Irish Dance Dress – Finished at last

So here it is finally – front and back.



In the end, I removed the black handstitching and went back to the first idea of random herringbone stitch in metallic thread on top of the digitised embroidery, having first used red and orange Markal sticks on the to blend the colours.   Each of the six skirt panels are slightly different in colouring.  Taken with the metallic machined spirals, the dress does have bit of sparkle, so I haven’t added any rhinestones.  the green sash has crossing lines in metallic thread machined over it to echo the herringbone stitches.  We are going to a feis this weekend so I can se then if it needs any more oomph. I can also check if the skirt hangs correctly when she is dancing – I had terrible trouble getting it attached to the bodice and getting the zip in,and had to keep unpicking.  Despite lots of pinning and tacking, it kept shifting under the needle - another time I will ask a favour of a friend with an industrial machine. The skirt is stiffened with craft vilene as well as the velvet and interfacing which makes it very difficult to manoeuvre.  This explains why the time taken to assemble the dress is so long. I am intending to make a video of my daughter dancing and bring it to summer school with the dress so we can see how it looks when it is on and how it moves – I don’t think the photos on a dummy do it justice.
So, here is the breakdown of costs and time followed by my reflections on the project.

Irish Dance Dress Cost and Timings Item	Cost in £
Calico for toile, 2m @ 1.62/m	3.24
Black cotton velvet 3.5m @ 7.29/m	25.51
Black polyester lining 1.3m @ 1.75/m	6.13
Digitally printed silk/cotton mix 3 yards (including p&p and import charges)	79.44
Bondaweb 4m @ 3.02/m	12.08
Stabiliser for machine embroidery 3.5m @ 3.49/m	12.22
Vilene interfacing 3.5m @ 1.95/m	6.82
Craft weight Vilene 2m @ 5.97/m	11.94
Zip	1.05
Metallic machine sewing thread 1 reel	2.65
Metallic stranded thread for hand sewing 2 skeins	2.90
Rayon thread for machine embroidery – 7 colours @ 3.50 per 1000m cop. Used about half of each.	12.25
General sewing thread for seams etc 1 reel	1.49
Bobbin thread for machine embroidery, 5 pre-wound bobbins	1.50
Total Cost	£179.22
Activity	Time taken in hours
Pattern drafting, making toile, adjusting and fitting	15
Designing and samples, preparing embroidery designs	58
Surface decoration (free machining, digital embroidery, hand stitching, painting) and dyeing	81
Cutting out and making up dress	29
Total	183

Reflections on Making the Dress

Well, first of all, if I had seen those figures before I started, I probably wouldn’t have made it – 183 hours is a huge amount of time to spend on one project – no wonder I have been feeling chained to the sewing machine recently. It is surprising how large the total surface area to be decorated is; a single one of the six skirt panels would be a reasonable size for a  wall-mounted piece.  But I am glad I did perservere and hope she doesn’t grow out of it too quickly.  I added large seam allowances, but I am not sure I could face undoing them to let it out.

I am generally pleased with the dress but as always, there are things that could have been done better.  I like the way the colour changes and the curves sweep around but, as I have already mentioned, I should have brought the embroidery further down the bodice to better balance the size of the skirt panels.  I love the colour and the feel of the green silk/cotton fabric but to be honest, the image I had printed doesn’t really show up, so I could have used plain satin and cut down on the costs.  I think I have updated the classic three panel shape successfully by using an asymmetric design.

It took a surprisingly long time to assemble the pieces, but on the other hand, it was the first time I had made this style of stiff skirt and not having a pattern or instructions to refer to,  I was really making it up as I went along.  I wouldn’t have chosen to make this type of skirt but it is what my daughter prefers and I agree with her that the shape does suit her figure.

I really enjoyed the challenge of this project, I would love to make more dresses but preferably with the soft skirt style.  Some I have seen recently have a very simple, almost plain gathered skirt so that all the emphasis is on the bodice decoration. It would also be good for my eyes to work in a colour other than black. If I were making a dress for someone else, I think I would need to go for a simpler design to keep the cost realistic (if anyone reading this is interested, I am open to offers).

