Random-Medievalness in Gail-Land

1180's outfits.

I have been a very bad girl & not posted anything lately.  THINGS have been happening in my personal life that have made me throw a few other things by the wayside.  Fortunately, Things are getting straightened out after much to-do and sadness & we are nearing a resolution to the Issues. So, in light of this grand personal news, I now have a few topics to happily ramble on about!

Like... some of what I've been working on!

John & I decided to try Medieval Stuff.  Lots of fun being the Newbie! 

My Quest for Bust Support will eventually lead me into the 1400's & 1500's, because the 1100's are sadly lacking in that department, though not for lack of trying on my part.  I also like mid-plague society infinitely better than late Dark Ages, for whatever reason.  John prefers the men's fashions to the whole legging/hoes tied-to-the-belt situation. (Wait till he finds out he has to wear a codpiece with those fab jerkins).

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall,
When's the last time someone
used Windex on you?

The first try at Lift was this creative-canvas job.  It's built off of my 1820's stays, which is the equivalent of a body block, and once clothes are over it, it does a decent job of costuming me up like a Chartres Cathedral Matron... one of the fatter ones, if there is such a thing.  NOT a time frame that flatters my natural form.  No evidence of bones used at this time, so it's a total Creation in the best & worst sense of the word.

It's OK.  It works.  It'll also work for 1820's & 30's if necessary.

1180's Pink Thing

You can see how terribly unflattering this  pink cote is on me... After seeing these pics I changed things up a bit.  I made the other cotes side lacing, gave them a bit more shape, tried not to look like Girl In Sack Attacked By Strawberry Ice Cream Smoothie Machine.

It's hand-finished so I'll have to pick out my lovely stitching to turn this into something worth wearing.  I did make 2 others, one in burnt orange with white facings & one in a lovely brown linen that requires a belt so as not to trip me up.  Both are infinitely more flattering than this, but I am lacking pictures... our first event was Celtic Fire Festival, and we were Kitchen Help.  We forgot to "smile for the camera" until we were driving home, then it was too late.

I'm so terribly thrilled with it, can't you tell?

The second try for Bust Support was this lovely construction, made after the Bath House Babes of 1380... controversial, yes.  Ask my chest if I care.
Again, based off of my 1820's stays for sizing, but simplified to front & back blocks, with triangular gores in the sides & one in the bust.  Adjustable shoulder straps that have since been adjusted farther "up."
No boning, just cording, which does the job fine.  Again, no historic evidence to support this manner of support, but as it supports me quite well, I'll swallow a bit of anachronism in my historic cocktail.

It does sit straight once it has time to "relax" onto my body, and my posture isn't usually so terrible.  Must have been One of Those Days.  Horrid picture of me... why am I posting it?  Oh what I do for costumes!

1380's Bath House Babe Rendition

Here is a lovely close-up of the sides.  After talking with Charlotte, she suggests the next one I make be tight only to 2" under the bust, do a full fitted shoulder strap & neckline, and it should give me both the lift & comfort I want without the need of cording.  I think her theory is sound, we'll see if my Upper Regions agree.

It lasts for about a day & 1/2.  Then the linen & hemp start to sag around mid-day of the 2nd wear, so I'd need several of these supports for a long camp.  (Yes, I'm allergic to hemp, but it's totally encased in linen & this will NEVER touch my skin, so I think I'm safe).

SHOES!

The shoes!  Ah, turn-shoes, how I love/loathe thee!
I love how they "turn out" (ha)!, but making them is a total pain.
I tried it on some lasts, and it helped a little, but I ended up just stitching them & then flipping them right side out... which takes more time & effort than is pretty, and requires closed eyes to magically accomplish. 
(BTW, this is what happens to my ankles after eating a doughnut.  Doughnuts are BAD, do not eat doughnuts.  Doughnuts have barley, and barley is BAD.  My wrists were not quite as bad as this, but it was still awful).
Anyway, the toes have some issues, which I'm slowly learning to resolve.  I've also learned how to put a welt in between so I can glue & stitch a harder sole to the bottoms.


Thus ends my Medieval adventures for the time being. 

