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Member since 6/22/10
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Posted on: 7/25/11 7:35 PM ET
I'm trying to cut a 10 inch wide band to add a contrasting hem to a 10-panel gored dress. The dress' top fabric is all cut to the right height, but I can't figure out how to cut the band of fabric evenly. I tried laying the dress out on a matching grain, tracing the bottom hem of each panel, continuing the panel edge lines down to the sides of the band, and using a tape measure even with the traced hemline to measure 10 inches down, but the resulting bands ranged in width from 8 to 10 inches. I'm running out of fabric, and most of what I cut was unusable. Does anyone know how I can do this and get it right this time?
  
Member since 7/13/07
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Posted on: 7/25/11 8:53 PM ET
Do you want the contrast band to be a continuous piece or are seams okay?
------
Paula

"In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running."
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder

Visit my blog at www.sewconfused.blogspot.com
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Member since 6/22/10
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Posted on: 7/25/11 9:37 PM ET
Seams are fine. The hem will be 24 feet long, so it'd better have seams.
  
Member since 7/13/07
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Posted on: 7/25/11 10:48 PM ET
Is this how you measured for band?


------
Paula

"In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running."
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder

Visit my blog at www.sewconfused.blogspot.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/paulag1955/sewing-inspiration/
  
Member since 4/1/08
Posts: 16111
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Posted on: 7/25/11 11:01 PM ET
In reply to silverlilly1
Great sketch paulag 1955.

If this is what you did the first time around, I wonder if variations in the fall of the skirt over the hip and bottom have become more exaggerated at the bottom of the skirt and then even more proportionately exaggerated with the longer length. Was the original hem length done from a hanger, or on a body measuring up from the ground in the shoes that were meant to be worn with the dress?

-- Edited on 7/25/11 11:47 PM --
------
Each fallen petal reveals a life pollinated by a colony
and nurtured by The Master Gardener.
  
Member since 6/22/10
Posts: 10
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Posted on: 7/26/11 0:06 AM ET
When the dress was cut, it was done while wearing it. We used a hem chalker, so that it was all an even distance from the ground. I was not wearing shoes. There are no problems with the length of the top section. It seems very even while wearing. The bottom band, I couldn't measure the way you show because not all pieces are gores, some are full-length dress panels. I measured down from the bottom "hem" of the top part of the dress, with the dress laid out flat on top of the contrast fabric, matching grain lines. Does this make sense? I'm not sure if I understood the question properly.
-- Edited on 7/26/11 0:15 AM --
  
Member since 7/13/07
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Posted on: 7/26/11 0:10 AM ET
Is it possible to see a photo of the dress?
------
Paula

"In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running."
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder

Visit my blog at www.sewconfused.blogspot.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/paulag1955/sewing-inspiration/
  
Member since 6/22/10
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Posted on: 7/26/11 0:35 AM ET
Trying to post pictures:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/p1060541m.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/807/p1060540.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/52/p1060539e.jpg/

You'll have to copy these into the address bar - I couldn't figure out how to post pictures. The dress is pretty rough around the edges right now, but my next step is the bottom.
  
Member since 7/13/07
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Posted on: 7/26/11 0:49 AM ET
In reply to silverlilly1
Is the hem even right now and is it a smooth curve all the way around? Is that a godet in the front and is that what you're referring to when you say gore?
-- Edited on 7/26/11 0:51 AM --
------
Paula

"In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running."
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder

Visit my blog at www.sewconfused.blogspot.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/paulag1955/sewing-inspiration/
  
Member since 6/22/10
Posts: 10
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Posted on: 7/26/11 1:07 AM ET
From what I've read, a godet starts in the skirt below the hips. These start at waist level. The one in the front is split and has not been sewn together yet. The skirt appears to be level, but it is not an even curve. I think this is because the four main body panels all flare out at the sides and go straight down in the front and back. Between every body panel there is a gore, no matter whether the panel flares toward the gore or not.
  
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