Pockets and Plackets

Getting to the skirt now. Decided to put an actual placket into the front skirt opening.

This particular example of a placket seems a bit modern to me...but it's a good one :).

For the pockets. I had some extra piping, and why leave it laying around with no place to go. So I inserted it into the front panels of the pocket openings for wear and design.

Bodice completed

Here is the completed bodice top with piping set in neck and sleeves. The sleeves were very good to me and set in right away...lots of pins, basting and sewing slowly.  Now I'm debating on doing hook and eye closure or go to the buttons as the pattern suggests.  I'm thinking I can always do the buttons, if I don't like the hook and eye. I know the button band will lay flatter with the h&e.

(The sripped dress is a costume my gramie made back in the 1970's I think it was. So interesting to look inside and see how she finished things.)

On to the skirt now!

Bodice redux

Documenting the process as I go, for later reference and learning.  Here's the bodice with the back on top to show the shoulder seams.

Here is the bodice front...ready for side and shoulder seams to be sewn together. I've stitched the lining and fashion fabric layers together all around.  The lining was about 1/2" longer in the pleat/dart area (visible at the lower left waistline) so I eased that extra from the lining into the waistline by pulling gently on the FF. I read that a lining should be actually a bit larger than your shell. Whodathunkit?

Underlining aka flatlining a garment seemed excessive to me...now that I've worn a bodice with an underlining, I really like the structure it gives to the garment. I picked up some great tips on flatlining over at Historical Sewing . Especially the "Best Flatlining Tip Ever" which I used on this version.  This pattern doesn't underline the sleeves, which is nice. It seems I'm never wearing costuming in cool weather...why is that? ;)

Here's a shot showing the easing of the curves of the front bodice into the straight lines of the back bodice. I think that I'm used to seeing this curve in the back seam if memory serves, but since this seamline sits to the back of the shoulder it makes sense that you'd make the curve on the bodice front.

Eureka!

So I decided to try a simple fix that was suggested by a couple of people on sewing forums that I'd often thought of but never attempted and that was to take out the excess fabric in the neck area by pinching said amount out of the pattern piece and smooshing the resulting bubble flat...just mash it down.  When I was looking at this smooshed bit, I looked over at the armhole and though....why don't I slash and pivot and allow that bubble to escape into the armhole. It has seemed a bit small to me anyway, and I thought, why not...as someone said to me some designers made dozens of muslins before getting the fit they wanted...I'm just after a flat neckline!  So I did it and it looked fine...

,,,then I made bodice muslins out of them and do a comparison. Here's a side by side collage of  Opt #1-right side (smooshed pinch), and Opt #2-left side (pivoted neckline to underarm):

I remind myself that this is a  workdress and isn't supposed to fit without some bagging and excess fabric here and there, beside the fact that weight from the skirt will sort some of this out....but it does make me want to play with the pattern more....that's for the future. Right now, I'm really pleased with the flat neckline and the ease with which the dress seems to fit. I won't feel that I can't scrub some linens and sit and the spinning wheel doing some longdraw spinning and worrying about gaping necklines or a constrictive fit! Weeeee.