Little experiments 2

And here are the other little dresses!

For the third one, I used the simple bodice placement again but this time there is much more distance between the holes which are sewn together. And those holes are spaced diagonally.

Result: not so great. These connected holes take in so much fabric that it is hard to even get into the dress. And once again, the result is quite freaky.

Dress number four. Less fabric, just "2 meters" but again, I cut the bodice pieces too small. Back bodice in the usual position, front bodice at a 45 degree angle. Only one set of holes but again far apart.

Very different front view. I kind of like having both fabrics on display there. On the other hand, the bodice really pulls to the side and once again, the amount of fabric caught in the connection of the holes doesn't leave enough room for movement.

Dress five, angled bodices again but much simpler hole placement. I started out with one set of holes but when I had sewn that, the light-coloured part of the skirt was still way too long so I added an extra set in that. I just don't remember exactly at what angle.

The result is not bad. The bodice has the same pulling issues as number four and it is, again, easy to see why. If you lay these dresses flat on the table, the skirts basically goes sideways. I wonder how they would be behave in real life. 

As I told you in the previous post, I messed up the scale of the bodice pieces in all but the first tiny dresses. That means I can't really draw conclusions about the amount of fabric I will need based on these. On the other hand, I still learned some valuable lessons. My first full scale attempt at substraction cutting taught me not to make very long connecting side seams and not to place holes close to the hemline. My small scale experiments warned against catching large amounts of fabric in those holes. 
Of course, the dress shapes all look a bit more extreme on this scale. The fabric I used was linen and although the pale stuff is quite soft, the purple has a bit of body. To get this super-sculptural effect on full scale, you would have to use something like denim. A softer fabric should give a more subtle effect.

I'm not sure where to go from here yet. I might make that quarter scale bodice after all and try again with that or I may try and make a full size dress using the set-up of the second dress. I think number five also has potential but I'm not so sure about the way to bodice pulls to the side. 
If I make a full-size dress, I won't use the same basic top shape again. I think I will make something which will look more like my usual dress bodices. After all, there is no reason why you can't use darts, sleeves or a back yoke in combination with substraction cutting... 

Little experiments in subtraction cutting 1

Didn't I promise you tiny dresses? Quarter scale dresses I made to try out subtraction cutting? Here they are!

I have to start with one big disclaimer: The proportions on most of them are off, sometimes way off because I was lazy and didn't make quarter size bodice pieces. I just sort of free-handed the shapes which got smaller with each tiny dress. So most of my tiny dresses don't actually allow me to calculate how much fabric I would need for a wearable version. However, they still taught me a lot about what does and does not work with this technique.

If you have read anything about subtraction cutting, you will know that you mark your bodice pieces somewhere in the middle of the fabric, you connect them and cut out the negative space surrounding them. And then you also cut pairs of holes large enough for your hips to pass through. Those will be sewn together later, creating twists. I photographed all my fabric/pattern lay-outs as well as the tiny dresses with the hope of learning what does what.

I will include red lines on the lay-out pictures to show you what goes where and show you front, back and side(s) of the dresses.

First dress: Bodice in the simplest set-up with the back towards the horizontal seam and the front facing it. Try-out of different ways of shaping the side seam (angle or curve at the bottom of the bodice). Two sideways displacements and one simple one, high up on the back piece.

Lesson: Don't do that. It doesn't work. You get a crazily bundled up knot of fabric which would be both uncomfortable and unflattering to wear.

Second dress: Back to basics. Bodice pieces in the same place but this time I decided on the sharp angle between the bodice and the connecting side seam. Holes which will be sewn together close to each other. 

Result: That's more like it! It's like a modern bustled ball gown. I'll just have to figure out what to do with that very uneven hemline (I don't mind hi-low but this is just crazy). Oh, and I caught myself trying to shift the bottom of the skirt the whole time so I'd better line up those two sets of holes. 

One thing you can see in both dresses is the difference made by the side seam treatment: the angled seam created a more defined waistline. Of course, because you simply can't find quarter weight fabric, the result is a bit exaggerated in scale model dresses like these.

I more tiny dresses to show you, but too many pictures would make this post too long and it's getting late. I'll be back with more tomorrow!