Bunny- sitting 2

Second bunny-sitting  garment.

Having fallen out of love with the purple velvet I spent this week trying some of the planned amendments out on a second Gwendoline spencer. (Gwendoline is the mannequin)

I had taken a piece of midweight plain fabric as an emergency travel stash on the bunny-sitting mission, quite textured, parentage unknown, loose weave. This was flexible enough for most things but prone to stretch and fray when bullied.

 

The old gwen pattern was redrawn  on paper, sliced and sellotaped back together to give the base shapes. It needed a tighter back with more visible seams, the shoulder further down, the back seam closer to the centre line to give more of the diamond shape to the back panel, the fit on the shoulder was suspect as well.

 

 The adjustments are moving in the right direction – the seams are further back and more shapely, the sleeve is more fitted and the front dart gives a sleeker fit. The back seems to big again and hangs quite boxily, not as smartly as the front.

 

Some extra fitting was needed ( helped by Bob the cat), the length of the shoulder had to be reduced to pull the sleeve head up onto the point of the shoulder and then the back was made narrower with a centre seam and a separate side back piece made.  The back seam is tapered so it is no longer hanging on the grain, this fabric will distort but I didn't have enough with me to cut a new piece. It will have to be declared another design feature not a half resolved problem.

    The result was nicely unfussy and clean. And then I went and had another look at the Met Museum's collection.( metmuseum, images and details)   What is it about the decorated pelisse? I like plain, I don't own anything with a flounce or frill, but these guys are entrancing. Don't look at the back, that is over the top in a majorly dramatic way, but the front – relying on the difference in texture rather than colour to create ornament is rather lovely. The style of the braiding is military-ish, influenced by the frogging and decoration on a hussar's jacket which was so popular at the time. The lines exaggerate the tight waist and wide shoulders, things I am trying not to do on Gwen, but still wanted to have a go. I tried buying but colour matching was a problem, the bought was too clean and bright, too perfect. So back to the crochet hook, one advantage of having a selection of vintage yarn.  Making the braid and then applying it has doubled the construction time but the cats enjoyed it! The pattern is from the Met example but modified, the central panel is lost and the number of twists  reduced, but the double crochet chain is not too far away from the ladder style braiding used. While the colour is not the same as the ground the contrast is quite mild and not too intrusive. The back is entirely made up. Just take a look at the Met link and you will see why.

The quietness of the fabric colour and the defined shapes work well on Gwendoline, she seems more in keeping with the clothing this time, the seaming gives a reason for the wide shoulders but nothing can be done for her posture.

As after thoughts go this has been quite a good one, the shapes and fit are better. If this is good base then experimenting further will be made much easier. Looking again at some of the extant pieces more extreme armholes are a possibilty. On some the sleeve is set incredibly far back, leaving a very narrow centre back panel. And of course the fullness and style of the sleeve and collar are to be played with as well. I still like the outer wear best for some reason, seeing as the dress and spencer have evolved from the same pattern  this seems strange and illogical.  Lots to do. Should I top stitch around the neck line to stop the facing rolling outwards? Back to saying  Ummm........