I've moved on to 1800's to try to finish up my remaining orders before I'm down from surgery.  We all know that'll never happen in time, but I think I can get the main ones out of the way before it's Time To Stare At The Ceiling  again.

Edit
8/17/12:
Please go read this.....
http://www.historyextra.com/lingerie 

American Duchess "Yay"!

They Are HERE!!!

I just ordered the Pompadour shoes from Lauren & am quite excited to see them. 
So, today is the last day for pre-order on these darlings.  Just so you know.  The good news for all of us is that they are going to be produced as a line because her pre-order requirement got filled.  Yay!

http://www.american-duchess.com/shoes-18th-century

I got the Georgianas when they first came out, and they've held up quite well.  I still haven't decided on a dye color for them, and I've gone & ordered another white pair of shoes (groan)... but the blacks just didn't thrill me quite as much as the prospect of being able to make them look like the to-dye-for (ha) V&A shoes below.

The shoes are very good quality & a very good price.  Honestly, I'm planning on wearing these quite a bit & not just at historic events.

I'm afraid, for a girl who spends most of her life barefoot & has gone years with exactly 2 pairs of every-day shoes, I'm becoming a bit of a shoe-horse when it comes to historic shoes.

Van Dyke Trim & Pinking

I just completed an adventure in massive amounts of trim on a dress for an 1812 event at Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, NY. (I got to be a tourist vs. an exhibit!)

The inspiration was this 1815 fashion plate of a bathing dress. The pattern was an 1810 dress bodice from Cut of Women's Clothes & the bottom from Patterns of Fashion. It's a wrap dress.

I used 3 different trim techniques to create the dress, 2 with success.

The first, on the upper portion of the dress is Van Dyking, or Dagging. The techniques are the same... I think these are also called Lappets when they are made individually.

I did not make them individually because I'm not insane... though if you had limited fabric this would be the way to go!






First, cut your fabric double-wide & you can either sew on the fold side or on the open side if you want a tube as a finished edge. This is good if the trim will be on the outside of the fabric. That is what I did here. I use Prismacolor pencils to draw on the fabric as it washes out (most of the time). In this case, 1" triangles were sewn by machine on cotton twill.

Next, cut the excess off, to about 1/8" seam allowance, and then clip the inner corners so they turn (not shown). You may want to fray check close clips. If you don't clip the inner edges, the shape won't turn properly (ask me how I know that after I got the first one all turned - duh!).

If it's open, just turn it, if it's in a tube, turn it with a tube-turner or a string on a bodkin (dull needle).
I use the tube turner (you can buy one at JoAnn's or similar store).

Using the end of the tube turner (has a nice dull point), I poked the points of the van dyking out & wiggled things around until it was nice & flat.

Iron flat.
This can be stitched on the outside, gathered a little, laid flat, sandwiched between seams, etc. In this case I used it on the front apron as a flat-felled seam & on the bodice front between the outside & the lining. I lightly gathered it for a nice stand-up row of trim that ended up looking like sunflower petals.

Tip: if your fabric is flimsy you may want to add a lightweight interfacing.



The second technique I tried was binding the edges with single fold bias tape. This did not work out & I ended up cutting it off, but you can see the potential here.

If I had finished it by hand I think I would have loved it, but I just can't stand machine stitched bias tape. Call me a stitch counter, but it just drives me nuts. Yet I don't mind machine top-stitching. Go figure!





The final technique I used was pinking. This ended up being an excellent choice for the finish on this dress.

On a single layer of fabric, draw the template on with colored pencil.
Tip: draw on the backside of the fabric just in case the pencil doesn't come off... so far it has, but there's always an exception...



Fray check the cutting line & let dry.





With pinking shears or a pinking punch (if you can find one, let me know where!), cut the shapes carefully. If you go over the lines, fray check again.
Tip: pinking shears are notoriously painful, I wear a knit winter glove when using them. It saves my hands & lets me use a little more force when necessary.

Here is the "finished" apron with 2 types of edging on it.
You can gather fairly heavily, depending on the type of fabric you use, but let the pinking & van dyking stand out on its own.

