19th Century Project: Mission Accomplished

Current mood:

Well, thank goodness that's over.

Last check-in was a gibbering brain-dump two days before the wedding, I believe?  So, in those two days, I managed to get all the critical requirements done, except:

• No additional braid made it onto the uniform, alas.
• My skirt was not hemmed.  Well, it sort of was, in that I attached a wide strip of ciré to the bottom of the skirt and turned it in, thus creating a hem; but having no one to hand until Saturday to actually mark the hem, on that day we found that it was way too long, so I ended up having to pin the whole thing up for the wedding.  Which, of course, started coming down over the course of the evening. But it sufficed.
• I didn't put closures on the skirt waistband or slit.  God Bless Safety Pins.

Bugs and issues:

• On my outfit:
• The 1/4" historically accurate twill tape I used as my corset lacing broke when Beth was lacing me in.  ("Tighter, Mammy, tighter!")  Like the Duke of Wellington, we tied a knot and carried on; but that combined with the fact that we were already super-late and did not have time for adjustments meant that my shape was doing kinda weird things.
• Possibly related to the above point: the bodice was riding a little higher than it should have, I think.  Also, the pointed front was occasionally drifting to one side.
• The stuff I chose to lace the bodice was also inadequate for purpose, but at least it didn't break.
• The sleeves on the chemise ended up being longer than the sleeves of the gown; and even after we rolled them up and pinned them (God Bless Safety Pins, again) they were slightly visible because the pleating plus the stiffness of the silk gave a sort of funnel visibility effect when I raised my arms.  I think I just have to remove them entirely.  WELL THAT WAS THREE HOURS OF MY LIFE WASTED.
• The skirt waistband was, cough, a little small.  I think that if we'd been able to lace me up fully it would've been OK, though.
• On my consort's outfit:
• Somehow the center back piece of the coat ended up being a good 2" shorter than the rest of the back hem-line.  I kludged this by just sewing in another strip of fabric to make up the difference.
• The trousers were way too short!  I realized that this was kind of Not Wrong, because you'd expect to be wearing tall boots and possibly gaiters as well, but this did not help us because he had neither.  I kludged this the same way--sewed in a strip of fabric at the bottom of each leg.
• The collar is a leeetle tall and the cuffs definitely a bit too long.  (The cuffs will be easy to fix, the collar less so.)
• As I think I mentioned earlier, some things went a little off the rails when calculating the shape and angle of the trouser fall, so it comes up higher and further out than it should, which skews the fit slightly in other ways.  I don't think most people would realize this, but it bugs me.
• I should have moved the trouser side points back about a half inch on each side, so the slit at the back isn't forced open so wide.  Again, this is not wrong per se (this is why there is a slit and lacing at the back) but it makes it a less elegant fit.

All in all, however, I'm really quite pleased with our turnout.  As well, the whole project has been a major confidence booster for me; the fact that, from a cold start, I managed to create pieces that were this passable (and on a ridiculous schedule) is a pretty remarkable level-up for me. 

What's that?  You want pictures?  Oh, very well:

Going down the dance (photo by
Serena Star Photography)

My dashing escort and my bestie.
(His jacket does button fully
and comfortably, but it was
late and hot)

Afterwards; you see my hem has
entirely given up the ghost