"As You Wish."

A while back I was searching though clearance fabric, you know, as one does. And I came across this orange cotton lawn. I wanted it, so I had to come up with a good use for it. And someone who could pull off wearing it- orange isn't everyone's color. Luckily, I have a handy-dandy sister who can wear anything. :)

Doesn't she make a good Princess Buttercup?

I didn't have a pattern for this costume, so I studied the online pictures (here), cannibalized bodice pieces from other patterns that were roughly the shape I wanted, and melded it all together into a muslin mock up. After I fitted it to her I used the mock up pieces as my bodice lining. I also flat lined the cuffs and collar with organdy to help them hold their shape. The back and cuffs lace up with grommets (like I learned to do for my corset).

My biggest challenge with this dress was the sleeves. They're such an unusual shape, I didn't have anything remotely shaped like that in my pattern collection. In the end I used a straight sleeve pattern as a guide, cut it very wide below the elbow, and played with it until it was roughly the shape I was aiming for. Also, studying the pictures I noticed the sleeves were cartridge pleated to the cuffs. (Thanks Historical Sewing, for introducing that term to my vocabulary.)

I used this cheat from Fresh Frippery- ribbon to save myself the adventure of marking dots, and the sleeves pleated right up. It was actually rather fun, I'll have to try it again sometime.

This dress debuted at SLC Comic Con this last weekend, and had a lot of fun. :) She found a Westley and a Fezzik. (No word on if he offered her a peanut.)