It was late last night and I still needed to decide on the panel width… I resolved myself to pulling out my most recent kodode for an on the body decision. But in the morning.
The plan was the same as before – sweep and mop the floor, iron the silk, throw the silk in the floor, mark and cut. After the panel decision, of course.
About that. I pulled out my newest kosode and measured it. First, it’s a touch too long, so I’ll need to hem it at some point. Luckily, the amount it needs to be hemmed works out to what I decided as the body length of the garment. Yay! Second, the sleeves are actually shorter than I had drafted. Another tiny win! And the big deal, the panel width? This kosode is more than roomy enough, definitely gives the wide silhouette that Heian is all about, I know it looks great under all the layers, as I’ve worn it (once, maybe twice) and all with a panel width of 14.5 inches. Huzzah!
Now, I’m doing historical beginner for C3 and want to be as “historically accurate” as possible for Crowns A&S, so “looking right” only gets me so far. I know that I’ve read in many places that the panel width/loomed width of fabric within the Heian period was 16-18 inches. So I may cut at 16 inches to be more accurate and take a wider seam allowance. Even though I’d rather not. And I can document narrower looms. Hmm…
And, once again, other things got in the way, and I did not cut into the fabric. At least I’ve decided on a 16 inch panel width.
I also attended a class, Capturing Your A&S Process for Competition or Display. I hope to incorporate the concepts into my presentations of the completed travelling outfit.
