Laura
I have a couple of questions as I am getting ready to design and sew a ball gown for a customer.
What kind of fabric do I need to use for the underdress of a ball gown?Lycra? And would I use lycra for the outside also?
Second question on your web site where you took pictures of the 2004 competition. The first set of pictures there is a royal blue dress with what looks like eyelash fringe on the bottom part of dress- would you know what type of fabric that was?
Thank you for all the help you have given to me in advance and on the forum
Kelley Maxfield
Kelley's Creations

Hi Kelly,

A matte or satin finish lycra works just fine for the entire dress, but you can use other combinations of fabric. It's just easiest when the stretch characteristics of the built-in leotard match the other layers. Also, the underdress is not strictly necessary, it all depends on the design and the fabrics. You can also sew the underskirts directly to the leotard itself and eliminate the underdress entirely.

I'm not sure what picture you are talking about, but it might just be because we call colors different things. Do you mean the picture of the gentleman with 224 on his back dancing with a dark-haired younger lady in a light purple/periwinkle blue dress that has strands of silver beads hanging off her back?

If so, I didn't make that dress, but it looks like the bodice is made from lycra and the skirt is made from coordinating georgette or chiffon. The "eyelash fringe" is feather fringe that is glued on by hand strand-by-strand (or in very smal bunches) after the dress was completed.

yes I think that must be the one. feathers interesting. Thank you for the information I start my first dress on monday on ballroom and one latin style.
Kelley

Ok help,I am making the ballroom gown out of lycra material. The body suit fits well but smushes her bust line because
the instructors have told her it has to be very tight and almost poured in. My question is she does not want her
bust line to be smushed but to be standing out (teacher told her this is a very good asset). Any suggestions on
how to go about this? I need to build in a bra any suggestions on how to do this?
Kelley

It needs to be snug but looking like it is painted on might be going too far. I like the bodice of the dresses to fit like a bathing suit. It needs to fit close to the body and stretch on the body, but I've never made one so tight that it smushed someone's breasts down.

Have you put any kind of bra cups into the dress? You can get bra cups of various sizes and shapes for dressmaking. Some are very lightwight, some are firmer and molded from foam. They come in oval, rounded, and cat's eye shapes. And of course they come in a range of cup sizes. If you aren't using bra cups, then there's no structure in the bust area and so the snug dress will smush her flat. But you can insert cups -- just pin them inside the bodysuit -- to give shaping and separation. You can also get push-up pads to help shape the bust, so you might need a combination of cups and pads to get the effect you want. I get my cups at the usual place -- JoAnne Fabrics. You might need to cut the cups down a bit so that they will fit in the dress properly and also sit properly against her chest. Fortunately you can experiment easily because in the end you just pin the cups in.

Sometimes, if I'm using a certain type of foam cup that I've only been able to order from Chrisanne, I sew the cups into the leotard. The upside of that is that sewn cups provide more support than pinned cups. The downside is that if you machine wash your dresses, the cups might get weird in the wash, depending on the material they were made from. I'd say stick to pin-in cups this first time.

Yikes. I just ordered some rhinestones and am suffering from big time sticker shock. Prices have gone through the roof (actually, the dollar has sunk through the floor).
Interestingly enough, this makes used (and rental) costumes quite attractive. Never thought I'd actually say that.

Yeah, last time I ordered stones the prices were 9.4% higher than before the dollar sunk. I wonder if heavily stoned gowns will start going out of fashion in the US,and if we'll start seeing a trend toward simpler decorations?

Dresses are finished. Client paid but not real happy. First I cut the hem to short but not too short, so I deducted off the price for that mistake . Then at each fitting she seemed to pick apart the dress. One time she tells me she wants it tight but now the bust is too tight, you go figure. I put molded bra cups in the dress to eliminate the smooshed down look and then added padded cups inside to lift her up. I ended up putting a corset in the dress to give her the secured feeling but I don't think this is right. She does Fred Astaire dancing is this different then any other kind? The dress looked good on her. I had to change the design 2 times before the final dress was done. Isewed the first one just like the picture I designed and she put it on and didn't like it. "Too matronly". She is a 61 year old learning to ball room dance. So then we redesigned the dress to be more of a star gown with 8 godets. Looked very good. Last night she complained the godets made were too puffy. We positioned the points around high hip area or a little lower. The more we talked the more I realized she just didn't like this dress. She likes a empire waist with not a real wide hem. Next one will be better. As soon as I get a picture I will post. I also made a latin style dress and that one she was very happy with. Only had to change the skirt once on that and remove the bottom shorts she originally wanted. I think I still like doing this and would really like to get more into it just need more research. Thanks for letting me vent
Kelley

By Fred Astaire dancing, does she mean she takes lessons at a Fred Astaire studio, or that she dances American Smooth style?

I was worred about the whole tight bodice thing. But it sounds like you did the best you could. Depending on the dancer's body type, there's nothing wrong with putting boning inside a dress to give the right kind of support. I wore a boned dress for a while, and after that I wore a strapless long-lined boned bra under my dresses for a while. I'm a 38D and so am always concerned about support. I have to design dresses for myself carefully so as to make sure I'm decently supported. What I do now is build a strapless bra into my designs by cutting up one of my own bras and sewing it into the leotard.

I've had one client who, no matter how much we work on the design both on paper and while we're making the dress, is never happy with the final product because she is basically incapable of imagining what the finished garment will look like -- even with sketches and pictures of other similar dresses. I won't do new constructions for her any more, only alterations.

She takes lessons at a Fred Astaire Dance studio and she does smooth dancing. She is a petite woman only 5'1" but about a 34 c. She told me she just bought a bra and they sized her as a D cup but when I put molded bra cups in we needed to fill space.
Yes I think she is the same as your client. Just can't imagine what dress will look like and she is too worried what instructors will say. I think next time I am almost willing to go to dance studio for them to check out fittings and design. They did ok the sketches so we will see as she pick up dresses and went straight to class. She told me last night that if they (the instructors ) didn't like a dress, they would complain so much and then make her wear a different dress. Waste of money there. They wanted her to buy a dress from them for about $4000.00. She said no thanks and found me