So. . . I put the top on the dress form and pinned the valance (skirt) around it.
I left it there hanging quite askew with pins everywhere.
And I walked past it all day long.
Dress or jacket?
Long or short?
Is it going to open down the front?
Which way will the pleats on the valance go?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKj_y8eoYDOyjJzPtgPH-nCC_5FMLPZtkkQ3w6T8Oz6pDYSL5ufO3xqAyYNhlmyiC0gHzuMdxZQjlHwG2HQ8lxzVFXUaOMs8X1UmQTX0un1mIQtcZNGQdzgw8zoMX2T-RLi_XTWIAG0fD/s320/Naomis+items+008.jpg)
This morning I removed the stitching from the valance
(forming the casings for the curtain rod) and washed, dried and ironed it smooth. The piece is now much longer. I think I added about 10 inches to the length. All the stitching marks and fold lines came out nicely.
And somewhere during this process, I decided on the dress.
I am not sure why.
But it seemed the way to go.
The problem that I had been concerned about is on each end of the valance. Where the pleats are gathered up; there are 9 layers of fabric - well 18 if you count the lining! And I wasn't sure how that would hang. So, I messed around with it for quite awhile on the ironing board. And holding up to me to see the drape.
. . . And then it was time.
There is that moment when you decide to pick up the scissors and you know there will be NO GOING BACK. And so I cut.
I removed the bulkiness of all those pleat layers.
Then, I seamed up the two ends of the valance.
Now I have a "skirt". Basically, with a small kick pleat style slit in the back.
However, when I finished sewing it together,
I realized the pleats on either end had not really been exactly even. Hanging as a curtain valance, nobody would have ever noticed. But bringing those sides together to form a skirt, now created a pronounced difference in how far the pleats were from the fringe edges of the fabric.
Those pleated edges which I had trimmed off formed a long piece of nearly finished fabric. I re-ironed this tube of fabric; cut it into three equal pieces and designed 3 small bows.
The first I placed where the pleat lines did not "line up".
And now I have two remaining bows to use elsewhere on the dress.
Actually, I think I know right where to place them!
What is it that they say?
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
I think that's it.
I really hate using the seam ripper and re-doing what I already did. So my projects are full of "work arounds."
Well, check out the photos and see what you think.
I think those tiny bows look a bit classy.
And if I hadn't mentioned it .. . you'd probably think they were PLANNED!