I'm currently summoning up the courage to begin making my own ballroom and latin dresses. Does anyone know of any good patterns for dance dresses that would be a good place to start. I'm quite happy to modify things to get the design I want but I'm not having much luck finding a pattern to work from.
Try these: http://www.dancesportballgowns.com/patterns.html They have the advantage of already being full enough in the skirt and built in leotards which normal patterns don't.
Rinestoneguy.com has a Ballroom Gown Manual for sale. I haven't seen it, but you might want to take a look at the website and/or call to find out more about it. Laura also has great info about making gowns on her website, but I can't remember the address. I'm sure she'll be along soon.
And if, in the process of learning how to make a ballgown, you fall in love with Laura's sample white w/black godets gown, I've noticed it's for sale on ballroomcostumes .com. Or at least a pretty dang similar gown.
My comment would be that, more than patterns what you really need is cheap but appropriate fabric. Assume the first few projects are not going to come out well - they are learning experiences in pattern adjustment, manipulating the fabric, and fitting. Also on that note, and especially if you get the swim & actionwear book Laura recommends, start by making seperate bodysuits/leotards and skirts - that gives you practice in understanding the issues of both components, a mistake in one won't ruin the other, and this is much more economical of fabric than cutting out the shoulder-to-ankle panels of a one piece gown - if it works, you have practice/syllabus comp wear, and if it doesn't you have a learning experience. And go into the packing supplies section of a store and buy a roll of brown wrapping paper. When you've done whatever you think you are doing in the way of adjustments to the pattern, trace it onto the paper, iron it flat, and cut out that. Mark your fitting issues on that, so that next time around you can work forward from what you actually tried, instead of trying to re-assmble the pattern tissue bits taped and overlayed exactly as you had them before...
It's still for sale. Someone want to make an offer? I'm sure Anya, the woman who I made it for and who has probably forgotten that I've still got her dress, would be tickled for me to suddenly surprise her with a check! Chris gives very good advice above. As far as archiving and adjusting patterns, I've graduated from cheap tissue paper to the kind of heavy-duty trace paper that comes on long wide rolls that architects use. It's a lot more expensive, but it works awesomely. A sewing buddy of mine (who is a great designer and a trained architect) got me hooked on that stuff.
I usually buy the trace paper (almost like rice paper, but softer) from Joann fabric - may be that's the tissue paper you're talking about?
The stuff I am talking about is used most commonly by architects. I don't know what it is called because I've never actually shopped for it, but I think my sewing buddy gets it at an art supply store like Pearl or Flax. I don't recall ever seeing anything at JoAnn that looks like it. It's not like rice paper at all, it sort of reminds me of waxed paper except it isn't waxed and is much thicker. But it's not like baker's parchment paper either, because it is see-through. One real cool thing about this paper is that if you tape pieces of it together, you can peel the tape off again if needed without a lot of difficulty.
Something like this? http://www.draftingsteals.com/catalog-paper--vellum--and-more-vellum-tracing-papers.html
Thank you so much for your help guys your information is fantastic. Laura your website is fantastic!! It's answered almost every question I had-I love the step by step project, everything that was confusing me about putting the dress together suddenly makes sense! I've started designing a dress already!!
Yes, that's it! By the way, argentine_princess, I wrote that dress information nearly five years ago, and never really revisited it to update it as I learned more. So, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
I've been lurking for a while, but decided to come out of hiding and join this lively group. I am very interested in the white w/ black godets gown. It looks like it might be a great fit for me. I don't want to breach forum etiquette--should I just send a personal message to Laura?
How nice!! Thanks for joining us, SlowDancer. Welcome. To be honest, I'm not sure how the etiquette works around public posting directly to folks, even though I've been here a while. :? In this case, though, it probably is safest to PM Laura, just to be sure she sees your message. And again, welcome!! It's nice to have you here.
