Sewing Sunday - 18-teens striped wool dress complete

I just had some finishing bits of the striped wool dress to do today, but of course it took me most of the afternoon, so I didn't get as far along on the black spencer as I'd have liked. But first, striped dress pictures!

Not on me. That would be too exciting. Or terrifying, since I was off work today and I din't bother wrangling my hair...

Enjoy Mabel's inappropriately low bustline instead.

It's far from the most exciting thing I've made, but it fits reasonably well and I think it'll serve its purpose (keeping me warm while walking around outside in February!).

I also cut out the spencer to go with this outfit...I can make a spencer in less than a week...right?

 First, a shot of the fabric I have to work with. This is for future reference; either to prove it can be done with that much fabric, or to remind myself that a spencer cannot be made with this much fabric! We'll see how it comes out. And I'm saving every itsy-bitsy scrap to cover buttons with!

Technically these are scraps from an early-1960s-style dress I made a few years ago. I'm afraid the sleeves may be an exercise in piecing.

I cheated wildly and used my pompom spencer pattern with a few very minor adjustments that I'll probably wish I'd mocked up once I can try the thing on. Anyway, the thing's made of black (Joann's) wool, interlined with cotton flannel, and lined in obnoxiously un-period bright green silk. At least, I've got the impression this kind of stable green was still a good few years away! We'll pretend it's going to change and fade quite soon.

(The real story? It's dupioni out of the scrap bin that's too slubby to use for any kind of outerwear, but I don't care for linings, I wanted to line this spencer in silk, and I had limited choices!)

I love my scrap bin. It's...uh, extensive.

With flash, but still. SO GREEN.

I'm still using 18thc construction methods on this, as I did on the dress...I haven't quite been able to determine exactly when flat-felling really replaced the fold-over-and-topstitch method. In the small number of dresses I can see construction details, it seems like both were used into the 1820s, so I'm calling this valid if maybe old-fashioned by this point! (Yes, my spencer is being constructed like a dress. No, not tailoring. No.) Anyway, the cotton flannel is all basted to the wool, and the back pieces are in the process of being sewn together.

And enough blathering! Back to sewing, for as long as I can prop my eyes open!