Return to hand sewing!
It really isn't until your hands are sore that you realize just how much you use them. Especially the off hand, for me my left hand, that was the injured one. I had pinched a nerve, and had to stay off the hand and minimize its use for awhile - over two months now. I have only recently been doing hand exercises to help improve it since the left hand is still weak. The hand still has twinges of soreness, but not the sharp pains I was getting, which is good.
This did mean that the wool short gown had to be put aside, as I couldn't do more than a couple of eyelets at Great Western War before the left hand complained again, and that was in early October. But yesterday I tried another eyelet and was able to continue and finish up the whole set. I am taking breaks to let the hand rest.
I also did something different for me. I had read in Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns: Book 1
about how eyelets were sewn with one very long thread, linking each eyelet under the fabric. Well, I normally use short lengths of thread, so I tried to see how many eyelets I could do with a whip stitch of linen thread (50/3 Londonderry). I used a length of thread roughly a yard long or a little more. I was able to sew up 5 eyelets spaced 3/4" apart. Not bad! I did a couple of backstitches before and after each eyelet to keep the tension from pulling on already completed eyelets.
I think the most annoying thing was the wool fabric that prefers to keep the eyelet closed, at least in the beginning. After a few stitches, several uses of my awl while sewing, and two passes on the whip stitch, I now have lovely eyelets that hold open very nicely. In fact, I think I like the linen thread that I heavily waxed better than the silk buttonhole twist I've used before. I'll know more when I lace things up.
This photo shows both front and back sides of the bodice side, where it laces. No boning was used at the edge so it does pucker a bit but I'm not worried about it.
There is a layer of modern tailor's canvas under the folded back layer of wool to help stabilize the eyelets. It is the first time I've used this, as I usually have some form of canvas interlining. But this time the bodice has no interlining layer, in part to see what happens when I don't use it. This gown really is an experiment in various things.
Next section is to sew the skirt parts, front and back, to the bodice.
This did mean that the wool short gown had to be put aside, as I couldn't do more than a couple of eyelets at Great Western War before the left hand complained again, and that was in early October. But yesterday I tried another eyelet and was able to continue and finish up the whole set. I am taking breaks to let the hand rest.
I also did something different for me. I had read in Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns: Book 1
about how eyelets were sewn with one very long thread, linking each eyelet under the fabric. Well, I normally use short lengths of thread, so I tried to see how many eyelets I could do with a whip stitch of linen thread (50/3 Londonderry). I used a length of thread roughly a yard long or a little more. I was able to sew up 5 eyelets spaced 3/4" apart. Not bad! I did a couple of backstitches before and after each eyelet to keep the tension from pulling on already completed eyelets.
I think the most annoying thing was the wool fabric that prefers to keep the eyelet closed, at least in the beginning. After a few stitches, several uses of my awl while sewing, and two passes on the whip stitch, I now have lovely eyelets that hold open very nicely. In fact, I think I like the linen thread that I heavily waxed better than the silk buttonhole twist I've used before. I'll know more when I lace things up.
This photo shows both front and back sides of the bodice side, where it laces. No boning was used at the edge so it does pucker a bit but I'm not worried about it.
There is a layer of modern tailor's canvas under the folded back layer of wool to help stabilize the eyelets. It is the first time I've used this, as I usually have some form of canvas interlining. But this time the bodice has no interlining layer, in part to see what happens when I don't use it. This gown really is an experiment in various things.
Next section is to sew the skirt parts, front and back, to the bodice.