Tips:
- Sew lace on the edge of the van dyking.
- Cut fancier shapes if you have the patience, it will mimic the 18th & 19th c. shapes better
- Find pinking shears that cut in different shapes from the modern "vvv" format.
- Budget for at least 4 bottles of fray check! (open a window).

1830 Pink Day Dress

My wonderful 1830 Pink Day Dress is done or nearly so.

I'm so absurdly happy with this dress! It's completely over-the-top foofie, candy-box Romantic Era sappy perfection. I really feel like this is a case of "bigger is better." I can wear this with or without my early 19th century stays & both ways are comfortable & stay on well, the main difference being where my bustline sits & how upright I'm forced to be.

I can't decide if I feel more like a slightly daft but incredibly beautiful woman, or a little 5 year old girl twirling around in a new Sunday Dress.

This is certainly NOT a hot weather dress. It will be perfect for those damp, rainy camp days when you'd do anything for another layer.
The complete outfit: shift, stays, chemisette, corded petticoat, stockings, shoes & dress; weighs 15 lbs. No wonder all those women were labeled as 'delicate flowers'... not only did they dress like flowers, they were exhausted from carrying around all that fabric! And Heaven forbid One fall in water, One would surely perish!

I am still looking for the "right" pink silk to make the piping for the skirt border & belt. The stand-in is a mauve cotton belt and no border. Once I find the right fabric & buckle, the belt will be stitched on to cover the skirt-top join.

This dress has an amazing freedom of movement. I've rarely come across this in historic dresses. I feel like I could play baseball or kickball in the thing, though I would not want to try mountain climbing in the skirts... hiking; yes, cliff-hanging; no.

I did decide to forgo the sleeve supports. They are impractical in my profession & the idea of turning sideways to walk around my camp-store is not a happy one. So much in the same way as paniers & bustles are out, so are artificial balloon arms.

The Inspiration:
I decided to make this wonderful pink day dress from an 1830 fashion plate.
Before I started this project I wondered if it would be "Pretty in Pink" or "3 Day Old Cotton Candy."
My friend Missy decided it was "Taffy" while helping me pin up the hem, though "Strawberry Ice Cream" was another suggestion.
Whatever the case, it will not fare well near a camp fire or soot.






The Pattern:
I used the 1834 Day Dress out of Cut of Women's Clothes (see the "1830's Day Dress" post) as the base pattern. I changed some things, like lengthening the front & sleeves so I could gather them up, reshaped the sleeve to have more taper & poof. I also shortened the back a little to raise the waistline so it would be more "1830" than "1834."
I used the perline pattern from an 1827-29 dress in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion and altered it to have those lovely petal points (Missy calls them Fairy Wings)... though I lengthened it way too much.
The chemisette comes from Patterns of Fashion, and is very similar to the 1800-10 version, but the collar is my own design.

Materials:
I found this fantastic pink linen at JoAnn's for $3.50/yd.
The lace was off of a trade blanket, $5.00 for a whole bunch of cards (thank you Burrito Bob!).
The lining is osnaburg scraps in a nice cream color.
The belt is a little too narrow as I chose the smaller buckle (the black thing looked terrible, I'll have to find a different buckle later). It is made from cotton canvas scrap that is dyed a brown/violet. After I find a better buckle, I'll use a darker pink silk.
The Chemisette is 100% white linen with 3 rows of ruffles, not quite a "8888" ruff as I didn't have enough fabric, it's more "~~~."
The cotton cord for piping is a thicker jeweler's cord than I use for the stays.
Everything is sewn with cotton thread, either pink or white.

The dress took 6 1/2 yds of 60" wide linen. The bodice was only 1 yd, the sleeves take 1 yard each (smaller sleeves would work well too), and the skirt was 3 widths of 40" long.
1 yd of the osnaburg (approx) for the lining.

Basic Sewing Process:

1. I cut lots & lots of bias tape out of the scraps & sewed it all together.
To get decent bias tape, you need at least 16" square, though it doesn't have to be square.









