A Campi for Camping

After laying low for a few days with a pulled muscle in my back I was itching to get started on my camping dresses. (I needed a break from Tom's tunics.) I decided to make a front closing dress inspired by the Italian working women depicted in the works of Vincenzo Campi. I started by making a mockup in cotton twill using my Margo Anderson bodice pattern. The only adjustment I made was to raise the waistline to my natural waist (which I found by tying a piece of elastic around my waist and wiggling around until it settled at the smallest part). I then used the twill as the interlining between the two layers of linen. It went together pretty easily. For the bodice fronts I stacked the twill on top of the two layers of linen and stitched around the edges leaving the side seam unstitched (I kept the side seam to make it easier to alter the bodice as I lose weight) then trimmed the seam allowances and turned it so that the twill was between the linen layers. For the remainder I needed to sew the sidebacks and straps to the back first then I stacked, stitched, trimmed, and flipped as I did for the front. Then I sewed the side seams and will need to finish those raw edges. I used some black single-fold bias tape for the trim and sewed on brass lacing rings.
Now I need to catch up on the laundry and cleaning that I've let go this week before I start on the skirt which will be three rectangular panels with cartridge pleats.
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