Hm. It looks like the list is only sending me some of the messages in this conversation. Charlene took a quote from Ann's but I never received Ann's message at all! I wonder what else I'm missing. :(
This isn't my period of interest either, so I cannot comment on historical accuracy. Charlene, shoelaces sewn in the center front? What!? From the pictures, I can't see any laces in front. Good gosh, I wish I could see these instructions! LOL! I think you should just toss the confusing instructions aside. Just. Stop. looking. :P Where the bodice meets the skirt, make a casing and put the grosgrain ribbon in. Put it in like you would elastic. (In this case, it's not a full circle. It's sewn closed at the back hem opening.) To finish it, add a hook and eye where that meets. The grosgrain ribbon would be your under-bust measurement, with some ease...and would make the A-line gown take the shape you want. Then, you'd be able to adjust the gathers where you'd want them. If you need a little more fullness for your bust, you have gathers...if you want a smoother front, you could push a little more of the gathers toward the back. The sleeve ends would be the same process; grosgrain ribbon put in like you would elastic. And honestly, since you just want a "once a year, looks good enough" gown, why not just use elastic there where no one would see it? On that note, why not just use elastic under the bust too? You'd certainly have a bit more ease of movement. I suggested that the 1/4 inch ribbon went into the neckline casing because wide ribbon doesn't tie and hold a knot very well. But, in my experience, I find satin ribbons to be horrible for this. The satin is too slick. If you can find grosgrain, the ridges might help it stay tied. Or perhaps some other type of cord? You can do this in 2 weeks!! Don't give up. :D On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 11:09 AM, Charlene C <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 4:25 AM, <annbw...@aol.com> wrote: > > > > > I think Sybella gave you a good answer. However, if the pattern > > instructions are that poorly written, I suggest you also let Butterick > > (McCall) know. You can't be the only frustrated user. > > > > > I shudder to think of any newish sewers tackling this pattern. I'm strongly > beginning to think I'll just wear modern clothes to the dance instead of a > costume. I have only two weeks left to get this done (and that includes a > fitting mock-up). > > Both views list fabric and lining. HOWEVER, and this took me quite some > time to figure out, they're not the same layers between the views. > > For View B the fabric is the pink and it's lined (makes sense), but for > View A the "fabric" is the net/mesh layer and the "lining" is the visible > white layer. To my brain View A should be a white fabric layer with a > net/mesh overlay. Bah! > > I chose this pattern because it was the only one I saw that had a neckline > that would hide modern bra straps; for a once-a-year, > does't-need-to-be-accurate thing I didn't want to mess with a corset. > > Charlene > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
