Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Kirtle Progress

I have been working on my kirtle this week and today finished what I think was the most time consuming part - the eyelets. They are spaced 3/4" apart from neckline to hip level so there were a lot of them. It took me about 3 hours to do the eyelets and another hour to make the lacing cord. I was extremely nervous when I tried on the kirtle to make sure of the fit before I continue on with finishing it. Here are some pics of it so far, thoughbe forewarned; they are very bad pictures and I look horrible in them but they will give you an idea of the look.

I am pretty happy with how it is working, though! When I stand perfectly still it fits smoothly, but as soon as I move, well, there are wrinkles around the waist. Not terrible by any means, but they are there. Sigh. I guess I will have to wear this and get used to how it fits and feels and moves with my body.

I have to make the sleeves still and then hem the skirt, but otherwise the hard parts are done.

It is such a simple garment, but the more I work with these styles the more I realize that it is the simpler garments that are hardest to make well. Because of the utter simplicity of style, everything must be executed as flawlessly as possible - the fitting, the cutting, the stitching. If not, the error glares out at you and makes everything look just awful. No room for error to be hidden beneath gathers or pleats. :P No corset to take the strain of wear - it must be fitted exactly so, to support yet not be too tight nor too loose.

It is definitely not perfect but for my first kirtle I'm pleased. It will work! The only thing that really bugs me is the drape of the skirt at appx. hip level on the front of the dress - see how it kind of droops in a scallopy shape? I think it's because of my stomach though. :P If I suck my stomach in to appear more slim, it droops. If I let it naturally bulge out (having 3 babies just does that ;) ) it does not really droop at all. I guess I will have to get used to the protruding stomach look.

More pics this weekend of everyone, hopefully!

Love,
Sarah

3 comments:

  1. Looking good, I really like the colour! The wrinkles are all right - it's close to impossible not to get wrinkles unless you're wearing some kind of stays or corset underneath a garment. Don't worry about the protruding stomach look - that was extremely fashionable during this era ;) I even made the front gores of my kirtle start a few inches higher than the rest, to accentuate that look :P

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  2. It looks beautiful, Sarah! I'm so impressed with the fit you've achieved. Wasn't the "protruding stomach look" fashionable for the time period? You will fit right in :) And at least you have a good excuse for it - I have plenty of stomach bulge *without* the three babies ;-) Also, I think you look lovely in these pictures :)

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Thank you for your lovely thoughts!