I haven't been in a super-sewing mood, but I have made a little progress on the polonaise jacket planned for our Colonial Williamsburg trip this coming October.
I draped the pattern for this back in March/April, and tested it out with some muslin, making a few changes. The challenging part of the polonaise jackets is that they hang open in front, yet appear to be somewhat fitted.
I ended up carving away the front "sweep", and needing to add in a bust dart, like the one in the Snowshill Riding Habit jacket found in Patterns of Fashion 1
. With the wide trim planned for the front edges of this jacket, most of the darts won't be seen, but they do make it fit over the front, whereas before it bowed out terribly.
I cut each piece individually, to match the patterns in the fabric, like on the inspiration jacket. My sprigs were so far apart I ended up having to put a seam at the center back, where the skirting starts - not ideal, but necessary, to get the flowers on that part of the jacket.
More progress is to come! This is a challenging project, with much problem solving, but I'm determined to get a wearable piece out of it!
