Jude Duarte

I started by taking a trip to the NYC garment district and searching for the color pallet I wanted, I have never created a gradient like this before, so choosing the right colors in all similar weights was my first challenge. Additionally, I've spliced patterns together before, but never to this extent, I ended up tracing part of a McCalls fairy costume pattern onto paper so that I could attach it to a different skirt pattern to get the jagged, leafy hem I wanted on a much longer skirt. For the corset, I made a mock up of a pattern from Etsy (dresslikeprincess) and the Redthreaded 1890s corset to see which I liked best, and ended up with the etsy pattern, which didn't come with instructions of any kind, so I then had to use what I know about making corsets, several Foundations Revealed articles, and Mandy Barrington's "Stays & Corsets" to figure out the best way to put it together. I cut two sets of pieces out of an old sheet, and used that as a second mockup and the lining of the actual piece, but I only sewed boning channels into the lining, because I wanted the outward fabric with as little visible stitching as possible so as not to disrupt the paint I used. I hand painted every tree and hand stitched each bead into place. I also learned how my antique singer's hemming foot worked, which was a huge time saver, and also interesting to know.