So. Worked on bodice on Sunday. Learnings:
- Temporary lacing strips are the bomb!
- If gap between left and right-hand-side of front of dress is say 3 inches wide.. you need a horrendously long lace to tie it closed (longer than my normal 36″ long silk lace)
- When you have a gap, say 3 inches wide.. and there’s no strong fabric under the laces… and you are.. lumpy.. then lumps press out around the laces. Not terribly attractive.
So back to the corset idea.. though it’s evolved into more of a reinforced bodice than a corset. Using the corset pattern shown above I’ve iterated it to the point that it’s fitting nicely and supporting in all the right places. The next step is to add fabric to the top of the back and around the shoulders to make sleeve caps(the strip that runs from the front of the dress to the back of the dress and is the sleeves attachment point). Need to find pictures of the backs of german ladies dresses. Hrm.
July 31, later that day
Found pictures of the backs of these dresses. They’re very very low AND they seems to have chemise that goes plum up to their neck. This is a problem. Because Purg is going to be hot I definately don’t want an up-to-the-neck chemise (or partlet). So I think I’m going to fudge that part. Maybe a somewhat low-square neckline in the back with no chemise showing. I know it’s at least somewhat wrong.. but it will still give the impression of “German dress”.
Oh, and FedEx says wool will arrive on Wednesday. Crossing my fingers and hoping the brown will be ok.
