The Sewing Place

Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central

Sonatine

Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« on: August 29, 2017, 12:06:12 PM »
I've long been an admirer of Susan Hilferty's wonderful designs and I've made a couple of dresses inspired by her work on Wicked but this is the first time I've attempted a full replica. I remember people on TSF being really lovely and supportive so I thought I'd start a thread here for when I need a gentle kick up the backside to keep sewing sequins on! Also I love seeing other people's work so hopefully someone will enjoy reading about this.

The first thing to do was to collect sequins. Each dress is slightly different but they all have approximately 70,000 sequins on the skirt petals and bodice. They've come from a wide range of sources including unexpected finds at the rag market which turned out to be a gold mine for cheap sequin trim and massive bags from poundland. I think the current collection of sequins is about half of the total needed.

Fabric wise, the skirt is sorted. It's sheer iridescent fabric (similar weight to organza but it doesn't quite feel like it) with pale blue organza over the top and white tulle over that which the sequins are sewn on to. The bodice is holographic lycra with blue power mesh sequinned and then streched over, both ordered but haven't arrived yet. The original dress has massive petticoats but to reduce the weight and cost of the skirt I'm using my hoops with a couple of layers of petticoats over the top. The movement won't be quite right but I think it's a worthwhile compromise.

Progress so far is an attempt at drafting the skirt petals and pinning them onto the hoops. They don't quite look right as the middle layers are too narrow and the skirt isn't full enough without the added petticoats but it's a starting point. I've tried to attach photos of everything!

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2017, 12:11:51 PM »
Crikey!  That's a job and a half!  Love the colours and fabrics.  Will you have to put the sequins on depending on the colours, or will they be random?  I can't imagine how you'd start to sort where each colour would go!

Sonatine

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2017, 12:46:55 PM »
The sequins go on fairly randomly, they're meant to look like bubbles floating up the dress. My current plan is just to mix all of the sequins together and sew them on in whatever order they happen to come in.

Vegegrow

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2017, 14:02:19 PM »
hadn't heard of Susan Hilferty .. but I'm not involved with stage work so went to have a look at her work which is amazing
 My only thought was that I'd divide the strong colour sequins into a bag for each petal  so you know you'll have a balance of colour 
"The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary." ~Mary Kurtz

Sonatine

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2017, 14:18:29 PM »
Thank you Vegegrow that's a really good idea! Her work is stunning isn't it - the ensemble costumes for Wicked are great too, all asymmetrical and odd looking. The bubble dress is one of the only symmetrical costumes in the show, Glinda has some wonderful outfits including a suit jacket with one sleeve and diagonal buttons.

Thecostumelady

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2017, 19:53:08 PM »
Love that bubble dress!! - I can feel a tutu design coming on!  :D Ann x

CarolC

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2017, 09:50:55 AM »
Wow!! That is going to be amazing!

Catllar

Re: Bubble Dress AKA Sequin Central
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2017, 23:37:31 PM »
That'll be stunning!
If life gives you lemons, add to gin and tonic !