1887 Plum Purple Plaid Suit - TV 466 & TV290

Patterns: Truly Victorian #466 "1887 Alexandra Bodice" (slightly altered)
                 Truly Victorian #290 "1889 Draped Skirt" (slightly altered)
Fabrics: Plaid is wool/cotton blend, deep "royal plum" or
               "plum purple" with plaid of white and light pink.
               Solid is silk/cotton blend faille (unique, I wish I could find more of it!)

SOLD
Available on Etsy HERE
Available on Ebay HERE

Measurements:
Chest - 44"
Waist - 36"
Hip - <50"
Hem - 42"

  ~Bodice~
I used the Truly Victorian #466 bodice pretty much unaltered, only adding some triangle decoration on the backs of the sleeves. I am a big fan of this pattern. I cut my pieces for size 'I', which should have come out to a 38" waist. I ended up getting a 36", but I used rather heavy boning and drew in my darts a bit more than the pattern showed, so I'm pretty sure the pattern is also quite true to size.

The triangle decorations on the seems are just triangles with the edges turned under and pressed, then top stitched down. I positioned the darts on each piece first, then laid them over to make sure they would line up when I stitched the seam later.

I have had this light pink fabric for some time. I purchased it off the clearance table at Jay's Fabrics (How I miss thee!). It is a silk/cotton blend faille, very strong and with a super tight weave, all while being quite light. I wish I had more than the mere 3.5 yards on hand.

When I got to this point, I really wasn't happy with the look of the triangle tips. They weren't sharp enough and looked messy, so I decided to hand embroider over them in a manner similar to corset flossing. I'm not sure if you can see the "tip" flossing very well in the photo below. It is 100% silk pearl floss, vintage. It also shows my progress work on the cuff box pleats.

~Skirt~
I have made the TV290 skirt many times. It does run long, you should know. In order to have the hem finish at 42", I had to do a 4" hem. For this instance, I made the back shorter at the top, basically making the top "hump" less dramatic. This results in a less dramatic puff.
I don't have much more to add on this one because it's a rather simplistic construction using patterns most costumer's are well familiar with. I have made TV290 before, if you search my past blog posts.

~Finished~

This will teach me to try taking pictures in direct sunlight. Terrible, lol.