Muslin vs lining.

Muslin is really handy for mockups because it's cheap and easy to work with - the butcher paper of the sewing world.

But it lies. It doesn't drape well. It wrinkles in weird ways. It bunches. It tries to tell me the draft isn't right even when I've triple checked all my numbers and can feel the fit for myself.

Trusting my math and experience enough to actually cut the fashion fabric is always a leap of faith.

#18thCenturyFashion #HistoricDress

The moment when the real garment fits without any of the muslin's issues is like that moment when all the tests pass after hours of debugging. It's the moment when I get a much-needed reminder that I am actually pretty good at this.

Sleeves need another ironing, but they're basted in place and fit is still good. I'll extend the dart points a little cause they're a bit pointy right now.

I'll ease the sleeves in as much as I can when I stitch them, but it doesn't matter a ton for the lining. For the wool, I will try to steam them into shape before I do the final stitches.

#Sewing #Costuming #HistoricalDress #18thCentury

Peplum is in place and lining is attached at center front. Still to do: sleeves and collar, and whip stitching the lining over the peplum seam. Then it's over to @maco for finishing (buttonholes and stitching sleeve lining to sleeve facing) while I work on Maco's saque. We still have hopes of being done by Saturday.

#18thcentury #18thCenturyCostume #HistoricalDress #RidingHabit

This morning's progress was thread-tracing the stitch lines on the inner collar while I had my morning tea.

Because of the assembly order, the inner collar will need to be hand-stitched to the lining. @maco is probably going to do that for me because my hand-stitching is not great. The thread tracing makes it easier to see where to line it up for stitching.

#Sewing #Tailoring #18thcentury #HistoricDress #FortFrederickMarket #Food

Thread-tracing is primarily a tailoring and couture technique-most home sewists use chalk or marking pencil, and standardized seam allowances instead of tracing stitch lines (off the rack garment manufacture uses precise seam allowances almost exclusively; tailoring and couture often intentionally use large seam allowances to allow for later alterations).

#Sewing

@Annalee yep- teaching this to my students and helping them understand how much thread tracing assists with accuracy… especially when they are still getting the hang of all things sewing! #bastingIsYourFriend