totchipanda

Hahaha i got the actual coco letters in the mail this week. Email is a much more civilized to send those.

Sacque is plugging along. I did most of the whip gathering of the trim last week before i went to a fibre event. Spent a lovely afternoon with a new friend. Got home aroubd 7 and finished the gathering and then went to press ut open. I got maybe 4" done and said nope! The set up was not ideal, i thought id be ok with the sleeve board on a narrow strip of counter and wrangling some 4 yards of gathered fabric hahahahaha nope!

That got put in the naughty pile for a couple days. Then on Tuesday i did it the way i should have done it, by pulling out the ironing board, setting it low, and pulling a chair over while i watched a movie. I don't really remember what i was working on the first time i did this, but i do rememeber i watched one of thr HP movies on tv while i did it! I used dress pins to hold the ruffle open while i pressed. Then i wasnt even halfway into the movie so i started stitching it on.

Hsd to move one part over a bit cuz i didnt like how it looked, but it was the part id just finished so it didnt take long. Amd finally got it all done last night!

Remaining bits:
- sleeve fluffles (cut out and hemming started)
- tucker (also started)
- sleeve fluffles part 2
- closures
- finding and attaching shinies to the ruffle
- more flair like bows and stuff

For the tucker i was doing it by hand, gathering lace to a strip of bias tape, but i think im gonna machine that today cuz its tedious. Its gonna be barely visible under the ruffle but it will be THERE, which is important to me.

Sleeve fluffles part 2, im mildly torn on what to do. If i want lace edged fluffles, i cant do white cuz the lace is more ivory. I can let this percolate for a bit.

The sleeve fluffles im hemming by hand, so while my plan last night was to finish that up today, im gonna save it for evenings. Today i will work on "big" things wot might require machining, since i care far less what my neighbours might hear during the day.

So, the rest of the to do list:
- long stays
- 1830a dress of some kind
- redingote
- a multitude of unders
- finish the riding habit once the buttons arrive

Alternate plan for 1830s, in case that doesnt happen... I wwnt to turn some of my IKEA fabric into a pierrot jacket.

It's almost 8am and im almost ready to start the day. Let's do this.

I decided that this was the weekend to finish my cotton safari. Bring it on!!! This morning I finished all of the hemming. Only the stomacher needs attaching, some sort of closure, and trimming. I got the petticoat adjusted (it was weirdly long on the right side only) and stitched but it annoyingly remains 3" longer than the gown. Grrrrr. I don't know if I should leave it or make it shorter. Annoying either way cuz that is so much extra fabric I could have saved for trims!

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday so I don't expect to get anything done on it til Monday.

I put the sleeves on today and made a compere stomacher. I'm at a point where I need to make some decisions. I only have 3 yards left of the main fabric, which is not enough to do a matching petticoat and any self-fabric trimming, including sleeve ruffles. I could possibly do a panel in front and different-fabric backs, but I would want to math that out first before I start.

Other options: complimentary petticoat in matching colour, complimentary trimming fabric. I need to look at extants again for a good idea what would be plausible. I think the mismatched petticoat is the best option, just need to suss it out.

I tried it on this afternoon and felt so very floofy. A little disappointed that I don't get the oomph above my neckline though, but it also doesn't really happen in those stays. I should try it with the other set. I also think I added too much to the waist edge, I get a tuck in the skirt where it's trying to reach over the hoops. It won't really be noticable though, once all the fluffery is on..

Boooo mockups. Only the first one got documented on IG. It gapped over the shoulder and was too wide across the bust. Today I took out 1" in the strap the way i normally do (fold it down roughly midway) and re-angled the front just a smidgen. Literally a quarter inch per side. Then my first mockup had stretched already so i cut new fronts from poly panels.

Then i took a nap at 8pm. I will probably regret that decision shortly.

After i woke up and noodled around the internet i got back to it. Mark mark, sew sew... Tried it on with the 1780s stays. It was just... Not.... Working. The CF angled down, the neck is still too narrow, the back neck feels too high, the strap is smooth but now the armscye is REALLY close under my arm (maybe it would feel ok with a shift and/or sleeves but with a tank on, it was really uncomfortable). Tried the 1760s stomacher front stays and its a little better but not much. My waist doesnt compress as much in those ones so the bottom of the stomacher has almost no overlap, while the top is still too wide. The neckline and armscye issues remain the same.

So... I think i might take the strap fold out and try a narrow shoulder adjustment to take out that extra fabric without changing the armscye so much. Will still need to narrow the straps ans drop the back neck somehow. Why oh why did i hate sewing so much in school and not take more advanced classes??

I did a hard thing today and bailed out of one commitment. I need more time at home, especially now that Guido is diabetic again. In some ways it feels weird to say that -- he needs me for 20 minutes, to feed him for dinner and then give him insulin -- but its true. I want to be here with him. As much as I love my dance class and my dance ladies, I have to drop something. I'm considering dropping an RPG too, I just don't know which one.

I did feel good about this decision, and I was SUPER FIRED UP to actually SEW when I got home. I've had next to no urge since mid-August, and have been spending my free time knitting instead. I even re-adjusted Josephine (she's fallen over -- been knocked over, really -- a couple times in the past year) and got my pocket hoops and a petticoat out. Dressed her and measured, and used some mock-up fabric to see if my measurement was right (it is). And now I'm here writing and staring at the be-hooped Josephine while my brain goes "eehhhh I didn't really want to do this today anyway..." I know what I need to do, which is start with the lining of the bodice rather than the petticoat like I usually do. I can always piece a back of a petticoat with unimportant fabric, it's the gown that needs to be fabulous.

The but whhhhyyyyyys:
But why... do I need self-trimming? How much should I allow for that?
But why... do I need other kind of trim? Lace or sommat? Where do I even begin looking?
But why... is my chosen fabric ok? Is it too dark? Not period enough? Too heavy? (note: cotton gown. I'm very sure of the silk one. Link to photo of fabric)
But why... design elements? Stomacher obvs, but what kind? Pinning? Compere?

Ok self, that's enough wallowing. Get up, get a drink, grab the other research books. Go.