Finally, finally, finally! I have finished the trim for the bodice on my gown, have it sewn on and have the skirt sewn to the bodice. It seemed to have taken forever and I am very relieved to be finished with that step and am very pleased with how it looks. The bodice is a little long, but looks nice when laced up. The shoulder straps are sufficiently sloped off the shoulders...but this allows for very little movement, so I hope I won't have to be working too hard on my wedding day. lol. The skirt is loosely patterned off of the Eleanora dress in Patterns of Fashion, but due to having only so much yardage, I modified the pattern to where there is one wide panel in the front and one in the back, and one triangular gore on each side. The opening is also located center front than on the sides. It is completely lined in muslin, and the top edge is bound in white velveteen and turned in several inches and then sewn to the inside edge of the finished bodice with several different pleating techniques. The bottom edge is not yet hemmed. I have the dress hanging now while I decide whether or not I am ready to tackle making the trim to go around the bottom edge.
I have also finished a quickie petticoat. It is made from 3.5 yards of purple cotton and trimmed in a narrow strip of gold cotton jacquard. I experimented with the petticoat. I have previously been unable to wear petticoats with my front lacing gown unless I wear them under my camicia (which seems weird to me) because they show under the lacing..so I made a waistband with a nearly ninety degree angle center front...so far it seams to be working and not buckling or doing weird things with all the weight of the fabric. We will see. And I was bad...the whole thing is machine sewed, except for the button that I still need to sew on.
