Sewing on hold

Yesterday, I did no sewing! 

Auntie Em came round and we sat and played with the various bits of gold stuff that was available and decided on what trim to use on the gold dress.  But then we got distracted by the prospect of the costume for the Beast’s manservant Pierre. 

Now the director had suggested that he was dressed in doublet and hose, but me and Auntie Em found this a strange choice of costume being totally out of keeping with the time frame of the other costumes.  So we made an executive decision that Pierre should be similarly dressed to Beast in a frock/ tail coat.  The actor playing Pierre is also known for his wonderful Dame performances which will be sadly lacking in this year’s panto.   It therefore seems appropriate for Pierre to be the campest manservant in history, just so that the actor can strut his stuff you understand.

Texts were exchanged with him and we sat giggling away as we sorted out some lovely pink/gold jacquard for the coat, gold stripes for a waistcoat, cream crushed velvet breeches and lashings of lace.

Eldest daughter then arrived and we had a chat about her scan next week, Auntie Em left, daughter stayed, two other friends turned up and one of them was able to throw some light on a problem that had been developing during the day.

My first suspicions that the antique gold fabric was waxed cotton were proving to be unfounded by me as I inspected it more closely.  The contemplations had continued throughout the day until my other two friends arrived.  One of them does a lot of fabric wall hangings and collage and as soon as I showed it to her she declared it was upholstery silk (she then stuck it between her teeth and chewed on it to confirm her suspicion!) and it was treated with anti-dirt, water and fire resistant coating, hence the waxy feel!

No wonder it looked good and felt so bad!

I had put it in the washing machine and, once the cycle had finished, removed it to find not one drop of water was left on it and I bundled it to one side ready for cutting.  I also cut off a small piece to test ironing and it performed perfectly, holding some pleats in place to perfection.

So I am now about to embark on the gold dress and, unusually for me, I am actually going to use a commercial pattern (Simplicity 4731) that I have had, unused, in my stash for many years.

There will be inevitable changes to this.  I will be making the off the shoulder version but making the sleeve short to give a base for lace and ribbons to be put on. 

I have also decided to put in a side zip on a separate bodice and then do lacings at the back to make the bodice adjustable for others to wear at a later date but will not need to be used during performances.  I am hoping for an end result something like this;

So today I will be sewing again, on two more weeks until the holidays are over so I really need to crack on and get as much finished as possible before I am back at work.