I also did, as you can see, finish the stays with tie-on sleeves. Previous posts on the subject can be found here and here. I'm really pleased and I don't think I have ever made such a romantic gown. I felt very pretty. The stays were quite hard to cover. There is a inner layer of flannel to prevent the boning from showing and each tab are covered separately. There is also a strip of brocade et the edges front and back. Each side of the stays have three brocade panels each, plus the shoulder strap. Though the stays are machine stitched and, horror upon horror, metal grommets (I know, but these stays were originally made to be just a mock up, only it worked too well for being just that) the brocade are completely hand stitched and took an insane amount of time to finish.
The sleeves are made after my usual 18th century sleeve patters, though I cut of a few centimetres at the top. They are tied on with three ribbons on each side, but after wearing it I have decided to add at least one more toward the front. I also want to change the plain white cotton ribbons to silk, preferably in gold or cherry red, as those colours are in the brocade as well.
The petticoat was somewhat improvised. As this gown is quite early, 1730-50-ish, it really ought to have a panier and not my smaller pocket hoops, so they are not pleated to the waistband but shaped more like a square. The plan is to put in a drawstring to make it adaptable, but I didn't have time for that. So for the evening it was more or less artistically pleated and pinned. You can sometimes see petticoats that look like that on early paintings, so I think it might have been done when the petticoat and panier didn't have the same size.
My friend Lithia stitching her last at her La Mode Illustree gown. Untold yards of silk organza decorating pink-striped silk.
Being very giggly at this point and making BFF-photos.
And destroying each others hair in the process.
There were, of course, many other beautiful ladies there.
Madame Berg had made this awesome belt herself.
