I would love to sew everything by hand and only use the best stuff, but for me it boils down to time and money. I do not have the time to hand-sew everything, so I use my sewing-machine for all seams that are invisible. I do not have the money for the silk and linen I really want, so I have to make do with cheaper fabrics. I´m not particulary happy with this, but I want to have some clothes to wear, and if I had to wait until the purse allowed the fabrics I long for, I would still be waiting. I hope that I can gradually replace everything with more historically correct materials.

But. I do not cheat on the cut. So far I have used patterns from Janet Arnold and Norah Waugh, who base their patterns on actual garments. I have also used on-line patterns from La Couturière Parisienne, which is also based on 18th-century patterns. I´m sure you can purchase excellent patterns too, but why should I buy something I can make myself? The trickiest parts is the fitting, just to put on the stays take time and then I have to have someone who can help me. I have been trying to pad an ordinary dummy to the correct shape, but without succes.