I'm starting over with the robe de style bodice pattern.

I got it out again, so I could construct it in silk and then make the beading patterns. But I just didn't feel good about it. It's so complicated! Six darts AND full front and back peplums.  And I did so much fudging with it that I have a gut feeling it's very far from being a sound pattern anyway. I'm not super careful in how I fit things, and I did so much to this one. 10 variations, at least, changing everything from strap length, strap angle, armhole shape, waist length, side seam shape and length, and moving/swinging/lengthening/shortening/widening/narrowing all the darts, multiple times.

I think it's a lousy pattern, and I want to start over.

I leafed through my vintage patterns to see what I have that can work as a base. Late 30s/early 40s patterns, particularly Simplicity, tend to fit me extremely well. If I don't have to fiddle with the armholes and shoulders much, that alone is a huge time and accuracy saver. Now, this period tends to be blousey and rather full in the body, and fitted with yokes and tucks. But I have some possibilities, including a couple with princess seams.

Princess seams? Yep. I just took a browse through my robe de style board, and found at least 5 period examples of 1920s construction with princess seams. HA!

I'm not looking forward to more muslins, but I'm looking forward to starting with a good pattern and just tweaking it. That, I should be able to handle!

The difference is more than night and day!

The pattern I'm using now is Simplicity 3365, c. 1941. I've already made it up once and it fit like a glove. I tried it on again, with the bandeau, and it still looked fantastic.



Of course I had to try a real muslin, because (a) I didn't know how the armholes would look when there was no sleeve, and (b) I had to leave the princess seams undone below the waist so I could "fit" it over the pannier. I also drafted the inset pieces onto the center front and center back. Most of the shaping is on the outer edge of each one, so that wasn't hard.

I just tried it on and it's wonderful! There's a little bit of rumpliness, which is totally fine. While looking at robe de style pictures, there's a variety of methods used to cut and fit them. Two of the obvious ones:

1. All rumpled up with Terminal Horizontal Wrinkliness, engineered with gathered side seams. Looks distinctly more like a bliaut effect across the midsection than 18th century.
2. Slightly fitted at the side seams. Sometimes fairly smooth, especially on slender models with shoulders and hips that balance.  Side wrinkling on the mannequin shows where the waist is nipped in, but the mannequin lacks the hip or hoop to hold out the bodice. Sometimes the bodicelooks extra long. When worn on a real body, that almost always results in horizontal wrinkliness similar to the earlier styles.

And others aren't so clear, but are blousey, or more tubular and loose, or (flip side) seem extra fitted, including some of those with princess or other seaming. But very very often, regardless of the cut, and especially in taffeta, there is wrinkling. So I don't want to try to draft any wrinkliness out. It's not going to be skin tight, and the creased look seems actually desired.


Anyway, the other thing on my muslin was that I used strips of tape to approximate how much extra flare to add on each seam below the waist. The last tweak is to try to cut the center front on the fold. As drafted there's a very slight curve, so it shouldn't be an issue.

I need to go make some food for dinner (and lunches for the next week), but I think I can haz a REAL pattern tonight. Yay!

I've done it!

The second muslin of the pattern was perfect. YAY!

I've worked an hour later than I should have before a work day; but I have also marked all the beading shapes, the front and back necklines (which depend on the beading), and the lower edge of the bodice (which is not even all around).

So relieved! \o/

Also, I think I'll try to face (interface?) the hem with what's left of the black silk organza. I really don't want it to even hint at "waterfalling" off the edge of the pannier.