2. Made the piping.
To make piping:
Cut & sew bias tape.
Using a zipper foot, lay the cording inside the bias tape, fold in 1/2 over the cord.
Stitch as close to the cording as possible without catching it.
Ta-da!
You now have bias tape with a good seam allowance... trim to 1/2" or 5/8", whatever you prefer.


3. Sewed the bias tape & lace onto the perline pieces.
I finished the bias tape & stitched the lace on at the same time.

4. Overlock all body pieces.

5. Sew gathering stitches on bodice fronts & front 1/2 of 'dart', and on the lower part of sleeves.
Add piping to the elbow side of the sleeves.



6. Stitch up front dart without piping.



7. Sew the back(s) and back linings together (I added some piping to the back, it's really just one piece), and sew the sides & backs together.

8. Sew piping on one front only (the side that's going to be on top).
Sew the front lining on the fronts with the zipper foot so you can make the seam tight to the piping.
Clip the ends of the piping so everything sits right & you have room for the other seams.

9. Stitch the side & back of the lining to the lining fronts & then stitch all the shoulder seams together. Make sure everything is lined up right or you'll have a real convoluted mess.

10. Finish the bodice seams around the waist & neck, turn through the armholes.
Press like crazy.

11. Top-stitch all the edges & seam lines, being careful to line things up correctly... bone on the lining at this point, if you are going to.
For this garment, the bones are on the outside of the lining, not the inside. My best guess is that they were removed for washing. I did not add bones to this dress.

12. Stitch the armholes closed. (Normally I'd say to sew the lining over the raw edge of the sleeve, but in this case that would be too bulky).



13. Gather & sew the perline onto the bodice.
Be sure to mark the top of the shoulder so everything lines up correctly... the shoulder seam is several inches down the back, so try it on & mark it!






14. Sew the main sleeve seam, leaving 3" open at the cuff so you can get your hand in (you can add buttons, laces, etc. to close them).
Finish the cuffs (I used bias tape to finish the edge).

15. Sew gathering stitches by hand along the sleeve cap.
Gather the sleeve into the armscye, pin & stitch.
Check it before stitching again for reinforcement.

16. Sew the skirt panels together, press. Finish the placket(s).
Double-box pleat the skirt into a band. Stitch the band onto the bodice or bodice lining.

There are several ways to do this:
A. I chose to have one 12" placket with a slight overlap on the inside of the bodice. It closes with ties on the waistband (I was going to use hooks & eyes, but decided to go for a more adjustable waistline).
B. You can also stitch 2/3 of the skirt onto the bodice and make a drawstring to tie around the waist like an apron in front. Leave a maximum of 14" open at the sides or it will blow open as you walk (very irritating).
C. Stitch the skirt with waistband onto to the bodice with no overlap. If you do this make the placket about 8" deep.

This is where I was when I first posted.

17. Sew hooks & eyes on the front every inch. Make sure the fronts overlap far enough to stay closed & line up correctly.

18. Stitch ties on the skirt waistband & inner waist of the bodice.

19. Stitch ties to the mark at the shoulder seam & a few inches above the back of the elbow to make the sleeves the correct length. Tie these together & adjust as needed (be careful when you put the sleeves on... this can be tricky).

20. Have friend Missy mark the hemline while wearing the dress... this is very important!
Hem the dress.

This is where I am right now and this may be all I do... but I really want to complete the project as per the fashion plate.

21. Add any trim to the skirt.

22. Stitch the belt onto the side & back seams of the dress. Make sure it covers the bodice/skirt break.

Make hat.
Make corded petticoat.

Dress like a China Doll.

1830's day dress

I've been wanting an 1830's day dress for quite some time. I finally made one for myself!
Still have to make the corded petticoat & hat...












I bounced between this pattern:
I think this is from costumes.org, but not sure.

and the one out of Cut of Women's clothes.

Guess which one won?
Yup, Norah Waugh is indeed the goddess of historic fashion.

