Hi again and help please - ball dress with hood??!!

[kiltsnquilts]

I am de-lurking to ask a question - well that isn't the only reason    I haven't had much time for the computer lately but I have just set up a personal and shop blog and am dedicated to making a bit more time for my favourite sites and blogs (this is top of the list!)

I have agreed/offered to make a school ball dress for a young friend.  The basis will be this BWOF pattern with a different skirt.  She wants it to have a hood.  It should be fairly simple to convert the collar to a hood but I wanted to ask if anyone has any ideas/advice for keeping it simple?  She said she wanted the hood to look a bit like the ones on a graduation gown - are they pointed? I only have until 1st August to get it finished 

She has chosen a lovely Oyster coloured satin for the main dress with a Chocolate satin as trim and hood lining.  Will look lovely when it is finished - I can see a few late nights before then though 

[vtmartha]

This is a little confusing to me, probably due to the words we use to describe things on our different continents.  When I first think of a hood, I think of a head covering attached at the neck.  However, the hoods which are a part of graduation gowns I've worn, are more like a fabric necklace which hangs down in back.  Their actual shape and color is dictated by the institution which grants the degree.  Kathryn (fzxdoc) has recently posted a photo of a sundress which might be interpreted as having that kind of 'hood'.  Great looking pattern, btw!

[fzxdoc]

I agree with Martha, that the hood on graduation gowns are more of a strip of cloth with a bit of a drape to them. Here are photos that Martha is referring to on my recent sundress:





I modified New Look 6401 for the bodice of that sundress:



Here's a hood from a graduation gown and hood:



There is a new Marcy Tilton Vogue pattern that has a dressy top with a hood:



The top is too mature for what you have in mind, but you can see the effect of a real hood in a more dressy fabric.

Let us know what patterns you finally use for this interesting project, kiltsnquilts! And it's nice to see you posting here again!

Kathryn

[Liana]

Burda appears to be having a maintenance moment, so I couldn't see the pattern. Here's a dress Chanel had in their 2008 Fall Couture collection that I loved.  It looks so demure, and perfect for a teen.  It has such a lovely hood.

photos from Style.com

[vtmartha]

Umm.  You should be able to whip that up in a jif.    It is pretty incredible!  I never thought of a ball gown with a hood but now I can see all sorts of possibilities.

[SewingLibrarian]

Is it my imagination or does that model look as if she's having trouble standing up straight?
Linda

[kiltsnquilts]

Thanks for all the great replies and advice!  I think that what she wants is a cross between a real hood and a decorative one!  She wants it to have a 'kind of point' (!! teenagers  ) and hang down to approx her waist.  I don't think she is too concerned if it is functional.

vtmartha, thanks, 'fabric necklace that hangs down the back' was a great description - I have never seen/worn a graduation gown except in films/photos, I could have sworn they had a hood.  Just goes to show ya! 

Kathryn, thanks for the great photos!  I love your sundress - oh what else have I missed while I have been 'on hiatus'?!  thanks also for the welcome back, I didn't quite realise how much I missed this place until I came back    Love the Marcy Tilton pattern too, may have to buy that one and put it aside for next winter!  Thanks 

Liana, I love that Chanel dress!  Beautiful!  thank goodness she hasn't seen anything like it - and I am not showing her either    As Linda said, it looks as if she is having trouble standing up, it also looks as if she is having support the hood on her arms!

My idea is to hopefully keep it simple and 'just' (haha) extend the collar at the back.  Lets hope it is that simple - I will keep you posted!

[fzxdoc]

I love that Chanel gown, Liana! I just may have to knock it off.    

However, I can't see dancing in it, as in a school ball as kiltsnquilts will be sewing for, or, for that matter  for us folks of a certain age, dancing to the seemingly forevermore sounds of Motown and other perennial gezerette crowd favs.    

