LESSON THE GRAND GOWN

LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of the lesson, you must have:

1. Identified important points in draping the gown;
2. Acquired knowledge on how to drape the gown.

LEARNING CONTENT

Grand Gown
The “grand gown” is not so much a fashion term as a statement. It describes
a dress that is a grand gesture: the wedding gown, ball gown, and evening gown.
These clothes are about presence, about making an impact.

Grand gown was worn by women at her most highly ornamented. It employs
the highest quality fabrics, advance draping and sewing techniques and fit. It
represent the genre of the best artisanship.

Supporting the Skirt

In creating the large volume of fabric is not a simple things to do. It takes a
skill to engineer the support and the sculpt the shape that lays over it. The
silhouette of the a full skirt is dictated by the type of fabric used, but also by the
understructure. Throughout the history, in terms of style, there are lots of changes
made, then the understructure was created. There are mechanical happens and
accomplished with bustles and crinolines, hoop skirts and panniers, whalebones,
wire and even wooden pulleys.
The softer petticoats that were worn over them (and sometimes under them)
were made of ruffles of fabric layered onto an underskirt base, until the desired
silhouette was achieved. The type of fabric used for the ruffles helped determine
the shape of the petticoat and ultimately, the final outcome of the skirt.

Crinolines
It was originally term for a stiff linen fabric with horsehair weft, stretched and
ruffled, which was used for petticoats.
 By the 1830s, as the skirt volumes
increased, more support are needed, so the
whalebone or crane was used to help the
skirts up and out. The famous dome-shaped
“hoop” skirt undergarment was patented in
1846. It allowed women to wear fewer
petticoats and lightened their skirts
considerably. The crinoline was not an
entirely new concept. The “farthingale,” worn
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, had
also been stiffened with subtropical cane
and, later, whalebone. The term “crinoline” is
now understood to be simply a structure that
supports a large skirt.

Panniers
The “pannier” is an
undergarment similar in construction
to the crinoline. Also made of
whalebone and linen fabric, it held the
fabric of the skirt out on the sides,
while remaining relatively flat in the
front and the back. Popularized in the
Spanish courts of the seventeenth
century, they reached their most
extreme during the reign of Marie
Antoinette in the French court
of 1774 to 1792. Sometimes as wide
as several feet (1 meter) on each side,
the width of the skirt provided a surface for the
rich embroideries and elaborate
embellishments the wealthy classes favored.

Corsets
The support of the skirt is only half the story. The other element is the
foundation piece—a corset, bustier, or bodice.
 Unlike coats and jackets, where the weight of the garment hangs from the
shoulders, many modern-day gowns are supported at the waist by this
foundation garment. The weight of the skirt and any lower understructure is held
by the tightly fitted waist, while the foundation also supports the bodice from the
waist up. The foundation needs to have either a very fitted and shaped waist or a
ribbon or tape sewn at the waistline to keep it in place.
The bustiers are constructed with boning and a fairly substantial outer
fabric, fused to give body and strength. A lighter-weight lining fabric would be
used to simply finish the inside of the piece. With a foundation piece for a gown,
the concept is the opposite. The under layer has the stronger, heavier, usually
boned construction, and the outer layer (the actual bodice fabric of the dress)
lays gently over its support piece, relieving any stress on the lighter outer fabric.
Because fine-quality silks or brocades can be delicate and easily bruised, the
undergarment will do the support work and protect the more expensive fabric
from damage.
This top layer of fabric sets the tone for the dress. Heavy, luxurious velvet
will create an entirely different effect, even on the same understructure, as a light
and crisp organza.

