They worked!

I was a little bit surprised when I sewed up the sleeve side seam, turned it right-side out, & *ta da* the sleeve looked liked I’d hoped & planned it would look all along. Sure, there were some fiddly bits to fix like trim not lining up perfectly & basting lines still showing, but those were easy fixes. The concept worked in the end.

Finished medici sleeve

However, I did have to sew the sleeves to the bodice by hand. I thought I’d just baste them in, then sew by machine. But as I pinned the sleeves in, it became quickly apparent that these were going to be too thick to get into the machine without a struggle. What the heck, sew it by hand, double thread, lots of back-stitching.

Closeup of medici sleeve

Sleeves attached to bodice

Next up, skirts…