Got the basic form cut and sewn last night. Added darts for better shaping this morning in between bouts of “OMG MIGRAINE.” Probably should not have sewn first thing in the morning, more importantly, probably should not have had half a bottle of red wine so late Saturday — that contributed to the sewing frenzy last night, yay, but also the frickin’ migraine today, boo.
I even did a little research for the zouave jacket, just to make sure I wasn’t inventing something out of my mixed-up Hollywood-ized memories. The 1864 fashion plate (close-up, first gallery image) shows pretty much what I’m going for, though I won’t have time for as fancy of trim.
This 1860s bolero (second gallery image) is also along the lines of what I’m aiming for. Though neither have the big bell sleeves I prefer (and will need to fit over the blouse I already have, ah well).
Of course, my pattern isn’t particularly historical. I grabbed a random jacket pattern (was for a riding jacket, iirc) as a base and hacked it up. The shoulder seam is doubtless too far forward and not sloping enough, and there’s only one center-back seam, not a three-pieced back. And I did add front bust darts because the front looked too flappy and loose otherwise. It’s kind of a modern bolero jacket. Whatevs! It’ll look cute. And it’ll be just as good as the results of that “hack a thrift-store jacket into a zouave” article in the last GBACG newsletter 😉
Also realized a nifty trick: Since the Eugenie skirt has hooks to attach it to the bodice, I can use these to attach the Swiss waist to the skirt. Then the belt won’t move around as much! Should look tidy and put-together.
Oooooo, check out this fashion plate (third gallery image) called The Eugenie — pretty cute! I was looking for Swiss waist images, again, to confirm I’m not making stuff up. That belt is awesome; now I can’t decide if I want the tails in the front or back.
Later that night…
Found a perfect bell sleeve pattern in a Truly Victorian pattern. Did a pinned mockup just to be sure. Fab.
Then realized I didn’t have enough of the black faille left to make big pagoda sleeves!
But before you can say “made of fail,” I figured I could piece the sleeves and trim out the lower half so you can’t tell it’s a different fabric. Found some black satin scraps, and was able to piece the sleeve starting at the elbow. Perfect place to start ruffled lace trim.
Now, I had an unfinished project covered in some not-terribly cheesy black lace that I recently dug up. Could rip that off and use it. But hmm… I think there’s some of the original Eugenie skirt’s black lace left, specifically the patterned edges. Yep, and just enough too! I’ve cut that last piece up in so many weird ways to use the motifs and edges, but there was still enough of both the really wide pattern and the narrower edge pattern. Sweet, two ruffles of lace on big bell sleeves.
Of course, while I was piecing in the sleeves, I had to sew the parts backwards once, rip it all out, and sew it again. Anything to make the project take longer. *eye rolls*
Things are cut and pinned, should be able to get those big ruffles on tomorrow night and hopefully start applying trim over the pieced join. Then hem the cuffs and trim all around the jacket, and on to the Swiss waist.
*knock on wood* This thing may happen…