A day of ups & downs

Sewing before noon, who’da thunk it?

Doesn’t look like much yet, but I’m getting there.

Interlined with black twill and the cotton lining is also sewn. I’ll bag-line it (one thing I am good at). The thing is at the point where I really need to try it on, but the house is too cold to strip down to my skivvies. Also, I think my chemise is still in the dirty clothes hamper from Dickens Faire. Anyway.

For reference, here’s rencorset mark3, completed on Tuesday:

I haven’t been totally slacking, despite most of yesterday being filled by social obligations. Anyway, I should bag that lining and fiddle with the front closure, collar, and skirtings. After that, the simple small sleeves, although thanks to the Pin Posse on LJ for good sleeve feedback last night! I have a better idea of how to do the Knollys sleeves, but I will wait till after 12th Night to attempt that.

Later that same day…

Fit problems! What do I do now???

Tried it on with corset, pinned bodice shut. But I’m getting all kinds of extra fabric in the front and a weird bit sticking up at the center back around the neck. I don’t understand. The mockup fit beautifully, and the pattern is made from that exactly. I followed it accurately, used the same half-inch seams, and while I expected a little creep from the thickness of the fabric and interlining, I was careful in my pinning and sewing, plus I used the walking foot to combat creep as much as possible. Besides, fabric creep wouldn’t give me *this* much extra fabric. I’m talking an inch and a half extra in the front, plus a giant funky dart’s worth of extra at the center-back neck area. Why?

First I tried pinning just the “normal” half-inch seam allowance. That was too big. Then I pinned as close as it fit, right to the body. Note the white line — that’s my body line where I pinned the second time. Also drew my body line in on the back too, though that’s even harder to show, what with my holding the camera and all.

I tried re-wearing it, setting the bodice on my shoulders/body in different ways, and pinning it differently to see if I was just wearing it wrong. All that changed was where there was way too much fabric — in the front or the back, and the neck dart thing mostly stayed the same, although the precise shape/size was hard to determine on myself, of course. WTF???

The corset is the same shape as mark1, just has tabs. I’m the same shape (and if anything, I weigh more than a month ago when we made this pattern, thanks to all the holiday cookies). What the hell is going on here??? I am baffled.

I guess I could just take in the front and ignore the funky neck happening. Ultimately, that will be covered by a head-on-a-plate ruff. I’ll look pretty to those who face me. But I’m irked that, when I finally try and make a costume that’s not from an off-the-rack pattern, I get even more screwy fitting issues than when I stick with Simplicity patterns. I just can’t get a break.

And yet later…

I was just starting a post wherein I was going to whine that I had lost the will to sew. Except that, right then, Bridget called to say “hey, I can come over tomorrow and help you fit that bodice.” Because Kendra had called Bridget to tell her of my woes, Bridget living much closer to me than Kendra.

Wow.

I love my friends!!!

Thus, instead of continuing to wallow on the couch, eating chocolate and watching the 1940s Little Women with Katherine Hepburn (who is an awesome Jo, by the way), I should get crackin’ on that skirt 🙂