Winging It
Apr. 17th, 2009 06:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meltintall3Even though the Rit dye didn't work on acryllic yarn, it wasn't a total waste.
It's still not a black... but the no longer-orange check did turn out quite nicely. I put it back in the stash to wait for the right project. The other orange fabric is a knit, and is now an equally odd-coloured greenish gray. I'm not sure what will happen to it.
We now skip ahead in time to Christmas. As a present, I received a vintage outfit. My unprofessional opinion dated it at about 100 years old, and a bit of online gallery surfing suggests that it's from around 1904.
(The bottom half of the photo has been lightened to show off the pretty skirt details)
I love the gore. It fascinates me. So last Saturday I pulled out the brown fabric and the sketches I'd made of the skirt. I also pulled out a measuring stick, measuring tape, and lots of pins.
I drew the pattern entirely with pins because I didn't feel like messing around with paper when I wanted to be sure I used exactly all the fabric. There was about 72 inches of 45" fabric. (My digitally added straight lines don't look quite right on the side front pieces, but I can't figure out why else there'd be pins there...) It seemed to work, I ended up with a skirt.
Comparing the original and my interpretation: There isn't nearly as much fullness in the back of the brown skirt as the black, and the brown fabric is more drapey than the wool. As a note for next time, I think the center front piece could be a bit wider, giving the gores a bit more room between them. I added inseam pockets, and they're a bit low. I haven't decided if I'll live with them, or rip them out and move them up. I haven't decided if I should embellish the skirt or not. I was going to use an autumn floral ribbon, but I don't have enough to go around the back of the skirt.
It's still not a black... but the no longer-orange check did turn out quite nicely. I put it back in the stash to wait for the right project. The other orange fabric is a knit, and is now an equally odd-coloured greenish gray. I'm not sure what will happen to it.
We now skip ahead in time to Christmas. As a present, I received a vintage outfit. My unprofessional opinion dated it at about 100 years old, and a bit of online gallery surfing suggests that it's from around 1904.
(The bottom half of the photo has been lightened to show off the pretty skirt details)
I love the gore. It fascinates me. So last Saturday I pulled out the brown fabric and the sketches I'd made of the skirt. I also pulled out a measuring stick, measuring tape, and lots of pins.
I drew the pattern entirely with pins because I didn't feel like messing around with paper when I wanted to be sure I used exactly all the fabric. There was about 72 inches of 45" fabric. (My digitally added straight lines don't look quite right on the side front pieces, but I can't figure out why else there'd be pins there...) It seemed to work, I ended up with a skirt.
Comparing the original and my interpretation: There isn't nearly as much fullness in the back of the brown skirt as the black, and the brown fabric is more drapey than the wool. As a note for next time, I think the center front piece could be a bit wider, giving the gores a bit more room between them. I added inseam pockets, and they're a bit low. I haven't decided if I'll live with them, or rip them out and move them up. I haven't decided if I should embellish the skirt or not. I was going to use an autumn floral ribbon, but I don't have enough to go around the back of the skirt.
