Copyright AriaAustin, 1999 - 2010, all rights reserved.
Making of a Titanic Swim Dress
This gown I have made so many times I could probably make it in my sleep, and another deluxe gown is on order, all silks hand-dyed, freshwater pearls trimming, and hand-finished. The only change from a regular delixe version is that this gown will not have a train.
I've done pain-staking research on this gown, from colors to fabrics used. I've been fortunate enough to have received pictures from an owner of one of the 27 made for the film, though not so fortunate as to have one in my hands for study.
What I have been able to determine conclusively leads to the necessity of dying the fabric myself to achieve the right colors. The exact fabric used has been cited in the past by viewers of the gown on tours as georgette. However, the owner of the gown I talked with said it is actually chiffon. This causes me to wonder if some gowns made were georgette and some chiffon, depending on the particular scene. It's known that some of them were chopped shorter for some water scenes to enable Kate Winslet to more about more freely (and more safely). And each of the three Jump gowns used different laces on the bodice. I will be using chiffon. All fabrics are pre-washed to make this gown machine-washable later.
When making this gown, I always make the entire skirt first, complete with hemming. As the process of dying is a delicate one done by hand, and I can't leave the fabrics dying too long, I decided to skip taking pictures of the process.
The bottom-most layer on the skirt is the lining, a very thin silk, said to be probably china silk, and this layer is cream.
I've done pain-staking research on this gown, from colors to fabrics used. I've been fortunate enough to have received pictures from an owner of one of the 27 made for the film, though not so fortunate as to have one in my hands for study.
What I have been able to determine conclusively leads to the necessity of dying the fabric myself to achieve the right colors. The exact fabric used has been cited in the past by viewers of the gown on tours as georgette. However, the owner of the gown I talked with said it is actually chiffon. This causes me to wonder if some gowns made were georgette and some chiffon, depending on the particular scene. It's known that some of them were chopped shorter for some water scenes to enable Kate Winslet to more about more freely (and more safely). And each of the three Jump gowns used different laces on the bodice. I will be using chiffon. All fabrics are pre-washed to make this gown machine-washable later.
When making this gown, I always make the entire skirt first, complete with hemming. As the process of dying is a delicate one done by hand, and I can't leave the fabrics dying too long, I decided to skip taking pictures of the process.
The bottom-most layer on the skirt is the lining, a very thin silk, said to be probably china silk, and this layer is cream.
The next layer up, a full layer of chiffon, is pale lavender, hombre-dyed, cream on top, graduating to lavender on the bottom. To hombre-dye, one quickly dips the lenght of fabric to be dyed and slowly and smoothly lift the fabric. The longer fabric sits in the dye, the more color it takes. As the fabric comes out of the dye, the fabric still in the dye absorbs more color. So the fabric that comes out last will have had more time to take the dye, resulting in a darker color than the top. (I am not satisfied with this picture - it doesn't show the gradiating color, so will take another in better lighting.)
The layer on top of that, shorter by a couple inches, is even paler lavender, barely tinted.
Of the top two layers, both are pale lavender, the same shade as the sleeved part of the bodice. However, the bottom of these two layers, both split in front as well as back, is dyed pink at the edges, causing the color to face into the layer above it. These are just pinned in place for now, and their final positions will be adjusted before basting.
On top of that layer are two more pieces of silk, dyed with the overbodice silk to ensure the same coloring. These pieces are a couple inches shorter, allowing the pink edges of the pieces below it to fade into the top layer. Again the pieces are just pinned in place and will be adjusted.
The skirt itself is now complete!
Picture coming
The bodice is lace over silk, the same silk that lines the skirt. The bodice is also lined with this silk. When wet, it is nearly see-through. I have been unable to find the exact lace, so use a similar lace.
The lace is flat-lined to the silk backing (1) and sewn to the lining at the neckline only for now (2). Using water-soluble pen, I draw out where each under-sash layer will be as well as the over-bodice (3).
The lace is flat-lined to the silk backing (1) and sewn to the lining at the neckline only for now (2). Using water-soluble pen, I draw out where each under-sash layer will be as well as the over-bodice (3).
