Burda Style For people who sew

i was wondering how i would go about making this dress. the diagonal pleating in just the front with the attached belt is what has me confused.

thanks.

Mar 23, 2011, 08.44 PM by Erin Mariah

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14 Posts

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  Mar 23, 2011, 09.11 PMby leashbean

  i am guessing it is an optical illusion, the draping isn’t actually going through the whole dress. The bodice,the belt, and the skirt are all separate pieces.
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  Mar 24, 2011, 05.11 PMby Erin Mariah

  thanks. do you know how i would go about the pleating?
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  Mar 24, 2011, 09.12 PMby leashbean

  i would make a simple pattern for the underneath part of th dress, and then use the same pattern (traced) then put as many slash lines as you want pleats. use a lighter weight fabric for the pleated piece. its hard to explain via internet i guess. but try to look at some pattern making sites for making pleates or gathers, that should help!
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  Mar 25, 2011, 09.21 AMby katexxxxxx

  Yes, all those pleats will be mounted on an under layer, and probably invisibly stitched in place at intervals to stop them. The front is probably all one piece, with the belted section mounted on top, and made in two sections stitched in place on the back… The bow and tail will also be made separately and sewn on, with the end of the tail sewn into the hem.
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  Mar 26, 2011, 03.11 PMby Erin Mariah

  thanks so much for your help
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  Mar 28, 2011, 10.38 AMby peaches2218

  Are they actually pleats? It looks to be as though the skirt (and probably the top too) has a somewhat rotated overlay. There is a skirt in the July 2010 (#108) with a less-drastic twist, but it might give you a good starting place. Now that I look again I think I agree with leashbean that the skirt and top are actually one piece. Either way, the concept would be similar.
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  Mar 30, 2011, 11.57 AMby Erin Mariah

  peaches2218, i think leashbean said that the bodice,the belt, and the skirt are all separate pieces… thanks for the pattern ill look for it.
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  Mar 31, 2011, 06.35 AMby bohemiannow

  Well I’ve been thinking about this and here’s what I would do: I would take the fashion fabric and pleat it diagonaly and randomly. I would baste it verticaly certain times to keep the pleats in place, while working with it. Next I woult take my underlining fabric, which would already been cut as the pattern and baste it on the pleated fashion fabric. Cut it all along and treat it like one, while constructing the rest of the dress. I believe the pattern -front should be one piece, with only darts, like when you make pattern blocks. You should probably try this out, with a muslin first to determine how much fabric you will need and if the pleating is all it takes to shape the dress, so that you won’t need bust darts. For the waist shaping, you will have the belt to assist and the back pattern piece of course. What do you think?
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  Mar 31, 2011, 12.56 PMby leashbean

  doing it as one piece for the pleats might be a good idea, because then you can line them up perfectly. the more i look at this dress, the more i do think its one piece, and the belt is stitced on after. you would just have to be careful about bulk.

  this is why discussions are so good, you get to look deeper into it and with everyone’s opinions!

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    Apr 1, 2011, 03.43 PMby bohemiannow

    I totaly believe it’s one piece, look at the pleats above and below the belts, they are continuous. Maybe it’s the kind of fabric that holds the pleats this way.

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  Apr 1, 2011, 04.08 PMby bohemiannow

  and one more thing, after you sew everything together and decide you like the way the pleats are formed, you should make little stiches, in the depth of the pleats and on the underlining fabric to make sure they won’t loose their shape.
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  Apr 5, 2011, 11.36 PMby Erin Mariah

  thanks for all of your help. ok i have laid out the underdress. do you think the pleats are they laid out on the grain crosswise or lengthwise grain? and then turned diagonal?

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    Apr 6, 2011, 10.25 AMby bohemiannow

    I think I’d place the fabric as with any other pattern but make the pleats diagonal (if my english is right that would be lengthwise).

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  Apr 7, 2011, 10.24 AMby 20beverly08

  I would pleat the fabric before even cutting it out from the pattern pieces. This way I already have the pre-pleated fabric and I know that I am cutting it out in the size I need, so I don’t end up with not enough pleated fabric in the design and have to add more.
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  Apr 7, 2011, 01.19 PMby Erin Mariah

  thats what i had planned on doing but i didnt know wheter to pleat it on a diagonal like Bohemiannow said or pleat on the grain and then turn it sideways. but i think what B said is right. lay the fabric on the lenghtgrain then pleat it diagonal.
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  Apr 26, 2011, 07.46 AMby shelley .

  I found something: http://www.burdastyle.com/techniques/a-novices-guide-to-draping