mala_14 | Finally!

I was finally able to solve my pleat problem. I didn't have any freezer paper on hand, so I decided to try fork pleating. But because the silk organza was so squidgy, I needed a fork with longer tines so I could pleat the whole width of the flounce at once. This doesn't really exist. So I McGyver'd a fork out of 2 size 0 dp knitting needles, a bamboo bbq skewer cut in half, and some painter's tape.

This probably would have worked if the organza wasn't the squidgiest fabric ever made. But it was and my pleats ended up looking wonky. So I took a trip to the grocery store and picked up some freezer paper, which worked a treat. It stabilized the fabric so it couldn't shift around. Eventually I managed to pleat the darned thing and spent last night pinning the top and bottom of every pleat to the skirt, ironing the pleats, and then, finally, sewing the flounce on by hand.

I don't know if it was actually worth all the hassle, but the skirt, now that it's done, really does look mermaid tail-y to me with the flounce as the fins. :)

I also spent today patterning out the front part of the train. The back will just be a length of the fabric with sort of rounded corners. I'm sort of copying this fashion plate, for reference, minus the rather intense butt bow.

It doesn't look so great in the newspaper, but with drapier fabric I'm hoping the folds will be better. Can I get the train done this week? Probably not, but I'm going to try!