Into the silk

I cut the sari! Scary, but it’s looking good. I debated which part to use for the bodice — either the choli end, which has a tight repeating pattern, or the end of the sari that hangs over the chest, which has a big wide pattern. Decided to use the choli for the bodice and leave the wide-patterned ends for the pagoda oversleeves. Though I *wish* I could have used that for an extra skirt ruffle, but there just wasn’t anything leftover from the choli for sleeves.

I’m a bit worried about the skirt. Looks like there isn’t enough material for the skirt to be big enough for even a modest hoop. And the ruffles may be a bit skimpy. *sigh* Saris are probably better meant for Regency gowns which don’t eat up yardage. Ah well. I still might split the material lengthwise and make two ruffles. That’ll balance the wide sleeves better even if the whole skirt isn’t so full. May need to cut down the sleeves anyway — gotta mock those up before any more cutting, of course.

Upon various recommendations, I tried a spray adhesive meant for basting quilts. Very cool stuff. I first cut the bodice pieces from the sari, then I spray-basted them to black medium-weight cotton for interlining. Worked great, and made it very easy to treat these two layers as one.

The lining and bodice are ready to be matched up now, but I’m going out to dinner for my mother-in-law’s birthday. So no more sewing today. Maybe more tomorrow.