Frantic Sewing Time
Okay, at this point, the stripey bustle is happening for this weekend. I got pretty much everything I wanted to done on the bodice yesterday. It has sleeves, buttonholes, and the collar is finished. It still needs binding on the hem, buttons, and preferably, trim on the sleeve ends (especially since I machine-hemmed those, since my plan was for trim). I also wound up tweaking the darts, neckline, armseyes, and side seams yesterday, so I think it fits nicer now, too. I found some pleated wide eyelet lace at Joanns, which is working for the collar.
I also tried everything on at once, and realized that I hated the pleats I had pinned in on one side of the overskirt. So now it's just getting pleated on one side, and I have to get used to the 1880s love of asymmetry. Between work and rehearsal tonight, I'm pressing the hem of that so that I can sew the hem when I'm not being used. I've already pressed up one turn of the hem on my underskirt, and it's honestly a perfect length as is, though I was planning on turning it up twice so that none of the serging is visible on the edge. So now I'm a little torn - I can always put binding over the the edge, so that I don't lose any length (I have no extra length in the back at all), or I guess I can leave it as is and just have the serging showing. I'll have to make that decision by about 4pm today, because ideally, I'd love to get both the overskirt and underskirt hemmed and with hooks and eyes at the waist by the end of today.
I realized that my somewhat crushed up 1850s bonnet is the perfect color match for this bustle gown, so I'm bending it into a hat shape as much as possible, and I should be able to wear it this weekend with almost no work done to it. So that's nice.
I also looked at Joanns for lace for the inside of the 1830s bonnet, and came up with absolutely nothing I liked (so much cabbage rose lace. Ugh). So I'm not exactly sure how to trim that, but again, I need to decide stat! I did at least get ribbon ties for it - it was the same ribbon I bought for the cap, but it's a much nicer quality than most of Joann's ribbon.
To-do list for my sanity:
I also tried everything on at once, and realized that I hated the pleats I had pinned in on one side of the overskirt. So now it's just getting pleated on one side, and I have to get used to the 1880s love of asymmetry. Between work and rehearsal tonight, I'm pressing the hem of that so that I can sew the hem when I'm not being used. I've already pressed up one turn of the hem on my underskirt, and it's honestly a perfect length as is, though I was planning on turning it up twice so that none of the serging is visible on the edge. So now I'm a little torn - I can always put binding over the the edge, so that I don't lose any length (I have no extra length in the back at all), or I guess I can leave it as is and just have the serging showing. I'll have to make that decision by about 4pm today, because ideally, I'd love to get both the overskirt and underskirt hemmed and with hooks and eyes at the waist by the end of today.
I realized that my somewhat crushed up 1850s bonnet is the perfect color match for this bustle gown, so I'm bending it into a hat shape as much as possible, and I should be able to wear it this weekend with almost no work done to it. So that's nice.
I also looked at Joanns for lace for the inside of the 1830s bonnet, and came up with absolutely nothing I liked (so much cabbage rose lace. Ugh). So I'm not exactly sure how to trim that, but again, I need to decide stat! I did at least get ribbon ties for it - it was the same ribbon I bought for the cap, but it's a much nicer quality than most of Joann's ribbon.
To-do list for my sanity:
- Hem overskirt
- Hooks and eyes on overskirt waistband
- Stitch three pleats in place on overskirt
- Hem underskirt
- Hooks and eyes on underskirt waistband
- Bind bodice hem
- Trim on bodice sleeves
- Make and attach buttons to bodice
- Slit open buttonholes
- Finish binding bonnet
- Finish trimming bonnet
- Add lace to 1830s neckline (probably not going to happen)
- Figure out sausage curl hairpiece (probably will happen as I'm getting ready in the morning on Saturday)
- Pack!