LACMA Sacque – Done! And I Love It!

Sometimes it’s really does pay off to just press through the rough patches and finish a costume, even if you hate every stitch along the way.

I’m glad I finished this one. I spent a lot of time fixing mistakes (and some I had to just live with). This gown is by no means constructed how it should be, but after all has been said and done, it does fit me, and it looks pretty darn good!

The fabric is very drapey. I can see that taffeta would be the better choice for my next Francaise

This past weekend, I finished adding the silver trim, made engageantes, and reworked the sleeves:

Two kinds of antique lace make up the engageantes

The engageantes, or sleeve ruffles, are made from two different antique laces. The bottom tier needed an extension to allow it to fall below both the second tier of lace and the flounces on the gown itself. I did this in just plain muslin, which worked very well. I’m very happy with how the fluffles came out…

The bottom tier of lace was mounted on the edge of this crescent-shaped piece of muslin. The second tier of lace just above it, and overlapping, the the straight top edge of the muslin was gathered into the band.

The finished engageantes are independent of the gown – they’re just tacked in and can be removed to be used on other gowns in the future.

In my last post, the sleeves were too tight, and made my arms look like sausages. I had constructed the sleeves incorrectly, using a sleeve pattern with a front seam, from an Anglaise, and set them with a later method as well. All this made me particularly unhappy with this part of the gown, so I ripped the sleeves off, and cut some rather large gussets in.

The large gusset set in by hand, under each arm. HUGE difference in fit and look, and you can’t see it at all when the dress is on.

Re-setting was tricky, but came out pretty okay. They look at least a little more like they’re supposed to, and most importantly they fit nice and loose.

There are still some things I can add to this dress to take it even further – bows on the sleeves, and a flounce on the petticoat. I have just barely enough fabric left to make a self-fabric flounce (if I piece it), or I might continue to quest on Etsy for the perfect piece of silver net lace that won’t break the bank. For today, though, and for the photo shoot on Wednesday, this piece is done!