Inspiration
There is an image in one of Tomoko Nakamichi’s books that has always caught my attention. Called “the stopper”, Nakamichi suggests twisting a stretch fabric and anchoring it to a stopper, allowing the twist to meet the fixed point so the fabric remains twisted.
The garment in the photograph conveys a twisted movement of the material which, without the proposed stopper, would inevitably tend to return to its original state. But what if we could preserve that tensioned movement without an obvious stopper?
Design
A bubble skirt without the yoke, made with two different fabrics, would allow me to create the desired twist in the top layer while the inner layer functions as a stopper. The twist would be achieved simply by shifting the outer skirt a few centimeters to one side over the inner skirt. And if, in addition to the volume created by the bubble effect, the difference between the inner and outer skirts were more than evident (for example, a half-circle inner skirt and a full-circle outer skirt), the volume would become highly noticeable.
For the top, I turned to one of my classics: a sleeveless, waist-fitted top made from the same fabric combination, with the outer layer draped to echo the same twisting motion as the skirt.
I chose a black polyester taffeta for the inner layer and a black polyester organza for the voluminous outer layer. The semi-transparent, glossy outer layer creates different intensities of color as the fabric folds over itself.
Patternmaking
The patternmaking wasn’t particularly complicated since it wasn’t my first time making a bubble skirt. I admit it was fun to review trigonometry to calculate the length of the outer skirt and the number of centimeters to shift at the waist to create the desired twist; however, those calculations weren’t truly necessary: the fabric I used for the prototype (a rather uncooperative tulle) didn’t behave quite the same, and the prototype didn’t resemble the final result much—though it did help me visualize it.
The top has hardly any changes from the basic pattern: I simply relocated the bust dart so that all the bust volume would be gathered at the waist, and I drafted a boat neckline. Since the outer fabric would only be attached at the seams, I moved the shoulder seam toward the back to make it less visible when the garment is worn.
Construction
While sewing the inner layers wasn’t particularly complicated, the technical challenge lay in attaching them to the outer layers.
The skirt, for its part, needed to be gathered once the circle was formed using a French seam. I know gathering can be done by machine, but I prefer to gather by hand: having control over the thread length allows me to distribute the gathers evenly—if such a thing is even possible.
The front (1) and back (2) pieces of the top needed to be draped on the dress form. I enjoyed this step immensely because, although it was a simple drape, it was my first successful one. It allowed me to play with the fabric until I found a configuration I liked and, once I achieved it, I secured it with hand basting before joining the front and back by machine.
Both pieces were constructed either with French seams or with bias-cut tape, hand-finished, to enclose the raw fabric edges on the inside.
As for the closures, I used an invisible zipper in each garment. In the skirt, the zipper was placed on the inner layer’s side seam, while the outer layer was closed with three hand-sewn snaps. The top had a center-back zipper, with the particularity that it opened from bottom to top: the boat neckline was wide enough that pulling it over the head posed no problem.
Technical Sheet
| Name | Twist |
| Start Date | September 2025 |
| End Date | October 2025 |
| Fiber | Polyester |
| Fabric | Organza and taffeta |
| Fun level | 9/10 |
Final Thoughts
This project has been one of the ones I’ve felt most proud of. The design, patternmaking, and construction all flowed smoothly, although several challenges arose that I had to solve along the way. I believe the ensemble has an innovative shape and volume while still respecting the classic hourglass silhouette.
