Gwen's indecent muslin part 1

It is ages since the last post! So lots to catch up on.

Experiments were done, the Marie sleeve shown on the Gloucester wedding dress was rather fiddly but effective, why the sleeve top is done in two sections I can't see, having two raw edges gathered onto a narrow band did get a bit much, but perhaps the scale just made things worse! I wanted something easy to calculate so just measured off the pattern in centimetres and drew out inches, perhaps more pain at this stage would mean less pain later. The sleeve head is huge against the bodice, there is no stiffener in mine but still stands out quite rigidly, but the real thing can't have been easy to wear, but then contemporary wedding dresses tend to be exaggerations, so was this the same?

I sent a speculative email to Gloucester museum service and had such an open, enthusiastic response – I can go down to work from the original garment! Just short of 400 mile round trip to see a dress, why am I so excited by the thought! Hope to arrange to visit by the end of the month!

The main reason for the delay in posting was another good idea. I don't really like Gwendoline's party frock so have begun another, an ambitious project – a low cut crossover bodice of muslin mounted onto a lining with a round skirt. I wanted something a little more sexy and fitted like the Lawrence portrait shows to see if this will show of Gwen's shape better. Of course it couldn't be done simply so I wanted the lining to hold the form and the top layer to be gathered on the front to give a more romantic wispy effect. The bulk of the bodice is done and the skirt is tacked in place, gathered at the back with some gathering at the front under the bust darts.

This does help the skirt to hang well in the round but looks boxy at the waist line so it will be untacked and eased around the front.   It will definitely need an underskirt, even this quite coarse muslin is indecent. This didn't take long to do, so confession time. I had a go at some embroidery on the hem – giving a bit of visual weight, following ideas from the 1805 muslin dress and stealing elements from the designs published in the period journals. My design is a simple Greek lyre shape, full motif at the front and halves repeated along the hem and onto the back seam. This took for ever, please note – embroidery on flimsy muslin is a pain of the highest order, lines along the grain are simple but curves and satin stitch! It will look fine but the tension changes as soon as the fabric is realigned in a hoop or just handled. Out came the modern threads and I have redone it all in fine silk. It does look better than I thought now the skirt is on but this was nearly sob into the cornflakes status. How they did this on delicate muslin and so densely as on the dress to the right I dread to think.

The sleeves I want to be extravagant – probably based on the Marie experiment rather than the tight ones with high sleeve caps as above. They should be dramatic, to frame the bodice.  In the painting I've gone for puffy, almost bouffant sleeves but need to work from life to get it right, so I guess I'm committed.

 

  I've just thought that the sleeves should go on before the skirt! Aaaaagh! Am I really doing this for fun?

And just for more fun I've found some generous and trusting people who will let me work from their photos of costumes being worn! But I want to complete this dress and images for next week's update
 and start my drawing classes, and crochet hearts, stars and snowflakes and..... and....
How was there ever time to work?