Seeing all the replies, and reading about half of them because of lack of time...
Cotton stretches. Even drill stretches. A lot....as in there is at least an inch difference in where my bodice for my Margo's dress laces between washed but not worn, and an hour or so after I put it on and lace it snugly (i don't tight lace)....and it often stretches more by halfway through the day. One layer of cotton drill, with linen over,...two layers of drill on the front half under the one of linen. Same goes for the stays I wear under it...a double layer of heavy cotton drill that had been washed and dried *hot* before cutting and fitting, with a fair number of boning channels that hug any bias angles closer. If it gets wet, sometimes it'll stretch further (though not nearly as badly as linen). All you can is cut it, make sure seams are secure (and heavy interfacing can help...or the iron in, as it doesn't stretch much once ironed in)...and then deal with the fact that it *will* stretch between washings...and will look best when first put on for the day. Guarantee that the dress made the same way in that time period also stretched...I have pictures of my mom and aunts that prove it, in fact. -Liz H. (Elisabeth...generally one of the quiet ones here...on here anyway :-) _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
