News from the 'evening gown front'

Buttons? covered, ornamental, matching or nearly invisible? Would any sort of buttons do it? I understand your "I've been let down before" remark. Once upon a time I had a zipper simply give up. Not good. Polly

Good old fashioned basting. Adds minimal bulk, and can be pulled for cleaning easily. If you happen to have silk thread, that usually leaves minimal perma- holes in the fabrics.

Kay

How about French tacks?

They are really easy to do. They work well for belt loops as well as joining two layers of a garment. The nice thing is they hold layers in place, but allow for movement too. So things don't pop apart if you move. ;)

Sharon

Thank you so much for your input!

@ Polly: I had thought about buttons, too; perhaps attached to the outer garment's inside, and the buttonholes in the underdress. Or the buttons on the underdress and then loops on the belt. However, I think especially in the rear there might be too much strain put on the construction if I sit down carelessly, and I would consider it a serious drawback of the garment if I had to be too careful when even just sitting down. Perhaps the thing with the buttons on the underdress, combined with loops is worth a second thought, though, because that might give the whole a nice touch of effortlessness; the upper moving slightly against the under garment...

@ Sharon: French tacks are a great invention, so much is sure. I used them to fix the facing on my DSIL's jacket to the fashion fabric. But I fear that this connection between my two layers will be a bit too permanent, or rather, too time consuming to re-do every time I clean the dress. The principle is good, though, for the loops to hold the buttons in Polly's plan...

@ Kay: I hadn't thought about that. Of course, why not! Reminds me of the badly done ladies' costuming in cheap historical features: The ladies weren't laced on the back with ropes but sewn! into their dresses. That method would, indeed, create a maximum security in keeping both layers in place, combined with optimal strain relief. I'll keep your and Polly's suggestions in mind. Thanks a lot, and I'll keep you informed!

U.

Today I cut the middle out of the shoestrings on DH's new tennis shoes. (For reasons totally obscure to me, the shoes came with strings long enough to wrap around his legs several times a la ballerina.) After stitching the shortening strings back together and cleverly hiding the mend in the new shoes, I opening my 'strange things' bin to add the shoestring remains. I noticed some button loop tape squirreled away in there. Maybe it's a leftover from helping a bride keep her train in place and remove it. Since your 'put it together securely' and be able to 'take it apart' challenge was in the back of my mind, I wondered if such a notion might work for you. Honestly. I am not pushing buttons. No affiliation. Doesn't rise to the level of a suggestion; only a thought. Polly

Thank you for that suggestion; I had to look up button loop tape, though. I had no idea that there is something like that! This moves the button-it-on version back into the top ranks. ;-) Monika warned me against trying something without a pattern for the top gown, so I guess I might try a version of the good old Kimono, perhaps with pin tucks over the shoulders and sleeves. For the drapey effect around the hem, I might simply round off the corners and let the hemline end a few centimetres above that of the undergarment. I'll have to make a few sketches and drape the fabric to see how it looks, but I think I'm on the right way here. To lend some drama to the sleeves, I could round them like this:

Well, August is still a long way off, so I have ample time to mull things over.

U.