SWA(SP)P 2016-Pack 2-#19: Easy as Pie

Well that was fairly painless- I zoomed up the ready-pinned seams, pressed them all open, trimmed the extremely wide darts, and herring-boned the seam allowances of the sleeves down flat.  I inserted the sleeves, and trotted off to tidy up a bit [holiday time, I rarely get dressed or brush my hair, slovenly old bat that I am].  Dawnie laced me into my corset, I donned the silver skirt, and shrugged on the tail jacket.

And it’s nigh on perfect straight out of the bag!

Woohoo!

I’m not tweaking the fit any closer, I’ve learned the hard way how much slack gets taken up by boning and lining in such a close-fitting garment.  The back pleats are only rough pinned at the waistline, I won’t press them in properly until the lining is attached.

The black lace on the skirt is an experiment, based on a dress in ‘Patterns of Fashion‘ which I’ve admired for years and years.  I think it will work, trust me!

Oh, and I also need to plan out that ‘Minge the Merciless’ standing ruff/collar before I attach any lining- it will need to be on wires/bones that slide into channels on the bodice centre back and front neckline.  An intriguing problem!

The neckline gapes a tiny bit, but again, may not after the rest goes in, and in any case will be trimmed with ruched ribbon, so I can cheat and add some tiny darts in if needed.

I’ve rummaged through stash, after realising that the black silk-cotton that I’ve come to favour for lining won’t arrive for at least another week.  I found a piece of mauve Thai silk which is big enough for the tails and all the bodice except for the front panels.  I have a remnant of the checked wild silk which I used for my Westwood-inspired Vogue 1410 dress, which is JUST enough for the sleeve linings.

I love this dress! [So much, I made 3 more]

 And then I got stuck, as having got that far with silk, I didn’t want to compromise on some tatty bit of poly lining for the front bodice.  THEN I remembered that the Thai silk came as 2 lengths, one plain, and the other highly patterned in gold…so out it came, and I can get the front panels out of that, still leaving enough to make something else for the summer.  Yay!  A bit of a hodge podge, but  a luxurious and decorative hodge podge!  These silks were meant to be for the missus, but hey-ho, they’ve been lying around for years, she hasn’t made a decision, and if you snooze, you lose.  Heh heh

More tomorrow…