The Epic Striped Wrapper, Part 1

Last weekend, I decided to whip up my new wrapper, which has been waiting to be made for a while now. I have one already, and it's hands-down the piece of clothing I use the most at events. It's so nice to have something to throw on in the mornings for breakfast, etc. without having to get completely dressed. (I always put my corset on before eating, which would force me to finish dressing for the day before food, hair, or anything else could really get done. Not good!) The making of another wrapper came less out of dissatisfaction with my first one, and more out of finding the BEST. WRAPPER. FABRIC. EVER!

Destiny? Destiny.

The moment I saw it, I knew it had to be a wrapper. That was last summer... since then, it's been pushed aside for other projects. In the wake of my Hastings sewing and with almost a month left until Jackson, it seemed like a good time to get it rolling.

I wanted to make a different style than I had previously, so I pored over every original wrapper I could find on the internet. (Not as daunting as it sounds... there aren't nearly as many examples as I would like!) I settled on a design that was comprised mostly of a single pattern of fabric, to highlight the stripes I am madly in love with. I also wanted pagoda sleeves, since half the beauty of a wrapper is lightness/coolness. I ended up with a cross between these:

   

I had bought a little bit of a complementary yellow fabric at Hastings, and decided to use that for jointed sleeves as in the second original. I set to work altering/drafting, and arrived at this!

It also fits over my hoop, which makes it
look more like the other examples.

The sleeves are jointed just above the elbow, and are very comfortable as a result. I shortened them a little bit, so as to keep them out of the way. (They fall about halfway down my forearm.) My next step is to add front panels in the yellow cotton, which will be fastened with ten navy blue frog closures that I bought on Etsy: 

I am looking forward to the frogs, as my current wrapper is closed with a double row of buttons. Not very quick to get on and off! My favorite part of this one so far is the back. I decided to try a V pattern, and was very taken with the result:

Looks lopsided, but isn't really.

And just because I love it, here's a closeup at the waist:

Cartridge pleats and contrasting piping... yum! :)

 I'm hoping the frogs come soon, so that I can put them on and get it finished up. After that, all I have to do is hem the neckline and the bottom. Then, it will be belted, probably with a navy blue cord to match the frogs. All in all, it went together pretty quickly!