Time to Start Cutting!

Today I began cutting on a stand!-Very exciting stuff! I bought some light weight muslin from haberdashery as Dexter advised me to do so as this would've been the type of fabric traditionlly used. It also sits completely differently to calico and this is crucial to getting the piece right and also learning how to create this shape.

I began by looking at my pictures and also bringing in historical research to help make decisions on seams and the size of the pieces. As I am doing the top half of one piece and the bottom half of the other I have found it difficult to decide where to put the seams as they are different on each piece. I have decided to include a side seam on the bodice but place this under the arm hole as this is shown in the 'Costume in Detail' book that I have used. I have made sure that it is on a slight angle so it doesn't seam too straight and out of place. This seam also works well with the pleating on the front of the dress as it means the muslin  and calico is not dragged too far around the back of the dress.

I began by using calico to create the basic shape and to get an idea of what would need to be used where. It will also create a backing piece for the pleated muslin to sit ontop of and also help secure the pleats on the bodice.

Also from looking at my historical research I discovered the shoulder seam was taken over to the back of the dress and a little strap was used to connect the back piece to the shoulder strap.

Once these pieces had been cut and I was happy with how they sat, I took them off the mannequin and trasfered them to pattern paper. I then re-cut the pieces in a double layer of calic and overlocked the two layers together. I also included a 2.5cm SA around the edge so they could be joined.

The side view. Here you can see the position of the side seam. The pieces look big here but they have a 2.5cm seam akkiwance around the edge.

Here you can see the shoulder strap connecting to the back piece. I've also included a 5cm seam allowance on the CF and CB.

This is the front of the bodice. Here the neckline looks very square but it is not, this will be tapered and not as blunt. It also seems too long in the body too, this needs to sit just under the bustline to make the most of the empire shape.

I now need to begin working on the skirt and include the muslin.