Silk Slip bikini

The Slip

The piece most likely to jump out at anyone, from this chapter, is the Party

Dress. As someone who wore a few bubble skirts in the 80s, I'm not so sure I'm willing to revisit this style. But post traumatic 80s syndrome aside, I have some questions about the wearability of this piece overall. While the knitted portion is quite cute, reminding me of Annie Modesitt's Silk Corset, I'm not sure that it's very practical to expect it to hold up such a substantial skirt . I have visions of everything migrating south, held precariously by the neck tie. I think I'd be inclined to keep the knitted portion only, add a bit more length to the upper edge and wearing the straps on my shoulders instead of off of them. It's also worth noting that the shaping is all done by means of changing needle size, so for very curvy people (such as I), you may have a hard time adjusting fit. I think you might be better off working a size too small and letting the fabric stretch to get a snug fit, or make sure you work it in a very drapy yarn. The skirt, of course, requires machine sewing, but I bet most people will stick with the top alone. To be fair, though, Julia pointed out to me that this is probably more of a show piece meant to highlight the extents to which you can take this concept. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

JMM: Yes , it would appear that the entire weight of the bubble skirt hangs from the ribbon at the neckline, but that is not the case. If you look at the finishing, you'll see that I've added 4 rows of elasticized thread (which in the dressmaking weight is quite strong) to the inside of the waist area spaced 1/2" apart. This not only takes care of supporting the weight of the skirt, it keeps the ribbing nice and tight at the waistline (even though shaping has been done by changing needle size), a crucial element of the silhouette that would be lost otherwise.

I'd like for this 'knit + sew" garment to be considered more of a jumping off point for those who are into making their own special occasion wear. It was shown with a bubble skirt, but any type of full skirt silhouette would work. Think of this with the bodice knit in a pearly silk blend with a pretty handkerchief hem skirt as perhaps a bridesmaid's gown or prom dress.