<p>I have been volunteered 
to sew a costume for a local community theatre. The costumer brought me fabric and a pattern and pointed out what each fabric was for. One was for a ruffle on the sleeves and the skirt lining. The pattern does not call for a skirt lining and there is not nearly enough of that fabric for a lining. I am not a creative person–I sew from instructions–and I am way out of practice. My question is should the lining be as full as the skirt? If not, how full should it be?</p>
<p>You need to know if the person wearing the skirt is doing a lot of movement- big steps, dancing, or whatever; a narrow lining would work only if the user is not very active. Does the director want to see the lining when the user spins? Then you need a lining that is pretty much the same width as the skirt, and someone has to do a bit more shopping! :)</p>
<p>What classicalbk said. Generally though, with a full skirt, the lining is almost as full as the skirt - maybe just an inch or so less fullness just for some ease of movement. (but obviously the same width as the topskirt at the point that it is attached to the bodice) This is the rule for a normal non costume application but there may very well be, as she mentioned, something specific needed on the stage so ask the director, and yeah, sounds like they need to go shopping. Quite often fabric that is a good weight for lining isn’t the same as what you use for the garment itself anyway so it’s probably not a big tragedy if there isn’t enough of the other fabric, necessarily. A good lining fabric has it’s own qualities which is why they make fabric just for lining, though it’s not necessary to use special lining fabric. But not all fabrics will work well for lining.</p>
<p>Also the seam of the lining will usually face the wrong side of the skirt, not the body, so that if the skirt flares out and you can see the underside of the dress (I’m assuming tap pants would be worn underneath in that case lol) you will see the pretty right side of the seam, not the wrong side.</p>
<p>Speaking from some experience, it often helps to also have a magic wand and some nice little Brownies with talent around to help when you work on community theater. 
Bless you because it’s not a job for the weak of spirit! lol.</p>
<p>SDF- Thanks for mentioning the part about the seams not wanting to be seen if it’s a spinner. Important feature. My fav lined skirt was seen in Don Quixote Ballet, where Kitri’s lining has many rows of deep ruffles all on what is usually the wrong side, but when she kicks to the heavens the underside shows gorgeously…also a great idea for a can can dancer. OK don’t get me started! :)</p>
<p>After working with this “lining” fabric which is also the sleeve ruffle, I would not line my trash can with it. It is flimsy, filmy, ravelly, aweful stuff. And I still have to put a tiny rolled hem in the other sleeve. The show is The Scarlet Pimpernel, so it is a long skirt, but not floor length. The skirt fabric is beautiful, but lightweight, so I do think it needs to be lined, although the lining will probably not show. I guess I will cut the lining the same as the skirt, after I make a trip to the fabric store, which in my little town is Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>And thanks for all your help. And the reminder about the wrong-sides-together. I would have completely forgotten that.</p>
<p>Music Mom. I did a lot of sewing for community theatre but at least the director usually gave me a diagram and written instructions. I think you might think about calling for clarification about whether she intended for the ruffle to be on the lining or the hem of the skirt. You may be in luck and just need to add a ruffle on the skirt. That would not require extra fabric. Good luck!</p>
<p>There is a long ruffle on the sleeves and she pointed to the white fabric and said this is for the sleeve ruffle and lining of the skirt. The skirt, however, is green. She told me not to hem it (they will do that after they try it on the girl) so I don’t think she meant to put a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt. There’s not enough of the white fabric to even do that. Maybe I misunderstood what she said but I KNOW she said the word “lining.” I will have to ask her.</p>
<p>You could write many books on everything I still don’t know about auditioning but sewing and sewing costumes is one thing I can help with!</p>
<p>You know not to over look the home textiles aisle for clearance curtains or tablecloths or sheets - once in a while you can really score a nice big piece of fabric, for almost nothing. Just be ready to do a little math so you can translate the size of the piece into regular yardage.</p>
