Yet another use for my TNT Ottobre tee.
I've been wanting a cover for Zillie for a long time, but I just never seemed to get a round tuit. Well, I found my tuit tonight. I'm so glad Zillie's bra, cami, and shoulder pads will never have to peek out again.
I laid out my Ottobre pattern onto some Power Dry (recognize it Mary Beth?) and then chalked on some cut-on sleeves and a high neck and cut out the two pieces. Then I serged the sides and shoulder seams and put it on Zillie wrong side out. I pinned in some darts to eliminate all the ease in the tee and sewed them on the sewing machine. The darts aren't exactly even or straight, but I don't care. I wasn't going for perfection and these are doing their job just fine. The whole process took about 30 minutes start to finish, with the Olympics on in the background.
Now all that's left is to take off the white tee Zillie is still wearing underneath this cover and to figure out what to do for the hem. I'm thinking a drawstring or elastic so the bottom cups under Zillie's bottom, but I may just let it hang free. I might close the sleeves too, but probably not. At least not until they get in the way of something. And I can see she needs a bit more shoulder padding to equal my square shoulders. But I'll need to find another tuit before I do anything.
The one thing this really enforced is how easy it would be to pin fit myself if I had a true body double. Pinning those darts on a statuary figure was like child's play compared to the contortions and trials I go through to pin fit on my own body. I think I might see a duct tape double in my future, if I can get past the reality shock. I'll need a lot of spare tuits for that.
Oh, and thanks everyone for all the nice comments on my Coldwater Creek
You're too funny. Zillie looks great now, although slightly creepy "in the flesh" as it were.
ReplyDeleteKathryn (fzxdoc) has a great tutorial for padding out a dummy to match. g
That is very nice and looks a lot better that brown fuzzy felt and hardware peeking out like mine.I don't have a prayer in you know of getting taped so I guess I will have to pad and cover the big monster if I ever manage tuit. mssewcrazy
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Debbie, I recognize that powerdry color. Zillie looks very good now, nice and smooth but eerily naked. She'd probably love a lace cardy. Or a saucy fedora.
ReplyDeleteDuct tape doubles are easy - you just need a patient friend, some sharp scissors and a day that's not too hot (trust me on that - swoon).
ReplyDeleteI've got the shortest torso in the universe, so a normal dress dummy does me no good. But the duct tape dummy ... that's another story.
Debbie - it was your tutorial I followed when filling out my own dressform. Now that I've lost a bit of weight, I'll have to redo it - when I get some tuits, too - and then I think I'll cover mine like this too. It looks so much better - and professional - than my bra or cami showing when people walk past my sewing loft. LOL. I like your drawstring idea for the hem.
ReplyDeleteScore another one for the Ottobre tee pattern! Zillie looks great--tanned, rested and ready for the next project. I vote for elastic or a drawstring around the bottom. I bet you'll find that the extra fabric gets in the way at some point in the future. Just my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteZillie looks beautiful! You have shamed me -- I must make a cover for my Dolly. I have a duct tape Dolly, but have to fix it because I have improved my posture. (Yea, lots of hard work, helps with fitting, but Dolly is the old me.) It really does help with back fitting.I actually have some PowerDry (what a good choice of fabric!). I just have to find some tuit time. BTW, DH did my duct taping. I won't tell you how many favors I did for that one. We actually had lots of fun and laughs!
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