bee on a roll

Despite a week of debilitating migraines and general sinus ickiness I’m making progress on the Bee Dress. Today I’ve been feeling particularly fuzzy and blah, mostly worn out from all the headachiness, but in true WWKD I prevailed long enough to get the Bee on a roll. :>

I think I’ve worked out all the issues with my 1804 stays. I ended up re-doing the back panels. With the eyelet issue it seemed the best thing to do. By-the-by I think another factor in the eyelet issue was that they were spaced too far apart. Anyway, I still need to redo the eyelets on the straps and re-bind the whole thing but since it was in wearable condition I took all the measurements for the Bee dress and started draping that pattern. I’ve had enough of the stays for now. :P

I decided to use the same patterns from Hunnisett that I used on the Greensleeves dress. With my tight deadline I thought using something I’m at least familiar with (as opposed to a bib-front or something like that) would be good. Besides I wasn’t completely happy with the GS (Greensleeves) so this is my chance to try again.

While I’m using the same patterns, I decided to start from scratch with them. I’m so much more experienced at pattern making and period now. It’s amazing how differently I view the Regency so than I did 3 years ago.

So I pulled out my original sized-up version from the Hunnisett book and cut a new toile. I’m using some old silk essence to better simulate the silk I’ll be using. As I recall from the GS, the finial product came out very different than the muslin toile. I don’t want any unpleasant surprises. Also I want to play with the fullness of the gathers, getting the right look with a minimal amount of fabric. I can’t do that if the gathers behave totally different because of fabric.

So I got as far as cutting it out and basting it all together. I did alter the pattern a bit before I cut, taking out a full 2” from the underarm area. I want the fullness concentrated in the front and back this time. Looking at the toile on Narcissa I think I’m going to take a bit more out. I definitely need to shorten it and the straps need some serious adjustments. I need to try it on before I can do anymore though and I don’t feel like it at the moment. I think I shall make it an early night instead…