Rant about Dritz

[Daelyn]

:vent: Warning: This is a rant. I'm venting. Don't take it too personally.

I decided at the start of summer that this year, I am finally going to have a bodice that fits. I've sketched; I've stitched; I've practiced; I've spent several hours being wrapped in duct tape; I've been sewing in every spare moment for the last two weeks. Faire started today, still no new bodice. Why? Because of how cheap-@$$ Dritz's eyelets are.
I had it all made. It was perfect, it was beautiful, and it FIT. And then I tried to put the eyelets in. Pretty little silver toned, size 0 eyelets. The first one went in beautifully. Tricky little thing. Lulled me into a false sense of safety. The next 8 had to be torn out because they broke. After being put on, part of the eyelet just... fell out. No warning. No visible cause. Damned shoddy eyelets. :augh: Now I've got the fabric heavily unraveling around the holes, only one eyelet in, and still no bodice to wear. :censored: I am never, ever buying Dritz products again. :cuss: I hope Dritz's factory burns to the ground.
I've figured out how to salvage the bodice, but it means an additional 6 hours of work, and I am still irked at having something so foolish destroy days of labor. GROWL. Now to go try to keep the silly thing from unraveling any farther. Sigh. :sew:

[Kiza]

Ah, yes. Damned cheap eyelets.

It sounds like you've already figured something out, but I quickly found that liquid rip-stop stuff is my best friend when I'm working with Dritz. (Sorry. The name is escaping me right now. Took some cough syrup with codine - getting a little fuzzy.)

Actually, that stuff is pretty cool to keep on hand anyway. I usually dribble just a little on the ends of trim and stuff before I sew it into place, too - just in case.

[DreaBeth]

I am never, ever buying Dritz products again. :cuss: I hope Dritz's factory burns to the ground.
I've figured out how to salvage the bodice, but it means an additional 6 hours of work, and I am still irked at having something so foolish destroy days of labor. GROWL. Now to go try to keep the silly thing from unraveling any farther. Sigh. :sew:

I feel your pain...

My suggestion -- If you are going to make bodices with any frequency (or even occasionally) I would highly recomend getting a decent hand grommet setter.

http://www.grannd.com/images/osk234.jpg

It has got to be the best garb making investment I have ever made. I get a nice clean, consistant, professional looking grommet every time. :)


Andrea
#1025

[Ysobelle]

Ah, yes. Damned cheap eyelets.

It sounds like you've already figured something out, but I quickly found that liquid rip-stop stuff is my best friend when I'm working with Dritz. (Sorry. The name is escaping me right now. Took some cough syrup with codine - getting a little fuzzy.)

Actually, that stuff is pretty cool to keep on hand anyway. I usually dribble just a little on the ends of trim and stuff before I sew it into place, too - just in case.

Fray-Chek, or FrayBlock.

Though be warned: use it sparingly and only where you need it. I may well have ruined a customer's corset with too much FrayBlock unless I can figure how to get the excess off.

Dammit.

[Daelyn]

I ended up making fabric loops and attaching them under the reinforcement panel that I used to keep the fabric from unraveling. It looks rather pretty, but I'm definitely going to save up and invest in good grommets and the tools to apply them. Anyway, the test-run is a failure. It looks neat, but it still doesn't hold me up. Drat it. I'm only a C, (except for the days when I'm a D), but I just can't seem to get a bodice that supports me. Think I'm going to try the Elizabethan Costuming page's corset generator next. There's got to besome pattern out there that works, right?

[Jeannie Fitzgerald]

Curiously enough, Fray Check is made by Dritz. It can be removed with alcohol. I have been underwhelmed by Fray Check. I'm not familiar with Fray Block.

[Kiza]

Fray-Chek, or FrayBlock.


THANK you! Was driving me nuts. ('Cause now that the codine has worn off, I can't figure out where I've put the stuff.)

And it's made by Dritz? I never noticed. So, they know their stuff is crap. Hmmm.

Oh, Ysobelle, you are so right about using too much of it. Luckily, the only thing I kind of messed up was something I was making for myself. I found out the hard way that it doesn't dye pretty. Good to know that it's removable, though.

['Nise]

I used the corset generator here to make my latest corset http://costume.dm.net/custompat/index.html
I added shoulder straps and did the one with the boned tabs. It fits pretty well, no huge hevage, but I'm working on a noble woman's gown so I didn't want it to high. I ended up using the cable ties, the hardware store near me sells ines that are about 3/8th of an inch wide and pretty thick. I think it is eventually going to conform a bit to my figure, but not in a bad way.
The other great bodice that I have has a panel that draws the fabric in at the back. I'ts a wool blend outside with 2 layers of muslin inside and I has held me up with no boning, (36-38 C-D cup).
The fabric that you use wul help a lot as well.
Good luck!
Love
'Nise

[Tempest_Gypsy]

Here's how I know I haven't gotten enough sleep lately. I look at the title of the thread and wonder why someone is ranting about the dark elf from the Forgotten Realms books in the costume section....
Though, now having read the thread and figured it out, I'll agree, their little grommets REALLY suck, though I've had to use them so often I'm getting kinda good at putting them in.