Week 5 has been a slow one. All layers were sewn to the knickers by the end of week 4 but parts of the tulle were gathered too tight so the knickers had to be stretched to snap any threads that were shrinking the knickers. This meant that I had to go back and hand stitch parts of each layer back down to the knickers to prevent it falling apart. With the tutu plate nearing completion, I tried a test fit with the bodice to see if the basque could be cut to form the shape shown in the illustration. The bodice doesn’t look quite right so I will have to form the shaping some other way, likely by appliqueing over the top of the bodice.
Knowing that the basque doesn’t need to be cut to a different shape, I followed the pattern to create the standard basque form. The back of the basque has to overlap at the centre front, this is done by folding the left side, touching the edge of the seam allowance to the marked line and trimming the right side to that fold. Now, when both sides are hemmed, they overlap at the centre back and match the centre front line.
The waistband of the basque was sewn in petersham with small elastic pieces sewn into the sides. This allows the waistband to be malleable and form to the body it is sitting on.
With the basque now complete, the Tutu plate is sewn to it by hand as it is difficult to try and fit all of the material under the sewing machine. The basque was then fitted with fastenings to close it around the body. My first attempt at sewing the fastenings wasn’t secure enough and all the stitches came undone so it is important that these be hand sewn well to prevent them from coming loose.