Saturday, April 12, 2014

The Jump Dress - The Train

This post won't be as long as the others, as we'll just be looking at the gown's train tonight.


When I talk about the train, I'm actually referring to the sheer overskirt that's attached to the beaded bodice. As you can see in the above pictures, it's about knee-length in the front, and then the hem curves downward toward the back, ending in a square train that's about 12-18 inches long.

There are four seams in the train - the two side seams, and two side-back seams. You can see these best in these photos:


These seams do not extend down onto the trailing part of the train, so the center back panel is likely a single rectangular piece. There is some gathering or pleating at the center back waistline to take up the extra fabric from the train's center back piece.

The train is made in point d'esprit net, which is a fine net with small dots in it. (Joann's has it in black and in white, in it's "bridal fabrics" section.) There are small clusters of dangling beads that are sewn on in a regular pattern.  These clusters are made up of 3 small black beads, with a black seed bead at the bottom.


The entire train is outlined in a beaded black trim. This trim appears to be three horizontal rows of bugle beads on a ribbon base.


As you can see above, the train closes at the bottom edge with a pair of black and silver rhinestone buttons, which are the same buttons we see on the beaded bodice.

The train is sewn to a strip of twill tape that is, in turn, sewn to the inside of the beaded bodice. This helps to reinforce the bottom edge of the bodice, and to protect the delicate beads from damage, as the tape is supporting the weight of the train. The original beaded bodice was done with tambour, so one snagged thread and an entire section could come apart. Yikes! You can see them repairing one of the beaded bodices here. The instrument he's holding is a tambour hook.


With the bodice being so fragile, the train needed to be attached to something more substantial to protect it.

Next time we'll look at the finishing touches - shoes, purse, and jewelry.

In case you missed it, here are the other research sections:

Part I - The Underskirt
Part II - The Beaded Bodice

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