the first month!

things have been happening!  slowly but surely.  it all started on vacation, so i thought i'd begin with the camicia because that's simple and doesn't require too many supplies.  ok, so at least the not too many supplies part was right.

i used an old, cotton, king-sized fitted sheet ripping it up around the holes.  why?  because i absolutely adore old, soft sheets.  right now on my bed i have unmatching butter yellow pillow cases that are at least 30 years old because they are the softest things in my bedding closet.  so there.

so i ripped the pieces (straighter lines since i can't cut straight lines) according to festive attyre's pattern except that the gussets I kept as squares.  i also made the back higher to cover tattoos.  i reserve the right to make cuffs later depending on what the sleeves of the veste seem to need.  also there will be lace on it, but more on that in a bit.

the body was put together like the elizabethan seam on extreme costuming and was a fun little jigsaw puzzle to put together.  then it came to the neckline.  ugh.  i didn't think it through all that well.  at first i did four lines of cartridge pleating using 1/8 inch stitches and came up with this:

fail.

so i took out the stitches and backed the whole thing with grosgrain ribbon (bonus: the ribs measure length for you!) and saved it along with hemmed it like this:

and look!  that's grandma's lace that i starched the heck out of that i'll add later, though i don't have enough to go all the way around.  we'll pretend.

hence, the camicia is done!  or at least at a done point that can be changed later.  here are some action shots:

here's another close up of the neckline with the seaming in the gusset.  

i haven't ironed or steamed yet which will make it smoother.

so slimming from the side:

armpit so you can see the work of the gusset:

and is that a kitty photobomb?????

KITTY!

(this is Lucia Maria Medici, btw.  you know you're jealous)

so now onto the bodice.  i've made beginning steps, but it doesn't look all that impressive yet.  i drafted the pattern from some old ones I had using gretchen.

gretchen:

so here's where we stand: i have felt interlining cut out that i'm going to pad stitch to the thin but lovely fabric for the outside.  i've also cut out the fabric to stiffen it and covered that in hide glue (there are other posts on that testing) which will go in the inside.  so i've got the stuff cut out, and when the sun comes up again i'll see if i have matching thread upstairs that is the right weight.  yes, i am too lazy to do this when it's dark.  oh, and you might want to know what the above looks like.  action shots:

it's the front!  it shimmers copper and an ice blue alternately.  i love this stuff:

here is the back with the hide glued piece:

and this makes me look like i know what i'm doing:

and thus you have the update for today.  woo!