Patron Dress
The Utah Shakespeare Festival
Summer 2018
Designer: Bill Black
Draper: Diana Girtain
First Hand: Alex Hagman
Stitcher: Ryan Rankin
This dress was built for a patron of the Shakespeare Festival in place of the cancelled build of "Pearl's in the House." This patron won the dress at an auction to benefit the Festival's upcoming seasons.
The underdress was cut by Alex and constructed by Ryan Rankin.
The overdress was cut and constructed by Alex.
Patterned and fit by Diana Girtain.
Coin purse patterned and constructed by Alex.
Click photo to enlarge and expand description.
 Overdress and UnderdressOverdress: Alex Hagman
Underdress: Ryan Rankin
Belt, Pattern, Fit: Diana Girtain |  Rabbit Chalk and MarkingOne of the challenges with burnout velvet is finding a good marking strategy. After some experimentation, it was determined that Rabbit chalk was the best option. It fades away with steam, leaving little to no residue behind, and is faster and more efficient than thread tracing the pattern. |
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 Organza Stay TapeAfter the bias was hung out over the weekend and the stitch lines re-marked, a straight-of-grain strip of organza was cut and basted onto the stitch line to act as stay tape. |  OverdressHere, you can see the nearly completed overdress without the belt. |
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 Overdress Sleeve DetailThe lace edging was applied by stitching first to the wrong side of the fabric along the seam line, trimming away excess hem, turning up, and stitching again on the right side of the sleeve. |  OverdressUnder-bust pleating detail and trim detail. Due to the nature of this material, nearly all seams were basted by hand before being sewn on the machine. |
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 Overdress - Front |  Overdress - Side |
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 Overdress - Back |  Patterning for Coin PurseThe coin purse was patterned using an existing purse. Here, a mockup is being cut to ensure the purse will fit onto the metal clasp and also be large enough to hold keys and a phone. |
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 Marking and Cutting the Lining |  Interior ViewBoth the outer fabric and the lining were stitched to the clasp by hand. This step proved extremely tricky as the clasp was barely large enough to get a hand through. The bottom of the lining was then sewn shut by hand. |
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 Completed View of Purse |
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