Gathering together the “frosting” bits that get hand sewn to the silk foundation skirt…and trying to decide which pretty American Duchess shoes to wear! 🙂
Victorian Ball Bath, UK
Dyeing…The Saga Continues
And the saga continues as I work on my ball gown for the upcoming trip to Bath. Constructing a ball gown is not always an easy, straight-forward process as the following post reveals. 🙂
Dyeing and color theory is a crazy science, of course I want dyed to match silk satin ribbon to edge flounces with, and the gown’s main fabric is a changeable duchess silk satin…which means ribbon dyeing has to be done in pale rinses, each shade at a time, with lots of time checks, and it still might not work. FUN 🤪
Check out the pretty coral pink pile of ribbon in the sink..too dark, I was too aggressive with the orange, It can’t be color stripped, so some lucky future client will get loads of silk ribbon work! The blush pink (in the sink, looks tan) is dead on perfect and I hesitate to add…that was just good luck!
Trying to match that piece of silk in my hand, third batch (in the sink) is a charm…the other pink ribbon is now too dark, so that has to wait for another project. No loss…just not for this dress.
Hallelujah!! That was harder than it looks, that blush rose silk has a lot of green undertones…but I did it!
Finally, the same for the narrow ribbon. That wasn’t an easy match. *WHEW*
What’s On…
Pleated Posies of silk satin and organza await to be stitched to their skirt. Making progress! 🙂
Today’s View…
Today’s view, a pretty pleated Brussels net lace edged bayleuse to support a gown’s train…this is what will show when the train is held for dancing!
And We’re Doing It Again- Off To Bath For 2019
We had such a good time at the 2018 Prior Attire Victorian Ball in Bath, England that we’re doing it again in 2019! We’ve already secured out tickets and made reservations on Air New Zealand (highly recommended). Sponsored by Prior Attire, a reproduction garment maker in England, the ball is scheduled for May 5, 2019 and will be held at the Bath Assembly Rooms which is a fantastic venue for a ball. We will also be spending some time in London, touring museums and looking for fabrics (and anything else that strikes our fancy).
It promises to be an excellent time and we’re looking forward to being able to take the waters at Bath again (well, maybe we’ll settle for tea…) and of course we’ll be designing new outfits- stay tuned for more! 🙂