![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Popping in for an Elsa Update
Jun. 24th, 2020 01:05 pm2.5 weeks later and I'm back with yet another Elsa update. As you might guess from that, it's still going extremely slowly.
I fit the organza outer layer to the satin layer, taking in the seams, pressing the seams to one side, and doing a rolled hem on the serger on all the seam allowances. I did wind up sewing this layer to the satin layer on each seam, to about high hip, in order to hold it in place and hopefully stabilize it more for the weight of the rhinestones.
I had a minor setback with the horsehair braid. When the stuff I ordered came in, it was much stiffer than what I had started with, so I decided to pick out the facing I had already done on half the skirt, and put the new horsehair all the way around the hem, meaning the back would get kind of 1.5 stiffness, and the front getting 1 stiffness. Then I reattached all the facing, which took me forever because it's really hard to hold a 6" wide horsehair-braid hem in a comfortable way.
I think after I finished that, I did closures up the back? I can't quite remember the order of things. If so, that also involved putting a piece of boning in the center back. I decided that it was too scary to cut into the points of the neckline (and have probably been suffering due to that choice since then), and that I would instead make the mesh/organza neckline layer go over the top of the bodice and applique the points down on top. Except I made up the whole neckline area and then didn't like how I shaped the points, which is causing me all sorts of trouble, but I don't want to redo the neckline.
Oh, and I roll-hemmed the hem of the silk organza layer.
So back to the neckline. The neckline filler area is made up of a layer of nude mesh (the stretchy kind) with a layer of silk organza over, flatlined together and treated as one. There is another layer of nude mesh that goes underneath this, but only in the points of the bodice. On top of all that is a gathered layer of soft mesh/net (non-stretchy, left over from my giant turquoise ballgown), which gathers up into and over a collar band made of two outer and one inner layer of silk organza, which goes around my neck and sandwiches the gathered net/mesh. The inner band was also machine sewn to the mesh/organza collar layer. The nude mesh points layer is stitched in place on the bodice right now. The upper layers are basted together, and are basted into the bodice in the back/sides and pinned in to the front.
The issue is that the mesh/organza layer points are smaller than the bottom nude mesh and the top gathered net layers, so I am a) not sure how to sew them in place without obvious stitches, and b) not sure how visibly obvious that difference is. I've been waiting on some 3/8" velvet ribbon to arrive (which it should today) to see if I can cover and define the edges of the points/make everything look neater. *fingers crossed!*
Oh, and naturally, there's also been another setback. I finally got the 55" wide organza from Dharma Trading, but didn't open it until I went to go cut out the sleeves on Saturday. Naturally, it's nothing like the 45" organza, and in fact, seems closer to chiffon than organza. I talked to them yesterday, and they said they were sending out the 45" to me with a return label for the wider stuff, so I just hope that gets here soon.
Once I finish the neckline and add the sleeves, (or possibly before the sleeves, depending on how long the organza takes to arrive), I will add the bones in the bodice. Then I just have to draw out the rhinestone pattern and heatfix 10k rhinestones all over. Oh, and make a little faux-watteau cape.
In other news, I passed the 1k subscribers mark on youtube last week, which is really exciting! And not only have I been keeping up with one video/week, I also have planned out all the videos I'll be posting through early Oct (and even already have a few filmed and a couple edited). If you haven't watched any yet, go visit youtube.com/c/ladyrebeccafashions.
I've been vlogging this whole Elsa progress, which will be posted in August, and also have some progress pics up on instagram already.
I fit the organza outer layer to the satin layer, taking in the seams, pressing the seams to one side, and doing a rolled hem on the serger on all the seam allowances. I did wind up sewing this layer to the satin layer on each seam, to about high hip, in order to hold it in place and hopefully stabilize it more for the weight of the rhinestones.
I had a minor setback with the horsehair braid. When the stuff I ordered came in, it was much stiffer than what I had started with, so I decided to pick out the facing I had already done on half the skirt, and put the new horsehair all the way around the hem, meaning the back would get kind of 1.5 stiffness, and the front getting 1 stiffness. Then I reattached all the facing, which took me forever because it's really hard to hold a 6" wide horsehair-braid hem in a comfortable way.
I think after I finished that, I did closures up the back? I can't quite remember the order of things. If so, that also involved putting a piece of boning in the center back. I decided that it was too scary to cut into the points of the neckline (and have probably been suffering due to that choice since then), and that I would instead make the mesh/organza neckline layer go over the top of the bodice and applique the points down on top. Except I made up the whole neckline area and then didn't like how I shaped the points, which is causing me all sorts of trouble, but I don't want to redo the neckline.
Oh, and I roll-hemmed the hem of the silk organza layer.
So back to the neckline. The neckline filler area is made up of a layer of nude mesh (the stretchy kind) with a layer of silk organza over, flatlined together and treated as one. There is another layer of nude mesh that goes underneath this, but only in the points of the bodice. On top of all that is a gathered layer of soft mesh/net (non-stretchy, left over from my giant turquoise ballgown), which gathers up into and over a collar band made of two outer and one inner layer of silk organza, which goes around my neck and sandwiches the gathered net/mesh. The inner band was also machine sewn to the mesh/organza collar layer. The nude mesh points layer is stitched in place on the bodice right now. The upper layers are basted together, and are basted into the bodice in the back/sides and pinned in to the front.
The issue is that the mesh/organza layer points are smaller than the bottom nude mesh and the top gathered net layers, so I am a) not sure how to sew them in place without obvious stitches, and b) not sure how visibly obvious that difference is. I've been waiting on some 3/8" velvet ribbon to arrive (which it should today) to see if I can cover and define the edges of the points/make everything look neater. *fingers crossed!*
Oh, and naturally, there's also been another setback. I finally got the 55" wide organza from Dharma Trading, but didn't open it until I went to go cut out the sleeves on Saturday. Naturally, it's nothing like the 45" organza, and in fact, seems closer to chiffon than organza. I talked to them yesterday, and they said they were sending out the 45" to me with a return label for the wider stuff, so I just hope that gets here soon.
Once I finish the neckline and add the sleeves, (or possibly before the sleeves, depending on how long the organza takes to arrive), I will add the bones in the bodice. Then I just have to draw out the rhinestone pattern and heatfix 10k rhinestones all over. Oh, and make a little faux-watteau cape.
In other news, I passed the 1k subscribers mark on youtube last week, which is really exciting! And not only have I been keeping up with one video/week, I also have planned out all the videos I'll be posting through early Oct (and even already have a few filmed and a couple edited). If you haven't watched any yet, go visit youtube.com/c/ladyrebeccafashions.
I've been vlogging this whole Elsa progress, which will be posted in August, and also have some progress pics up on instagram already.