Initially my design for this cotehardie was to make it side lacing with dagged angel-wing sleeves as I had seem a similar in this document of French origin.
I will still make the sleeves as shown, provided I can sucessfully draft a pattern, but I have decided against side lacing for one major reason: eyelets! I am an utter newb at eyelets and the idea of two rows of eyelets per side is extremely daunting. While I really wanted the smooth front bodice to increase the visage of a particolored cotehardie, I am instead going to spiral lace it up the front from chest to a bit below the navel. The thought of a back-lacing dress is absurd to me as I rarely have someone available to help me dress.
Alright, being that I've lost almost 20# since I moved to Los Angeles and that I had no one with sewing acumen near me to help me draft a pattern, I used the German bodice (I brought with me to hand sew) as a rough estimate. I had to adjust the bosom area as it was about 1.5 in. too large, but added those measurements back into the waist of the cotehardie for seam allowance.
Don't you love the sock monkey fabric I obtained for pattern drafting.... I am tempted to use it as my lining also (akin to what Master Gareth of Caid does for his gambesons). But I'll most likely use linen... *sad panda*
The pattern needed a bit more ease so from the first pattern off the German bodice, I made a second bodice pattern, as seen here.
I didn't take a picture of what the drafted bodice pattern looked like on me, but when I assessed it in the mirror, I determined that the armsceye was too large so I decreased the shoulder width and increased the curvature on the front bodice and trimmed it a bit on the back panel.
So now that I think I have a good pattern drafted, I laid out the pattern on the red linen selvedge to selvedge. I realized when measuring the added length from the waist to the floor to create the skirt that all these years, I'd been adding the measurement from the side of the panels rather than straight down the front. I don't know why but all of the suddon it occurred to me that the measurement would be more accurate there. After measuring from waist to floor, I added 1.5 in. to the hem for a rolled hem. (OMG, it's gonna be a huge task to hand sew the hem! But honestly, it really does lay better.)
Now in this photo you can bare see the hem line, but beneath that I added another 4 in. so the back panel will trail a bit. I really do want this to be a showpiece dress. (Let's hope my sewing prowess appropriately reaches the potential of my internal visualization!)
One I cut the hem and the curved side, I realize a mistake I made, although thank goodness before I cut anything else. I should have laid out the dress using the back panel because the neckline is higher and the armsceye smaller, then it would be easier to trim the excess for the front panel. So I carefully cut those two areas larger and then applied the back panel to one of the cut pieces and trimmed and the same for the front panel.
As with all my pattern placement, there is enough along the folded edge of the fabric to cut the side gore. Nothing like fabic efficiency.
I think I'm gonna get the black linen cut out tonight also, but the front/back gores and the drafting of the sleeves can wait until tomorrow.
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