1850s day dress - L

My skirt is nearly done!  I have it cut, sewn, trimmed and hemmed.  All that's left is a placket and waistband.  We have decided to have an impromptu sewing day tomorrow to do some fitting.  I'll stand in my petticoat and skirt, and Rob will pin the waistband in place ( leaving me with a level hem).  It's really the only way to hem a plaid skirt so that it doesn't look crooked.  The bodice muslin is sewn and we can do the final fitting.

I'm experimenting with ribbon flowers on the trim, and thinking about what kind of trim I want for the bodice and sleeves.  I was thinking about both pagoda and bishop sleeves.  Robin is making pagoda sleeves, so I'm going to go with bishop sleeves.  There are fewer trim decisions, though I don't have a pattern.

In order to make sure the sleeves fit the bodice, I took the pagoda sleeve pattern that goes with my bodice (Truly Victorian) and modified it. I lengthened it about 7 inches, and made it narrower from below the armscye to the wrist.  I kept the curve on the bottom so it would be most full at the back of the arm.  Hope it works!  I'll decide how much trim I want after I get the front trimmed.





 Here's what the front is looking like (partially done and a blurry picture), and how the trim wraps around the back of the neck (ribbon is top and bottom but no picture)..



And I've started making the flowers that will go on the points of the skirt trim:


And finished!