FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Beauty of a Willow
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
The Natural beauty of a Weeping Willow is the inspiration for this dress. From the textured bark to the long-vined branches that drape back to the earth. To the wrinkled bark surrounded by cattails. In Greek Mythology There was tails of beautiful beings born from the titanic gods that imbody nature. These are known as Nymphs/Dryads/Nyads. The Nymphs of the trees and woods. These Beings mostly bearing the likeness of women. The thought of a young woman being so intertwined with nature to the point of wearing a willow tree. I chose gold and light green fabrics to show the beauty and youth of the young Nymph. I went for the design if she draped a willow tree on herself. Using silk polyester and polyester cotton.
Outline the construction…
This Dress was way out of my level of sewing. At the beginning of making this dress I tried to use a pattern, but I wanted to try to make it more textured than just flat panels of fabric. So, I got a dress form and started to drape. I draped pleats and pinned, I draped smocking and pinned. After it was all pinned, I didn’t know what to do to hold it without pins.
I learned how to hand sew a back stitch and hide the stitches behind the front of the pleats. Witch I learned is called (Hidden Tracking). Then I sewed a lining silk behind the pleated top. I put grommets on the back embroidered on top. Breaking the punch in the process.
For the skirt part I learned a little late on how to properly sew smocking. Instead, I sewed red glass-beads in place of the pins. I did this on three of the five skirt panels. I also beaded cattails with gold glass-beads and ribbon.
For the vines and leaves I went to new territory that I was not prepared for fully. The leaves started out being hand embroidered. Then free hand on the sewing machine. No leaf is the same they all have there on personality. The vines were the most painful to my hands. Each of the twelve vines are ten feet long and unsewn they are 2inches wide. I sewed them shut and used a straw to flip them right sides out.
This is amazing work! I would never have been able to dream this up! Lovely execution and colors!
Thank you. I had the thought like in gone with the wind. With the curtains, I saw it in the widow and had to try it on. But instead of curtains it was a willow tree. Haha
The construction is so complex! It looks wonderful, you should be so proud
Very cool use of materials and design. Quite unique!
I really think your choice of beads is just the cat’s meow! What is the perfect finishing touch? Why, it is the dragonfly in flight! Wonderful work!
I love the chaotic feel of the fabric manipulation in this piece. Wonderful
Wow! What a beautifully designed piece. I loved reading about how you draped this and had to learn how to stitch this together to remove the pins. You did a fantastic job and the end result is stunning and fits the theme of the competition so well. Well done 🙂
Oh my goodness everyone thank you for all the very kind works. Thank you
This is absolutely spectacular – amazing creation of texture!