I also found sitting down drawing knotwork designs very relaxing so I will be doing more of this at some point and incorporating it into my work.

Irish Dance Dress–Making Progress

Taking on board Sian’s comments about balancing and integrating the embroidery -  I have added further layers of free machining in red and orange to the background and then rubbed on colour with Markal sticks.  After I added the knotwork, I rubbed the colour over the edges as well. 
I have also experimented further with handstitching over the knotwork – this time carrying  on the lines of the spirals in black. I’m not sure if this is adding anything, it makes a rich surface close-up but doesn’t really show at a distance – my daughter says it looks like someone has just thrown thread around!   I’m thinking I would like it if I were making a wallhanging but not for a dance dress  (perhaps I should make a companion piece sometime using my original drawings and handstitch).

The photos that follow make this clearer.  I have made up the bodice but the skirt front and sleeves are just tacked into place (haven’t done the back yet). The bodice front has the black stitching  but the skirt panel does not. 


This gives an idea of what it looks like from a distance so you get the effect of the colours blending and the curves.  With hindsight, I should have made the knotwork come further down on the bodice, but I was concerned to avoid going over the darts in case they need to be let out as she grows. In this picture, you can see part of the green pleats between the panels.  At my daughter’s request,  I have left the sleeves just black with metallic stitching so it isn’t too overpowering (although there is no such thing as too much when it comes to these costumes).  The downside of adding colour over the top is that much of the sparkle has gone, so I have ordered some tiny rhinestones to scatter.

 This picture shows the three panels on the skirt more clearly - I toyed with the idea of green for the sleeves but apparently this would be 'weird'.

I have been working really hard on this for the past couple of weeks, hoping it would be ready for a feis this weekend, but obviously, this isn’t going to happen – so fingers crossed for the one in June.

Irish Dance Dress–More Designing

Following on from my last post and Sian’s comments, I have been adding hand and free machine stitching to the digitised design to break it up and make the overall effect more interesting.

Photo 1

Revisiting the sample – I have added hand stitches in metallic thread in places across the knots and in some of the spaces, and some beads on the top centre knot.  I am thinking that I could use beads to create a focal point on the front and let the handstitching stray around the whole dress.  You can also see that on this sample I tried machining some larger scale knots in black on black with various threads, matt, shiny and metallic.  Oddly enough, they show up more in the photograph than in real life.

Photo 2

How to decorate the large areas of black velvet – this is the back of the sample so you can see the lines clearly on the white interfacing.  I decided to use the triskele as it is another common motif and has lots of movement, so it contrasts with the knotwork.  I have drawn it overlapping randomly and machined from the back with a variegated metallic thread.  I was having one of those days when I made this sample and managed first to forget to reverse the design, so they were spiralling anti-clockwise on the front (not good) and then applied the vilene to the right side of the fabric and stitched it (really not good), and finally tried stitching, as I often do, with the darning foot on and feed dogs up which left marks all over the velvet (bad).  But we got there in the end.  I chose a coloured metallic thread as the black ones disappeared into the pile, and this will give the dress a bit of sparkle.  I will probably leave the black parts of the sleeves plain so it is not overpowering, but I will leave them until last and then decide.

Photo 3

 

Back left of bodice to see overall effect - I have cut it with large seam allowances (growing space) so the knotwork will be against the zip when it is made up and the shawl will cover most of the black. 

Photo 4

Detail of back -  the camera is having all sorts of trouble with the dark background and reflective threads, but hopefully you can see the little bit of handstitching on the knotwork.

Photo 5 and 6

I used Spoonflower to print a length of cotton/silk with a greatly enlarged image of knotwork, stitched green on green, to use for the lining, pleats and shawl.  The closeness of the colours just gives an overall texture.  When I held it against the bodice back, I felt the green was a bit too light (more fresh spring green than emerald), so I have tried overdyeing a sample, which is on the left of photo 6, and I prefer this colour, so I will dye the length.

