My vision of the dress was already growing in my mind as I assembled the materials and everything fell into place at an amazing speed! My first goal was to get the artificial branches onto a belt I made with heavy gauge wire. It was a simple task of bending it into a hook and loop for easy removal later when I draped the fabric on for the top part of the dress. You can see a close up pictured below. The branches did not reach the floor but I had enough short pieces that were attached to other branches to extend things and fill it up so there were not gaps.
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Once the greenery was fluffed up and ready to decorate, I had to make the blouse. My bathroom shower curtain find was just right for that period and I draped in on to get a feel for things and let my imagination fly. I turn ideas around on how to cut and drape and shape it without sewing. My trusty glue gun came to the rescue! The skirt came off and a white turtleneck thrift store score was my base. I quickly whip stitched the neck closed to hide the hardware. With a few folds and tucks, I was able to give the impression of a fairly decent period style dress top. At least I think I did lol! Buster the cat was my trusty helper too! Note the stuffed back end which created a "bustle" of sorts.
 Draping fabric helps me visualize an end result.  I call this the Luke Skywalker phase! |  Buster my trusty cat, is always helping!  Excess fabric at the back forced me to be creative and turn it into a bustle which is quite fitting of the period! #happy accidents  Dresses of that period also frequently had a low V panel and this coincidentally helped hide all the wires and stems! : ) |
Sometimes more is better! ; ) Next were lights! I had one set of 50 clear white scintillating lights which would be perfect for a sparkly feel. They went on easily and the wiry branches helped secure it all for transport. Here's a quick tip: When attaching lights, turn them on so you can see where they will be. Then turn them off while decorating so as not to blind you from proper ornament placement.
When I decorate, I always sort my ornaments by size and colour then start with the largest dominant colour and work my way down. But for this situation, things were different. I had several feet of gold beading and I worried that I might not have sufficient ornaments for a full effect. I decided to create a "border" on the hemline to shorten my space needing decorations. I gathered the beaded garland up evenly and tacked a bow at each gather. I got a little carried away with so much beading but I'm happy to say that the effect was better than I imagined.
When I decorate, I always sort my ornaments by size and colour then start with the largest dominant colour and work my way down. But for this situation, things were different. I had several feet of gold beading and I worried that I might not have sufficient ornaments for a full effect. I decided to create a "border" on the hemline to shorten my space needing decorations. I gathered the beaded garland up evenly and tacked a bow at each gather. I got a little carried away with so much beading but I'm happy to say that the effect was better than I imagined.
 I had just enough bows!  What a fun way to play with grasses and another way to fill in areas that won't be in view. | I added a few more brown bows to complement the border ones. Next came the ornaments starting with my most plentiful item, the gold sparkly onion wire balls. and followed by my feathers. The Hydrangeas were last in this case as they are fragile and as an afterthought, I'd definitely go with silk for a more permanent display. During my search for free natural decor items, I had collected ornamental grasses that resembled feathers and decided to fill out the back with a showy display of a tail. The outcome was fun and magical! I had enough gold beading to make my lady a matching necklace as well! I was so very pleased with the results of this challenge. Be sure to watch the video below! Now on to the accessories to enhance our Dickens Christmas display! I wrapped some empty Christmas light boxes in brown coat paper and tied them up with string for a nice rustic touch. |
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The top hat was a black fleece tuque and neck warmer covering a cardboard cylinder stapled and hot glued to a fedora type hat. The fedora eliminated the need to make a hat brim. The cane was transformed into a crutch by wrapping the curved end until it looked like a "T" just like in the movie.
I also got my hands on a straw hat to transform into a bonnet. I collected dried hydrangeas to decorate the dress and all of it got sprayed gold. Everything turned out great, I even made it in the local papers! I hope I've inspired you and have given you the basics on how to put one together!
With Love,
Rolande
With Love,
Rolande
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