Ah. I'm 5'7 3/4", short waist, long legs. I have 5 yds (maybe a little over)of a cotton blend yellow brocade that seems to say "Italian". I haven't made a mock up yet and was wondering whether to make something at my size or give it to a friend who is petite and thin or save it in hopes of loosing the inches. Thank you. De
-----Original Message----- Speaking to me? :-) Let's see. That width is one and a half times the average width for fabric, so add half of the total length to the 5 yards you have and you get the equivalent of 7 and a half yards of fabric. I'd say tentatively, yes, that would be sufficient, BUT it depends on how tall you are, and if the fabric is figured or not. If you have to match a pattern you may be out of luck. You'll need the length of waist point to neckline in length for bodice (maybe 50cm/20" - shoulder straps can be cut from scraps), so you may be able, with careful placement, to use up about 125cm/ very roughly 50" or 1.5 yards for both bodice and sleeves across the full width of the fabric, since the sleeves are of a fairly fabric efficient style. That would leave you 3.5 yards in length for the skirt, which would be enough if you are short and don't require a train - the skirt would have to be three panels of fabric no longer than 105cm or just over a yard/41" long. That would give you a hem circumference of 3 x 60" = 180" or 5 yards - enough for a full-looking skirt, in my opinion. You could make the skirt fuller at the back and less so at the sides/front by using one panel (selvedge to selvedge) between side back openings (leave selvedges open at top) and one on each side/front. This is of course for a front split skirt as seen in the pic. personally I don't like a centre front seam for closed skirts, but if you do, you could use the fabric the same way as for split-skirt. I'm going from memory here, but I'm fairly certain I used about 5m of the same width fabric for my black velvet dress and sleeves, and I was about a size 20/22 Australian at the time, which I think equates to a 24 US sizing. I am 5' 3". :-) Donna Bella Lucia da Verona - Innilgard, Lochac _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
