Skirt help!

By zephyrine. 18/01/11, 10:37 am

Alrighty. I'm making a steampunk costume for Chchgeddon this year and I need ~~a bit~~ lots of help as I'm a complete sewing n00b.

Basically the concept I'm going for is a steampunk botanist/explorer. As much as I'd love a full skirt with a bustle, I really just cannot imagine a lady traipsing about the jungle wearing one... Let alone actually making one myself. So I thought something along these lines would be a little bit more appropriate:-

Spoiler:

Now, how on earth would I go about it?

Am I able to edit this tutorial or is there a pattern available somewhere that would be more suited to only having bottom tiers?
Which types of fabric would work well with this, or am I best to stick with cotton?

SO MANY QUESTIONS. Well, just the two so far but any advice you can offer would be muchly appreciated.

Thanks in advance Embarassed

By Victorian Couture. 18/01/11, 11:21 am

I have a kind of tutorial im writing out for a really easy pattern for this type of skirt,

If i can ask a few questions i can incude the measurements in the pattern instructions if you want ^.^
Here goes

are you wearing the skirt at the waist and under a corset?
do you mind a gathered waist?
your waist measurement?
your waist to floor measurement?
are you wearing heels with this outfit?

^.^

By **JVCA**. 18/01/11, 11:22 am

You could just adapt that pattern, but as it's just rectangular pieces it's not going to flare out quite like the picture you've got - it'll be straight down to your knees rather than going outwards, and I imagine that'd be somewhat constricting for someone traipsing around the jungle! Very Happy

To get that kind of flare/drape, I personally would make a circle skirt, and then do what the below site calls a flounce hem for each of the bottom two tiers.

http://www.whatthecraft.com/tuts/circ.htm This page shows you how to pattern your own circle skirts - if you have a list of measurements (width at the top - waist or hips, depending on where you want it to sit, how long you want each tier), I can help you work out the pattern. :)

Lmao, ninja'd by VC, hahah.

By zephyrine. 18/01/11, 12:56 pm

Bear with me, I will be purchasing a tapemeasure on Thursday sweatdrop

By neimhaille. 18/01/11, 05:55 pm

Women were walking in mountainous regions in crinolines... just saying ;) For reals, I have a photo. Lots of ice, climbing equipment and at least one hoop skirt.

The skirt above is a simple flared skirt to kneeish level then there are two flounces. The basic premise of the link will work. If you have a skirt pattern already with a nice flare like that just start there.
The flounces look to be about 2X the width of the piece they are sewn to (so the first layer twice the hem of the flared skirt, the second layer twice the width of the first. They also are each about half the length of her knee to floor. Those are all the measurements you need really.

It would be best to start with the simple flared skirt upper (looks to be about 1/4 circle but it could be any pattern with that outline) -anything more dramatic than that means the amounts of fabric you will use in the hem then increase hugely- even at a 1.5X ruffle. And the less gathering you have the stranger it hangs. The more gathering the fuller and more flared it looks. For this- experience tells me 2X is ideal- just keep the length proportions the same.
In the guide the widths are much less than 1.5X which is why it looks quite narrow and different- each row only adds on about half of the top on again- proportionally there is much less gathering the lower you go.

By zephyrine. 21/01/11, 12:10 pm

Victorian Couture wrote:: are you wearing the skirt at the waist and under a corset?

Probably somewhere between my waist and hips - the muffin-top, if you will.
I'm making a 15-20cm wide belt to hold some vials and such that will be sitting around my muffin-top.

Victorian Couture wrote:: do you mind a gathered waist?

Provided it doesn't make me look 8x larger, I have no issue with gathered waists Laughing

Victorian Couture wrote:: your waist measurement?

My waist is *cough*102cm*cough*. Hips are *cough*118cm*cough*.

Victorian Couture wrote:: your waist to floor measurement?

Around-about 98cm.

Victorian Couture wrote:: are you wearing heels with this outfit?

I'm not sure at this stage - most heels I own are at an awkward height, but as Victorianesque boots are back 'in' I may find some that I can strut around in all day.

By Victorian Couture. 21/01/11, 02:32 pm

Hellos

thanks for the measurements

heres a sort of tutorial, if it doesn't make sense i can write out a fuller tut

i hope this helps, if there are any problems or questions feel free to point them out and ask me nodnod

Spoiler:

and just wondering what size shoe are you?

By zephyrine. 21/01/11, 02:37 pm

Huzzah, it makes sense! Thankyou Very Happy

Victorian Couture wrote:: and just wondering what size shoe are you?

Between a 7.5 and an 8, depending on brand.

By Victorian Couture. 21/01/11, 02:57 pm

ok cool

i have a pair of 7-8ish lace up victorianish shoes like this in black

Spoiler:

that I'm not using at the moment that you could maybe borrow

By Mischa. 22/01/11, 01:56 pm

Fabric wise that style looks pretty forgiving- as long as it's not something super heavy, see through, stiff or stretchy you should be fine.

Cotton is a super well behaved fabric - you can get it to do anything you want with a hot iron!

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