Pictures coming
For the overbodice, the part of this gown I hate to make, I lay the chiffon over the bodice on a flat surface and carefully cut away the excess chiffon in the center of the bodice and cut a rough approximation of the sleeves. These are set aside for a few more steps.
Picture coming
Then I sew the side seams, still leaving the lining loose and only connected at the neckline.
Picture coming
There are two layers to the sash on the bodice, not one. Some versions of the original gowns used taffeta, some used chiffon. These sashes were cut on the bias, and pulled to cause the bunching/gathering. The lining of the bodice has made it difficult to determine is each sash was sewn individually to the bodice or connected to each other, and then connected as one. I will sew them individually. After this is done, I slightly gather the lining, not including the sashes, as needed to accomodate the bust (this step is skipped for the children's version).
Pictures coming
I all-over bead using small pearls, using the pattern of the lace as inspiration for where they go.
Pictures coming
The over-bodice pieces are then sewn along the marks I made earlier, and then turned back and top-stitched.
Picture coming
I flip the lining on top of the whole shebang and very carefully line up the arm-hole edges and very, very carefully sew, making sure to keep the lavender bodice pieces clear (1). Then I pull each back piece through the sleeve top (2).
Pictures coming
I hand-baste the sides of these pieces until I am happy with the way they drape (1). Then I sew them, first a straight stitch, then rolled, and hem the sleeve edges (2).
Pictures coming
The bodice and skirt are now individually complete.
Picture coming
The pink sash has the same two-toned effect as the under-sashes on the bodice. But how to achieve this effect and keep everything in place without constant adjustment while wearing?
I use a piece of the china silk, dyed pink when I dyed the lighter pink chiffon, and attach to this the darker of the two pink chiffon sashes, both cut on the bias, and slightly pulled to make it bunch (1). On top of this, I attach the lighter pink layer, again pulling, and baste shut at the top (2).
I use a piece of the china silk, dyed pink when I dyed the lighter pink chiffon, and attach to this the darker of the two pink chiffon sashes, both cut on the bias, and slightly pulled to make it bunch (1). On top of this, I attach the lighter pink layer, again pulling, and baste shut at the top (2).
Pictures coming
The I layer the skirt, sash, and bodice as follows: skirt back to bodice back (1), bodice front to sash front (2), and baste (3). This results in the waist seam being between the sash and skirt rather than inside the gown, as it was in the original (this can be done, if you wish it).
Pictures coming
If I am satisfied with the appearance, I re-sew on the basting stitches and finish the seam allowance. Otherwise I repeat the previous step until satisfied.
Picture coming
To close the gown, I will either use a zipper or hooks and eyes, whichever the client prefers. For this gown, a white zipper is used, with a hook and eye on top of it.
Picture coming
The "knot" in back with the streaming sash tails is decorative. Either a faux knot can be made, or a matching hand-formed rose, client's choice, with the tails attached (1). This is sewn to one side, and closes on the other with a metal hook and hand-sewn heavy-duty thread eye (2).
Pictures coming
Finally I use slightly larger pearls to trim the neckline.
Pictures coming
No seams are visible inside the completed gown!!
Picture coming
Before I send this gown out, it will be washed by machine on the delicate cycle to both remove all ink marks as well as to test the durability. I am very uptight about my gowns being durable. I promptly remove from the washer and iron dry on a very low temperature, and search the gown for any potential trouble-spots and loose threads, as well as make sure the measurements are still correct. I always hand a finished gown to whoever happens to be around, be it my mother, my husband-to-be, or a friend, and stand over that person, forcing an evaluation of the garment construction, down to the tiniest detail. With reproductions, I also hand off my computer with all the photos I have been able to find of the originals for comparison. Any tiny thing I could have overlooked, it it needs more pearls, or if something just plain looks off. Anything at all, and I make changes as needed. By now, everyone knows the drill. I am just this uptight about quality.
After then, and only after then, the gown is carefully folded and packed to be sent to its owner.
Finished gown:
After then, and only after then, the gown is carefully folded and packed to be sent to its owner.
Finished gown:
Pictures coming