I hate it when we go to a dance and the band looks out at the muchly grey-haired crowd and begins exclusively playing sounds of the 60s and 70s.  I feel like whining, "can't they play something from this millenium at least???"    Seems like I've been dancing to KC and the Sunshine Band's Shake Shake Shake my whole life!  

Kathryn

[dscheidt]

vtmartha, thanks, 'fabric necklace that hangs down the back' was a great description - I have never seen/worn a graduation gown except in films/photos, I could have sworn they had a hood.  Just goes to show ya! 

The academic hood is a separate piece of clothing from the gown.  Details vary very widely depending on the institution they were granted by, and the degree for which they're granted.  Some are (at least traditionally) useful as an actual head covering, many aren't.  They're not actually worn as a head covering though, just a thing around the neck and hanging down the back, which shows off the rank of the wearer.

[kiltsnquilts]

Oh dear, what have I let myself in for???   

L has just been round for a second fitting, the hood I had attached to the shawl collar isn't quite what she had in mind.  When I showed her the picture of the graduation gown that fzxdoc had posted she said that is what she had in mind - she had described it as a big hood because she didn't know how else to describe that she wanted a big drape that looked like a hood!!

Anyway, we have had a play with the piece of chocolate brown satin that we bought and I can get the effect she wants by literally folding it in half to form a triangle with the bias edge on the fold.  Then I will have to pleat the ends to make them the same width as the shouders of the dress.  the piece we bought is virtually the right size, it almost comes past her behind!  I think I will attach the drape with hooks and thread eyes at the shoulder which will keep down the thickness in the shoulder seam and also make the dress more versatile - what do you think?

It is back to the drawing board with the dress.  While she liked what we had chosen (chosen mainly because I thought it would be easy(?) to add a hood on to the collar) what she wants is just a very simple scoop neck, empire line dress.  She is happy with the shape of the skirt so that is one thing.

I had a feeling that it wasn't what she had in mind when she came for her first fitting.  I think she was saying it was ok because she didn't want to make extra work for me!  Wish she had said something or wish I had shown her the picture on Friday night! 

So......I now have one full day tomorrow, two evenings next week and then part of Friday and Sat afternoon to get it done.  the ball is Sat night so in an ideal world I would like to finish it on Friday night and have her pick it up Saturday. 

I am off to look through my BWOF for a simple empire line pattern, although I may just go to Spotlight tomorrow and buy a basic pattern to save me time tracing off!

Help!!   

[vtmartha]

I wasn't sure if this post might be useful in designing your hood.  This is done with sweater knits but I should think the same pattern could be made in a woven with less bulk.

[kiltsnquilts]

vtmartha, thanks for the link - I think we have it licked!!

L has just been round for a fitting for the second dress - well the bodice.  It is a very simple princess seam, empire line bodice, thankfully very little alterations needed!  We will put a narrow piping round the join of bodice and skirt and have draped the 'hood/drape' to a size that she is happy with.  I will cut out the actual fabric this afternoon and start assembling.  In actual fact, now we have changed the style of the dress it will be much quicker despite the wasted time of making the first muslin.

Thanks for your help and advice everyone - I will post photos on this page once I am finished.

[kiltsnquilts]

Phew, I have finished the dress!  It looks much better on than off but I haven't been able to geta photo of her wearing it.  the drape turned out really well, thanks for all the help and info everyone  


there are a couple more photos on my blog and on my flickr site.

etc: image links to image urls instead of page urls. 

[kiltsnquilts]

Oops, what did I do wrong there??



Ok, got it!

[fzxdoc]

Congrats on finishing the dress in the nick of time, kiltsnquilts!  It looks just as you described the young customer wanted it to look. She will feel elegant indeed in it.

Thanks so much for posting the photos! It's always fun to see how a much-discussed project turns out.

Kathryn

[kiltsnquilts]

Thanks Kathryn, and thanks for your input - the photo of the graduation gown really helped!  It has got me back in the saddle, so to speak - all the time I was sewing it I wanted to make some things for me!!  I did enjoy it though