At last post, the husband had solved the sleeve dilemma…or so we thought. By the end, we decided to go with non-puff sleeves, and I gathered them just a bit so that they wouldn’t droop quite so much. I like them. I finished the bodice to a working status, although it still needs a lot of prettying up. My goal was to get the skirt attached, which has happened–let me just tell you: I love cartridge pleats. Every time I walk past the gown, I have to touch them. Now, with the pleats came a previously unplanned item: the bum roll. I have never worn one, and I had pretty much decided that I would never wear one. However, the cartridge pleats changed my mind–it has something to do with support. I feel more confident for the life of my pleats with the bum roll on. It also makes a nice shelf on which they can show themselves, and the lines of the dress really do look better. The partlet is done, although, I probably should have gone with a basic white cotton for the first try (or a different pattern altogether for the organza). It works, and I am going to wear it, but I really want to embroider one for next season. My mom was in town, so I put her to work on marking my hem. I was able to get into the dress and make sure that all parts really do work together on my body. They do.
The list to completion (hopefully, on or by June 30) for Opening Day: I need to finish attaching trim to one side of the skirt, hem the skirt, extend the forepart hem to the length of the skirt with a guard, apply a guard to the skirt hem, add rolls to the bodice front, and attach the paned cap sleeves to the bodice. I *need* to make a new smock. I still don’t like the first one, and, even though I put a fair amount of work into the partlet, I’m thinking that a high-necked smock will have to work for this gown. I may wait for the MA Tudor pack (already pre-ordered, yay!) to get here, and I’ll make the smock in that set. It is low-necked with puffy sleeves, which is exactly what I want since it will allow me to wear the pretty, pretty partlet. If I’m smart, I’ll just fix the old one with the pieces in the current underpinnings pack.
Pictures below: the bum roll, the cartridge pleats (sans bum roll), me in the gown during the marking of the hem
At some point, I will make the forepart’s matching sleeves, but since I won’t be wearing them for opening day, they are a non-issue. Once July arrives, I’ll need to get to work on the husband’s ensemble, which I haven’t even sketched yet. May the costuming gods have mercy on me.
Thanks for reading!
Green Linen Shirt 