sewcreatelive: Cristobal Balenciaga Red Evening Gown

Cristobal Balenciaga Red Evening Gown

The original Balenciaga red evening gown was made in 1952 out of silk taffeta. It would have had an elegant rustling sound when the wearer moved in the gown. I chose to make a replica dress out of red charmeuse satin for a lovely drape.

BODICE DRAPING

To begin draping the bodice, I added draping tape for the neckline and the midriff part. I did not need to mark the princess seam since it was already a seam. Notice at CF there is a small seam above the midriff. This might prove to be a little tricky.

Here is the draping tape for the back neckline and the dropped waist.

Watch this video of the draping process. First, the front midriff.

Draping the upper front bodice, with pleats at the shoulder.

(Missing one draping video)

Showing the finished draped bodice front after it has been trued and seams are pinned together.

Draped bodice back with markings and seam allowances added.

SKIRT DRAPING AND CONSTRUCTION

Draping the skirt front and back. I had to guess how full to make it by looking at the Balenciaga gown skirt fullness.

Skirt back. The side seams are balanced.

Connecting the bodice to the skirt to test the waist seam and see how it looks. Draping is so visual.

Because the skirt has three tiers of balloon skirts, I had to decide how much to let the skirt hems hang below the seams. I decided to do 2 1/2 fullness ratio for the skirt gathers. I made paper patterns for the three skirt sections. The underskirt will be made out of muslin with a crinoline backing for structure. There is a slight train on the floor at CB.

I cut the skirt tiers out of muslin and underlined them with crinoline for extra structure. Sewing the side seams and CB seams of the skirt tiers, leaving CB open on the top skirt tier.

With the three skirt tiers, I traced the paper patterns to add even fullness for the gathers. I will first cut it out in muslin and test the desired fullness.

Testing out the tiered skirt fullness and the drop at the bottom of each layer.

Skirt back view of the three tiers. There is a slight train to the back hem.

I am happy with the skirt fullness. Cutting out the red satin skirt tiers.

To save time on the bottom layer, I used the gathering foot to gather the fullness.

Adding the bottom gathers to the bottom of the bottom skirt tier lower edge, right side of satin to wrong side of muslin and crinoline. This way the seam will be hidden inside the fabric layers. Understitching is also helpful.

Sewing the gathered skirt layer to the bottom of the bottom skirt tier.

Zigzagging over a cotton cord on the top of the bottom skirt tier. This is a stronger method for gathering long lengths of fabric. The skirt has been divided into 8 equal parts to attach it to the top of the muslin layer.

After the satin layer is pinned to the muslin/crinoline layer, they are sewn together. Then the bottom of the gathered second skirt is pinned to top of the bottom skirt tier. Then these are sewn together.

Here is a look at the wrong side.

Testing out the look of the bottom two skirt tiers. This is all an experiment, but it is looking good. (Note: normally I would never put a CF seam in the bottom tier of the skirt. But because this was a sample, and I was running out of time, I did it because the the fabric was not wide enough.)

Zigzag over a cord on the top edge of the second skirt tier. Pin skirt to the top edge of the second muslin skirt tier. Then add the gathered bottom edge of the top skirt tier.

Sew together.

Testing out all three layers. It is looking good.

Skirt back view.

Gather the top of the top skirt tier and sew it to the muslin/crinoline layer.

BODICE CONSTRUCTION

Working on the bodice underlining. There will be bias-cut boning channels sewn into each panel to contain the boning strips.

Hand baste the underlining to the wrong side of the satin bodice pieces.

This part was very tricky. First sew the bust darts, stopping 1/4" from the bottom. (This will serve as a "clip.") Next, sew the CF seam, stopping 1/4" from the top and bottom of the seam. (These will also serve as "clips.") Then pin the midriff to the bodice front, pivoting at the corners. Check seams for errors. Then press seams.

This is what the bodice front looks like on the wrong side. (Thread tails still need to be trimmed ; )

Repeat the same thing with the front bodice lining.

Add all the boning strips before testing the fit of the side seams. Every layer adds a little bit of bulk, from the underlining, the boning channels, and the boning itself. I have added extra wide seam allowances on the sides to allow for this if necessary.

Pin the shoulder pleats to check the fit. Pin the bodice side seams together and check for fit.

Sew the side seams. Sew the side seams for the bodice lining.

Because the front and back necklines are bias grain, add twill tape for stability. Here is the bodice back.

Bodice front with added twill tape to stabilize.

Sew the side seams of the bodice lining. Pin the bodice to the bodice lining. Sew the armholes from shoulder to shoulder.

Clip concave curves to release tension.

If this was a full-scale dress, the shoulder pleats would have been sewn and then the shoulders would have been sewn together. Because of the small 1/2 scale size, and that it is a sample, the outside bodice pleats and lining pleats were basted together. (They will be hidden under the shoulder fabric strip. Trim seam allowances.

There is an opening left in the CB of the skirt to allow for a centered zipper. Pin the bodice to the skirt at the waist, matching the side seams and CB.