<p>Well, after all this, I called the costumer and the skirt is not supposed to be lined. Thanks for all your help. </p>
<p>That’s a great tip, snapdragonfly. I once made a petticoat out of ruffled curtain panels. The great part is the edges were all finished. All I did was sew the side seams and put a drawstring through the rod pocket. Scartlett O’Hara ain’t got nothin’ on me. LOL</p>
<p>Great idea using the curtains for a Petticoat Music Mom. I too had always followed patterns until I started doing costuming when D did community theatre. The reconstructing of dresses was always interesting. I really gained some skills though. During D’s senior year, I made her a Belle dress- the jumper- from a thrift shop dress complete with blouse and apron.</p>
<p>OK we must start a Resourceful Sewing Moms of MT Kids virtual gathering place. Somebody think of a better title.</p>
<p>How about, “Moms Who Have Completely Lost Their Minds By Signing Up To Volunteer For Something That Will Expand To Consume Their Entire Lives.”</p>
<p>~too long? ;-D</p>
<p>AngieA, I have a total pattern addiction and I have more patterns than ANYONE but I never really use them as intended. If I can find an existing garment (especially if it is to be had for under five dollars) and rework it, that’s what I do. I sometimes use my patterns to add a sleeve or collar or something, and for guidance and inspiration, and also so I can just go gaze fondly at my vast collection of them once in a while. But yeah, ruffled curtains that are already all finished at the edges make the BEST petticoats, you betcha!</p>
<p>I costumed the entire cast of The Sound Of Music which was double cast for all the girls (the usual shortage of males meant our boys got to do both casts) without having to actually sew from scratch, any more than half a dozen pieces, and that includes the made from curtains play clothes and the Lonely Goatherd “puppets” that were actually live little children in our show. The curtain clothes were all little white cotton, appropriately styled play clothes (shorts, little blouses, sun dresses, etc) that we stamped (“we” meaning the cadre of helpful moms who organized workdays while their kids rehearsed) a simple, retro looking pattern onto, and then did the same thing onto white fabric for the curtains. So much easier than actually finding dozens of yards of the same fabric and sewing a dozen outfits as well as curtains from it. Little details like bows and buttons gave them the sweet retro feel they needed. </p>
<p>Necessity being the mother of invention and all. More like panic and complete desperation…</p>
<p>“Necessity being the mother of invention and all. More like panic and complete desperation…”</p>
<p>Not to mention tiny little budgets to work with. </p>
<p>That’s a great idea about stamping the fabric. I have seen our talented set designers stamp/stencil walls to look like wallpaper, but I hadn’t thought about fabric.</p>
<p>Tiny little budgets indeed. I think I had about three hundred dollars for the entire show. There was a thrift store that had bag day once a month where everything you could stuff into a white kitchen garbage bag was six dollars. (alas that is now gone) I got about 5 bags of just EVERYTHING you could think of and I had those things rolled up so tight, stuffed into the feet of shoes, crammed into every little nook and cranny in that bag, and when I unloaded it all into the costume room in huge heaps, the first time the director saw it his eyes got big as saucers, wondering how much I had spent. haha, about thirty bucks for literally hundreds of garments we used as they were or reworked slightly. Amaaahzing.</p>
<p>Stamping fabric works great, you just thin the paint a bit, make sure there’s something in between the front and the back of the garment to prevent bleedthrough: do one side, let dry, do other. Then wash to remove some stiffness.</p>
<p>They sell an additive you can put in paint to make it into fabric paint but we didn’t really have the money. If you think about your painting the house clothes, and how you get some on those and how after they are washed, the paint is still there but not so stiff, that’s how they turn out.</p>
<p>Proud to be a member of the club! Getting ready to start Hello Dolly with 60 kids…oy vey! Keep this thread open!</p>
<p>SDF- Very good title for our group! Now we need a virtual location where we can post pics. (60 kids really Nicksmtmom? Ye gads.)</p>