Photo 7

Drawing for knotwork on skirt panels.

Photo 8

Digitised version (ignore the colours for now)

Irish Dance Dress–Design Ideas

This is rather a long post as I have wandered around a lot trying things out over a few weeks and did not want to write it up until I had a clear design to put forward.  I hope the timeline makes sense – I realised I couldn’t always remember the order I had done things in when I just had a pile of loose bits on the table and a few photos in the camera.  I have tidied up now!
The initial idea was to look back to the work on braids and celtic knotwork done for module 2 and use them both as a design and method of working.  Talking to Sian last summer, we also floated the idea of printing fabric with some scanned stitching to provide a change of scale, and of having a bodice decorated with braids that undo to form the skirt.  I could see how this would work with a soft skirt made in panels and a very low dropped waist. However, my daughter really likes her current dress (below – photos 1 and 2) and wants to stick to the classic stiff skirt style, fashionable or not.  She also wants black velvet as the main fabric.
Photo 1 Front and photo 2 back.

I spent some time during January scribbling different ideas, but I kept feeling defeated by what seemed to be acres of plain black fabric and how to take a design down into the pleated skirt. Essentially, the pleats break up the surface of the skirt leaving 3  flat triangular sections on the front (narrow at the waist and very wide at the hem).  At the back, the middle triangle is split in two by the zip and back seam, which may be partially covered by the shawl or kite.  The usual solution is to fill the centre front panel with a triangular design and have smaller designs on the other panels, but I want this dress to look more contemporary, for example by using asymmetry.
Photo 3 sketchbook pages
Photo 4 sketchbook pages – notes on construction.

Photo 5 sketchbook pages – I have added for inspiration a photo of a dress by Gavin Docherty that uses a plain black background and a colourful asymmetric design, in particular the treatment of the sleeves.
I had by this stage drawn up a pattern and made a calico toile to get the basic dress shape fitted, and you can see in photo 6 that I started to play with printing out some knotwork  and pinning pieces onto the dummy.


Photo 7 sketchbook pages – we both like emerald green, yellow and orange/red as contrast colours so I pulled out some threads to use for braid samples. The right hand page is another design idea which I thought would work but my daughter didn’t like.  By now, I was starting to draw dresses in my sleep.

Photo 8 – samples of braids made on soluble backing using variegated perle threads and built-in machine patterns.

Photo 9  - this scrappy piece of paper was the only thing to hand when I was eating breakfast and doodling, so I apologise for the quality– I did try redrawing it neatly but it isn’t the same.  We both like this shape, taking the idea of dividing the bodice in two with knotwork but using a curved line and having sail shapes on the skirt panels that echo the shape of a draped shawl. It isn’t something we have seen before, so we are using this as the starting point to work from.

Photo 10 – First attempt at filling the space, this is a full size pattern piece for the front panel of the skirt with a 2p coin for scale.  Rejected this as too similar to many existing applique designs.

Photo 11 Second attempt – sorry the pencil lines are a bit faint – I have gone over one section with pen. This was drawn on a tapering grid to draw the eye to the corner (A4 sheet) and I also envisaged grading the colour from light to dark as it narrows.

Photo 12 – Using part of the last drawing to try machine couching threads using various stitches and changing the colours.  This sample is on white satin as I thought white panels could be a possibility (but my daughter is determined on just black). 

My concern with this design was that the knots were going to become very distorted over a larger area on the bodice which would mean either bigger gaps and spindly lines or making the braids thicker as they spread out.  I wasn’t happy with either of these options so I decided to start over, this time beginning with the bodice.
Photo 13 Full size pattern for bodice front,  I drew on tracing paper over a grid (I use the method developed by Andy Sloss in How to Draw Celtic Knotwork which makes it very easy to do rough sketches knowing it will fit together and the crossovers will work out correctly).  I used a regular grid to keep the braids the same width but broke the symmetry and let them wander around freely.
Photo 14 – some samples of braids arranged in fragments of the pattern.  Top left is threads couched down with the machine; top right and bottom left are variations made on soluble backing and hand stitched in place.  Bottom right is an earlier sample for the wide knotwork as in photo 8.

