Handmaiden lining is done

I've finished the lining as far as I can do. Now it's just to calculate the amount of fabric needed for the pleated overlayer and to start draping/patterning the robe and hood.

Even if it's just pinned together on my dressform I'm quite happy with the general shape. I'm not exactly tall and willowy, as the photomodels that wore the gown originally, but I think I've manged to create quite a sleek silhouette.

This photo, taken with flash, shows that the lining is actually quite shiny. I'm hoping that some of that shine will be visible through the outer fabric, at least in photos.

The playing around with the lining and how the light works on it has also made change my mind on what fabric was used for the original. I'm now pretty sure what I'm going to order, but it's going to be a lot more expensive than the cotton voile I had planned for. It also of course means that I can't do anymore dye tests until I get the actual fabric that I'm going to use.

I also need to go and measure my largest suitcase to make sure that the roundel will fit inside it. I think it's a tad on the larg side now so I am going to cut it down a bit, but it would be nice not having to do that because it will be unpackable.

My main issue was once again the sleeves. I used the basic sleeve pattern from Construction Historical Clothes, but I'm not too happy about it. I'm starting to think that my sleeve fitting issues aren't just due to the sleeves though, I need to work with the shape of the sleeve head and the armhole as well. I definitely think that I need to work with a shallower sleevehead to fit my chubby upper arms. Since the sleeves aren't going to be visible in this gown I didn't feel like starting over with a new pattern though. This one works well enough.