Tudor court dress pt.3

So ladies, after two months of work I can finally say the dress is finished! Yay! I wore it for the first time last week for a workshop and it was great! But before talking about that, let's discuss about the last part of my dress diaries. I left you with the foresleeves so it's time to afford the hardest part of the costume: the skirt! It may look strange but cartridge pleating with a light fabric is really a pain. Pleats took me a whole day of work and then I sewn the skirt to the bodice by hand, using a strong backstitch. The amount of fabric is totally crazy (8 panels!) so I decided to avoid pleats next time, even if they're surely eye-catching. Remember to wear a hoopskirt under your dress with a petticoat! Mine is black to match the sleeves.

The dress with corset and hoopskirt.

Pleats. 

 

I spent the day after hemming the skirt and the front openings, and I felt sooo exausted when I put the dress on. Then I immediately started to sew trims and decorations on the gown neckline, choosing a nice black trim and my beloved white pearls ( I use them everytime I can!).

Oh, I forgot to say I sewn with the help of my assistant a renaissance chemise with full sleeves with match foresleeves perfectly!

After that, I had to face the hardest challenge: the french hood. I found Simplicity instructions unclear and if you add I'm not good with heapieces (I like sewing but not crafting...) you can image my troubles. My french hood looks good but I'm not satisfied at all with the construction. I'll buy a better one in the future. 

But know don't waste other time and let's show you the photos! <3 br="">

I'm still waiting for other shots to come and they will be uploaded for sure on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/daniellefiorefotomodella

I'm really pleased with the result. What do you think? I'll surely change the hood and the foresleeve with a better product as soon as possible.

Some of the photos taken at the workshop (it was an event based on Photoshop so the photos are retouched):

A backstage

*Updates: January - February 2015*

Since my sewing skills improved a little I decided to sew the skirt again with better pleats. There are four big pleats on the skirt front and smaller ones on the back. Now the skirt looks more professional and it satisfies me a lot! 

To know your impressions would make me a happy woman! ;)