The petticoat is worn over panniers. I don't have very big ones, but I wanted to try the drawstring sides method seen on this petticoat from the Met:
 |
| Robe à la Française, detail - 1760-70, French - the MET |
I made the petticoat the same way as usual, with the sides open, but I left about 10 inches free on front and back, each side, and stitched in a drawstring. The waistbands stop short of the gathered lengths, so they form a hole on each side.
.jpg)
.jpg)
It seems to have done the trick - hem looks level, yay!
Next it was time to get set the sleeves in the jacket, and, of course, I ran into problems. The sleeve heads were 19.5 inches around, and the armscyes considerably less. I wanted a smooth cap, so I took off the armscye through the underarm and the back, then eased the sleeve head ever so slightly with a gathering stitch. Mission accomplished there, but I'm going to reduce the sleeve head on the pattern before I sew with it again.
Now the whole ensemble is wearable, but it needs the trim (the best part!). It's certainly not perfect - my velveteen fabric was difficult to work with, and I can see this pattern working much better in wool - but I'm decently pleased with it, so far. :-)