Thread: Chocolate Peacock Rehab...no, no, no... done!! Pix!!!

In the interests of helping (and for bragging rights) those of you that have dresses or skirts with cutouts you just cant hang with for one reason or another..too big, badly placed or if the mesh color just isnt right for your skin tone, I have decided to make a seperate thread for the work itself. The original thread with the before pix are here

http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...tml#post564484


So here we go. The removal of the mesh is easy. If you are nervous about bead loss, just cut the mesh on the outside edge of the beading. A shred or 2 of left over mesh still clinging to the dress is not the end of the world, as you will be placing the new mesh over it. Lay the old piece down over the new mesh and using the old piece as a template, cut the shape...dosnt have to be perfect. Now is a good time for a dress form. Put the dress on the form and begin at the bottom of the cut out and pin the new mesh to the lycra applying enough tension that the mesh lays smoothly and the dress conforms to your dummy.







The "Ruffle" ...just because... it is shaped like a Moorish arch

Oh gawd....that's one beautiful dress! And why do golden retrievers ALWAYS insist on plopping themselves down in the middle of your work space? Mine does the same thing ,r:;

Nice work! Now that you've earned those bragging rights, thanks for getting Amy Winehouse stuck in my head!

Yay, Anala!!!! The sparkle mesh is great.

I dont care for the boob dam, do you guys? The hip area looks good though!

The hip area looks fabulous! Did you chop up a headband or something to get the new appliques? Wow!!!

The boob dam is kind of hard to see in the pics but it's not doing anything for me.

Yes, it came with gauntlets and a headband, so I cut out the individual paisley patches. There are 27 of them total!

You can make a boob dam out of the sparkly mesh. Sabrinabd can show you pictures of the insert that she made.

The boob dam in the pix is the sparklie mesh..and it is too plain, I think.

I think the boob dam could do with a little bit of decoration, maybe just a few appliqués or something.

Maybe a creeping design up the boob reservoir or inside the straps to make them look less strappy and, thereby, echoing what's going on in the hip area.

You're awesome

Okay Anala I have to say this and it relates to comments in the other thread about shortening the halter strap: having a tiny thin halter strap holding up any girls over say a B cup size is NOT a good idea.

If I were you, I would add two pieces of grossgrain ribbon (in either a nude that matches your skin, or a color that matches the costume) that attach at the center point of the back of the halter, and then run down in an inverted V and attach at the back/side of the bra band (I'm assuming there is a non stretchy bra band under the dress?).

Do it first with safety pins. If you get it adjusted properly, it will relieve pressure from the neck and you will get a miraculous all-around lifting effect on the bustline.

The only problem will be that, given that its a dress, you won't be able to sew down the straps at both ends. Either the top or bottom will have to hook or pin, and it will require you to have an assistant getting into the costume.

OK Sedonia...give it to me straight...is it a matter of proportion of boobs to shoulders to straps, or is it that the girls are looking a bit...well...droopy? They may be looking that way cause the cups don't come up high enough in proportion to the size of the breasts, leaving a kind of boob yarmulke effect. The neck strap (while small ) is actually holding up only about one third of the weight. The band/cup is doing most of the work. If you notice on the this pix (I took many of the more..ahhh...overexposed pix down) the breast swell begins under my collarbone and that ain't everyday normal for these old sisters. I just cant yank em up any higher!

no, no its not that you look droopy, not at all. I also don't think you are showing too much cleavage, though the boob dam will probably look good also.

Its just a soapbox I have that halter straps are mega bad for the neck. And a thin halter strap -- even worse because it digs into a smaller area. The bigger in the chest one is, the worse this design is. Reading what you wrote about if you crank it up any further the strap would snap -- that just made me think it must be hurting you. With the racer back modification, you can yank em up as high as they are now, but with far less stress on your neck. Also there is something about the racer back modification that seems to be extra flattering. Its not that it lifts the boobs more, its that it lifts them *better*.

Ahhh..I gotcha now!

I do think the thin halter strap looks a little out of proportion, even on the mannequin. A wider strap might look better.

any of the paisley patches left? to add to the the wider neck strap, to carry the "leave" design of the dress up around the neck, don't care for the boob dam either. can't wait to see it.

Originally Posted by anala

I dont care for the boob dam, do you guys? The hip area looks good though!

Wow, this look good. You really do have an eye for this Anala.

I would suggest wider straps on the bra and continue the applique design onto the boob dam area. Have it start on the cup it leaves off underneath and snake up the chest to the opposite shoulder area where it would meet with the strap. Does that makes since?..g.:

Kadoodle remembered this design .... it will take me 4 edits to get the pics in (sorry, dinosaur here): Maybe this will work: It's one of Tim's bra designs (Dahlal's Diamond line). It's like a halter, but made out of slightly stretchy fabric instead of straps, crosses over in FRONT first,then hooks in back: Pic No. 1 -

Yes...there is an S curve that travels up the abdomen to the left, so I will complete that shape to the right shoulder. I just ordered some brown ITY to get the halter straps bigger. I have 18 appliques left for the other hip and the top. need about 10 more to make it look dense enough

Ah...yes...I love this design and played with it for the Blue Cat. My shoulders are so wide that the X shape at my breast bone makes my shoulders look as wide as the grill of a Buick made the year of my birth. But...if you need some hay bucked...I'm your girl!

Do the four pics above make sense? The cross-over part looks small, but it stretches as it kind of twists, and boy is it comfortable to wear. NO stress on the neck at all. Even 'tho I'm just a little ol' B, I feel stress on the neck from ordinary straps, too. (This also covers up my--ahem--mature neck area) -- Maybe some chocolate lycra with a sparkling of gold sequins that would blend in with the rest of the fabric?

Sorry, was editing while you were answering .... what if the cross over extended to the top of the dress in back? Also, if you use enough fabric for the X, you can pull some of it down onto the top of the shoulder (like a cap) -- that would minimize the effect you describe above ..

Makes goood sense...but, like I said before you were finished posting your pix (sorry I stepped on you) ...do you need any doors shouldered down like a swat team just arrived? It is the front X that accentuates the bust/shoulder area. Good design for small busted women with wide hips.

Originally Posted by anala

Makes goood sense...but, like I said before you were finished posting your pix (sorry I stepped on you) ...do you need any doors shouldered down like a swat team just arrived?

..l;,..l;,..l;, Gotcha!

PS -- the cutout areas look GORGEOUS now!!!!!!!!!!! That was brilliant.

I am so glad you like it! I wanna make you proud of your wonderful enabeling...you do know the right dress for the right dancer!!!

Originally Posted by anala

I am so glad you like it! I wanna make you proud of your wonderful enabeling...you do know the right dress for the right dancer!!!

,r:; Awwwwwwww............. you just made my day, girl ......

Obsessing over this thread keeps my nose out of the Swap Meet where it does not belong right now ......... by the way, did you use "fray check" or something after cutting out the appliques from the sleeves? I have a project which may or may not happen -- involves cutting out some designs from the fabric matrix .... (butterflies) ..... does fray check work for that?

Hmmm....I cut them out with a little xtra fabric...turned it under and sewed the edges by hand. Fray check sound a lot easier!

I love these types of threads and projects - Fantastic work!

.w.: Hummm... here's the other thread... ,r:;
I'm following this costume's soap opera . I can't wait to see how it's gonna look like! ..g.: