It’s only a paper stomacher…
Stomacher pattern
The easiest thing to pattern. Just stick some paper under the francaise and draw a shape. Smooth out the lines. *Ta da* It’s a stomacher. For the actual item, I used an inner layer of white mid-weight canvas-y stuff, covered w/the pink silk on both sides and the sari fabric on the front, all hand-sewn since it was fussy little edge whip-stitching.
The sleeve ruffles took longer to figure out.
Two patterning passes to get the right size. Bigger is better!
As with everything, a layer of pink silk backs the sari fabric for umph.
Took a few pleats in the sari fabric to mimic the ruffle curve. I seem to recall a way of curving the sewn edge of the ruffle to get straight embellished border edges to fit on a curved ruffle nicely. I futzed with it for a little bit but couldn’t remember how that worked and bailed.
That’s kind of the story of these sleeves — I know there are things I could have done to make them tidier and prettier, but I just didn’t want to waste time messing with it. They work as-is, and I’ve made notes on the pattern pieces if I want to work it out in a future project.
Started having fun with the wavy roller blade…
Making some trim!
It is super-cool!
Here’s a trim idea for the skirt:
A trim mockup idea
Here’s some trim pinned on the stomacher, plus what I’ve already sewed on the bodice:
Sewing trim on the bodice
And finally, here’s something of a money-shot — me in the gown (just ignore crappy hair, etc):
Me, wearing the in-progress gown
Mom came and pinned up my hems. Yay, Mom!