![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzI wanted to quickly finish the lining for my skirt and then get onto making buttonholes and buttons on paid orders, but you know how it goes. First I had to drop by the thrift store and picked up a fake pearl necklace of the right length for € 1,25. Score!
Then Sigunne was only coming by to pick up the mannequins she needed for the show after her graduating ceremony, so I had to tackle her to get some measurements taken and the length of the skirt decided. I quickly put on the corset and skirt and we snapped an even quicker picture in the hall outside my atelier. The skirt is all chalked up, as low as the marking thing will go (not quite low enough). All I have to do is arch my back slightly to get the full duck *cough* S-bend-silhouette:
Got the right shape! (click for larger)
I stiffened the hem of the skirt with some waistband interfacing (a trick we use in blazers) and that worked like a charm to keep the skirts from tangling with my legs. It's the modern version of horse-hair, but I don't have time to do it ye olde way anyway. A blind hem stitch to hem it, tacking the lining around the back opening, securing the seams under the wasteband and hooks, eyes and snaps all ate up most of my time today.
Then I picked up the floppy hat I bought on clearance at Bristol and sewed in some steel wire to strengthen it. It was no longer floppy. Just using a wide zig-zag over the wire, and wear eye protection! I broke two needles on that. I covered it with some cotton bias tape and the whole thing looks quite pricey already. I still need to put the equivalent of a full wedding bouquet on the brim, but still. It's wearable, which means I can forego the flowers if I run out of time.
Then I went off to draft a pattern based on the measurements Sigunne has taken. I was, at this point, getting rather flustered and railroading myself down a certain path. I recognise the signs, but instead of taking a break and continuing with a fresh perspective I ploughed on valiantly. And that's a problem, because I could no longer make decisions. A shirtwaist? Or a jacket/blouse like Lady Mary? And how would I make the top that goes under the jacket? Because even if I take all the darts out of the bodice, it still won't fit over my head!!
Of course, I was struggling to create a pattern for something that has almost no pattern at all. A general idea of the shoulder slope and some knowledge of how the shape of a sleeve should look will probably suffice for a true shirtwaist. But Lady Mary wears something quite different, it may even be a tricot or bias-cut top. And why am I worrying about that, when what I should be focusing on is the jacket/blouse, as the blue silk camisole I have does fit over the corset and will suffice in a pinch as "top".
As I was cycling home I promised to do a little research, and research has paid off! IMDB has a publicity photo of the three sisters where Mary's blouse is very sharp, and you can see the crosshatch pattern as well as some kind of woven wheat or flower motif. There's no way I can replicate it in the time I have left, of course.
But by looking at this and other images I can see that the edge is bound and is probably on the straight of the grain. I wanted to make a draped collar like a volant, but the more I looked at the images the more I realised that it's just a large revers with a very low sweeping break. There's definitely a difference in how to pattern it, so this revelation really matters. It's a very sheer fabric held double over the body, but single in the sleeve. My fabric is nowhere near as luxurious or sheer, so I won't be able to replicate it very well, but maybe I'll get close enough.
Did a burn test on the fabric: it's a cotton! I thought it would be rayon but it burns slowly and leaves a powdery residue. It doesn't smell like paper, so I highly doubt there's silk in there, especially considering it was from a bargain bin in Den Bosch.
I just hope I'll have enough fabric for the blouse as the fold is badly damaged. It's maybe 2,2 meters, so I should be fine, especially if I have a center back seam (which I need for the awesome curve the corset gives me). And because the skirt is high-waisted, I probably need a slightly shorter model than I would wear normally.
I hope to finish the blouse tomorrow, but it'll be a very long day. Blouses aren't that much work when you've done all the thinking, but I'm not quite there yet and I still have to translate all these plans into a workable pattern.
To be continued!
Then Sigunne was only coming by to pick up the mannequins she needed for the show after her graduating ceremony, so I had to tackle her to get some measurements taken and the length of the skirt decided. I quickly put on the corset and skirt and we snapped an even quicker picture in the hall outside my atelier. The skirt is all chalked up, as low as the marking thing will go (not quite low enough). All I have to do is arch my back slightly to get the full duck *cough* S-bend-silhouette:
Got the right shape! (click for larger)
I stiffened the hem of the skirt with some waistband interfacing (a trick we use in blazers) and that worked like a charm to keep the skirts from tangling with my legs. It's the modern version of horse-hair, but I don't have time to do it ye olde way anyway. A blind hem stitch to hem it, tacking the lining around the back opening, securing the seams under the wasteband and hooks, eyes and snaps all ate up most of my time today.
Then I picked up the floppy hat I bought on clearance at Bristol and sewed in some steel wire to strengthen it. It was no longer floppy. Just using a wide zig-zag over the wire, and wear eye protection! I broke two needles on that. I covered it with some cotton bias tape and the whole thing looks quite pricey already. I still need to put the equivalent of a full wedding bouquet on the brim, but still. It's wearable, which means I can forego the flowers if I run out of time.
Then I went off to draft a pattern based on the measurements Sigunne has taken. I was, at this point, getting rather flustered and railroading myself down a certain path. I recognise the signs, but instead of taking a break and continuing with a fresh perspective I ploughed on valiantly. And that's a problem, because I could no longer make decisions. A shirtwaist? Or a jacket/blouse like Lady Mary? And how would I make the top that goes under the jacket? Because even if I take all the darts out of the bodice, it still won't fit over my head!!
Of course, I was struggling to create a pattern for something that has almost no pattern at all. A general idea of the shoulder slope and some knowledge of how the shape of a sleeve should look will probably suffice for a true shirtwaist. But Lady Mary wears something quite different, it may even be a tricot or bias-cut top. And why am I worrying about that, when what I should be focusing on is the jacket/blouse, as the blue silk camisole I have does fit over the corset and will suffice in a pinch as "top".
As I was cycling home I promised to do a little research, and research has paid off! IMDB has a publicity photo of the three sisters where Mary's blouse is very sharp, and you can see the crosshatch pattern as well as some kind of woven wheat or flower motif. There's no way I can replicate it in the time I have left, of course.
But by looking at this and other images I can see that the edge is bound and is probably on the straight of the grain. I wanted to make a draped collar like a volant, but the more I looked at the images the more I realised that it's just a large revers with a very low sweeping break. There's definitely a difference in how to pattern it, so this revelation really matters. It's a very sheer fabric held double over the body, but single in the sleeve. My fabric is nowhere near as luxurious or sheer, so I won't be able to replicate it very well, but maybe I'll get close enough.
Did a burn test on the fabric: it's a cotton! I thought it would be rayon but it burns slowly and leaves a powdery residue. It doesn't smell like paper, so I highly doubt there's silk in there, especially considering it was from a bargain bin in Den Bosch.
I just hope I'll have enough fabric for the blouse as the fold is badly damaged. It's maybe 2,2 meters, so I should be fine, especially if I have a center back seam (which I need for the awesome curve the corset gives me). And because the skirt is high-waisted, I probably need a slightly shorter model than I would wear normally.
I hope to finish the blouse tomorrow, but it'll be a very long day. Blouses aren't that much work when you've done all the thinking, but I'm not quite there yet and I still have to translate all these plans into a workable pattern.
To be continued!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2017-07-07 06:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-07 08:18 pm (UTC)