The Undergown is Under Way!

Hello! There has been a bit of a significant break in between my initial post and this one, but here I am, back at it! I finally began the process of putting together the undergown for my starter garb.

I began with the green fabric I mentioned in my last post, and a different pattern than I had initially intended. I have some experience with Butterick patterns, so I decided to go with this one.

 

As I am not yet very good at sewing, I wanted this first project to be a simpler one that I was confident I could accomplish with little fuss. I want quick, easy, no nonsense garb that, while not being super historically accurate, will work in many purposes. However, this pattern is for a size smaller, by the measurements, than I would need.

I began pinning the pattern to the green blend fabric I had, and realized once I got to the final pieces that I didn't have enough yardage!! I had as much as was strictly necessary for the pattern itself, but not for the extra inches that would make this pattern fit me. Sigh. So, I pinned the pattern to a linen I got from fabrics-store.com. It fit, but barely, and with the extra inches. 

Pinning: 2 hours and 15 minutes

A couple days later, I cut out the pieces, and begin pinning them to my dressform. The dressform didn't work on it's pole and kitty litter, so i had to rig it in a doorway at my height to get the gown to lie right. After much pinning together and taking in, I realized that I probably didn't actually need the extra inches that I'd cut, as I have so much extra fabric thinned out that I could potentially do away with an entire side panel. If only they weren't cut shaped. As it is, I pin it to the dressform, knowing that once I pin it to myself I'll need to make further adjustments, and call it quits for the night. 

Total time: 3 hours 35 minutes. 

Next is to set up my new sewing machine (which I've never done before, as most of my sewing has been done by hand)!