math skills to alter the pattern to fit her.  Her waist is 58" and she requested the length end just above her knee (at 25" long).

The end result is what you see in the photographs below.  I think the skirt turned out quite well and I'm proud of my efforts.  The color is glorious, isn't it?  My co-worker was delighted.  The gathered tulle is a series of panels seamed together and gathered along the top.  To make sure her skirt looked full, I added two more panels of tulle to each layer (there are four...two are dropped about 2" lower attached to a 'yoke' ) so the gathers would cover the extra inches added to the pattern.  The only tedious portion of this work was custom-hemming the lining to cover her fullness in the back and making it gradually shorter in the front.  Hemming in this way made the skirt hang evenly all the way around.  They have tools that make this type of hemming easier.  I have one, but guess where it is?...that's right...stored with my things in Atlanta!  Ah, well!  lol



The double-faced ribbon is the most beautiful ribbon I have ever seen.  It ties so smoothly!  I'm delighted to have found the source and hate I sent the entire roll of black ribbon to my niece when I mailed her black tulle  skirt to her.   I'll need to order myself another roll, for sure!

Well, I'm off now to put the final pieces of my evening jacket together.  It is also beautiful and should be done in the next week or so.   This project was just a little sewing distraction on my normal sewing adventure, so now I can get back to my normal projects (for myself).  As you can tell, sometimes I squeeze in a project for someone else.....only if it is interesting and challenging.  Do you do the same thing?

I hope you all have been well and continue to sew whenever you can....one stitch at a time!