53 DTG-The Great Lining Debacle

Reading this recipe....er...pattern (food on the brain) gives me all the lining yardages for 45" wide fabric.  But my online check at the lining reveals it's a 60" wide bolt.  Yeah!  So I don't need as much, but now I've got to take time to calculate what I DO need.  In other words, I've got to get out all the pattern pieces, figure which ones are for the linings and play with getting them to fit in as little a space as possible without being so stingy that I make mistakes.  It's like a big puzzle.


Mistakes on a ball gown tend to not be small either because we're talking yards of fabric.  I always like to space the skirting pieces further apart in length than the pattern shows to cut them on the material because A) I'm taller than most patterns allow for; and B) I usually hem my formal skirts with horsehair braid to help the skirt not droop and many patterns don't call for this.  It can require a bigger hem allowance than what the pattern calls for (1 1/2" versus 5/8").  And on this gown, remember that I want to "pull up" those poofs of fabric more often than the pattern calls for, so I need more length to make extra tuck ups.  This, however, won't affect the lining (the layer closest to my body), only the taffeta and sheer layers.


But let's remember that the pattern calls for lining AND underlining (a backing to the "real fabric" layer) but that I've converted it.  Let's review and think about these layers:

• L1-outside billowed skirt layer; fullest, longest amount of material; on the pattern this is taffeta (in my instance), but to make vision dress this would be sheer (organdy in my instance)
• L2-on the pattern is lining of billowed skirt layer, so cut to the exact same pieces as L1 and made from lining material; but to make vision dress this would be taffeta and shouldn't be as full or long as L1, my thought is to cut it from the same pieces that the pattern's innermost lining is made from; in essence this layer will become the stay that L1 is billowed and attached to
• L3-on the pattern is referred to as a Stay (a layer made of lining material that isn't as full as L1, which L1 is billowed and attached to); in my case, this would become a backing layer to the taffeta, so should be cut from the same pieces as L2 out of lining material

Now that I've figured this out, I realize I was over-thinking it.  I need just as much lining as I bought of taffeta (both being 60" wide bolts) for the skirt, so 8 1/4 yds.  I know I'll need lining material to make the pockets I intend to add, but I'm confident I'll have enough in the margins of the cut out skirt pieces since they're essentially triangular shaped.


The top requires lining material for both a lining and an underlining - basically 2 of everything I need to cut from the taffeta.  So we'll look at the 60" amount needed for the taffeta and double that to get the proper lining.  1/2 yd x 2 =  1 yd


Total lining needed = 8 1/4 skirt+ 1 top = 9 1/4 total