Connect the Dots

Am trying to get my head around that I'm the kind of person who times herself when doing embroidery. Decided I needed to know how long a motif took, so I set a timer. Around 10 minutes. And I was faster just knowing the timer was going.

But hey, the 25 or so motifs I have remaining should only take 4-5 hours to do. Not the 10+ hours I had in my head.

Figuring out the motif was hard. Embroidering on net is a totally different experience, the gold thread is squirrelly and doesn't pull through cleanly sometimes or decide to stay put. The design is lead by the structure of the net, somewhat similar to a flower design from an extant gown, complete with finishing bead.

This project, a late regency court/ball gown, minus the train, is going well so far. With gold embroidered spots.  The spot motif is a flower/star/dot about is on 6 inch offsets.  Ignore the lump that is my dress form, draped in piles of fabric. The net is almost invisible in this image, though in life it darkens the burgundy silk quite a bit.

The bodice has been cut and put together, though much finishing remains. To make the net rouching I sliced my pattern in a few places and widened it. It gathers up to nothing compared to my test fabric, which surprised me, so the bodice is a little skimpier than I had intended. Especially in the back and on the straps.

The silk net is an amazing fabric, embroidery headaches aside. Out of the bag I really couldn't tell the difference between it and modern tulle, but once I washed it the hand was fairly soft.

What's Left:
- ~25 spots
- 1 fidley french seam on skirt underlay
- Make piping for bodice decorations
- Make 5 piped strips for bodice
- Add bias edging to bodice
- Sew together and set sleeves
- Assemble net skirt
- Make padded hem for net skirt
- Make hem decorative band
- Sew down decorative band with purchased gold trim

Crap that's all lot to do.