One of the main reasons COWC won is that I didn't have any sheer cotton, linen or silk that would work with any fabrics that I had enough of to make those wonderful double sleeves in the pattern above. I also HATE the shape of the pelerine. Not flattering to anyone. Had I chosen to make this dress, I would have changed the pelerine to a more square-on-the-bust thing, rather than this monstrosity. You can see a close reproduction here which is a wonderful site for fun pictures of 1830's dresses, but not my cuppa'.

So I made the 1834 Day Dress from COWC on whatever page that happens to be.

When I got the initial pattern done, I was shocked that the bust was something like 46" and the waist was 31". I later discovered that you really do want 3-4" of ease in the bust and you want the waist to be pretty fitted, with only about 1" of ease... so that accounts for some of it. On the other hand, WOW! Talk about corseting! I don't mind cinching in my waist, I've got enough squish that I can go 4" or better... but 15" is a bit extreme even for that time. 10 years later and it wouldn't have surprised me in the least.

I had no trouble adjusting the pattern to myself. I guessed at 1" higher than my natural waistline in back, and it worked out very well.

As always, the pattern went together like a dream. The only thing I would change is how far the bib front of the skirt is slit down. Ms. Waugh's pattern is slit almost 20" on both sides, and tends to flare out and show the petticoat when I walk, very annoying. I will whip stitch this closed to about 9", and that should take care of the problem.
I would also love to have the dress close in back, but that makes it awkward at events. "Hello Mr. Neighbor! I know we just met, but could you please help me hook my dress?" Yeah, that's the way to make friends & influence people.
Putting this dress on is a bit tricky, as you have to step into it, while it rests on a chair or bed. Tie the front-skirt around the back and then shrug into the top. It gets funny if the top drops onto the floor. The only solution is to yell "Mom! Help!" or chase your 'tail' like a fool... in a corset.

For the test-garment cum actual dress, I used a lightweight cotton print with mums? on it. It's mostly orange & black, and I did check to see if that print was used. Though not super-common I've found a few examples of similar fabric. (The best would have been stripes with flowers, and that will be the next fabric-hunt I go on). I paired it with black cotton, as I had just enough of the floral to make the top (test garment), and wanted to see how the bottom went on. I ended up piecing the skirt between the black & floral to get enough fabric, and got my stripes that way. Not perfectly historic, but for a first-go, not bad.

All the piecing is flat-felled, all the inner seams are flat-felled, except the 'darts.' The vertical seams on the skirt are French seams.
*I do not recommend heavier fabrics for very full sleeves, as you have to gather a lot of material into 15-18" of space.
**I gathered anything that had to be gathered by hand with hand-quilting thread. I've found that with BIG things it works much better than fighting with the machine thread, and really cuts down on the "Oh $#^!" moments.

The sleeves are "giggot leg-o'-mutton" because they are very full at the top, cut very full almost to the wrist, but are pulled 'tight' on the forearm by ties, (the ties go from just above the elbow to the shoulder and create a great big puff). Really quite striking once they are in place. No supports necessary! I suggest lightly tacking the lower tie and then re-adjusting after you've fitted it.

The front closes with hooks & eyes and then a 2" belt that is sewn in back & side back, and loose in front. I have to find an actual buckle (that I like), I'm using a broach for the time being.




Here are some lovely 1830's dresses that I've ripped off various museum & internet sites, I'll quote sources when I've got them, and if I don't, and/or they are yours and you'd like me to remove them, just ask.

1830 Day Dress, printed cotton. U of Texas site (This is an excellent site for historic garments... though the fabric in this one makes me wonder if it's a reproduction or an original?)

1828, cotton day dress, V&A museum I really, really, really love this dress. And the hat. I will be making a hat to go with my 'final' dress, but probably won't get one finished before Halloween.

1830 French Fashion plate. I'm not finding the original site right now, but will edit if I ever run across it again. As I recall, the yellow is a walking dress and the white is a day dress... darned I can tell the difference. As far as I'm concerned, they are both 'walking'.

Here are some sites that I looked at for "how to's" on this project.

http://www.freewebs.com/behindthetapestry/1830dress.htm
this one is excellent, and fun, and turned out great!

http://wearinghistory.blogspot.com/2009/01/1830s.html
http://www.maggiemayfashions.com/romantic.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1830s_in_fashion
and as always, be careful that the images you are working from are historically accurate... unlike the first painting listed in this entry.

