A few random updates

This will be a short post, mostly just to show that I have finished stitching the bottom binding down to the front (brocade) side of one half of the stays.  It was really hard getting the binding to play nicely around all of those tabs (especially stitching in the really tight turns), but I started to get a good feel for it about halfway through, so I think the next one will go more quickly.  I am hoping to get the binding turned and stitched down to the coutil side tomorrow, plus the bottom binding on the other half.  Then I will "only" have the eyelets to sew, and I will finally be done with these stays.

In other news, the fabric for Abigail's gown arrived from India!!!  I feel like I should be writing this by hand in a letter rather than a blog post ;-)  I am really, really happy with it.  If you look at the image shown on the eBay auction compared to the pictures I took of it, there's a slight difference in the saturation of the colors, but that's to be expected both with different cameras and lighting and also with block-printing and dyeing by hand.  They also may have used a photo of a different batch of fabric, but they provided full disclosure that variations might occur in the course of the fabric production process.  It was a little nerve-wracking to place the order not really knowing for sure what it would like when it got here, but to me that's part of the thrill of using period-correct fabrics.

eBay auction photo

My camera with flash

My camera without flash

And honestly?  I actually prefer it slightly subdued.  The colors are still nice and bright, and I love love LOVE that it has three (possibly four?) unique colors in the design (which is much closer to extant examples than the monochrome scrolling floral designs you see nowadays).  The best part is that the reds are more pinky/rosy than orangey/red, because I think rosy/pinky reds are better with my complexion.

And because I realized I haven't shared this yet, here's a picture of the pattern I'm using for my gown.  Since I have 10 yards of this fabric (did I mention it was only $5.50/yd??), I'm wondering if it would be overly cutesy to use it for Ziva's "Nabby" dress also.  I'm sure it's historically accurate that if there were enough yardage left over after making mom's gown, it would be made up into clothing for the little ones.  And even if it's not, I think being in the same fabric might help visitors understand that we are portraying a family.  I will have to think about this one.  I don't think I have a whole lot of other options currently in my stash, and I don't want to purchase any more fabric for this project if I can possibly help it.