This summer, I started furiously working on a medieval dress for this year's Halloween. This picture is from early October. I was just too far from the mark to push through and have it look the way I wanted (the trim around the neck is just pinned on in this pic). Maybe next year!
The dress is from
Simplicity 2573, view B (on the right).
I decided to eliminate the binding on the bodice. There's a lining anyway, might as well just sew the front to the lining. Seems more period-appropriate to me, although I'm not going completely purist here. However, my first incarnation of the bodice didn't include any extra width/height for a seam allowance. Newbie sewer mistake there. After some pretty thorough research, I settled on using a compass (yes, that thing you last used for drawing circles in fifth grade) to add seam allowances. The pattern calls for the bodice to be interfaced with muslin. I used some rather stiff green cotton I had laying around
Then I cut out the pieces with my rotary cutter.
Love that. I have got to get a bigger cutting mat/surface.
In the picture at the top, the lining has been inserted. I borrowed from
a technique the Slapdash Sewist discusses to attach lining via machine on a sleeveless bodice. Mine had one less opening, so I sewed the bodice to the dress at the waistline by hand. Hand sewing always intimidates me, but this was surprisingly easy and satisfying! It's certainly not perfect, but it's not going to be seen and I'm very satisfied with it. I realized after I stitched down the waistline that I should have underlined the bodice. The instructions didn't call for it, and I am unused to thinking beyond the instructions.
I struggled a little with all of the cloth in the bottom corners. I had 3 layers in the bodice and one layer from the skirt, all trying to get to a hard corner while still leaving me room to hand-stitch the lining closed. I ended up with a bit of a bump. The lining sticks out a little here and in a few other spots. This was my first ever lining, though, so I'm chalking it up to a learning experience.
The fabrics are just devine! The outer fabric is a wool/rayon blend that drapes beautifully! The lining is china silk. I've been using a walking foot when sewing seams as both fabrics are a little on the slippery side. So far, I think it's working really well.
I'll have more about those grommet holes in a future post. Still to go: finishing those grommets, hemming the skirt, attaching this beautiful trim, oh yeah, and creating the entire under dress. See why it didn't get done by Halloween?
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