I just got the dress I bought on ebay from China. I should have just taken a size M, but nooo, I had to send my measurements, and as a result, it is a bit big in the middle. I think a few darts might do the trick, but want some input on that first. Also, the skirt seems to look a little tugged upward at the sides, but if I pull the ample panty part down (as if taken in in the crotch), then I get a nice stretch and no tugged look. Are either of those things I should consider having done? Finally, although the neckline is not plunging in either the front or back, there is illusion fabric in the both places, and it is so light that it looks almost white. Any ideas on darkening it? I might just be able to remove it. The dress is velvet.

This is the dress (there's a scrunchy attached to the side)

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Pretty dress! Yeah, I would try bringing in the side seams and the crotch seam. You could do it with basting or safety pins first before actually making the alterations. The illusion could just be removed and replaced with a color that matches your skin tone better - mesh comes in a lot of skin tone shades. I suspect you'll need it to keep the neckline from gapping, especially in the back.

For the illusion fabric if you want something really really cheap to dye it with, tea or coffee. You can change the color based on how long it is steeped and what kind, and it actually does stay. You need to get a small swatch of something else to make sure you get the right color before you dye it.

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

Thanks. I was hoping I could just remove the illusion, but I think you are probably right.

How do I get the illusion and not the velvet?

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Re the dress not sitting properly - you (or your dressmaker) should be able to remove the elastic in the legs of the panty, recut the panty to fit properly (including shortening the girth through the crotch) and replace the elastic. If you can do this, you'll generally get a better result for where the skirt sits.

Re the illusion - the Chinese dresses do have very "white" illusion, don't they! What colour is the dress you bought? If it's black as per your illustration, can you dye the whole item with tea/coffee etc or would it change the colour of the black?

PS - it sure is a nice dress! Very elegant.

I seem to recall someone here saying to dab the tea on with a sponge or something in the places you want to darken.

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !

I second the tea idea. Dab it on with a makeup sponge, that's how I would do it. You won't affect the black velvet. More than likely it is a poly velvet, and that really doesn't like to take color. Even if it does...it's black...you won't see it!
When I need to remove length in a dress, I will take the panty off and cut it from the top of the panty at the skirtline, where it attaches to the bodice. It is just easier than removing the elastic and recutting the leg openings.

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BuggieMom
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Some people are like a Slinky...not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs....

Very pretty! No advice thought sorry!

oooh, pretty dress. You saw my turquoise one, right? That was both too long in the crotch and too big at the waist. I cut it apart at the waist seam and took out an inch. Instead of taking the extra width at the sides I added princess seams. Come to my house and I'll help you fit, and you can use my serger.

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It's all about the dress!

It's black, just like the pix. Thank you!

Both are way beyond me.

Thank you! I'm going to have to work very hard to ever be able to wear it. I have two dresses for tests and so far, only one test on the horizon.

Thank you, thank you. I'm afraid my sewing skills do not go beyond the simplest stuff: hems, repairing small holes, etc. Haven't used a machine in years, and never used a serger. I think I'm going to find someone to do it for me. Do you want the job? I'll pay whatever you see fit...oooh, pun, sorry.

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It isn't much work - bring a bottle of wine and we're good.

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It's all about the dress!

Woo hoo! Let's set up a date! I'll email my phone # to you.

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Wine and sharp objects...sounds like a party!

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BuggieMom
><>
Some people are like a Slinky...not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs....

I was going to suggest the tea too, lol

I bought a dress from the same maker and although I didn't send my measurements (just ordered an XL), it's too big in the same places and I had the same complaint about the nude material. I competed the Tango in it this past season anyway because the fit wasn't too terrible and looking back at photos it actually looked good on me.

I just dipped a cloth in tea and dabbed the nude material to darken it a bit (this was after it was stoned too), and that worked fine.

The whole panty area is too big just like yours, I think overall the dress's girth is a tad long and the skirt sits about an inch higher than I like. I won't need the dress this year (unless I decide to test my Paso), but I am planning to reconstruct the dress a bit (changing the sleeves and a new longer skirt) when I need it for the Paso and/or Argentine. I'll address the panty/bottom fit situation then. You can easily take it in at the crotch area. I think what may also be an issue is that the fit on the dresses is ok, but this particular dress maker's material, at least the lycra used my the dresses I've bought from her, seems to be VERY stretchy compared to what is used in my other dresses, so it feels big.

I think to redo the panty, actually re-cutting the crotch and leg holes and re-doing the elastic might be easier than taking the dress apart at the waist if you don't own a serger and your sewing skills are not as good. Getting the skirt hem to match up perfectly again and sewing it back together so that it doesn't pull funny or lay weird can be tricky.

If you order again, go down a size from what you'd normally order. I did that when I bought a second dress and the fit is perfect.

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

RachelSk8er - Thanks for your reply and info on the dress you bought. I agree about the material. I think the velvet is a little thinner and a lot stretchier than other velvet skating dresses I've seen. My dress feels the exact same way, fit-wise, that yours does, and I could also see wearing it as is after darkening the illusion. I almost think the problem is just that I'm so used to wearing very tight clothes when skating, and this dress has some slack in it. Liz_on_ice has kindly offered to do the alterations for me as I'm not that skilled. Judging from the dresses she makes for herself (absolutely gorgeous), I'm going to leave it up to her to decide how to fix things.

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Beautiful dress. I ordered this one in deep green. The first one I ordered, I asked for a large, expecting that the velvet would not be as flexible than the lycra. However it was a bit big so I ordered the second in a medium. It fits well and the sheer is a good color for me.

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You know, I didn't realize I could get different colors or materials. I wanted black anyway, but I hadn't noticed until after I won that velvet wasn't specified, so I asked about it with my payment and got a very nice reply that I would get velvet. Given the long distance nature of the transaction, I have to say that it went very well and I got a great deal on the dress - $40 including shipping!

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Don't give me too much credit, I modified that dress. I've made lots of regular clothes from scratch but no skate dresses yet.

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It's all about the dress!

Well your modifications were flawless!

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