Make your own T-Bag costume!

Don't get me wrong - I'm not an expert with a sewing machine. In fact, when I made this, I had never really sewn before. I just got an insane notion one day and decided to make a copy of the dress. Just as well because I am afraid that the real dress will not stand up to being unfolded and folded and unfolded to show people.

This page is only intended for people who are experienced in dress making. Since I was a complete beginner, the way in which I made the pattern was to take the original dress, turn it inside out and trace the panels of the fabric onto greaseproof paper directly, so there was no real skill needed.

Where to begin? Let's begin with the materials you will need.

For the dress:

Red fabric - the fabric you used is dependant on your budget. I used a cotton fabric shot with red lamé, which cost me £8 per metre (I was robbed!). Scarlet silk dupion shot with gold (or saffron - not sure what youb would call it) was used for the original, but silk is usually more expensive at around £10 per metre (although fabricland.co.uk will sell it to you for £7 per metre - see, I was robbed!). Although your size will affect the amount of fabric you need, for a dress identical in dimensions to the original (29" waist, approx 34" chest) you will need around 8 metres at 45" width to be safe.

Orange/scarlet fabric - again silk should be used for true authenticity. I used an orange cotton. Again, for a dress identical in dimensions to the real one, I used 2m 45" width.

Wine fabric - Silk again. 2m for identical dress.

White heavy linen/curtain lining for lining the bodice - 1m for identical dress.

Black and gold lamé dress net - This is also extremely hard to come by. I ended up finding some similar black and silver net in a remnants shop in Exmouth. I bought up the whole roll, however. It wasn't expensive (about £2.50 per metre). You will need about 10 metres depending on your size. The more you can get, however, the better because it doesn't hang around for long!

For the belt and trim:

Red Felt - This is used for the backing of the belt and trim.You will need around 1.5 to 2m.

Red and gold lamé - this is very, very difficult to come by (if it is still made - haven't been able to find any in Aberystwyth, Carmarthen, Swansea, Stafford, Kingston upon Thames, Stoke on Trent, Birmingham, the Internet, nor any of the other places that I have looked). I used a bronze textured lamé that gives a similar overall effect, but appears slightly brighter. You will need about 1.5m depending on your waist and shoulder measurements.

Red tissue lamé - you will need very little of this. ¼ to ½ metre should do.

Orange sparkle organza - again ¼ to ½ metre should do. Easy to come by because it is very much in fashion at the moment.

Black fishnet (metallic if you can get it) - I found this hard to come by (mind you, Aberystwyth is not exactly the fabric capital of the world). I ended up buying a pair of fishnet stockings (slightly embarrassing), stretching the fabric out slightly, pinning it in place and painting it with PVA glue to stiffen it and prevent it from retracting back into shape. You will only need a tiny bit of this. Less than ½ metre.

3mm diameter gold lurex or metal cord - twisted cord, not braided. This is available from Creative Beadcraft (MB2) @ £2.15 per metre. You will need around 10 metres (expensive!). Go for a lurex version if you can find one as it is much cheaper.

6mm gold metal wavy trim - this is used only on the neckline and is also available from Creative Beadcraft (MB5) @ £3.40 per metre. You will need around 5 metres (expensive!). I took the cheap option and went for a similar lurex trim from the local haberdashery which cost very little. Measurements depend on your size.

Gold lurex ribbon - I used 20mm ribbon (Creative Beadcraft LB16 @ 45p per metre) and folded it over the raw edge of the belt and trim to make it tidy. You will need approx 4-5m depending on your waist and shoulder measurements.

Pearl trim - this is very easy to come by. It is in most haberdashery shops. It is also available from Creative Beadcraft (item PT6 @ 95p per metre). You will need in excess of 10 metres depending on your size.

Black and gold lamé dress net - you will only need the scraps from the main dress.

Pearl drops - These are available from Creative Beadcraft. You will need 25 20mm pearl drops (item PD4 @ 80p for 10), one 22mm pearl drop for the centre of the neck trim (item PD6 @ £2 for 10) and one 30mm pearl drop for the bottom of the belt (item PD7 @ £4.05 for 10).

Silver Beads (4mm) - These are available from Creative Beadcraft (item P4 @ 50p for 100).

Black Velcro. - This is used to fasten the belt at the back

These are some drawings of the dress minus the trim, the belt and the drapes. These sketches are intended to give the general layout of the pattern of the dress and the general shape of the pieces and where they should sit on your body. The shapes that you need will be entirely dependant on your own measurements. Click on the images for the full sized versions. When cutting out the panels, don't forget that the eight panels of the bodice are lined with linen and covered in dress net, so lay out the linen first, the red fabric on top of that and then the net on top of that, ensureing that it is all flat. Pin the pattern on top of that and then cut through all three layers of fabric. Simple, so long as you keep it all pinned together! Remember that the sleeves are not lined with linen!

Pattern sketch

 

Here is the layout of the panels and colours of the skirt. Note that these diagrams are for guidance and are not to scale.

Skirt Panels

The diagram on the right shows the layout of the net overskirt. Please note that the front two seams between the panels should lie directly over the seams between the first wine and orange panels of the skirt beneath. The next two seams of the net skirt should lie directly over the seams either side of the next wine/orange godet. The back seam should then lie over the center back seam of the skirt beneath, between the two red panels. Also, contrary to my rubbish diagrams, the two layers should be the same size!

The skirt is slightly gathered when sewn into the bodice. Leave the back of the dress completely open before sewing the skirt in, and then put the zip in first before closing the back seam (pretty obvious!). The drapes connect at the shoulder seams. I sewed them in when I made the bodice. They don't get in the way as much as you would expect when you are sewing the rest of the dress. The fiddliest part (I found) were the sleeves, particularly the point at the ends. I'm still not convinced that they are right, but since this dress is only for display in my case (I don't think red is my colour, besides, it's been years since I was a 29" waist! JOKING!), it doesn't matter too much.

 

The trim and the belt

These are the bits that will take the most time. Although the belt and trim look extremely detailed, there is not that much detail on them - the base fabric makes the belt and trim look much busier than they are. They are just very fiddly and I spent yonks faffing about with bits of tracing paper and stepping on pins in bare feet before it was finished.

Here is some detail on the belt and trim:

Trim/Belt detail

 

I will put up the shapes of the leaves in the near future and the layout. In the meantime, the general shape of the leaves, and their layout can be seen in the following sketches:

Finished Dress Sketch

 

If you are careful in your selection of materials (and this little starting block has been of any use to you whatsoever), you should end up with something pretty close to the original. I will say, however, that all measurements and information I have given you on this page is intended as a guide only. If you do not feel confident enough in your own sewing skills, or you are unable to judge how much fabric you are likely to need, please do not attempt to make the costume. It is a very costly process (I spent around £150 making it), and I accept no responsibility for any mistakes. It is definitely a job for people who are good at making their own patterns.

Anyway, enough of the heavy stuff - here is the costume that I made, beautifully modelled by a camera tripod, a cushion, a rolled up T-Shirt and a couple of pairs of socks:

Finished Dress Sketch

 

If you do have a go at making your own costumes, why not send me a picture of the results? I'll put them up on the Site.