Enchanted dreams

May 18 , 2008

I have had a black & white striped polonaise on my costume whish-list for over a year now. I couldn't find black & white striped fabric anywhere last year. But lately I was lucky to come across a lovely cotton and I bought 10 meters of it. After completing another black & white striped ensemble (see this project) I had enough fabric left to finally make this polonaise.

Fabric:

Pattern used:

Cutting out the fabric:

Back and side back:

May 19 , 2008

Trimming to back and sideback. Close-up pictures of trimming are extremely highlighted. I hope you can see some details.

Back and side-backs sewn together (no pictures). Darts sewn in front (no pictures).

May 20 , 2008

"Skirt"-back pleated to tape:

"Skirt" sewn to inside of back of bodice.

Front and back of polonaise sewn together:

May 22 , 2008

Sleeves attached to bodice. I just hate sleeves (aaarghhh!), so no pictures taken. Too busy not to get frustrated. I changed the sleeves: I cut them of at 3/4 lenght and then pleated a ruffle to it to obtain belle sleeves. I covered the pleats with a black satin ribbon:

Then I started to make buttonholes. This will be the first time that I use buttonholes on a bodice. Normally I use hook and eye tape. On my old sewing-machine buttonholes were just a nightmare to make. Now I have a new sewing machine and it should be much easier.

Well, the end result is not too bad, but maybe I should have practiced a bit more. And I should not take a break while making buttonholes. As I had switched of my sewing machine, the settings were lost and when I wanted to continue I didn't really know all the changes I had made. Also I had some difficulties in getting them all in a straight line, so to speak. Some are a bit closer to the edge then others, if you know what I mean. In the end, I am not unhappy with the result. From a distance it still will look good :-). Hopefully it will still look good when wearing the polonaise. We will see.

Here's the progress sofar. I still have to put in ties to make the poufs and trim around the hem. But I am out of lace, so that has to wait until I have enough funds to go out shopping for it.