Take Another Bow

The photo below which I found on Pinterest, has captivated my attention the moment I laid eyes on it. All summer I kept this image in my phone, glancing at it daily as I tried to figure out what this sleeve was about and how I might translate it for the doll. Fortunately there is something called "Reverse photo" and with that online tool, I was able to locate the origins of this photo, other views of the dress as well as the author of the design. 

It is the work of Syrian born, Rami Al Ali, a renowned wedding couturier in Dubai. It's funny because when I first saw this photo, I was too busy deciphering the sleeve, to notice this might be a wedding dress. It wasn't until I found the full frontal view! 

But look closely at this gown and what do you see? The dress itself is fairly simple...it's all about the fancy sleeve work! For my taste, I didn't want to create a full whipped cream, cake-top confection--and I'm not so sure the volumes would work well for my 1/6 scale divas. But I was determined to come away with the drama of the sleeves and I did so using....BOWS! So...we might consider this an extension of "Take a Bow," a post a few years back using bows in the design of dramatic eveningwear!

This is a look that works well with the current "Rococo" trend we're seeing in the doll community (Integrity Toys and JamieShow Dolls)!  For this project all you need is a dress of your choice and either ribbon or slats of fabric you cut, fold and iron yourself. Nadja is wearing an evening shift of embroidered silk I made a while ago. It doesn't have the pizzazz other gowns in the house has, so it doesn't get worn much. 

The first thing I did was to create two sleeves by making two small tubes. You can either leave them as is (for removable sleeves), attach them to the underarm of the dress, or leave them as tubes with the intent of creating fancy gloves!!!

3. You can use store bought ribbon of your choice or cut strips of the same fabric of the dress to create your own ribbon. For this dress, I had on hand a yard (meter) of sheer "wired" ribbon. 

Wrap it around your fingers to create loops and pin in the middle.

4. Place it on the sleeve and pin. The take another length of ribbon and tie it in the middle of the loops.

5. Tack this down onto the sleeve so that it doesn't move. The arrange the loops into fluffy silhouettes.

The wired ribbon is very good for holding the shape you want to create.

We can stop there or..... add a bit of fabric to the back of the dress to create a train. Now for the white dress--the source of our inspiration. Once you remove the excess bulk, it isn't nearly as complicated as I initially imagined...

It's essentially the same thing, only my ribbon is more narrow and made by hand to match the dress. After experimenting with volumes, I decided to go a bit light on the sleeve treatment. The fabric you chose will make a big difference in the result you are trying to achieve. If you use a stiff fabric, the bows will remain crisp but used as streamers, the look will be a bit difficult. If you use something soft...the streamers are perfect, but the bows will flop! 

1. Again, this starts with a very basic dress. In this case, it is a strapless flared gown. 

I made sleeves (small tubes) that can either be stitched to the dress or left alone for a detachable option.

2. Create loops with the ribbon the same way you did with the first dress. For mine, I used about a yard (meter) of fabric. Stitch the loops together in the middle, then attach to the dress. First with a pin, then tack it down to the sleeve.

3. Once you have everything in place, take another length of ribbon to wrap around the sleeve with its loops, and tack in place to secure. I also added a smaller series of loops at the back of the sleeve. And I added an extra small bow at the center back of the dress to finish off the look.

I promised myself I would not make this dress in black. So I did it in red satin. Again, so simple. So dramatic. 

What I did differently this time around... I used store-bought satin ribbon of different sizes. I made tubes for sleeves and placed smaller bows just at the top. This design allows me to also use these as evening gloves!

Again, it is a basic sheath dress with bows added to both sides of the front and back. As you can see, I created a small series of bows and attached them to the top of the sleeve.

And because the dress is so dramatic all the way around, I've included a back view! A nice, big red satin bow at the back is the perfect finish!

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Angel Food

I have been searching for something very special for quite awhile. Then one day, while surfing on Pinterest a photo caught my eye. Those long, draped sleeves trimmed in fur were simply....angelic!  I haven't quite found just the right fabric or trim. But those sleeves...oh those sleeves. And then a few months later, I spotted similar sleeves in a Proenza Schouler show. They were basically the same sleeves but scaled down somewhat. What both dresses have in common is that the sleeves really "make" the look. 

Okay, so what exactly is this sleeve? 

At its base, this is technically, an exaggerated trumpet sleeve. And since you are going to need the basic pattern to create the looks on this page, I am going to send you back to: "Return to Camelot,"  the detailed tutorial we did six years ago on drafting the basic trumpet sleeve. 

From there we can make a new design employing the proportions of choice. The instructions below is only a guide. Feel free to make your diva's angel wings as big as you desire. 

Let's get started. Head over to the link provided above for instructions on the draft of the basic trumpet sleeve. Once you have that pattern, proceed to the steps below.

1. Using the drafted pattern from that tutorial, you will end up with something resembling what I am holding. When you place the front to the back, everything should line up. 

2. Fold both the front and back sleeve down to the elbow line, and put them together. You end up with what looks like a circle. Be sure to draw a center line running from the middle of each sleeve to the hemline. 

3.  Using tracing paper (or trace over a light box), trace the center line and the perpendicular elbow (horizontal) line. Now, draw an oval, as big or long as you desire. This is the circumference of your trumpet sleeve. There is no "rule." This is a design decision you will make depending on the result you are looking for.

4. Take the original "front" pattern piece and lay it over the oval, lining it up with the elbow horizontal line. Then trace off the outer perimeter to create your new front sleeve pattern.

5. Repeat the same process for the back pattern, lining up the original basic pattern with the bottom part of the oval. 

6. The resulting pattern will resemble this. When you are sure everything lines up and is the desired proportions, add seam allowance for the final pattern.

And here... on the left, my oval was somewhat shallow. On the right, the oval quite a bit more spectacular. Note: the fabric you choose is also important. For this project, I used chiffon. A heavier fabric will result in a stiffer sleeve with less drape. How to finish the edges: With the image of the white gown (at the top of this page) in mind, instead of fur, I created a fuzzy finish by fringing the edges. (Click HERE to see how I did that.)  Once I finished the sleeves, I decided to fringe the edges of the rest of the dress as well. (And yes, that took some time!) 

I have a lot of divas who are anything but angelic! (LOL!!!) But used in a bolder application, I decided to get my inspiration from the garden with the addition of flowers. The sleeves are still trumpets, but tucked inside of the sleeves, I've tacked in petals from silk flowers. 

This is exactly the same sleeve as the softer dresses above. For this dress, I used a slightly thicker fabric (a thin crepe) which I flame sealed the edges. To the sleeves, I added petals of a silk flower which are discreetly tacked to the underside (near the elbow).

Here is another version of this dress. I have scalloped the edges of the trumpet sleeves and added a generous amount of petals to the underside of each sleeve. 

We're not entirely finished with the subject. In future posts, we explore other ideas for fancy red carpet sleeves. 

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