Fabric as inspiration
Often the inspiration for a dress comes from the fabric.
Many designers begin by pinning the fabric to the form
and observing how it drapes

Effects of different fabrics

This silk gazar wedding dress stands
out on its own with the help of only a light net
petticoat (left). Note the different effect of
four-ply silk crepe as it falls heavily in deep
folds from a supporting bodice.
 Study the two fabrics on the previous page.
Practice visualizing what they would look like
draped over Lady Gaga’s foundation/ crinoline
structure (left). The line drawings below show the
different silhouettes and moods the two fabrics
would create.
The drawing on the left shows what shape
the dress might be if constructed of silk gazar: it is
crisp and light and the energy of the dress is perky,
light, and uplifting.
The drawing on the right shows what would
happen if the dress was made of the four-ply silk
crepe: the heavy fabric falls with gravity and the
energy pulls downward, creating a grounded,
sensual mood.

Gown with ruffled petticoat

Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz
wears a huge tulle and organza skirt with a fitted
bodice. The skirt will be built of layers of ruffles
engineered to create the silhouette of the
photograph and to create a natural flow when in
motion.
Hoop-skirt forms are available for use in
making this skirt, but they often look stilted or
forced. Various weights of muslin can be used to
drape this dress.
Experiment to discover the effects ruffles of different weights create.

Step 1
 Set front yoke by aligning
CF of muslin with CF of
form. With the yoked
skirt in the waistline was
simply clipped and the
fabric allowed to wrap
around the high hip area.
For this piece, drape a
dart into the waistline to
keep the cross grain
horizontal and give it the
strength to hold the
heavy skirt it will be
supporting.
 If the cross grain remains horizontal, then the side seams will stay on the strong
length grain, again offering more support. If the fabric is wrapped toward the
side without a dart, the side area would then be on the bias, giving too much
stretch to the support piece.
Step 2
 Set the front skirt piece by aligning
CF lines and then gathering in the
muslin at the top edge to form the
gathers.
 Pin along the yoke, allowing lower
edge to flare out.
 Trim the triangle formed between
hem and high hipline.
 Repeat from Step 1 for the back.
 Turn side seams to the inside. Level
the hem. Mark the yoke line and true
up (not shown).
 Sew yoke darts and side seams.
Sew side seams of petticoat skirt.
Sew petticoat skirt onto yoke.
Step 3
 Topstitch a length of grosgrain or
Petersham ribbon to the waistline to
give it some strength.
 Sew a width of horsehair braid into
the hem to help it stand out.

Step 4
 In the same way you draped the first petticoat skirt section; drape a new
panel onto the high hipline to create a base for the next set of ruffles.
Step 5
 Cut a width of crinoline and gather it up fairly tightly.
  Working from CF to CB, pin the crinoline ruffle onto the outer layer,
leveling it from the hem.

Step 6
 Create two overlapping layers of crinoline at hip.

Step 7
 Drape an organza layer over the two
top crinolines and attach by hand-
sewing onto the yoke seam.
 Note how the silhouette continues to
evolve as you add the layers, slowly
building out the volume and trying to
achieve the effect of Glinda’s
silhouette.

Step 8
 Study the photograph and try and
work out how to achieve the exact
silhouette of the skirt. It appears here
that the petticoat still needs to be built
out a little more at the hipline.
 Working with the fi ne tulle, create
another layer and tack it onto the
organza at the level where you need
the extra width.
 Lastly, add more fi ne tulle ruffles
about 12" (30 cm) above the hem to
make the lower edge kick out a little
more.
 Step 9
 Drape the over layer of
sparkle organza onto the petticoat
in as many panels as you need to
create the fullness. It will be
shaped down for the front yoke,
so do not forget to gather it in and
mark the angle of the yoke onto
the gathered piece.
 Join the panels, gather up
the top edge, and hand-tack to the
yoke.
 Trim the hem even with the
floor.

REFERENCES

Draping for Fashion Design. Retrieved from

https://www.pdfdrive.com/draping-for-fashion-design-e187301311.html
February 10, 2021
Draping the Complete Course. Retrieved from
https://www.pdfdrive.com/draping-the-complete-course-
e157984926.html February 10, 2021
Dress Design, Draping and Flat Pattern Making.
https://www.pdfdrive.com/dress-design-draping-and-flat-pattern-making-
e186946068.html February 10, 2021