So my one hour per night sewing resolution was super helpful last week (this week, not so much). I stayed up late on Friday just for that sense of accomplishment of having the sleeves DONE.
I did one more mockup, moving the upper/lower sleeve seam down. Looking at it now, I think I should have angled it up even more towards the back, but what’s done is done and I was happy to move on to the real deal. I cut the sleeves with a motif going down the front outside of the arm, and while there is a break in the pattern because of the elbow seam, I don’t think it’s very noticeable.
I also went through and fixed/reinforced all the gores that were pulling… altho one has pulled yet again. Sigh. So I need to get in there with some duct tape or hot glue or… I KID, I KID!
So it’s all done, minus the hem — which is going to be a total BASTARD. I gotta start thinking of what I can offer as bribes to get someone to mark it for me!
And man, do I look like a sausage. I’m really going to need a porn star wig (for any Pre-Raphaelite wearings) to detract from the sausageness. Please to enjoy that monster horizontal wrinkle in back!
So, boobilious maidens didn’t wear any sort of support garment? I’m not advocating wearing a playtex bra, but people are very adaptive and had I lived in the time of Charlemagne, I would have cobbled together support.
Veronica – that’s up for debate! Most researchers think they didn’t wear anything like a corset or bra, that’s for sure. One line of argument is that they wore self-supporting garments, like this one — the tightness and cut of the bodice keeps the boobs up (trust me, I would not be wearing this style if the girls weren’t strapped down). Another line of thought is maybe they bound their breasts? Of course, we have to keep in mind that our ideas of what our breasts should feel like is a modern construct created by the garments that WE wear everyday, so maybe they were cool with a bit more jiggle?
Anyway, but this sucker is made in the self-support model.
you don’t know me… (sorry if I’m intruding!)
but I wonder if the dress might flatter you more if you widened the neckline. That would serve to visually balance your hourglass figure more. Because, as I see it, the narrowness of the neckline draws attention to the vertical “squishage” caused by the tightness of the fabric. If the neckline were widened, it might rather emphasize the horizontal, making the bosom appear more natural. Because before you added the sleeves, it looked quite lovely, and I think that was because the armseye “cutoff” squared up that area more, visually.
Emily – actually I was thinking the same thing, but have been too lazy to think about doing it! Maybe I’ll stash this away for a while and widen the neckline when I have the energy.