This project has been made possible by donors to the College of Fine Arts Fund for Excellence, the University of Arizona's School of Theatre Film & Television, and the individuals who have generously donated to the Medici Scholarship Foundation (specifically Ms. Robyn Kessler and Robyn and Jeff Timan) . Thank you for all your support!
Today I brought in my size 4 form, took her measurements, and drafted a bodice sloper for her. A bodice sloper is just a basic bodice drafted by using the measurements taken on the body; there are no frills or design elements to creating a sloper. For this sloper, I used the formula in Apparel Making in Fashion Design, by Mykyung Uh. I chose this sloper because it not only creates a universal sloper, but also provides further instructions on how to create the darts and other necessary alterations for female fit.
The sloper gave me a bodice that looked like this:
As you can see, I had to take it in at various places to make the it fit as perfectly as possible.
I am using fabric similar to what I am using for the final products here. This is AWFUL organza that I purchased a while ago for my wedding to cover the wedding arch. Luckily, I saved it and have enough to create some test pieces for this project. I came to realize once I began fitting this that I cannot draw on my fabric the way I would when using muslin. I improvised, using pins to indicate where the alterations needed to take place. It was also clear that the stitch lines are unbearably visible, which means they need to be as close to perfect as possible.
I then fixed and trued up my pattern. It is ready to go. It is clear to me that I need to bone the top part of this costume to support the weight of the rest of it, and to also be function-able and wear-able, which is one of the goals of this project.
Once the bodice was done, I ended up going home and began ordering the structural support I think I would need to complete the project. Unfortunately at this point, I do not have access to all of my funding and can only purchase what I myself can afford. I purchased some steel spring boning, rigeline in two different sizes, and continuous plastic boning. I am also planning on purchasing reed boning, and various small straight steel bones; this will have to come later though, because I spent $70 on the first boning order.
I've begun to document all purchases through my budget form, which I will share in the next blog post on this website.
Thanks for reading!