Tiered skirts

[lolita*neko]

I was just wondering, how would I go about making one of these? Like, I know that it consists of a waistband and 3 strips of fabric that are different sizes. But I don't know any measurements/how long or wide to cut my fabric... and I've also been thinking of adding some pintucking also - you know, just to make it harder on me. XD Any help would be great!

If your confused at what type of skirt I'm talking about I've attached a picture of it. ^^

[kero-chan]

Well for the basic skirt there are lots of patterns for that shape, and then you could just change the length of the shorter 2 layers. From that picture it almost looks like one length but with trim dividing it into sections, so you could always cheat and do it that way, save you some fabric and make it a bit lighter. If it's too heavy you might not get the same poof...
A great skirt pattern i have is McCall's Costumes 2890 and it could be easily altered. Hope that was somewhat helpful... ^_^

[evil_neko]

Well, I don't know if this'll help, but you know those gypsy skirts that are popular lately? The flowy ones with rows of fabric like that? I read somewhere that you can make one by making the first row double your waist length, the second row double that, the third double that, and so on. Maybe you could do something like that? Hope that helps!

[hillymon44]

Final Fantasy Vii Advent Children Cosplay Is Soo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fun

[Cossette_Sena15]

you can use a basic circular skirt patern and either create threee seperations at different lengths and then sew the fabric back together at the seperations and add ruffles or you could do it like kero-chan suggested. another thought is threee seperate layers to the skirt, I made one like this for a costume and it's easy to make but it's heavy and it was a lot of fabric. If your planning on making your own ruffles then I would go with what kero-chan suggested because ruffles are time consuming so the simpler skirt would be more effient and probably look better.

[Goddess Iduna]

I'm going to hijack this thread since my question is similar and I don't want make another thread.

I found this dress off of Metamorphose that I really like and I want to make something similar. Does anyone know how to go about doing the bunching in the middle, or would it be easier to make it tiered?

[SasamiChan]

Well, I don't know if this'll help, but you know those gypsy skirts that are popular lately? The flowy ones with rows of fabric like that? I read somewhere that you can make one by making the first row double your waist length, the second row double that, the third double that, and so on. Maybe you could do something like that? Hope that helps!

I've actually done that before. It works pretty well, too! You can even use that for other stuff; for instance, for my Myoubi costume I made the petticoat. I wanted it really poofy, so instead of x2 I did x3. It's very effective.

[SasamiChan]

I'm going to hijack this thread since my question is similar and I don't want make another thread.

I found this dress off of Metamorphose that I really like and I want to make something similar. Does anyone know how to go about doing the bunching in the middle, or would it be easier to make it tiered?

For that I would use elastic bunching, personally.

[penny_dreadful]

(snipped)I found this dress off of Metamorphose that I really like and I want to make something similar. Does anyone know how to go about doing the bunching in the middle, or would it be easier to make it tiered?

It looks like, as Sasami-chan said, that section is a panel with elastic sewn in (maybe you need to do a facing on the back so you can very carefully sew tubes for the elastic to sit in) to create that bunching. The picture makes it look like the panel is integrated into the design of the bodice and skirt, rather than sitting on top of them. I've only ever used elastic in garment hems, cuffs, and necklines, so I can't figure out how you'd do the sleeves.

--Penny

[Goddess Iduna]

Oh, thanks guys! For some reason elastic didn't even cross my mind. It makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking of doing. ^^;

For the sleeves I was thinking of threading ribbon through it and then pulling it, (since there are bows attached where it bunches) but elastic might work better for that.

The outside pannel part I was thinking of making that into a jacket type of thing, just to spice it up a little. I haven't done any extensive pattern searching yet, so I don't know if that'll actually work or not.

[penny_dreadful]

You can do it using ribbon, as well; I frequently use satin ribbon on the necklines of chemises, but use elastic in the sleeves because it's a pain to retie if it comes undone-- plus the ribbon gets grungy-looking very quickly that way. The other thing is that if you knot satin ribbon, it can be tough to unknot it. It's up to you whether you want to use elastic and then add the bows decoratively, or just do the cinching using the ribbon, but at least on the panel part I'd go with elastic.

--PD

[Nina Star 9]

a tiny bit more threadjacking. :P i thought i woud post it here becuase you people seem to know a bit about sleeve bunching and its similar enough anyway. xD

how would one go about making sleeves (on a jacket, so a bit heavier material) that are bunced similar to that, but going the other way (up and down, on both sides, rather than around)?

sorry that i do not have any useful refrences. >>

thanks~

[penny_dreadful]

What you'd be doing is called, I think, ruching. I'm not exactly sure how to do it, any more than I am how to do the elastic gathering in the middle of a garment, but I think you're essentially sewing a tube into the garment that a ribbon, cord, elastic, or other thing can go through so you can pull the fabric tight.

The closest I've done is ruching up the sides of a wide fabric belt; I just stitched up each side with a double-thickness of thread, making sure to pull the thread tight so that the fabric gathered as I went along. I think you'll need something different, though; ruching on garments is frequently adjustable via the tie inserted into that little tube.

I've been googling the term in a few variations for a while now but can't find any decent tutorials on it.

--Penny

[Nina Star 9]

okay, that sounds reasonable, if some work.

now, would i have to make the sleeves any wider than i normally would? logically i would have to make them longer (about how much?), but would i need to go wider?

what if this is attached to a puffed shoulder? (like, the shoulder is puffed, then it comes down into a iftted, gathered sleeve)

eh, here. *digs out a picture* i hope you can see this. i have a better qualty scan laying around somewhere, but this one is already cropped and sized for attachment. it is clear that there is something in a thin tube that is flat and stright while the rest is gathered. would this be too hard for someone that has never even done a plain puffed sleeve in their life? :P

thanks~

[penny_dreadful]

I think that's known as a leg o' mutton sleeve; from what I understand, you're making the sleeve wider at the top to create the puffiness, then possibly using something like organza or tape to maintain the shape.

I've never done a mutton sleeve but fitted sleeves aren't as hard as they loook, they just take some fiddling.

The sleeves need to be as wide as you want them when they are not gathered-- that's a terribly phrased sentence, but if you want them puffier, you're going to draft the sleeves a little wider than if you want them less puffy. So if you want them to puff out a lot, make them wider, if you only want a small puff, cut them a little closer to the arm. Cutting them too close will prevent your ability to gather properly.

Make it longer when the gathering is vertical (like when you're ruching, going from top to bottom), and wider when the gathering is horizontal (creating a "puff").

--Penny

[Nina Star 9]

*thinks for a moment*


okay, i think i have it. i think i will make a dress with that kind of sleeves before i attempt this jacket, just to practice, and i will come back if i have any issues. :P

thanks.