This weekend I knuckled down, found some motivation, and did some honest-to-goodness historical sewing.
I've had this gorgeous Colonial Williamsburg print since 2012, but it's taken me this long to make it into something. Always having had a pierrot jacket in mind, I intended to get it done for this year's trip to Williamsburg, along with 923109210 other things, but it was not meant to be.
Well now's a good time, right? On Saturday I washed and dried the fabric and lining, while working up a basic 2-piece bodice from the historical bodice sloper I toiled over several months ago.
On Sunday, I cut the pattern out in the cotton lining. Pinned together, it fit perfectly, so I stitched it together at the side and back seams, and began mounting the back of the pierrot in pleats fanning from the waist. In hindsight, this wasn't the most efficient use of the limited fabric I had, but it appears to be working out fine for yardage, and I'll have enough to do the long sleeves I want, and create the self-trim ruffle on the bodice tail.
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| The pleated back - left is sewn down, right is draped and pinned. |
There is quite a variation in pierrots, in the ways they transition into their tails particularly. Some have waist seams, and the skirting is attached separately. Some pleat into the tail, like I've done here. Some feature the back and cutaway front ("zone front") all of a piece. I wanted to recreate the look of this back panel...
...but I didn't quite realize the pleated back extended around to the front before I hacked off my excess fabric from the back, so I ended up with a side seam. I'm not bothered, but it's something to remember for next time.
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| The bodice front, with the 2-part "zone" completed (but un-trimmed) on the right. |
I made good progress, and everything is fitting nicely, so I hope to have this jacket done soon. Where to wear? No idea! Maybe the Bastille Day Picnic in July...
