1785 Williamsburg Chintz Pierrot - Progress at Last!

I've been so diligently digging into the UFO pile, finishing things left and right, so I decided to pick up this little chintz jacket I started ages ago.

Here's the photo from last year - you can see the sleeve is pulling the shoulder and back in a funny way.

I had run into a problem with the sleeves (as usual). The sleeve heads were too shallow, so I removed the one sleeve I had set, and pattern-matched some extensions onto the tops of both sleeves.


I re-fit the sleeves over my dress form's shoulders, using the 18th century method, which is usually a good indication that they'll fit me. They're a little fuller than I would like, but I value mobility, so I'll just live with the slight easing gathers that remain over the top of the shoulder.

I don't have too far left to go on this jacket. I need to finish up the right sleeve's shoulder strap, then hem and trim the back skirt with *ruffles!* The ruffles will take a little time, but they're the big "huzzah" of the jacket, so it'll be worth it.

Looking back, I don't know why I did this jacket zone-front. I can't remember if I intended to add trim there or what, but the busy pattern in the fabric didn't really work with this design. Same for the crazy pleated back - these details would have been much more striking on a solid color.

Learning experience. :-)