Puckered skirt?

> They called it a Full puckered organza skirt and I've been searching,> and you can only imagine the response I've gotten using the term > "pucker"!!>

Heavens, that's a perfectly straighforward sleeveless bodice and gathered skirt, with organza or other sheer overskirt and a colored sash on top. You should be able to find a pattern for it in any of the pattern books. The only thing to watch for is the size - the "Big Three" tend to size patterns for baby elephants. I suggest you make a sash rather than a colored waistband - more room to pull in or let out depending on whether the child grows between fittings.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

> They called it a Full puckered organza skirt and I've> been searching,

It appears to be "puckered" with tiny stitches or (maybe a bead?) a lot like flocking, only farther apart. I think if you make a full gathered overskirt skirt, and then make marks in a diamond pattern about 6" apart, and take little tucks at each mark you would get that affect. I would make the underskirt a little less full to compensate for the "tucks" in the overskirt.

Beverly

> They called it a Full puckered organza skirt and I've been searching,> and you can only imagine the response I've gotten using the term > "pucker"!!>

Cut or tear a piece of organdy as long as you want the skirt to be, and as wide as you want the distance around the hem to be. Mark three rows of spots on the fabric, with the spots in each row halfway between the spots in the row above or below. Take a few stitches in each spot, drawing up the same amount of fabric each time. (Best to mark pairs of spots, rather than singles, so as to regulate the length of the stitches.) Draw each stitch tight and finish off on the back

-- I'd tie the beginning and the end of each spot together, as the simplest way.

Gather the organdy onto the bodice. Since the underskirt isn't quite as full as the organdy skirt, I'd gather them separately, then permanent-baste one on before sewing on the other.

I would make the bodice of organdy underlined with the underskirt fabric, and also make a full bodice lining of the underskirt fabric -- or the slip fabric if the underskirt is crisp -- so as to have something to tack down over the raw edges of the skirts. (And though the bodice is tiny, by the time you've cut out three copies, you will have used up an enormous amount of fabric.)

Make a slip of handkerchief linen or a lightweight cotton-linen blend by using the same bodice pattern with the arm and neck holes cut just a tad bigger.

For the sash, select a fabric that looks good on both sides, hem a long strip on all four edges, tie a bow in back. Fold it narrow where it goes around the waist, let it flare out in the tails. (I like tails with the ends cut on the bias.)

Joy Beeson

Joy, what a perfect way to spell out exactly how you'd do it! I'm going to get the material today.

Thank you for your help!

Piggybacking on Joy's excellent post: Fast way to mark the organza would be to spread it out on a gridded cutting mat, a checked tablecloth, or even a tile floor, and use the "premarked" grid to choose your spacing and placement of stitches.

Kay