We’re almost there and even closer to the 2024 Her Universe Fashion Show which is a week from tomorrow! This is part 12 of my series on my Totally Minnie look for the 2023 Her Universe Fashion Show. If you want to start from the beginning of how I made it, start with this post.
Much like the post about the pouf, this is a shorter post about a specific construction detail, namely the zipper and the Dior-style closure. As I mentioned in previous posts, one of my main sources of inspiration was Dior gowns. I say the closure is Dior-style because that’s how I first learned about it and I see it in most of the Dior couture gowns I’ve looked at. But to be honest, there may be a “real” name for it. Double layer? Corset backed? If you know, tell me!
I knew I was going to do an underlying corset for the bodice. Given that the outside was silk, I knew that couldn’t support the tension to hold up a huge dress. The actual weight bearing part of the bodice needed be much stronger. When I made my first bodice muslin, I actually did a laced closure for the underlying corset. However, after asking my husband to help me get in and out a couple times for measurements, I realized this was going to be a huge pain at the actual event. That’s when I switched up to the hook and eye tape. Mine is from Wawak if you’re looking for some. I put this into my second muslin so that I could get the measurements for the side pieces correctly.
What are the side pieces? They’re just the back piece cut down to “normal” corset height. The far left piece in the pattern pieces above where you can see them in comparison. So a little shorter on top and much shorter at the bottom. The shorter on top ensured that I wouldn’t have squeezing right at the top of the bodice and the shorter at bottom was so that my booty would give that rounded shape coming out from the waist.
I realize liked this tape because it gave me a little leeway if I lost or gain weight. Unfortunately, I made my second muslin with twill which has a little bit of a give and I made my actual bodice with high quality imported coutil which has pretty much no give. As a result, took in the closure side panels about 1/2 inch in width versus the back piece which was a mistake. I should have left them the same width. Ah, live and learn. But that amount was enough to make it just a bit too tight. However, this was easily fixed by adding a second layer of eye tape to the first. So now I had 6 options for hooking it! Fortunately I hadn’t adjusted the back panel though.
My zipper (also from Wawak) was super long. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to need so I just got the longest they had and cut it down later. It also made getting in and out easy when testing.
I decided to do an exposed zipper because I felt it went with the 80’s theme and I was quite pleased with how it came out. The width of the zipper tape also gave me a little wiggle room when adjusting the bodice which was good to have at the end.
The zipper was actually one of the last things to be finished. It looks finished here but it was actually basted to the silk in this photo and the one above. It was sewn properly to the base layer which was the lining and the coutil strength layer. The very last week, when I was sure my weight wasn’t going to significantly fluctuate any more (mine tends to go up and down as much as 10 pounds which is a lot on my frame), I hand stitched it in so that it would close and be snug, but without undue tension on the silk.
At the base of the zipper, there were the raw edges where I cut the tape and the zipper teeth. Because they were metal, I never did find a good way to encase them when sewing on the skirt so I made a little casing for them and covered them up so they both looked nice and didn’t rub me.
The final step was the zipper pull which I actually kept wrapped in tissue paper until right before the show so it wouldn’t get scratched. I laser cut Minnie’s classic bow. I tried a couple different options including an actual Minnie head and even bought some, but this one was the classiest, matched the lining and matched the best. I love how it’s both obviously Minnie but subtle at the same time.
One more look at the inside where you can see all the pieces: the Dior closure, the zipper, the bottom cover, the side panels, and all the bits around it. I’ll definitely use this technique in the future! I felt super secure and surprisingly comfortable at the same time!
