have been asked to make a ball gown/prom type dress - need advice please!

[Miaou]

It's one of these strapless gowns with an empire line waist, full length in chiffon-y type fabric, lots of gathers in it ... I have only just started dressmaking and I'm not sure of how good my skills are! So I have said I might be able to do it and I will look into it first.

(it's actually for an 18th birthday party with a Hollywood theme)

Where can I find a pattern? (I will try and find a photo so you know what I am on about!)

like these

Good luck. I thought I was going to have to make one for dds prom because all the ones in the shops seemed to be so expensive. However we were really lucky and managed to get one in a sale at Monsoon for £40. I think it may have actually cost me more to make one by the time i had bought the pattern etc. Hope you get sorted ! Im sure youll manage and it will be lovely.

a lot of bloggers seem to use mccalls patterns, it's an american site but if you see one you like, you can search for the pattern code number from a uk site

saw this thread earlier and knew it would be you

like this but without the looped bits at the sides or the strappy bits

lol LK

x posts with you all - thank you

Meri, those are kind of right but she wants it right under the bust, not on the waist ... I didn't think it would be this hard to find a pattern, apparently all the celebs wear this style (I wouldn't know )

Also, how easy/difficult is it to sew with chiffon? I'm quite happy to turn it down if it's too difficult to do, I don't want her to feel it's not right!

I could be wrong but with chiffon, to prevent puckering, i think you have to sew the seams with a layer of tissue paper in between then remove the paper.

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ooh blimey bluefox, that sounds a bit scary

Dior - I think it might need boning for support - which is why I haven't said yes yet

Ok, she has chosen this one - which needs sewing in georgette or chiffon - eek, is that going to be too hard? No boning though. Bit worried about the fit!

Could I use cotton batiste instead of chiffon or georgette, do you think?

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Chiffon and georgette are a complete pain to work with. My Mum (who's been sewing for over forty years) will go out of her way to avoid it!

The fabric puckers and pulls easily (especially if you don't use a fine needle on your machine). The seams can turn out uneven unless you use tissue paper between the layers and even that doesn't prevent it completely. It's a pain to cut out, especially as the fabric shift so easily beneath the pattern (which can make matching seams even more difficult. Also, I don't know what machine you have but, generally, cheaper machines don't cope as well with delicate and difficult fabric.

Cotton batiste would be unsuitable for a dress like that - there's lots of volume and the cotton would be too stiff to take that. Also, cotton could look 'cheap' for such a dress. The dress needs to be soft and drapey, so the materials suggested on the pattern are ideal - although all of them are difficult to work with. I don't think the style itself is overly taxing, but the material would make it a hard job.

thanks for that jscot, that's what I thought - however I am going to give it a go [mad woman emoticon] - I think I might charge a lot for it though merely for the buggeration