FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Fairy Godmother
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
This dress is inspired by the character of the fairy godmother from Charles Perrault's Cinderella. The story is basically a fairytale that was mostly verbally handed down from generation to generation. So there was no fixed time period for me to base my design on.
I got inspired by 1850s evening gowns. As I imagined making the dress for a movie, the silhouette of the 1850s looked a lot like what I would imagine fitted for a fancy ball.
I changed a lot about my design along the way, as I learned more about my fabric. Most notably the hem, because I realised my skirt fabric did not fray at all. So I decided to cut the skirt hem in little half circles, which reminds me a lot of the way they drew underskirts in 2-D Disney animation, and I think it adds a lot to the fairytale vibes of the dress. I additionally decided to cut the organza for the skirt in a similar form to the wings, so that they would mirror each other.
I wanted to make this a challenge so I used materials that I'm not familiar with or that are harder to work with (my fabric was pretty slippery). I have never made any fairy wings but I have wanted to try it for a long time...
Outline the construction…
I started with the bodice, as I knew it would take up the most time. I used a pattern I made a year ago, and cut it in one layer of cotton for the lining and two layers of pink plastic fabric. I basted all 3 layers together and then sewed them by machine, I had some problems with the fit, so I had to redo some seams.
After that I sewed down the seam allowance to use it as boning channels, and sewed 26 eyelet holes for the back closure as well as the lower hem of the bodice. After that I pleated the skirt and added it to a waistband, initially I wanted to add a hook and eye closure, but I couldn't find any so I used a safety pin.
The "wings" that went on the skirt were built out of three layers, a golden curtain, then the pink fabric I used for the skirt and a layer of orange and pink organza. The actual wings were made of wire, orange and pink organza, tape, grey fabric strips and a lot of hot glue. By that time I was pretty much running out of time so I sewed the neckline of the bodice by machine and added the bertha collar and the sequins with hot glue
The last thing I did was iron a hole in the middle of the skirt, but I fixed it by cutting it out, and it looks kind of intentional.
Lovely colour choice for a fairy godmother. Great job with all of the hand sewn eyelets! And not giving up along the way when the fitting was hard.
I love the muted tones of this. Gives an ethereal essence. Beautiful colours. Lovely construction. Very pretty work.
Love the hem details! And the colors are wonderful♡
I really love the colour and the beads on the collar. It´s a really wellfitting gown for a fariy Godmother.