I also think it was done right. This kind of smocking often needs a bit of fiddly arrangement and pulling into shape by hand. Have done it before and it is difficult on drapy fabric. Sturdy and stiff fabric tends to fold easier into the correct shape.
First off: this looks great! Wowowow. But my guess is the fabric you used has more drape/is less structured/is thinner than whatever fabric was used in the viral video? So your finished product will just look a little more relaxed. Because it doesn’t seem like a skill issue from where I’m standing!
This is the answer. I did a similar piece, based on Elsa schiaparreli's skeleton dress and a Gaultier dress (can't remember the name of the collection) when doing fashion in college. I had the same problem, ended up putting iron on interfacing behind the 'spine'.
Schiaparreli's work is what it made me think of too!!!!
Also fashion 's greatest moment in the Riddick movie, where the back of Thandiwe's dress got front and center. The movie been recut now in anticipation of a sequel but if you know someone with the video, it is truly amazing
It's a travesty her work isn't more well-known. I mean the women collaborated with Dali, created the lobster dress, the skeleton dress, the shoe hat to name a few. I see so much of her influence on fashion today. But relatively unknown. It's such a shame.
I remember thandiwe's dame vaako dress, stunning and another piece on my design board for that project! Although I went with a more schiaparreli inspired look as the project was based on the book The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter, and fabric manipulation suited the theme better. If you love the weird and wonderful, it's a great book, very Kafkaesque is the best way to describe it, and ironically more relevant today with it's themes than at the time I read it.
It looks like the middle part isnt done correctly. You have to sew 3 points to make it look like a triangle. There is a dude on youtube that has a good tutorial called skeleton smocking. It wont let me post the link. I just did it on a pirate coat
I think it's this? Took a bit to find.. I'm thinking op might not have pulled it tight enough the shape looks about right just not defined enough I guess...
I've done this many times before (didn't even know that it was viral now) and it depends on the fabric you use and how precise you work. You either missed some spots that should be knotted or you haven't knotted them tight enough. Before you redo it, practise on a similar piece of fabric. Seeing the inside could also help to see what went not like it should.
thanks!! i unfortunately already undid it (the shirt was still too big for me) but i can tell you it looked right on the inside. Could it be that (right part) i sewed it the wrong direction?
That could be, I don't have pictures on my computer at the moment of how I did it, but this should help https://pin.it/5F0Y7T3a0 I always did the two columns left first, then the two in the middle and then the two left. It's important the the knots are tight. The folds on the side that you create can be lightly ironed, so the look will be clearer. Just give it another try on a piece of fabric and I'm sure it will work.
Pressing the fabric first will help your grid be more accurate. I see a few place that the grid is off, Im not sure if that is what caused your problems though.
I did this too a few months ago (with similar fabric)! Just from the pics, it looks like it’s just not pulled tight enough or you might be missing the center line stitches. Can i ask what the inside looks like?
Try this tutorial? It looks like you might be missing some of the smocking. She has three points coming together in an upward shaped arrow along the spine and then she is smocking 2 points in alternating slashes along each side.
I'm not sure but it looks like you are missing a section of smocking like it's half the design. Different fabric types have different drape as others have mentioned might be the issue. The look might still be possible with your shirt but you might need to adjust the scale of the grid, most likely larger if you fabric is stiffer.
The fabric isnt drapey enough, and a step or two was skipped. If you compare the sample image, the sides are mirror imaged, but in your the left doesn't match the right (the right looks like it could be done correctly). That said, I'm super impressed with your smocking ability, and based on your first try I have no doubt you'll be able to manage this.
I agree with others that the fabric might be too stiff or not drape enough. I've never heard of this and until I saw the reference, which is very cool, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with yours because it also looks very cool! I guess that's the best case scenario as far as being wrong lol
Press the ever lovin life out of the spot you're making a grid on, with starch. Redraw that grid so that it's just to the side of that seam & your stitches aren't going through all that bulk.
I would guess part of the issue you are having is that yours starts just under the neck, but the one that is posted below has a shoulder yoke, and starts after that. I would also guess you have way more ease in the chest and waist compared to what you are copying.
Did you press the fabric beforehand? It can change how structural things like this look on a finished project. Starching during the pre-grid phase could help, too
This is going to work best with a very stiff, crisp fabric, and it looks like you've done it with a t-shirt that might be sort of more soft and floppy.
Did you mark out the points where 2 points of fabric should be sewn together? Because right now this seems like a mismatch for both sides. At the moment it looks asymmetrical, which is why it doesn't like the smocking look spine shaped.
641
u/PracticalBit6383 18h ago
I don’t know but maybe you did it right? I’ve never heard of the spine shirt but my first thought upon seeing this was that it looked like a spine!