Rome wasn't built in a day, but over several.

After having a good nights sleep, and finding a fresh set of eyes, I continued on my journey of making the tunic. Once again taking care, I finally tackled the tricky arm hole and sewed it into the circular shape needed without the risk of a dart in the velvet forming. Once again I am concerned about the bulk of the fabric with the under sleeve, it also seems quite a tight fit. Im not entirely sure if it is because I've moved the armhole compared to the calico toile or if the deductions recommended at fittings were a bit more than needed. In any case the actress needs to be able to move, so this shall have to be looked at in fittings.

Once both arms were placed another issue came to my attention, the neckline. I have found that as the tunics shape has changed, applying the correct neckline has become an issue. Especially due to the fact the original bust level taken at the previous fitting will be a lot higher now. I have cut the original neckline from the first fitting however in my opinion this will have to be lowered significantly and pinned at the lowest bust point so I can see where the modesty scarf needs to start and finish. During fittings if I place a safety pin where the bust starts to show, I can use the CF as a guide to making the front lace up panel, which shall be reinforced with stay flex. It is my aim to have this completed two days before dress parade so I have time to deal with any issues which may arise. The small amount of gathers placed at the side of the garment have helped create a robust shape without having to give the actress extra padding. I decided to hand stitch this instead of my original notion of using machine gathers. Where they have been done by hand a finer stitch has been used to secure the gathers and the security given will ensure they font fall apart whilst the actress lifts the tunic or gets dragged across the stage.

Finally the last issue is the fastenings on the garment. The eyelets have had to be placed on the sleeves before the fitting as I will need to get the exact fit of the sleeve around the wrist. However, as these are for fitting purposes I won't be using a button hole stitch around them and will wait to just before dress parade. When placing the eyelets I found trying to puncture the weave of the material very tricky and it took several attempts to make an actual hole. After struggling for an hour a classmate said if I place a few layers of calico between the weave and the puncher it will help relieve the pressure. I found this helped slightly however the holes were still not forming properly so I ended up making a rough hole and then forming them with a pair of snips. Using the eyelet former made placing and securing the eyelets a lot easier, though these will also have to have a button hole stitch around them to hide the metal.

After several days the tunic is ready for a second fitting. I anticipate that changes will need to be made to the under sleeves, neckline and possibly the gathers at the side of the garment.