In one of my acting classes last semester, we were encouraged to dress the part. The scene I was performing was from “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and in it, Blanche is wearing a blue gown. Of course, I didn't own a blue gown, but it was right before spring break, and I found 10 yards of blue satin on Amazon for just $30, so I said, "Challenge Accepted!"
I've always been extra in my school presentations, and this was no exception. I was joking with my Mom that I missed out on my “Princess Era” as a child, and as an 18-year-old in college, I was now in it.
I started this very late at night on the first day of spring break. The skirt was just about all 10 yards of the fabric cut to 40 inches wide (from 64 inches) and gathered up into a thick waistband that I made extra long so I could tie it into a bow in the back.
The edges of the satin were all finished when I got the fabric, so I thankfully didn’t have to finish the extremely long hem.
The only difficult thing about making the skirt was just the sheer mass of it. It was so much fabric! I was grateful that I did this at home during spring break because I don’t think my dorm room would have been able to handle 10 yards of fabric made into a skirt.
I made the corset top on the last day of spring break. Mind you, the skirt was made on the first full day of it. The corset had boning throughout, and grommets were the closure in the back.
The bodice was made out of five panels: the front, two sides, and two back panels that ended up really just being where the grommets were put on.
I sewed the bottom of the front panel right sides together, and then flipped it so the seams were on the inside. Then, I slid the boning into place and sewed around it. I had three pieces of boning in it; it was the shape of a V with a piece of boning down the middle.
Then, I sewed the side panels the same way. I sewed them to the front piece of the bodice, and then slid some boning in the sides before sewing the boning in.
At that point, I realized that I had made the side panels a lot longer than I thought I had, so I sewed all but one edge of the back panels, flipped them inside out, slid boning in the open side, and then sewed the open side to the bodice on each side.
Once the bodice was constructed, it was time to put the grommets in. I marked them about a finger's width apart with chalk, and then punctured the holes and put the grommets in.
I used a white piece of satin ribbon to close it up, and then tied the skirt over it.
The last step was the fabric draping on the front. I looked up “40’s gowns” and saw a picture that I wanted to imitate.
To do so, I sewed a long tube right sides together, flipped it inside out, and then I scrunched the smaller ends together. Once that was all ready, I sewed one end into the inside of the corset, and then I flipped it around and sewed it into the other side so it looked like it was draped.
Once it was done, I brought it back to school, and then wore it in my scene. My professor was thoroughly impressed. He asked why I owned the gown, and when I told him that I made it, he was shocked.
I wish I had another event to wear it to, but as of right now, I do not, so it is safe at home.
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