Photo 5
Photo 5. Detail of under-sleeve. There are several period portraits that show similar under-sleeves to this one, most of them worn by Royal Spanish Court women. After studying them all, I came up with this treatment. I have used folded bias strips many times for tabbed edging on hems and sleeve openings. When I wanted to replicate this Spanish sleeve, I decided the only way was to use rows of folded silk bias strips over a layer of silk. The metallic trim is what holds the bias strips together. I sew it down using a triple stitch zigzag machine stitch with clear thread. The pearls are sewn onto the trim over details on the trim so that spacing was easy.