A Gown for Sara

I really like Medieval Fantasy costumes, but only two of my four Ruby Red dolls have one, which is rather limiting for photography, so I thought I'd make one for each of the other two. 
​I started with Sarah, and chose a nice turquoise brocade for her dress...and got started.  

I had a beautiful trim that was too big scale-wise for my bjds, but would be fine for the Ruby Red dolls, since they are a much larger scale doll.

​ When making the ruffles for the sleeves, I always finish the ends of the ruffles, and attach them a seam allowance distance away from the edges of the sleeves. That way when I finally stitch the underarm seams, I only stitch to the end of the sleeve itself and not the ruffle, so there's no unsightly stitching visible at the wrist. It just makes for a much neater look.

The most work is always the intricate sleeves with their multiple layers of embellishment. I prefer to do as much as I can while the sleeves are still flat.
*Note that the elbow ruffle fabric is also hemmed at both ends, and it attached a seam allowance away from the edges of the sleeve. That's so the 'puff' isn't ruined by getting caught in the main sleeve seam when it's sewn. Then the seam is sewn carefully avoiding the puff fabric, and after the sleeves are turned right side out, the two edges of the puff are hand stitched together, thereby retaining a nice 'puff' at the elbow.

Sara in her new gown...

In addition to a flower wreath, I also made her a hat...