Opaline Frolic and Opaline Rose Dresses

Opaline Frolic  -  Charming holiday frock - easy fit sash tied linen and voile - hand printed panel

Inspired with ice blues coordinating with opaline-silver stretch fabric.  Upper collar and sleeves are in viscose voile.  Bust stretch is accomplished with stretch silver fabric, which was the inspiration for both dresses; here coordinating well with ice blue, white and grey.  (See MAKING Gallery below)

Front panel linen has hand printed design, abstraction of medicine wheel on white linen (from an experimental Mac print workshop, using two colour screens) joined to lower skirt with white/grey linen print.   Sash is threaded through casing at high waist position.

OPALINE FROLIC available -  £75:00 Direct from Maker. (new purchasing coming soon..)

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Opaline Rose - An adjustable fit tea party or wedding guest dress with hand silk painted panel layer

Opaline Rose layered fabrics

Inspiration for Opaline Rose  started with stretch silver fabric.  Creamy-white viscose-voile rose print is featured in dress layer and sleeves, where the blue rose is transparent voile 'devore' print technique.   Skirt middle layer has hand painted silk featuring abstract Hopi Bird design on grey with embroidered Native American quotations. See Hopi Bird Silk Painting.

Back skirt is charcoal polyester (to match front silk painted background).  A devore blue rose is appliqued on top. The cream frills echo the cream devore fabric with frivolity.

OPALINE ROSE available:  £120.00 - Direct from Maker.  (new purchasing coming soon...)

Embroidered Quotations by Native Americans

We shall be known forever by the tracks we leave - Dakota

Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future - Lakota Sioux

All dreams spin out from the same web - Hopi Absaronka (Crow) Warriors

Hopi bird design with embroidery on grey dyed silk

Silk Painting with printing:  The background texture of gold distress lines on grey was made by printing gutta resist with ocre dye added (before grey dye applied) with a print card-pad made from my own grown sweetcorn leaves, dried flat and glued to cereal cardboard.  The dried maize leaves form ridges when dried which make a good ridged 'relief' print.   This was a small one-leaf experiment.

Opaline Rose - MAKING Guide

Use of stretch stitching to create a full skirt

  • Stretch silver fabric allows for zig-zag stretch-stitching of first skirt layer joined to narrow gold embroidered polyester. Both fabrics are thin and when pressed, look fine.
  • The 2nd white layer is cut with slanted sides, and can then be machined normally to the 1st (gold polyester) strip layer, giving flared dress width for hips.
  • The 3rd layer is again cut with slanted sides and is machined normally.
  • The 4th layer:  Beige lace attached to light green tier, before stitching behind grey silk layer.
  • Back is different to front.  Polyester lining used, (to match the silk front).  Some devore blue roses (same fabric as 2nd tier) are appliqued.

Opaline Frolic  :  MAKING Gallery: 

  • Repurposing 2 dresses: grey voile spotted (top), stretch silver (bust stretch); Skirt: white linen; home printed front.
  • Dress top cut off, and skirt seam opened; arranged, pinned on dummy.
  • Stretch zig zag machining to join top, middle, and skirt, giving stretch for bust and putting on.
  • Re-using skirt waist welt as cavity for sash tie: adding extra band at front.
  • Cutting and inserting pocket in skirt side seam.

Note: lightweight fabrics good for tops, being cooler; with heavier fabrics such as linen, for lower skirt part.

Shamanic Nights background image
Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.