I set the sleeves into the black francaise. They fit and look decent. I see how I could have made them look better by curving in the sleeve head in the front, but it’s not unattractive as-is. Good enough for government work, as they say. The overall fit of the gown is pretty darn awesome,
Thanks to help from this Threads article (which is actually the cheatsheet for a full article that’s more about theory), I successfully graded a pattern that I’d scaled up from Hunnisett. I’m pretty decent at sleeves, but I usually guess and have to make three muslins to get the right fit. The Threads article showed
I’ve finally been beading. Watching an awful Sharks game is apparently more conducive to beading than watching an engrossing Bronte adaption. Doesn’t look like much, does it? Well, it isn’t. I suspect Mom has gotten farther along on her sleeve, even though she started later than me. And hers will look much tidier, of course.
I’m having a rather “what would Kendra do?” time with this costume as I realize I really have to just suck it up and do a boatload of hand-sewing. Especially on these sleeves. There are just so many bits that are too fiddly for the machine, either they plain won’t fit because they’re too thick
This time, I sewed up the side seam and sliced a big ol’ chunk out of the front (after drawing various lines to see what worked, of course). I like it. I think it’s a fair resemblance to the actual Knollys sleeve. Y’know, if you get past the wimpy muslin ;-). I transferred the muslin
My idea for recreating the Lettice Knollys sleeves isn’t panning out, and I’m thinking of ditching that concept for now in favor of something quicker that uses less fabric. I can futz with the Knollys sleeve later. I *need* to have a wearable Elizabethan gown by January 6th, no lie. Doesn’t have to be fancy,
Hmm… seeming success is a bit thwarted… While laying awake at an ungodly hour, I had debated the sleeve shape. The more I doubted having enough sari fabric for a hoop skirt, the more I felt that a narrow sleeve would look better, more balanced. So when I got out of bed, I poked through