Photo 15 – samples and design pinned in place on the completed bodice lining.  Also shown is a larger knot outline – I was thinking of  possibly using it as a contrast scale on the skirt pleats (only seen when the dancer is moving).

At this point I was looking at the samples and thinking that they aren’t quite what I’m after, Normally, I am very happy with irregular edges and soft lines but for this dress. as the knotwork pattern is complicated and irregular, I would like the lines to be sharp, and they also need to be clearly visible from a distance. With this in mind  I used the free programme Inkscape and a font that consists of parts of knots to translate my design into a scaleable drawing, opened the file in Embird and digitised it for my embroidery machine. As it is so large, I split the finished design into pieces small enough to fit my hoop. The next batch of samples are trials with different filling stitches.
Photo 16– Part of the design that would sit on the right shoulder using a horizontal fill, the machine was stopped to change colour manually to create a gradient. This is too flat and not giving a contrast to the matt surface of the velvet. It is also slightly too small as I miscalculated the measurements and thirdly, the velvet shows through the stitches.

Photo 17 – With the size corrected and using a different part of the pattern, this sample tries several variations – the same fill with lines on top for texture; the horizontal fill worked in two layers; two layers plus the lines in another colour.

Photo 18 – On the left another version for the bodice (this part belongs to the bottom left side).  I have changed to satin stitch, increased the stitch density and made the lines narrower which gives a rounded effect. This is the same rayon thread as in photo 16, but the stitching reflects more light so it stands out more strongly from the black. I had initially avoided satin stitch as this is what everyone uses on dresses, but working these samples does confirm how effective it is for this style. I used 5 colours to change from red to yellow, again, I haven’t programmed the changes so I can stop the machine wherever I like (the hiccup in the middle is where the reel ran out unexpectedly).  The plan is to start with red at the shoulders and fade down to yellow.
I would like to try Sian’s suggestion of scanning in some stitching and having it enlarged and printed for a contrast fabric which I could use for the pleats, skirt lining and shawl – I would change the colours to bring in the emerald green.  If this doesn’t work then on the right is plan B – satin embroidered with a larger version but a very open fill  - again trying  out a few different shades of green.

Photo 19 (and the last I promise) shows a template for the complete bodice design pinned to the lining with the sample in place.

So my proposal is to continue with this dress design, using similar knotwork sweeping across the skirt panels as suggested in the rough sketch in photo 9 and going over to the back of the shoulders.  I need to think about the sleeves but I would put more decoration on the left one.  I think the shawl should be the same curved sail shape and will experiment with creating a contrast fabric for the shawl. pleats and skirt lining

Irish Dance Dress (Functional 3D Item) - Background Research

I agreed with Sian at summer school that I would make my elder daughter a dress for her Irish dancing as my functional 3d item. That seems an awfully long time ago!  Since then, I have been concentrating on making one for her sister using commercial embroidery designs as a kind of trial run (you can see it here on StitchDance) and doing lots of reading and looking at dresses both on the web and in real life.  In a moment I will be showing photos of my notebook, but I thought it would be useful to start with some notes and a glossary.

Glossary

Feis (plural feiseanna) pronounced “fesh” – lit. festival, an Irish dancing competition.

Class dress –  a distinctive costume associated with a particular school.  In An Comdhail competitions that we attend,  dancers competing in age groups under 9 and below, and beginners of any age are not allowed to wear solo dresses, so they will either wear a class costume or a plain skirt and top.  Class dresses are also used for team dances (figures).

Solo dress – competitions mostly focus on solo dancing - although dancers usually perform three at a time they are each doing their own steps - and dancers aspire to wear a solo dress designed and made for them (but most will buy second-hand).  Every dress is unique; although there are distinct styles and colours that go in and out of fashion, a particular design will not be repeated exactly.  Solo dresses are more elaborate then class dresses. NB although referred to as dresses, costumes may be made with a separate bodice and skirt.

