Linen Kirtle Sleeves

I’m calling this project done, because all I have left to do is whip the wrists of each sleeve, then I can move on to other (dare I say more interesting?) projects.

Not that this particular project has been intricate or challenging, but it certainly has been hard to get motivated and stay on track.  I am curious to see how the final product fits & looks!  (I’ll try to grab a picture or two of her wearing them…..if I remember!)

Two (kirtles) down, only one to go!

After much hemming and hawing, I finally finished the eyelets on the black kirtle.  Remember how I said I used waxed linen 4-ply for the eyelets?  Well, never do that.  Ever.  Such a pain!  I would have finished in half the time had I been using proper thread.  So let this be a lesson to myself – don’t cheap out and ‘make do’!

(But this also means that the eyelets on the red kirtle are going to just zoom by!)

                     

Only the sleeves to go, and I will be ready to hand off the whole project come this Saturday – what a relief!!!

LBD Kirtle–eyelets

I never did go out shopping to get some silk buttonhole twist for the eyelets on the black kirtle, so I’ve been using 4 strands of linen……really, really waxed linen.  It’s turning out OK, although the threads have snapped on me a few times.  I’ll be heat-setting the wax again after the eyelets are done, it’s getting a bit flaky and weird looking.

There are 9 eyelets per side, 18 total.  I have them spaced for spiral lacing.  (Great article on spiral lacing over here)

At any rate, I’m 1/4 the way through the LBD eyelets, then I’ll have all the eyelets for the red kirtle, then the sleeves, THEN I’ll be done.  Done, done, done.  (And I can muck about with the Double-No-L project that has been eating at me!)

LBD Kirtle–Major Construction finished

Despite my best efforts to remain distracted by the internets, I was able to finish the main construction of the black kirtle.  The skirt is now fully attached, and the boning in place.

Close up of the top stitching along the boning casing and skirt attachment.

Poor Bertha is a bit too beefy, and the kirtle doesn’t close all the way, but you get the basic idea…….

Now all that is left to do are the eyelets and whipping the skirt closed.  I don’t have any black buttonhole floss on hand, so this project is as finished as it’s going to be until I go shopping.

“Little Black Dress” Kirtle

I spent the greater part of the weekend messing about on the internet (and oh yeah, spent a goodly amount of time helping a local gal make a farthingale.  Hurrah!  I was more productive than I remembered!), and didn’t get nearly as far on the black kirtle as I had hoped.  But to get you all up to speed, this is where I am:

The skirt is pleated and attached to the bodice.  To do:  stitch down the bodice linen layer to the skirt & lining layers.


Bodice is fully constructed, and hand stitched along the edge.


I’m nearly done stitching the boning in place at the center back.  To do:  finish boning ‘casing’ and eyelets.


Then all that’s left are some easy-peasy pin-on sleeves, a quick stitch up the center back skirt, and it’s done!
I was given some white trim to do with as I pleased with the 3 kirtles I’m making, but there isn’t enough to do much for the black dress.  The green dress (alas, no pictures!) has three rows of white trim around the neckline, and diagonal trim on the sleeves.  I think that both the black dress and the red dress may have to go sans décor.

Speaking of the red dress, That one hasn’t even been started yet, so I’ll blog the entire process.

Pleating Tips

I've finally decided to make the change from Livejournal to Blogger, whether or not I can port over my old posts.

To get this blog off on the correct footing, I'm going to post about a technique that has saved me hours of fiddling with measuring and guessing knife & box pleats.

1. Using a ruler or yardstick, evenly clip the width of your finished pleat. (In my case, I clipped every 1/2", making my box pleats 1" wide.)

2. Use the clips to distribute pleats evenly. (In my case, I did box pleats in the front, and organ pleats in the back)

Weekend Catch-up Post

 

This weekend was a complete blur - lots of stuff happened.

1)  I got serious about HRH's kirtle, and fought with that off and on throughout the weekend.  I re-started to sew on rings for the misbegotten teal kirtle.  Got one side done.  (argh)  Of my own projects, I accomplished relatively little, due to my flitterbugging all over the place.  Oh, and my silk for the background of the PPoD came in, so I've been working on that off and on as well.

2)  Jane & Sara came down both Friday and Saturday to work on their individual projects.
I got Sara all set up with a new bodice pattern for a "V" fronted gown.  By the end of the weekend, she had everything done on the bodice with the exception of some trim, and still to decide the shoulder treatments.  I'll check in with her and see what she decided to do.

Jane busted out nearly an entire pair of bodies - by the time she left, we had patterned her out, and she had done 97% of the construction.  Still to do are cutting & dipping the boning, and binding.  (I tortured her with making her own bias binding.....I don't think she was too happy with me........)  At the very end of their time here, we 'blackworked' her smock with a pattern on my machine.  I totally messed up one of the sleeves and did it upside down.....Jane's never going to trust me again!
Isn't the fabric she's using for her corset just NUMMY?!?!

3)  On Sunday, I finally buckled down and helped Sherece fix her purple kirtle.  We re-did the neckline, made a facing, took in the back seam, added a gore in the center back skirt, and re-did the shoulders.  Phew!  Can you believe it?!  I *actually* sorta-mended something!  >.<  She liked the outcome, and looks totally cute.  I, of course, forgot to take photos of the finished dress.  :(  I did, on the other hand, take a picture of the EPIC burn of epicness I got that day.....it matches my year-old burn on the other arm.

4)  On Saturday, we held a Fajita/Margarita party at my house.  It was super fun, and Sherece and her two boys spent the night.  (Sherece and I sewed the next day, while her boys cycled through all our 'toys' (PS3, Kinect, XBox, etc)  During the party, Marshall-Pants finally 'officially' proposed to The Strid.  Much joy was had, and it is captured on video.  (Hooray!)  I need to do some massive editing of the video, it's far, far too long to put you guys through.  ;)