The next thing on the Queue is the Chopin Blouse. Another sort of Edwardian silhouette with high collar, full sleeves, long cuffs and peplum shaping. It's a fussy blouse, with shirred over panels on both the collar and cuffs. I've made it before, but I skipped the shirring, just cut the under collar/cuff pieces on the bias for the upper collar/cuff.
I'm still skipping the interesting horizontal pockets; I think they'd get lost on the striped fabric. But this blouse is going to have the shirred pieces...the upper collar/cuffs are cut on the bias, about twice the height of the under collar/cuffs, and shirred in three places to a paper template, then narrow strips of fabric (which have been folded in thirds to enclose the raw edges) are top stitched over the gathering. Finally, the paper template is removed and the upper collar/cuff is sewn RST to the under collar/cuff and turned right side out. Proceed as normal.
I've decided I'm going to tackle that bit of the blouse first...get the fussy stuff out of the way...and I'm dragging my feet. I'm not particularly patient w/fiddly stuff; as a Sanguine, I'm way more into fast-and-furious git 'r done sewing. But I *want* this blouse, it'll be fabulous. So I'm a little frustrated with my whiney foot dragging.
Especially after seeing Summerset's final 'Midnight Garden' photos (if you haven't seen them yet, click on that link. NOW. And click on her photos to enlarge them so you can see the details.) She imagined that outfit, then did all of that embellishment...from the silver quilting to the hand appliqued flowers to the individually stitched beading on all the edges. She embossed the velvet and created the little lace cricket. There are details on the lining you can't see. She started and stopped and rethought and redesigned elements more than once in the process. And she finished by her deadline. It's not garment sewing...it's art. And it's amazing.
So how can I fret about a little fiddly shirring in the face of such an epic of couture level sewing?
I will not have a car today, so I'm At Home until this evening. By golly, I'm going to get those shirred pieces done...
Thank you for mentioning me!
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you - that work can be fiddly. I avoid certain things, too, and once I actually get started it isn't all that bad! Good luck - I'm sure your blouse will be beautiful.