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Wrapper and...not wrapper
Feb. 16th, 2015 11:58 pmI cut out the pieces for the wrapper today, out of the light blue flannel and the cotton for lining. I'm only lining the bodice because I think it's going to be heavy enough without being fully lined! (Also I am out of my big bolt of muslin and only have small pieces left...)
And then I put it aside, because the what-are-you-going-to-wear-to-the-francaise-dinner question wouldn't stop niggling in the back of my mind. I still have over a month, but getting it out of the way would probably be good. So I solved the question of the fraying trim on the striped dress by deciding not to wear it to the FD. Simple yet effective. Instead I'm pulling out something completely random!
I have a 1780s dress of striped silk that I made for the Bad Costume Con, and I've only worn it that once. For one, the sleeves sucked. For another, how often do I get to wear 1780s (that doesn't involve a chemise gown)? So the original thought was to maybe just fix up the sleeves...but when I took it out today I realized it really needs a whole reworking. The bodice fit isn't great and is awkwardly high-waisted, like I couldn't commit to either 1780s or 1790s and ended up somewhere in the middle. It's hand sewn, with my only-halfway-correct guess at 18thc construction, and is lined in seriously wimpy muslin rather than linen. (If the fit wasn't so crappy I woudn't mind that, but...) And it closes with a million tiny hooks and eyes, which gapped and were the Worst Idea Ever.
But it's pretty fabulous fabric! And it still wants to be a 1780s dress...just a slightly improved one. So...this afternoon I took it almost completely apart. I had cut petticoat panels (and never gotten to making the petticoat, what a surprise) so I'll have a matching petti, which was always the intent. And I still have some scraps which should be enough to recut the bodice, though there might be some piecing. The sleeves should be salvageable (again, possibly with some piecing, because the curve of that sleeve head is entirely made of WTF).
Once I was finished destroying it, I started putting it back together: I resewed the CB seam of the gown skirt first (because it was machine sewn and while I'm taking the whole thing apart, what's one more seam?). I also discovered that I cut the petticoat panels WILDLY crookedly, so it's a good thing I also cut them approximately 12" too long. Did I not own a straight edge at this point in time? Daaaaamn. So the petticoat panels are sewn together and hemmed. I won't pleat it to the ties til after I futz with my 80s rump; it really needs some side width added on. I should probably do that tomorrow...
And I'm sure my decision to put The Duchess on while I was cutting out the wrapper pieces had nothing to do with this decision to go 1780s... Nothing whatsoever.
And then I put it aside, because the what-are-you-going-to-wear-to-the-francaise-dinner question wouldn't stop niggling in the back of my mind. I still have over a month, but getting it out of the way would probably be good. So I solved the question of the fraying trim on the striped dress by deciding not to wear it to the FD. Simple yet effective. Instead I'm pulling out something completely random!
I have a 1780s dress of striped silk that I made for the Bad Costume Con, and I've only worn it that once. For one, the sleeves sucked. For another, how often do I get to wear 1780s (that doesn't involve a chemise gown)? So the original thought was to maybe just fix up the sleeves...but when I took it out today I realized it really needs a whole reworking. The bodice fit isn't great and is awkwardly high-waisted, like I couldn't commit to either 1780s or 1790s and ended up somewhere in the middle. It's hand sewn, with my only-halfway-correct guess at 18thc construction, and is lined in seriously wimpy muslin rather than linen. (If the fit wasn't so crappy I woudn't mind that, but...) And it closes with a million tiny hooks and eyes, which gapped and were the Worst Idea Ever.
But it's pretty fabulous fabric! And it still wants to be a 1780s dress...just a slightly improved one. So...this afternoon I took it almost completely apart. I had cut petticoat panels (and never gotten to making the petticoat, what a surprise) so I'll have a matching petti, which was always the intent. And I still have some scraps which should be enough to recut the bodice, though there might be some piecing. The sleeves should be salvageable (again, possibly with some piecing, because the curve of that sleeve head is entirely made of WTF).
Once I was finished destroying it, I started putting it back together: I resewed the CB seam of the gown skirt first (because it was machine sewn and while I'm taking the whole thing apart, what's one more seam?). I also discovered that I cut the petticoat panels WILDLY crookedly, so it's a good thing I also cut them approximately 12" too long. Did I not own a straight edge at this point in time? Daaaaamn. So the petticoat panels are sewn together and hemmed. I won't pleat it to the ties til after I futz with my 80s rump; it really needs some side width added on. I should probably do that tomorrow...
And I'm sure my decision to put The Duchess on while I was cutting out the wrapper pieces had nothing to do with this decision to go 1780s... Nothing whatsoever.
