1812 gowns

Back to my 1812 gowns for Fort Wellington this week. This picture shows the girls in the basic mock up of the Spencer and pelisse. The Spencer will be maroon velvet with the taffeta as the lining.

The dresses are finsihed, their complex sleeves all worked out. Now I am making the Spencer and pelisse. A pelisse is a long coat. the top is very similar in cut to the Spencer. I had to recut the sleeves. The original design gave too much fabric at the underarm. Modifying the curve did the trick. The sleeves also needed to be large enough to accommodate the puff sleeve on the dress without crushing it. So, I changed the curve and widened and raised the sleeve head. the fullness goes all to the back of the sleeve head, behind the shoulder.

I have some wonderful braid to decorate the front with. The skirt of the coat will be unlined, now the question is: do I use French seams or  overcast them?