In this week’s session, I demonstrated how to create a quick and easy gathered dress using elastic and jersey fabric. I showed how to turn a simple piece of fabric into a stylish, versatile dress by using elastic to create gathers and shape the garment. The demonstration covered both draping techniques and simple sewing methods to create a wearable dress in just a few hours.
Demonstration Steps:
- Measured the body and cut a rectangle of jersey fabric
- Attached elastic to create gathers on one side of the fabric
- Draped the fabric on a dress form to create various neckline and silhouette options
- Demonstrated how to stabilize and finish the neckline and armholes
- Showed how to add an internal waistband to control the drape and twist of the dress
- Finished the dress by hemming and cleaning up raw edges
Questions & Answers:
- Q: Does the stabilizing tape stop the dress from twisting out of shape when you move?
- A: Adding a soft elastic waistband inside the dress helps control the twist and drape. You can adjust this internal band to change how the dress falls on the body.
- Q: Could you use two pieces of elastic in different directions from center down and center up?
- A: You can play around with different elastic placements. The possibilities are endless, so I encourage you to experiment with various configurations to create different looks.
I’m excited to see how you all interpret this technique in your own projects. Next week, I may elaborate on this idea further or introduce a new quick and easy design concept. Let me know which you’d prefer!