An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG) and Comdhail Na Muinteoiri le Rinci gaelacha  (An Comdhail) – two major governing bodies for Irish dancing. 

The history of the development of the dancing schools and the costumes in the first half of the twentieth century is  closely bound up with politics and Irish nationalism. For anyone interested in finding out more background, I would recommend  The Story of Irish Dance by Helen Brennan, pub Brandon 1999, and Irish Dancing Costume by Martha Robb, pub Country House.  I found it very helpful to see how the styles have evolved and the invention of ‘traditional’ dress.

Permitted Costume Styles

CLRG published updated rules on costumes in September 2010 – you can access the complete list here but the key points are

• Necklines must be high enough to cover the collarbone.
• Sleeves to start at the shoulder and end at the cuff.
• Skirts no shorter than mid-thigh.
• Costumes must have a full front, back and sides (i.e. no cutaway or transparent panels and skirts must have a full backing).

In essence, the basic shape is a long-sleeved, short skirted dress with a dropped waist and back zip.  

These pages show second-hand dresses offered for sale at a feis – a good way of seeing a mixture of styles.  On the left-hand page, the dark blue dress is in what is referred to as traditional style – large areas of  satin-stitch knotwork on a plain dark background, and a stiffened box pleat skirt.  These often had white crochet collars.   The other three are more up-to-date and you can see how at times there is no reference to traditional motifs.  On the right hand page, there are two dresses with ra-ra skirts which are very popular (apart from looks, they are considerably lighter than the stiffened styles). The dress with the violet bodice, which was made in 2011, has a puffball, plisse skirt and also shows the move towards building up decoration by repeating small knotwork motifs (this also gives you an idea of prices).

The back of the dress is also important.  These styles have developed from the traditional shawl pinned over one shoulder.  A few years ago, there was a fashion for dresses in the classic stiff-skirted shape but made entirely in glittery fabrics using applique rather than embroidery, and these have a stiff ‘kite’ on the back as a reference to the shawls.  Most new dresses I see now have either a sash across the back or a shaped shawl (attached with Velcro), although some have a large bow at the dropped waist. There is also a trend to attach the shawl further down from the shoulder  and to continue the embroidery around the back of the dress.   All the photos in these two pages have been collected onto a board on Pinterest which anyone can see here (and this also credits the sources).  A quick trawl on ebay will also come up with many dresses for sale.

 

A collection of images from dressmakers websites recording some of the various current skirt styles.   The older-style stiff skirts  have brightly coloured contrasting linings which show as the skirt moves and the girls wear matching lycra or satin ‘kick-knicks’ underneath.  Irish dancing is popular in the USA and fashions cross the Atlantic as competitors meet at international competitions – a good site for US fashion updates is  http://feisonista.com/

Armed with all this background information – the next step is to start thinking about the design.  But first I want to sort out my notes on lace for the beginning of module 5, so that will be my next post.

Exhibition Pictures

So, at last here it is in situ under the church tower.  I decided to call it 'Glimpsing the Storm' to make the connection with St Nicholas as patron saint of sailors. I rather like the way it has no visible support from the front as the pole is hidden.

You can also see 'Cogitation' on a low stand and other pieces hanging on boards - you may remember some of these from earlier posts.  And the good news is that one of the collages has sold.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition Mon August 9th to Sat August 14th

St Nicholas church, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2PG

I will be showing my hanging and some other pieces, there is also a quilt exhibition called 'Quilted Jewels' and engravings by Sarah van Niekerk.  The church is very near the cathedral and will be open 10:30am to 4:00pm each day and admission is free, however it is being used for a lecture on Monday 9th at 1.30pm and  a concert on Weds 11th at 2.00pm.  This exhibition is part of Three Choirs Plus running alongside the Three Choirs Festival so there will be lots going on in Gloucester all week - well worth a day trip if you are in the area.  See http://www.3choirs.org for more info

Still no pics of the finished item  - somehow whenever it is not raining (or threatening to rain) it is really windy so I can't get the hanging to keep still.  I will try and get some good shots in situ.  Meanwhile, back to double and triple-checking everything is ready.

