MLS Designs

(I need a new crazy hair icon don't I? Oh wait, I'll have one sooooon!!!!!)
I haven't done a lot today, most of the day was spent at my dancing friends' house having a candy pull! So much fun! And the taffy is yummy scrummy!! We didn't half get sticky though!!
I did start sewing after supper, I've cut out the skirt breadths, they need the tops and hems curving, but I want to do that once I've had a fitting to make sure I get the right curve. I'll pin the seams together and pin it to the waistband to cut the hem I think. I had a bit of trouble with the shape of the petticoat and don't want a repeat performance!
After the skirt breadths were cut I saw how much fabric I've got to play with, lots! I'm so pleased! Especially as I'm pretty much decided on big beret sleeves! I want them to be as different from my Regency dresses as possible :) So then it was onto the rouleaux. I can't put in sleeves or put the bodice on the waistband till the rouleaux are sewn on. Any way, I twisted 2 strands of the quilting wool together and pinned the ends to my ironing board to give them a good shot of steam. I wrapped bias strips round them and secured with a whipstitch. The first 2 are pinned to the bodice and I love it!!!!! There are some pictures( under here )
I have lots of house work to do tomorrow, and dancing in the evening, for which I may feel the urge to bake, but maybe'll get some sewing done, if not it'll be my handsewing for work on Monday :D

better than none? This evening after work (which is so boring at the moment!) I finalised my pattern and cut out and made up the petticoat bodice. It took a little tweaking - altering the shoulder straps and the centre back, but I got there in the end, and I've altered my pattern so that I can cut straight into the silk when I get there.
I really need to alter the neck of the chemise though! I'm using one I made in college for one of my 3rd year projects, but it was made for a very small, slim and tiny girl! It fits really well, it's more fitted on me than her, (obviously!) But sometimes you just want a chemise that's not going to be so bulky under your corset, you know? Any way, because her frame was so much smaller than mine the neck opening is rather small, as well as being square not round, and it looks so silly under the wide low neck of the petticoat ;) After I've sorted the chemise out I'm going to put the petticoat bodice on a waistband and put in the buttons and button holes, it's so hard for poor Mummy to fit me when she has to try to pin a fitted garment together first.
For the skirt of the petticoat I think to make a full back and flat in front, with a wide hem, I'm need to make a gored skirt, to be very different from the straight regency skirts. Not HUGE just a different silhouette really. I want the hem to have lots of 'oomph' so I think I'm going to turn up a wide hem and cord it by sewing the cord between the 2 layers, then tuck for a few inches up the ankle, and probably sew a frill over the cording to make it pretty and soften any hard line form the corded hem. Sound like it might work? The dress skirt has a padded hem that and the rouleaux will help lots with the shape I think.
Talking of which, I want to try to make the dress skirt as narrow as possible while still looking right. Unfortunately I don't think I have enough of the green, I've only got 4 yards, so I might go with some lovely pale slate blue I got at the same time, (originally to line my brown silk velvet pelise, which turned into a spencer with brown spotted silk lining :D ) I have 5 yds of the blue, so hopefully enough, but the narrower the skirt the better, both because there'd be less fabric in the skirt itself, and I'd need less for the rouleaux! Eeek, the idea of those rouleaux is SCARY!!!!
Ugh, work again tomorrow :( but luckily our car is fixed, (and it wasn't as hideously expensive as we thought it might be, ) so I don't have to get a lift with my boss again which involved starting work at 8 instead of 9! It's amazing how one little hour can make such a huge difference!!!

I spent today baking, normally fun, but not when it's this much! I did 2 double batches of brownies and 45 cupcakes, which I iced and decorated with fondant toppers, which I foolishly decided to colour red and black, two of the hardest colours to do, so much kneading :(

The toppers are held on with gold and silver candle holders, 40 of them :) I did 2 extras to give to the friends who are looking after Emmy for the weekend, and 3 for us for tea :)
In-between making the toppers and frosting the cakes my dancing friends came round for a cup of tea and a chat, they brought the straw samples from Timely Tresses that I had sent to another friend, and they are very lovely, now I have to try and decide which colour I like best! Once the cakes were frosted it was time to get supper, after I fixed my cardigan to wear to the party (it was too big) it's now time for bed! So no sewing :( But I did try my 1830s dress on, apart from being HUGE I think it'll be a very good starting point for my 1820s bodice.

My hoop boning just came!!!!! And I think it's going to work perfectly as well!!! Of course, I'm still going to make the 1820s dress first, but now there's nothing to stop me from getting on with my sacque back!
Yesterday I was off work, so I spent it finishing Mummy's waistcoat (right down to covering the spare button and sewing it to the inside of the side seam!) And cutting out her breeches and making them up for a fitting. We did the fitting last night and they worked really well!! there are photos from the fitting ( under here )
So now I need to add the back gusset, let out the right leg a little bit, move the overlap at the cuffs over a bit and add the cuffs and buttons. I'll try to do most of that as soon as I can before I forget what needs altering, but I don't have buttons to cover yet, so they may wait till I've made my 1820s dress.
Off to work now, not home till very late, so no chance to work on my 1820s today, nor tomorrow because I'll be baking for the party on Saturday. I won't have time to sew now till next week I think :(