close-up details of front
I managed to find some really good gold braid which I harvested from an Indianni velvet-cushion cover this also had pearl beads which could be useful . Gold trims are very hard to find, I struck lucky. This when unpicked was sews on by hand to the edged of the Spencer.
The first challenge was the slits made in the fabric which I initially thought were tabs sewn on in the picture I had. I then added a backing and measured them vertically and gingerly cut through, turning the raw edges in by hand and finishing by hand, then pressing. Then I made the balls (50 in all 25 down each side!.) the skirt itself wasn't hard flared out to the bottom and made long enough to fit under the bust. It was the thought of facing all those hand made balls, sewn in a spiral (probably not the correct way but it does the job!) I then tried to close it but could,t see any clue on the picture, I came to the conclusion that I had to fix a chain of thick crochet cotton in the front edge to wrap over the bobble on the other side. However I only realised this when I was on the jacket so I need to undo the ones I put behind the bobbles now - a short job.
