Hanging Sleeves

I decided to make 'hanging sleeves' out of the last two corners of the sari. The 'corners' are where I want the tops of the sleeves to be.  This is what they ended up looking like. The shorter finished edge will be at the front, and the longer edge will drape down the back.  

​The fabric is so fine and flimsy, that I found it almost impossible to make a nice rolled hem along the bottom curved edge. So I applied Fray Check to that edge, and let it dry. That stiffened the edge, giving it much more 'body', and I was able to pin and hand-sew the hem.

But then I had to figure out a way to make the sleeves stay up.  They wouldn't be able to stay up on their own, and I couldn't attach them to the bodice, because the weight would pull it down. 

Then I thought maybe an 'armband' of wide elastic might work.  I tried making one with a snap closure but it made for a big, unsightly bulge.  So I ended up with a simple loop of 1/2" elastic....

The next step was to prepare the tops of the sleeves. I added a small rectangle of cotton fabric to  the upper corners to provide something a bit stronger to sew the snap fasteners to. I measured where on the elastic armband they needed to go, and sewed them on - a bit below the edge in order to hide the elastic - choosing snaps that fit rather tightly together, as they need to have a good grip that wouldn't just undo later.

After sewing down the raw edges of the elastic seam and sewing on the snaps, I put the elastic armband on Bianca. It's not the easiest thing to get on, since it needs to fit rather tight....

...and with the upper sleeve edge snapped into place,,,,

I'm in the process of beading the front edge, and have already beaded the top. I did not sew any beads on the edges where they would be under her arm, because they are glass beads, and I was afraid they might end up scratching her resin.  The sleeves hang down to the ground.

Once I'm done both sleeves I'll take some full-length photos.