1770's Gentry Gown
Dress
Diary
Colonial Gown Page Polonaise Dress Diary Costume Home Books 'N' Threads
April 23, 2004
First things first...it's all about the undergarments. Luckily, I have some white linen on hand which I will use to make the chemise, and perhaps even the hoop. Sometime this weekend I'll pull it out of its been and throw it in the wash. I still haven't ordered the hoop pattern, so maybe I should get that done today. Mom also needs to see about getting the fabric for her petticoat and stomacher. She knows a woman who can order and dye silk, so she just needs to talk to her about it and give her a swatch of the gown fabric.
April 26, 2004
Mom is not happy with my choice of fabric for the chemise, and I actually agree with her this time. It really is too heavy a fabric for the chemise. So, I've put her in charge of getting appropriate fabric for the chemise. She will probably end up getting some habotai from a new acquaintance who can order silk wholesale, though I would prefer a fine, lightweight linen or cotton batiste. I already have two chemises out of the batiste that are so comfy, but, whatever. If Mom is willing to pay for it, I'm willing to take it!
May 11, 2004
Okay, so Mom's chemise is finished. I ended up making it mostly out of muslin, with batiste sleeves. I cut the sleeves to exactly fit the armscye, which makes them considerably less full than the pattern suggests but still not really form fitting. To help keep the sleeves in place, I added a sort of narrow cuff (or armband) which I fit exactly to Mom's arm, and gathered the fullness into that. It is still quite a bit of fullness, but at least the batiste reduces the effect.
June 2, 2004
I've actually accomplished quite a bit since my last update (which is a good thing since the event is coming up this weekend). The corset is finished and looks quite nice. (See the other dress diary for a detailed discussion of the corsets.) However, I discovered the fabric content of the cover fabric the hard way--a very hot iron melted away two panels as I was pressing the seam open. Good thing we had plenty of fabric left over.
The hooped petticoat is...interesting. It actually turned out a bit
larger than I had expected, but since I haven't been reading through directions
too minutely lately, that is not surprising. (They create a ten inch
shelf on either side, for anyone interested.) Don't get me wrong,
they look fantastic, and they should be just collapsible enough to make
getting around fairly easy, and as long as we do not encounter any armchairs,
it should be fine for the event. The really interesting part about
this pattern was the actual hoops. After getting the top hoop to bend
in a way that I never thought it would, which was easier than I expected,
I then had the most difficult time securing it. The pattern calls
for duct tape, which worked, but it seems there should be a...er...more
period way of doing that, or at least more reliable; I'm a little worried
right now that one or both hoops will spring free during the event.
(I guess I really shouldn't worry with how strong duct tape is.)
I learned a pretty good lesson while making the petticoat to go over the
hoops--add length to cover the pannier at the top of the petticoat (at the
waist edge). I added it to the bottom, and now the petticoat hangs
a bit oddly. (Once again I have encountered a truth that millions
of costumers already know, and had I taken the time to do just a tiny bit
of research I could have saved myself from this particular epiphany.)
I'm not planning on changing the petticoat at this point in time since it
will not show anyway and I really don't have the time, but it is good to
know for future reference (and very good to know before cutting the petticoat
that will show).
June 8, 2004
Sorry, I got a bit side-tracked with actually doing all the sewing and haven't had time to keep up with this diary. I actually can't get too detailed about this dress because Mom really did end up doing most of it herself. I will say that neither of us were very happy with the pattern itself. It is NOT a sized pattern, which is what I thought it was; I don't think there is any information to that effect when you order the pattern, or else I just completely missed it. The only piece that was sized was the stomacher, which won't exactly provide a custom fit. Fortunately, the size that the gown was printed in fit Mom, and we didn't have any major problems.
The other issue we had was with the petticoat pattern/instructions.
If you follow the instructions, you would seem to end up with a petticoat
that is fuller in front than on the sides and the back. They also
have it on a drawstring, increasing bulk at the waist. The only benefit
to using the pattern at all was that it accomodated for the panniers at
the top rather than at the hem, so the drape is correct. (We did need
to add to this allowance, however, since our panniers were wider than the
pattern assumed.)
Overall, I am pretty pleased with how the dress came out, but I just have a feeling that the fact had more to do with luck than with a good pattern.
I
just had to add this one last picture. It
was taken at the event, which, as you can see, was extremely windy.
