Do I need the line the sleeves of my silk chemise dress?

[nuranar]

These are pretty much the same sleeves as of my 1790s curtain along dress, and they were surprisingly tight and hard to bend my arm in because of the lining. In that case, the curtain fabric was a sturdy cotton sateen, and the linen lining was a rather nice not-too-heavy piece that's all gone. In this case, my white taffeta is lightweight but of

Comments

[mala_14]

I looked at a lot of white early-1790s gown sleeves to figure out this very question. I came to the conclusion that they were lined because I don't think any of the portraits I looked at seemed to show any skin colour coming through.

I think a tightly-woven, lightweight cotton would be nice. Something that molds nicely to the shape of the arm but isn't too flimsy.

[nuranar]

Thank you so much! That is extremely helpful. I ended up using a piece of cheap lawn that is nice and light but not flimsy. :)