Padding, padding, and more padding . . .

I worked on the padding for the strawberry leaves while at the beach for Thanksgiving. Below are a few photos of the strawberry leaves ready to be appliqued to the dress.

The Joys of Thread Tracing . . .

After all the stems have been thread traced, I tore the tissue paper away very, very carefully.

Using silk thread, I hand sewed (using a running stitch) along the stem design lines, stitching through tissue paper and body fabric.

Each tissue paper pieces is then cut out and pinned to the dress (making sure to pin on design lines to avoid pin marks in fabric).

I traced my design onto thin, giftwrapping tissue paper (this will tear away easier).

Dress is ready for embroidery . . .

I machine sewed the seams, clipped the seam allowance, and pressed all seam allowances open.

Each piece has been hand overcast to attach the backing to the body panels. The bottom edge of each cotton piece has also been hand overcast.

Each piece has been backed with cotton to the low hip line.

The fun begins!!!!!!!!!

Embroidery layout for silver embroidery on bodice of Duchess gown.

Final layout of Front bodice

Padding layout. Green=carpet padding, Lilac= soft string padding, Peach= felt padding, Grey= multi-layer felt padding

Metal thread layout for front bodice.

Final layout for Back bodice.

Padding layout for Back bodice.

Close-up of metal thread layout on Center Back panels. I chose to have the designs end on each Center Back panel instead of matching at Center Back to ensure the design would not interfere with the button closure.

Metal thread layout for back bodice.

All layouts stacked on top of each other to see the padding layout with the metal thread layout.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Finally, I hand stitched the front of the bra top down. (The back portion will be stitched down after I finish the placket.)

I hand stitched grosgrain ribbon to the back side to form the boning casing. The ribbon was stitched close to the top of the bra top to allow the boning to go the full length of the bodice.

I hand stitched the seam allowances down. This created a flatter, smoother surface for the boning to lay against. I did not want the steel boning to fray the cotton tulle.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Bra top attached to cotton tulle bodice. Bust cups sewn into place. The seam allowance have been overcast and stitched down.


For the lining of the bra top, I have backed the duchess satin with 400 count plain weave pima cotton. I chose the pima cotton because it is as strong as different woven interfacings but it is softer and a better match for the duchess satin. I attach the backing to each duchess satin piece by hand over casting around the edges. This holds the layers together while also keeping the duchess satin from fraying. On some of the pieces with wider curves, I also stitched a running stitch (or stay stitch) about 1/8" from the edge to give it a bit more stability.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

I have chosen to use 3/8" high quality grosgrain ribbon for the boning casing. First, I have hand stitched the ribbon down to one side of the cotton tulle seams. I will sew the back side of the casings on after I attach the bra top to the cotton tulle.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

I make the bust cups out of natural cotton batting.

Bust cups sewn together.

Pinning the pieces together.

Seam allowance trimmed off so edges are stitched closed.

Each piece is machine stitched around all edges.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Cotton tulle pieces sewn together. Seam allowance topstitched down and trimmed.
Waistline has been thread traced.

Duchess Petticoat

The Petticoat for the Duchess gown will consist of a fully boned Swiss cotton tulle bodice, an attached duchess silk bra top with quilted bust cups, double satin silk silk with a multi-layered metallic silk organza skirt.

For the tulle bodice, I using 2 layers of cotton tulle. One layer is cut on the straight grain and the other layer is cut on the cross grain. I hand baste both layers together around all sides of the pieces before sewing the seams. This ensures that the 2 layers will not move around when I sew them.

Cotton tulle bodice pieces lined up after being hand basted.

Close up of hand basted tulle bodice pieces.

The full Duchess Petticoat bodice pattern after corrections.

Cutting the tulle on straight and cross grains.

Pattern Changes

Fitting with Leigh

I had a lot of left over denim that I used for the latest muslin (or toile) for the Duchess Gown. The denim was a closer match in fabric weight to the silk satin than the cotton muslin was.

Overall changes:
- Shorten the waist length another 1/2" (on all panels)
- Take side seam in 1/2" at top seam, tapering to zero at waistline (on Side Front and Side Back panels)
- Take side front seam in 1/2" at top seam, 1/4" at apex, tapering to zero at bust cup bottom (on Side Front and Center Front panels)

Progressing is being made (I promise!)

So my sewing machine that I love, decided it needed a short hiatus before getting to work on my gowns. The needle assembly broke and was down for about 2 weeks after our last committee meeting. All is fixed now and it is running better than ever.

Progress has been slow. With the metal embroidery, on the bodice, there is very little room for alterations after the embroidery is on the gown. I had my latest fitting with Leigh last Friday. Unfortunately, I was not as aggressive as I needed to be in the previous pattern corrections, so the petticoat bodice that I had almost finished before the fitting is not usable. I have already made the appropriate pattern corrections to the pattern for the petticoat bodice and the gown bodice. Yesterday I started cutting and sewing actual fabric, so hopefully progress will start picking up.