So when I tried on the surcote after making my initial seams, it was super baggy in the chest and back, and too tight in the hips! Rather than have the low end of the open side fall at my hips, and be open and loose, it was tight and only fit just at my waist! Since I followed the pattern's measurement suggestions to my measurements, I suppose if I want to continue to use this pattern I will have to make a note about how it actually fits once cut!
I made some pinned adjustments, and realized that I had to make a seam down the center front and center back of my surcote patterns, because the arm straps were on the outside. (Thinking back, now that it's finished, with all the material I cut out from the center, I could have just recut the top half of the pattern to fit, but hindsight is 20/20.) I would also have to create a ribbon closure on one of the sides of the skirt, because otherwise I would not be able to get the dang thing on, it was so fitted.
Time: 8 hours (roughly)
Then I hemmed everything, and put bias tape around the edges of the neck and the place in the skirt where I'd decided to put the ribbon closure. This took me about three hours, since I had to stitch it by hand over several periods, instead of in one fell swoop. Next came putting in a couple eyelets on the ribbon closure. I did something not very HA (historically accurate) and used an awl to open them and jump rings to help stabilize my eyelets. They look LOADS better than my wonky, decrepit eyelets on the underdress, and I think will last longer.
Overall, this project has given me some valuable insight into how to make these kinds of patterns. The underdress I sewed too quickly, without slowing down and measuring and making sure that I was taking in even amounts from the different panels. This led to the seams not lining up symmetrically. I also learned that I needed to get an awl to make eyelets, and that the jump rings do a lot of good in stabilizing and supporting them. Also, I learned to look before you leap, and to make sure of the choice you're making before you act on it.
All in all, I'm very proud of what I accomplished, even though it is wonky and rough around the edges. It's better than what I could make before, and I'm sure my next project will be better still!
Total time: 11 hours
The final piece of this outfit is the headscarf, which I've been hemming by hand and should finish up tonight. Next project is a Norse apron dress, hopefully edged with a nice bit of trim that I just acquired today.
I made some pinned adjustments, and realized that I had to make a seam down the center front and center back of my surcote patterns, because the arm straps were on the outside. (Thinking back, now that it's finished, with all the material I cut out from the center, I could have just recut the top half of the pattern to fit, but hindsight is 20/20.) I would also have to create a ribbon closure on one of the sides of the skirt, because otherwise I would not be able to get the dang thing on, it was so fitted.
Time: 8 hours (roughly)
Then I hemmed everything, and put bias tape around the edges of the neck and the place in the skirt where I'd decided to put the ribbon closure. This took me about three hours, since I had to stitch it by hand over several periods, instead of in one fell swoop. Next came putting in a couple eyelets on the ribbon closure. I did something not very HA (historically accurate) and used an awl to open them and jump rings to help stabilize my eyelets. They look LOADS better than my wonky, decrepit eyelets on the underdress, and I think will last longer.
Overall, this project has given me some valuable insight into how to make these kinds of patterns. The underdress I sewed too quickly, without slowing down and measuring and making sure that I was taking in even amounts from the different panels. This led to the seams not lining up symmetrically. I also learned that I needed to get an awl to make eyelets, and that the jump rings do a lot of good in stabilizing and supporting them. Also, I learned to look before you leap, and to make sure of the choice you're making before you act on it.
All in all, I'm very proud of what I accomplished, even though it is wonky and rough around the edges. It's better than what I could make before, and I'm sure my next project will be better still!
Total time: 11 hours
The final piece of this outfit is the headscarf, which I've been hemming by hand and should finish up tonight. Next project is a Norse apron dress, hopefully edged with a nice bit of trim that I just acquired today.
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