Colonial Gown Page Polonaise Dress Diary Costume Home Books 'N' Threads
April 23, 2004
First things first...it's all about the undergarments. Luckily, I have some white linen on hand which I will use to make the chemise, and perhaps even the hoop. Sometime this weekend I'll pull it out of its been and throw it in the wash. I still haven't ordered the hoop pattern, so maybe I should get that done today. Mom also needs to see about getting the fabric for her petticoat and stomacher. She knows a woman who can order and dye silk, so she just needs to talk to her about it and give her a swatch of the gown fabric.
April 26, 2004
Mom is not happy with my choice of fabric for the chemise, and I actually agree with her this time. It really is too heavy a fabric for the chemise. So, I've put her in charge of getting appropriate fabric for the chemise. She will probably end up getting some habotai from a new acquaintance who can order silk wholesale, though I would prefer a fine, lightweight linen or cotton batiste. I already have two chemises out of the batiste that are so comfy, but, whatever. If Mom is willing to pay for it, I'm willing to take it!
May 11, 2004
Okay, so Mom's chemise is finished. I ended up making it mostly out of muslin, with batiste sleeves. I cut the sleeves to exactly fit the armscye, which makes them considerably less full than the pattern suggests but still not really form fitting. To help keep the sleeves in place, I added a sort of narrow cuff (or armband) which I fit exactly to Mom's arm, and gathered the fullness into that. It is still quite a bit of fullness, but at least the batiste reduces the effect.
June 2, 2004
I've actually accomplished quite a bit since my last update (which is a good thing since the event is coming up this weekend). The corset is finished and looks quite nice. (See the other dress diary for a detailed discussion of the corsets.) However, I discovered the fabric content of the cover fabric the hard way--a very hot iron melted away two panels as I was pressing the seam open. Good thing we had plenty of fabric left over.
The hooped petticoat is...interesting. It actually turned out a bit
larger than I had expected, but since I haven't been reading through directions
too minutely lately, that is not surprising. (They create a ten inch
shelf on either side, for anyone interested.) Don't get me wrong,
they look fantastic, and they should be just collapsible enough to make
getting around fairly easy, and as long as we do not encounter any armchairs,
it should be fine for the event. The really interesting part about
this pattern was the actual hoops. After getting the top hoop to bend
in a way that I never thought it would, which was easier than I expected,
I then had the most difficult time securing it. The pattern calls
for duct tape, which worked, but it seems there should be a...er...more
period way of doing that, or at least more reliable; I'm a little worried
right now that one or both hoops will spring free during the event.
(I guess I really shouldn't worry with how strong duct tape is.)
I learned a pretty good lesson while making the petticoat to go over the
hoops--add length to cover the pannier at the top of the petticoat (at the
waist edge). I added it to the bottom, and now the petticoat hangs
a bit oddly. (Once again I have encountered a truth that millions
of costumers already know, and had I taken the time to do just a tiny bit
of research I could have saved myself from this particular epiphany.)
I'm not planning on changing the petticoat at this point in time since it
will not show anyway and I really don't have the time, but it is good to
know for future reference (and very good to know before cutting the petticoat
that will show).June 8, 2004
Sorry, I got a bit side-tracked with actually doing all the sewing and haven't had time to keep up with this diary. I actually can't get too detailed about this dress because Mom really did end up doing most of it herself. I will say that neither of us were very happy with the pattern itself. It is NOT a sized pattern, which is what I thought it was; I don't think there is any information to that effect when you order the pattern, or else I just completely missed it. The only piece that was sized was the stomacher, which won't exactly provide a custom fit. Fortunately, the size that the gown was printed in fit Mom, and we didn't have any major problems.
The other issue we had was with the petticoat pattern/instructions.
If you follow the instructions, you would seem to end up with a petticoat
that is fuller in front than on the sides and the back. They also
have it on a drawstring, increasing bulk at the waist. The only benefit
to using the pattern at all was that it accomodated for the panniers at
the top rather than at the hem, so the drape is correct. (We did need
to add to this allowance, however, since our panniers were wider than the
pattern assumed.)Overall, I am pretty pleased with how the dress came out, but I just have a feeling that the fact had more to do with luck than with a good pattern.
I
just had to add this one last picture. It
was taken at the event, which, as you can see, was extremely windy.