Trying on the 1520s gown

After my latest post about the 1520s court gown I reattached the lacing strips. Now I sewed them on a couple of cm further in on the bodice, so that they won't be visible when the gown is laced shut. I sewed through both the lining and the outer fabric, so the stitches are visible, but they are going to be hidden under the guards later. I got some wrinkling at the front of the bodice, but I decided to not fret about it, since once again I am going to hide it under the guards.

I also redid the pleating at the front opening. I was not happy with th gaping that was there on this photo.

On the photo above I had finished the edge with what can be most easily descibed as a box pleat, with the edge of the fabric tucked under the pleat. I thought that the extra fabric would create a fold that hid the gap. I ripped it up and instead I changed the pleats so that the edges simply met flesh with each other. I will try to wear it like this, but I might add some lacing on the inside to guarantee that it won't open up to show my underkirtle.

Then it was time to finally try it on and lace it shut on myself. I just love the folds of the skirt and how it pools around my feet, even if I know that I will have to be practical and shorten it so that I can walk while wearing it.

I'm not wearing my underkirtle under it, or a proper shift. I'm hoping that those will add a bit of extra volume around the hips to give a bit more of an hourglass shape. For lacing I used a lucet cord that I have made earlier. I want to switch it to a fingerloop braided cord instead, but it was good to try how long the cord needs to be, my arms are long enough to make the length I need.

Now it's on to the guards. I want a really deep guard, but I also want to raise the neckline a bit. I think it's a bit too deep, so my plan is to let guard peak up a bit over the edge of the bodice.

It's always tricky to make a curved piece fit right, so I simply put the gown on my dressform and draped a piece of fabric over it, then I drew a line where I could feel the edge of the bodice, and another line where I wanted the edge of the neckline to be.

I cut it out and this is the first draft of a pattern for the guard. Now it's on to fine tune it and cut it out in the brocade that I'm using for the guard.