Hi!
So I’ve finished my major project! my final project at university and now I’ve handed in everything and I’m ready for graduation in July.
I feel like I’ve learnt a lot of new stuff during these few months working on my Anastasia gown.
Its been a lot of ups and downs and I’ve been able to push myself to creat the best costume possible. This is probably my favorite costume I’ve created so far and by far the one I’m most proud of.
Through this process I’ve managed my time very well and I’ve been able to complete my costume for the original hand in on the 14th may and even managed to have it ready for a Photoshoot the day before the hand in date.
I’ve worked closely with Wayne my tutor to get as much support and different opinions as possible. I’ve tried to have a tutorial with him at least once a week or ever other week.
As a maker I’ve evolved and learnt a lot of new things. There is of course things I wish I did differently. Like the corset. I wish I did two layers of the top fabric or two layers of the coutile fabric as I felt the bones showed through more than I would like them to. This was my first time working with coutile as the last time I made a corset I did it with two layers of cotton drill as backing and not a stiff fabric like coutile. I also experienced the biggest nightmare of a corset maker when my corset ripped at one of the seams during my first fitting of the undergarments and the underskirt. To conclude the corset I wish I had taken more time to consider the layers etc before jumping into making it.
The skirts of the costume is probably the most successful pieces in the end. The petticoat and underskirt is based on the same pattern but the petticoat has an added layer of frills at the bottom. I did the big mistake of overlooking the top fabric and backing fabric of the underskirt together without making 100% sure they matched and burnt myself when I almost had no seam allowance left at the hem which made the skirt a tad bit shorter than the petticoat. Lesson learnt!
I also wish I could redo the waistband as it ripped at one point during the photoshoot..
The bodice is one of my favorite pieces but there is also some stuff I wish I did differently. First of all I did not take any fitting photos when I tried on the mock-up which was a huge mistake. the bodice ended up being very tight at the back and I wish I had let it out with about 1cm on each side of the CB to give it more Tom to fit over the corset. My main miskate her was to not drape the bodice over the corset on the dress form but draping it directly into the dress form.
One thing about the bodice that I’m the most proud of is how clean the inside is! All the seams are neatly overlooked and herringbone stitched down. The mix of boning channels and incorporated bones is also something I love!
The top skirt is massive and very very heavy! I sewed the poppers on the waistband to the wrong side and chose to attach it to the bodice instead of the underskirt. Also to make sure the waistband wouldn’t show. unfortunately since the bodice was a tad bit tight it was near impossible to attach the last popper at the CB of the skirt and the bodice due to the tightness of the bodice. I will definitely be adding hooks and bars to the bodice as well as adding poppers that can attach to the underskirt in the future! The skirt was such a fun thing to make and gluing all the rhinestones to it was fun even though it killed my keens at one point at the end!
In the end I’ve learnt so much and I feel like I’ve done a great job brining this dress to life. I’ve used all my skills and also tried out new things like beading embroidery and making a kokoshnik in a traditional way!
Its been a fun project to end my university experience with and I could not be happier with the result!