A Hanging - but is it finished?

I've spent the last week attacking the hanging with pin tucks.  I laid it on the floor to see how it was going and took a photo.

Photo 1

 

 

 

Then I put it on the table to start sewing - it was scrumpled up to keep it from hanging over the edge and I realised it looked much better like that, so I played with it on the floor and decided I prefer the way it looks  - see below.

Photo 2

OK not really like a crack but nice and stormy.  Does it still count as a hanging if I display it on the floor?  It is a lot shorter like this - about 1.5m.  Not sure if it is finished so I am going to put it aside for now - I will be seeing Sian at summer school and get her advice.

A quick plug for anyone who doesn't already know - the Urchfont Manor open day is on Sunday 4th July and there will be exhibitions of work from the various textile courses there, including Distant Stitch students as well as traders.  I will be there all day so come and say hello.  The manor is set in its own grounds in  the village of Urchfont near Devizes, Wiltshire and is a lovely place for a day out especially if the sun is shining.

Thoughts on Colour

I had been thinking for a while that there was not enough difference in the tones of the colours on the hanging, so yesterday I used Markal sticks to lighten the large pale patch and touch up other areas and then carried on stitching.  The pictures below show in greyscale the untouched fabric and its current state - not a huge difference but a bit more contrast.  It also shows how the shadows from the tucks are adding darker areas - for now, I am leaving the lighter part untouched.

Untouched fabric

 

After painting  and some tucks.

Brief for Site Specific Hanging

The Brief

To produce a hanging for an exhibition at St Nicholas Church, Gloucester as part of the Three Choirs Festival in August 2010.

The Site

St Nicholas is a church located in the centre of Gloucester, a short walk from the cathedral, and dates back to the 12^th century. It is no longer used for services but remains consecrated and is open to the public in spring and summer, frequently hosting art exhibitions. The church is noted for its pronounced lean which can be clearly seen when you stand in the nave – the pillars on the north side lean outwards as does the archway. During the week-long festival, there will be an exhibition of quilts in the centre nave and other artwork under the tower, along the north wall and on pews - this is where the hanging will be. The church will also be used for a number of music workshops and concerts.

Special Considerations

As this is an historic building, there can be no alteration or damage to the fabric of the church i.e. it is not possible to attach hooks or nails to the walls, although anything already there can be used. However, the curator is happy to tie items around the pillars, throw lines over beams or existing cables or hang very large artworks from the tower. In addition, there is a hinged pair of six foot hanging screens available and items can be placed on the floor under the tower, propped against walls and placed on pews.

The building is consecrated so although artwork need not be religious, it must not be offensive or disrespectful of the Christian faith.

St Nicholas Church from Westgate street.

Floor Plan

South window

West Window

My proposal is to place the hanging under the west window - the distance from the windowsill to the floor is 3m - so that it can be seen from the nave.  As I mentioned before, I am hoping it will resemble a crack showing the storm/chaos outside.  The next picture has been reproduced with permission from stnicholaschurchuk.webs.com/ and I have superimposed an image of the hanging to show how it might look.  When I met the curator, we discussed draping it from the windowsill and tying to a hook that is already there but as an alternative if this doesn't look right, I have a telescopic pole which will support it without showing (the kind you see at festivals with banners or windsocks on).

Mock-up of hanging in situ.

Following on from my earlier posts, I have decided to pursue the idea of using tucks to emphasise the design.   As it would be difficult to back the hanging after it has been distorted, I tried another sample with a dark backing to see that the effect with two layers is still what I want.  It does make the tucks appear softer, so in the sample shown below I tried slashing them to add some drama.  You can also see in the lighter section that I experimented with kantha stitching but felt it was too organised

Sample showing slashed tucks on left.

The last picture shows how I have started adding tucks to the bottom half of the hanging  - even with only a few in, you can see how it is starting to change shape.  When I have done some more, I will decide whether to slash some or all and possibly add more colour behind to show through in places.