Late 1820's stays

My most recent "me" garment is a pair of late 1820's stays from Corsets & Crinolines by The Goddess of Historic Fashion, Norah Waugh.

Since I didn't go camping over Labor Day weekend, I decided to park myself behind the sewing machine and skip on into the Regency & Romantic eras. (The next "me" garments will be Federal & Romantic day dresses).

Way to take a weekend off Gail!

The stays went together like a dream in less than two days, but are completely machine sewn. I figured none of my thread-counter friends will ever see this, and I wanted it fast.

I used 2 layers of very stiff, tight-weave cotton. The inside is mis-matched colors that we couldn't use for stock garments (slightly pink vs. slightly yellow). The outside has some staining, but the fabric is sound. Stitching is in a darker cream color, and the 1/4" wide bones are plastic. I sewed the channels at 1/2" and that seemed to work very well.

Materials:
1 1/2 yds tight-weave cotton
1 yd stiff linen or coutil (interlining, optional)
cotton thread
plastic boning (cane/reed/metal, etc).
3 yds double-fold cotton bias tape for binding
old yard stick / wooden busk
ribbon / cotton cording

Tools:
scissors
sewing machine
ruler
pencil or washable fabric pen
saw or utility knife & sand paper (if cutting yard stick for busk)
(I didn't use pins for this, you can if you want).

This pair is almost exactly like the ones in the book, the main difference is the 'quilting.' I used the presser foot as a guide and was rather sloppy with the inside decorative stitching (setting 13 on my machine, it's kinda triangles/zig-zag). It works well to stiffen up the fabric.

As there is no stress on the ties, I decided to use machine buttonholes. They seem to be working fine. I sewed them in vertically, so the stress is on many threads rather than a few, and poked the holes with an awl rather than slitting them. It's a pain to lace.

Basic Directions:
1. Transfer pattern from Goddess Norah Waugh book.
2. Re-size to fit you (4" smaller than bust, underbust, waist & hips... waist & underbust should be the same measurement in the stays, they will not close).
3. Cut 2 outside, 2 lining, 2 interlining.
4. Sew gussets in bust & sides.
5. Sew all pieces together, leaving back open.
6. Sew lining to fabric, turn & press.
7. Align seams & sew up either side of them for added stability (I've found this makes the stays/corsets last longer without pulling out... it doesn't always look great, but it works beautifully).
8. Mark boning channels & stitch.
9. Do decorative quilting / cording (optional).
10. Measure for front busk pocket, sew right sides together, turn & press. (this is not part of the original pattern, it's my own answer to the 'flap' problem).
11. Sew busk pocket in front & make button-holes or eyelets in flap.
12. Sew button holes or eyelets in back, spiral lacing.
12. Insert boning & cording.
13. Sew on binding.
14. Sew on ribbon for busk pocket.
15. Cut yard stick to length, sand & insert in busk pocket. Lace it closed & tie a pretty bow.
16. Lace up & wear!

This isn't as "flat" a shape as earlier Regency stays, and not nearly as curved as Romantic & early Victorian corsets. It does put my bust up around my chest when I sit, but I think it will look fine once I've got clothes over it.
Beware this pattern if you have larger than a C-cup... you can compensate by lowering the bust gores & slits, that should help quite a bit (I lowered from 3 1/2" to 4 1/2").

It's pretty comfortable. I've worn the stays for about 18 hours all told, but 8 hours seems to be the limit for a day. The main area that gets uncomfortable is the shoulders. If I ever make another pair for myself, I'll move the straps in about 1". Straps should be lengthened to sew them on the front, but it may be better to use ribbons like I did to make them adjustable.

And Mom's home!!!

1650-60 Bodice

I made this bodice for Halloween this year, and didn't have any pictures I was happy enough with to post. Thanks to Jodi for taking these wonderful photos and sending them to me!.. And my digital camera is broken, so I'm back to film until I can get it repaired /replaced.

