le Pet en l'Air

After watching a Facebook live stream of the milliner's at Colonial Williamsburg making a Robe a la Francaise in a day, I was inspired to make a pet en l'air. What is a pet en l'air? Glad you asked. A pet en l'air is similar to a Robe a la Francaise, but it is shorter. I guess you could call it the 18th century "mini dress". Pet en l'airs were considered "undress" ( deshabille in French) or in other words, casual attire. One thing I noticed that the mantua makers in CW did was that they started the gown in the front, and worked backwards, which makes sense. (I've had great difficulties in the past getting a gown to fit properly in the front because I had already finished the back and sides.) So I draped the pleats in the back, basted them in place, then un-basted them a few days later because I didn't like the way they looked, and then re-basted them. Story of my life. Next I made the stomacher. It attaches with hooks and eyes down the front. After that I draped the sides, and figured out the way the side pleats would work. After fighting with one sleeve, I set the project down for a few weeks, then finally got the courage to continue. I finally got those little rebels to obey, then began decorating; Box pleated trim down the front and around the neck, and two layered ruffles on the sleeves.

Amuse-toi bien!