Sprucing up my Standard gown - sewing questions!

I am wondering if any one here has had experience in modifying a standard gown to fit someone with a bilateral mastectomy with prostheses? Would it be better to modify the dress itself, or perhaps construct a nude powermesh body suit that goes under the dress so the dress is unchanged, or perhaps stone the back of a mastectomy bra, so it becomes part of the costume? Ideas/experience anyone?

(I keep getting visions of the prostheses escaping and shifting downward in quickstep:eek:o_O or upward and hitting someone in the eye :beye::eggface:)
 
If you use a mastectomy bra or build one in be sure that the pockets hold the prosthesis tight since she will be dancing. Some of the answers depend on the size prosthesis that you will are accommodating. really the smaller the easier
 
Way back I asked about putting appliques on. I ended up sewing them by hand then stoning them on the dummy. Here is the result for the standard dress. I still have to make a black gauntlet with ribbons in red, yellow, and pink. And finish the flesh colored sleeve. It is a tiny bit short but I have stepped on my dress so many times and I didn't want to ruin the tulle. Oh and I didn't make the tulle skirt. I hate cutting tulle so I special ordered it from http://www.tutusforwomen.com/ in case you wanted to know.

FrontPhoenixDress.jpg

BackPhoenixDress.jpg
 
Perhaps it's just photographic perspective, but doesn't the skirt look a little short for Standard?
 
You are correct, just a bit but my teacher said it was fine and others have said that it is becoming fashionable. I should not have let my daughter set the line of the skirt. She only looked at the waist and wanted to cover my muffin top instead of looking at the length. I could have covered the muffin top and elastic band with the applique. However I will say that I have stepped on and been caught in every standard dress I have made so far. I really didn't want to see the tulle get shredded in the back.
 
SwingingAlong said:
I am wondering if any one here has had experience in modifying a standard gown to fit someone with a bilateral mastectomy with prostheses? Would it be better to modify the dress itself, or perhaps construct a nude powermesh body suit that goes under the dress so the dress is unchanged, or perhaps stone the back of a mastectomy bra, so it becomes part of the costume? Ideas/experience anyone?

(I keep getting visions of the prostheses escaping and shifting downward in quickstep:eek:o_O or upward and hitting someone in the eye :beye::eggface:)
Click to expand...

I don't have personal experience, but I would guess something along the lines of:

First, find one or more mastectomy bras that works well when dancing in lessons/practice/rounds. Dance all out and go for it until you are sure the undergarment will behave appropriately for you. ;)

Then figure out how to make that bra work with the dress. One option would be to find a dress that the bra can simply be worn under. Some dresses are made like that anyway, if the back is not low and open, and there are reasonable width straps on the shoulders (or full shoulder with sleeves attached, etc).

If the dress has an open back or the bra would otherwise show, then the options you mentioned may work, depending on the dress design. You may also be able to do something with floats that could help camouflage the bra straps.

Just some ideas. Best wishes with everything - hope things go great, and you heal up quickly so you can get back to dancing. :)
 
What is the rule of thumb for fitting elastic to an opening? How much shorter should it be?

10%? 1 inch per foot? Other?

It's been so long that I've forgotten!

Thanks,

Sania
 
Sania said:
What is the rule of thumb for fitting elastic to an opening? How much shorter should it be?

10%? 1 inch per foot? Other?

It's been so long that I've forgotten!

Thanks,

Sania
Click to expand...

I think it's in the range of 8-10% smaller. But I think that's on the true size it'll be on the body, so it's not 8-10% smaller than the measurement on a piece of stretch fabric (such as a leotard leg opening). You might want to verify with a source who's actually done any sewing in the past year, though.
 
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