Items Needed
chemise-finished
drawers-finished
hoop-purchased
petticoat-finished
bodice-finished
skirt-finished
bonnet-finished
parasol
1/16/07
The GBACG will be hosting a Little Women picnic this year that I simply must attend. It has been a very long time since I read the novel, but I remember being quite attached to Beth and devastated when she died. Thus, this dress is my tribute to Beth, though I'm a bit too old to even pretend to be any of the March girls. Maybe I'll create a persona, some aspiring writer that Joe meets in New York
Anyway, on to the interesting stuff--the dress.
First, I'll need to modify my hoop skirt. I made the Simplicity hoop skirt ages ago, but the width is simply too much for my 5'3" frame, not to mention how difficult it is to get around in it. I can't remember what the bottom hoop measurement is, but I figure I need to take at least five inches off of each hoop and then see if I need to make any further adjustments. I also need to be sure to make a petticoat to go over the hoop; I never got around to making one since I have yet to make a dress to wear the hoop with. Also, now that I'm thinking about it, our weather could still be a bit cold, so I may want an under petticoat as well.
I need to make a new chemise, which should be easy enough, as well as a new set of drawers. I'll use my wedding corset unless I actually have time to make a new one. (With the way I love making new corsets, it's a strong possibility I'll make a new one, as long as I have the money to buy the busk and stays.)
As for the pattern, I'm thinking I'd like to make Simplicity 4400. I know I've made it once already, but I just love it so much. I'd like to have time to really do it right, rather than fake it with shortcuts like I did before. Also, it's a rather romantic design that I think Beth would approve of. There are, of course, a few of the Truly Victorian patterns that I might chose from as well, but I'll need to see which ones I already have, as I'd rather not spend a lot of money on patterns to make this dress. (I might possibly use the Simplicity bodice with TV244, or something to that effect, with the bottom ruffle set on the bias if I have enough fabric.)
The fabric can definitely be pulled out of my stash--there's plenty to choose from. Right now, I'm thinking I'll use a pink and blue plaid on a white background, but I also have some darker plaids that are very nice. I'm leaning towards the lighter colors, though, since this will be a spring event.
I'll need a bonnet, which I'd like to try to make. I still haven't finished the bonnet I started in Lynne's workshop, but I think I have the basic idea down. Too bad that bonnet won't work with this outfit, but I guess it'll be good to gain more experience by making a second one.
If I get around to it, I'd like to recover this parasol to use as well. It will be very cute and would be a great conversation piece at the picnic. I'll have to see what I have in my stash in the way of light colored silk taffetas.
2/7/07
I've started work on the chemise, using white cotton batiste that I've had in my stash for some time now. (A while back I bought a bolt from Dharma Trading Co. to have on hand specifically for chemises and drawers.) I decided to use Past Patterns 707 for this, since I've wanted to use this pattern for a while now. Both views were taken from existing garments, and like most Past Patterns, the instructions have both period and modern sewing instructions. Knowing me, I'll probably blend the two, leaning a little more toward the modern. I have included some embroidery, though done by machine, on the sleeves and yoke, though that's about as far as I've gotten.
I've located the fabric I want to use, the pink and blue plaid on a white background, and discovered that I have a little over eleven yards of the stuff--plenty for the dress and trimmings.
I've also found my inspiration dress. Of course, mine won't be exactly like this. While I really adore the pintucks on the upper portion of the bodice, I don't think they will work well with my fabric. I really like the ruched trim on the bodice, so I'll definitely reproduce that, though probably with a matching ribbon rather than self-fabric. Initially, I didn't like how wide the lower sleeves are, but I think they will look fine in the fabric I'm using, as it is not as stiff as silk taffeta. The puffs are the most important design element, so those are definitely staying. The skirt may simply get a ruffle (or two), but I'm increasingly liking the look of TV 244's double skirt, though I think I'll try to do it without the pattern.
3/7/07
The chemise is mostly finished. All that's left to do are the buttonholes and the buttons on the yoke. While I think the final chemise is beautiful, I have a few beefs with the pattern:
1. The directions say to "fit" the yoke, but give no directions on how to do that--where to take out the excess or where to add. I ended up making the yoke as-is, since my measurement was close enough as far as I could figure. The final yoke is about an inch and a half too large, which I thought I could adjust for by moving the buttons over. Unfortunately, the excess yoke really is in the back. When I increase the overlap in front, any sort of movement of my shoulders causes the fabric to pull. At this point, I think my quick-fix solution will be to sew a pleat in the center back.
2. The sleeve facings don't fit. I was a little suspicious of those two pieces when I cut them out, as they do not accommodate for different sizes. My suspicions were confirmed when I attached them--neither side went all the way from the neck edge to the side seam. So, I have about an inch of unfinished seam showing at each armpit--lovely. At least no one sees this stuff.
3. If I make this pattern again, I think I'll flat fell the side seam. It's not really a gripe I have against the pattern. I know that it is perfectly period to whip stitch a seam to finish it, but it just looks a bit messy to my eye when it would have been just as easy, if not easier, to flat fell it.
