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First thing I did this weekend was to see if I could find the leftover bits of fabric from my red Christmas ballgown; I knew I had enough to make a pair of long sleeves to baste into the dress to be able to wear it for day events.
Side note: I have a working theory that baste-in long sleeves were more common than surviving examples would suggest, from the late 1830s through about the mid 40s. Many of the sleeve styles of that era have some kind of decoration/frou-frou on the upper arm of the sleeve that make it really easy to construct the sleeve in a way to make the long part detachable. I've only got two examples on Pinterest - here and here - that are readily findable, but it's such a practical thing, especially with an expensive silk fabric, and it would be so easy for long sleeves to get lost if they weren't attached to the dress... I bet there are a fair few "ballgowns" in museums that used to have lower detachable sleeves that don't any more.
Anyway, I found the leftover taffeta easily and it was indeed plenty to make long sleeves, so that's what I worked on for most of the weekend.
I got to the point of repinning the lower part of the elbow puff twice, not liking either version, and deciding to put it down and look at it again next weekend. Still got time! Spent the rest of that evening wiring the buckram form I cut out in May (?) and sewing it together. "Coal-scuttle" styles are relatively easy to cover (they're fewer pieces than spoon or poke style) so I should have time for that and sleeves too!
Side note: I have a working theory that baste-in long sleeves were more common than surviving examples would suggest, from the late 1830s through about the mid 40s. Many of the sleeve styles of that era have some kind of decoration/frou-frou on the upper arm of the sleeve that make it really easy to construct the sleeve in a way to make the long part detachable. I've only got two examples on Pinterest - here and here - that are readily findable, but it's such a practical thing, especially with an expensive silk fabric, and it would be so easy for long sleeves to get lost if they weren't attached to the dress... I bet there are a fair few "ballgowns" in museums that used to have lower detachable sleeves that don't any more.
Anyway, I found the leftover taffeta easily and it was indeed plenty to make long sleeves, so that's what I worked on for most of the weekend.
Too puffy, but this is generally what we're going for.
I got to the point of repinning the lower part of the elbow puff twice, not liking either version, and deciding to put it down and look at it again next weekend. Still got time! Spent the rest of that evening wiring the buckram form I cut out in May (?) and sewing it together. "Coal-scuttle" styles are relatively easy to cover (they're fewer pieces than spoon or poke style) so I should have time for that and sleeves too!
