Swallow tail jacket

Last weekend I started sewing the Costume Close-up (Baumgarten) swallow tail jacket and so far it's been a lovely project. My local library very obligingly added the Baumgarten book to their collection after my suggestion and I recently got it on loan, so I enlarged the pattern and was good to go. In an earlier post I mentioned the great tutorial written by Rebecca at A Fashionable Frolick and it really has helped me a lot. For once it was nice to have clear and structured instructions, rather than just winging it on the go.

Preparing to cut the pieces. I only had to lengthen the sleeve cap and the shoulder piece a bit, otherwise the pattern fits me fine.

Trying on the jacket. I whipped up a red cotton petticoat to go with it, too.

I really like the tails!

I need to tidy off the strange corners on the neck edge, make the stomacher and the lace holes.

The sleeves, just pinned on.

As said, I made a red cotton petticoat to go with the jacket. I also was thinking of making a green one, but a proper green fabric (aka. a shade I'd actually like) is very difficult to find here, so red is a good choice. I seem to have misplaced my cap, so maybe this calls for a new one. I'd like to do some proper whitework embroidery. Also, I need to make an apron. I've been toying with the idea of a black apron, but I'm not sure if that's period accurate. I know that black fabric was used for so-called better clothes, especially with the more rural folk, but I need to research a bit more. I just think that black would go better with the jacket and the petticoat than white.