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Big fat ballgown skirts

Hello all,

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to handle yards and yards of skirt fabric? I have just finished making a 6.5 yard skirt for a Civil War re-enactment ballgown. Before this was a Civil War daydress with a

5 yard skirt, and waiting to go is a "wraper" with another ton of yardage in the skirt. I'm new at this type of sewing and it's killing me! I drape it over the ironing board to attach trims and/or baste; then again to press. The weigth of the fabric pulls everything out of whack causing me to lose valuable time. I tried using the back of a chair to support it as best I could and it worked OK but is not going to work out in the long run. There has to be a better way. I have run into the same problem sewing. It's sew 6 inches, stop, repostion the fabric, smooth it out, stitch for antoher 6 inchesm and start over again. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Liz W

Reply to
Liz W
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One of the first things I ever made was a "pioneer" dress for a cousin to wear in a Pioneer Day parade. I was in 9th grade and had a semester of home-ec under my belt, so away we went with 10 yards of fabric, darts, set-in sleeves, and a zipper. Wound up setting the portable sewing machine on the floor and working the foot pedal with my knee. Worked pretty well, and even turned out nicely! I was as shocked as she was, I think.

Robin Gaithersburg, MD

Reply to
RobinM

I use an L shaped set-up for this kind of thing. I have some Ikea basket drawers on wheels that I shove up to the sewing bench so that I have extra support at my left side. For even bigger stuff, or very heavy or slippery fabrics, I set up a bigger table in the conservatory and put another one next to it in the L shape. Plenty of support is what you need, and occasionally a second pair of hands to help move the fabric as you sew. :)

Reply to
Kate Dicey

you need a big table - big enough to fan fold the cloth both in front of and behind the sewing machine, and to put the cloth on the table so it runs freely. after that it's the speed of the sewing machine.

Reply to
robert

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think larger tables in a "L" shape will do the job. I'm thinking about finding someone with woodworking skills to make something similar to a sleeve pressing board only much larger to go on top of the tables. My goal would be to "roll" the fabric around the board as I baste or pin trims in place. Well, it works in my head!

Liz W

Reply to
Liz W

One more idea that I've heard described but never actually tried: Rig up a way to hang the garment on a rotating hanger above your sewing surface. Seems like it would be easier to manage the weight - at least it wouldn't be heading for the floor! Liz

Reply to
Liz Megerle

Try making them A-line, rather than with the full yardage gathered to the waist.

HTH

--Karen D.

Reply to
Veloise

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