Enough pouff for the WOW dress?

After attaching the crinoline to the hem of the Vogue 2962 dress, I still thought it needed extra fullness, so I made a tulle petticoat. Sugardale makes super cute petticoats and she has a great tutorial, but I wanted something a bit quicker and preferred to use my Ruffler foot than gathering the conventional way. The memories of gathering big bits of tulle remain after making my wedding dress about 21 years ago! So here she is all pouffed out .......

 I did the petticoat in four tiers - each one 20cm wide. I added a soft cotton fabric as a header to the top tier to reduce the amount of harsh tulle at the waist. The top tier was a strip of 5 metres, the 2nd tier was 7.5 m, the third tier was 8.75 metres and the bottom tier was 10metres. Now there is nothing particularly clever about those lengths - really just a stab in the dark. I did a few test pieces of the ruffler foot to work out the gathering ratio - so that I didn't have to pin each piece to it's connecting tier.

Ruffler foot in action

Testing the gathering rate - there are a few settings on the foot, plus you can vary the amount of gather with the stitch length - so in this example, the rate was 1.27.

Basic straight interfaced waistband to finish the top.

I added an underskirt of lightweight soft cotton to reduce the itchiness of the tulle.

The back has a placket opening and one hook with several eyes so that it can be adjusted to suit the petite 40's waistline or ......

So she's all ready for her big night out at Blacksmiths Primary School's Market night this Friday Night (21st Oct) - where I will have a stall -  ... and .....  will I be wearing it? No, she's a pert Size 10 - my daughter may be able to wear it - but alas, she looks so good on the lovely lady mannequin, I'll leave it at that!

Two More Cushions

and sew it seams that cushion making knows no bounds .....

Here is my ruffled cushion - I saw the idea in a mag which stated the cushion cost $77(AUS) so I'm thinking this may be lucrative ...(ha!). Anyway the fabric is just delicious - it is Anna Maria Horner - Green Tablecloth - if you really want to know the range I could find out, but not right now... the selvedge is not within reach at this second ....

I used the Ruffler attachment which I thought was fun, but then I thought that I vaguely remember that overlockers can do the same thing .... hmm ... will have to investigate that...



Just by the way, I used a Clover Chalk marker to mark the sewing lines for each ruffle, and, as you do, I press everything at every step of the way, and the pink lines didn't come out easily - I had to wash them out - just a little warning - some of those fabric markers become heat set by the iron ..

Introducing the letter 'g' ....


I used my inkjet printer to directly the design onto the fabric - which, as I previously mentioned, sometimes works and sometimes doesn't - I'm fine tuning that .... anyway, I used some batting strips on the flange edge of the cushion to give it some soft body - I tried spray adhesive to keep it in place while I turned it through, but that didn't stick, so I tried some "No More Pins" that I had in the cupboard for eons and had never used... and it worked!
I used the walking foot to sew multiple lines around the border, and I didn't give it a buttoned back - opting instead for the generous overlap method. Just by the way, I use Goldies Cushion Inserts, they are definitely b-b-b-bouncier and keep their shape really well, unlike the ones from large chain variety stores that virtually flatten with the first bottom placement! You can order on line from them, and they are very nice people too!!!

I have a feeling that there may be more cushions on the horizon ....