Incriminating pictures

Pictures from the "Girls Night" party in the Styringheim camp at Double Wars this year have just been uploaded to Uma's webpage gallery. In particular you can see some (un)familiar ID faces such as Sister Antonia...

Quite hilarious most of them :)

First Sewing Circle for the Season

The season being 'fall term'. We started up again today with sewing circle. At first we got off to a soft start with just the three of us, then then two more dropped in during the course of the day.

I brought with me the ropa and the Sture shirt, but worked only on the ropa. I decided what to do about the sleeves and sleeveheads finally.

I got a point marked out on my shoulder where it looked good for the sleeves to go and cut about 1/2 to 1 cm outside that mark all around the armscye. This took off about 3-4 cm all around, opening it up quite a bit. One thing I really do not want to happen with this outfit is that it pulls across the shoulders. I want it to be throw on and get cozy.  In order to get the sleeve to fit this new enlarged armscye I had to open up the seam I did up the underside - it was only about 10 cm long though, so not a big loss there.

I stitched the sleeves on with a backstich right on the edge of the sleeves and about 1/2 cm in on the body. Then I stitched down the seam allowance of the armscyes on both sides and tried it all on. Looking good - once I tack together the edges on the rounded edge of the sleeves so that they do not flip around or flip open. If they do that it shows my piecing and the horribly synthetic lining. But that's a quick job.

Thinking about it, there really is not much left to do on the ropa.

1. Finish off the sleeves (approx 5 minute job)
   
2. Do a collar (ugh..)
   
3. Finish front closing (hooks/eyes - I have lots, might take an hour?)
4. Hem. (need help figuring out where exactly, actual sewing - couple of hours?)
   

That's it. Fairly straight forward, except for #2. I've not cracked collars yet.

Anyway, I also got away wtih an apron dress! Helwig has many unfinished projects and an affinity for buying offcuts of plaid wool. One such piece had been turned into a Viking apron dress, which, when she tried it on for us, turnd out to fit not one but two whole Helwigs inside it. This was clearly a case of garb not fitting. She had, however, flat felled the seams and altering flat-felling is a pain. Filippa then tried said dress on, and we could fit another half Filippa inside the dress. Then I tried it on, and as with Goldilocks and the three bears - this time it was just right! End of the story: Helwig gave it to me. So now I have the embryo of a Viking outfit. Just needs buckles, pearls, straps and an underdress and I have easy throw-on garb for hot afternoons! w00t.