I love this boned bodice. It's (again) from Cut of Women's Clothes. Nora Waugh deserves to be a fashion history saint.
I don't have a petticoat to go with it yet. I'm still looking for the right wool, but for this modeling session, I used a long 18th century wool petticoat that is just a bit more rose than burgundy, and it seemed to work fine for the artists.

I made a lovely linen shift with a flop-over collar to wear with this bodice, but the ladies wanted to see more of my neck & shoulders, so we substituted the 18th century linen shift. Alas, historic accuracy takes another beating from modern art. I also left my bangs down because I forgot my bobby pins. Bad, bad me. I'd never do that at an event. This new hair cut is going to play hell with my historic hair-do's. Ah well, I look good and the reenactors can deal.

The cap and bodice (after all my rambling) are accurate for the mid to late 1600's. The bodice is English, and would have been worn in England and the English Colonies, it could also pass for German. It's made from 2 different pieces of wool.
The cap is a 2 piece, 2 drawstring linen cap. It ties behind the head, and falls off in a light breeze (I think it's too small).

Bodice Fabric:
I didn't want to use any good fabric, because I'm poor at the moment. So both pieces of wool are pretty moth-eaten. I can't sell something like that, so I get new clothes! I also had no idea if the pattern would work (it did, thank Nora).
The main wool is a very pretty burgundy, the accent wool on the sleeves is a rich red-brown. Neither wool has been felted. The light cream trim is cotton bias tape that I used to finish off the raw edges on the sleeve caps. It was stained, and there wasn't enough of it to do anything else with.
The bodice is lined with a heavy cotton canvas that has boning channels sewn into it. I cheated and put rivets instead of eyelets on the lacing strips. You can't see it, and I may replace the rivets with real eyelets if I don't shrink out of the thing by the end of the summer.

Bodice Construction:
I started with my usual 1" = 9" conversion from COWC, and it only took a little tweaking to make it my size (I'm shrinking, but I think the original garment was made for a full-bodied woman).
The waistline is about 1 1/2" higher than my natural waistline, and it just takes some getting used to. I thought that women must have used a "bumroll" (really a waist roll) to get their skirts to flair out, but I found out that if you've got a shift and a heavy petticoat on under this bodice that it pushes your waist in just enough to give your skirt that extra kick. As long as you don't think about it like "OMG, my belly fat is being squished out!" it looks really beautiful and very accurate.
I decided to make a separate interlining, and no lining as I had 1 day to put this together. The interlining goes around the entire bodice including the shoulders. There are 2 layers to the interlining, and boning channels are placed as directed.
I put the bones in the channels, sewed the lacing strips together (and used grometts rather than eyelets), sewed those on the interlining, and set this part aside.
I sewed the bodice pieces together then sewed the interlining to the outer fabric right sides together. The interlining shows from certain angles, so if I do this again, I'll put a wider seam allowance on the outer fabric and fold it around the lining instead of right sides together and turning.
I did not top-stitch like I usually would because I wanted to hand-finish this garment.

Sleeves:
The sleeves were a bit tricky. They are 2 piece, unlined (again because of time) and have 2 caps and a lovely cuff.
I sewed the upper & lower sleeves together, then sewed the cuff on. Then I sewed the lower cap onto the sleeve, and the upper cap onto the bodice. Then I set the sleeve and basted it. The inside edge is left rough like historic sleeves, excpet I overlocked the raw edges because I'm paranoid.

Finishing:
I hand-finished as much as possible, then handed out flowers with poems tied on them for Halloween.

Still have to do:
sew eyelets into the cuffs.
top-stitch.
Make tabs for the waist.
Make a petticoat.
It's wearable now, and that's really all I care about.

Things I would change:
Again, I would add extra seam allowance to the outer fabric and fold it over the lining so the lining doesn't show at the neck.
Add more "puff" to the sleeve so I've got more arm movement. I can only raise my arms up to my shoulders in the front, and not quite that on the side. I'm thinking this was a mid to upper class garment, someone who had to do some work, but had servents to do the heavy stuff.
It could easily be converted to a working class garment by lacing the sleeves on at the top and leaving the underarms open for more movement.