4. There were no directions for shaping the front piece to fit the yoke. There was some sort of miscellaneous pattern piece, but the directions never mention it.
5. There are not enough markings to match the chemise body pieces to the yoke. The yoke has a bit of an odd shape, suggesting that the rest of the chemise should be attached in a very precise way. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing. I only found one notch, which matched up to the top of the sleeve. For everything else, you just have to wing it. The good thing is that all that body fabric seems to be very forgiving, thus I managed to end up with a chemise that still drapes well, despite whatever problems I had attaching the yoke.
I've also gotten a mock up of the bodice done. I'm using Simplicity 4400 again, since I liked it so much with my Stripes & Paisleys dress. I'm certainly glad I did a mock up, though. My shape and proportion have entirely changed, even though I haven't lost that much weight since then. I've always had a very small waist compared to my bust measurement, thus, I always have to take the darts in to make the waist smaller on all my Victorian bodices. So, when I made up this muslin, I used the same dart marks I had used last time. I ended up with a bodice that fit perfectly in the bust and not at all in the waist. I had to let the darts out twice before it fit properly.
I also had to make a few other adjustments, partly for historical accuracy and partly for personal fit. From what I understand, Victorian sideseams were rarely directly under the arm, but rather a bit towards the back. (No, I haven't done a ton of research on this, and I don't particularly want to. It's enough that I have heard the discussions back and forth and that it seems to be the prevailing opinion that most bodices sideseams were concentrated in the back, not under the arm. I'm not a purist--I just do the best with what time and resources I have.) In order to change the side seam on the pattern, I extended the sideseam on the front bodice piece only, and shortened the side back seam an equivalent amount. My past experience fitting bodices has also taught me that I am slightly short in the shoulder-to-bust area. In order to compensate for this, I shortened the shoulders by almost an inch on both the front and back pieces.
My final bit of news in this update is that my dear husband has purchased a hoop for me, so I no longer have to worry about modifying my old one or adjusting a pattern. He ordered me the 108" hoop from Originals by Kay--much more sensible for my height and for not knocking things over as I walk around. :) Once it arrives, I'll be ready to start on a petticoat and the skirt.
4/12/07
Lots of progress lately. I spent most of today working on the petticoat, now that I have the hoop. I managed to get the hem mostly even. Thankfully, it's not that far off; plus, it's a petticoat--no one will see it...except all of you...hmmm. Anyway, I still can't decide if this hoop will need a second one, so I'm going to make the skirt first and see how it looks with just one petticoat. Then, if I need to, I can make a second one. I still need to finish this petticoat, at any rate; I need to sew the hem and then attach the flounce. I was thinking today that I might want to add some lace to the flounce, but only if I have some on hand--I want to purchase as little as possible for this outfit, since the whole point of my costuming this year is to use what I've already got in my stash. Oh, and I need to get a drawstring for the waistband. (Although I much prefer hook-and-eye, my weight has fluctuated far too drastically in the past two years to continue to use them. Petticoats last a whole lot longer if I just put a drawstring in them. Of course, the skirt of the petticoat is attached to a waistband that is at least close to my current waist measurement, so the drawstring will not add too much bulk to the waist.
I'm also almost finished with the drawers. I just need to put the waistband on those and they will be finished.
I am realizing, though, that I will need to make some purchases in order to complete this project. I'll need buckram for the bonnet. I've toyed with the idea of using the bonnet that I started in Lynne's workshop last year, but I had already started to cover it with fabric, so I'd have to remove that first. Also, I'm kind of interested to see if this other pattern I have is any different from the pattern Lynne gave us. I'm also not finding any fabric in my stash that I want to use for either the bonnet or the parasol. (Actually, I found some fabric in mom's stash that I'd like to use for the parasol, so I might "borrow" some of that. Also, I found a fabric that I might want to use for the bonnet, but it's blue. While blue would work well with my outfit, I already have a couple of blue bonnets--just not for this time period--but still, I'm wondering if I should break out of the blue box or even go with a color that might be a bit more versatile. I don't know.) I also need to remember to buy some more of that plastic shrink tube to finish the ends of drawstring with--that stuff is so cool!
Front View
Side view
4/18/07
Last weekend I manged to get all of my bonnet supplies ordered and my petticoat finished. Unfortunately, this week has been too busy to get anything done since then, but this weekend should be fairly light as far as outside obligations, so I should manage to make more progress.
For the petticoat flounce, I did something a little differently from my norm. I always use my pleater foot on my sewing machine, but I usually try to sew the ruffle to the body fabric at the same time as I'm ruffling it. I just figured I was saving time. Well, I may have been saving time, but the pleats turn out much more even and the flounce gets sewn on much straighter when I do the pleats first and then attach. Also, I usually sew the flounce on with the right sides together so that the stitching is hidden. This time I top stitched the finished edge; I like the look much better--it's so much more neat and crisp. What makes me happier than anything else, though, is that it looks like I won't need a second petticoat--this one is full enough and crisp enough to cover the hoop without the lines showing through.
In bonnet news, I remembered the perfect fabric to use for it! Of course, it's my mom's fabric, but I don't think she'd mind if I just took a teensy, little bit. :) It's pink, which isn't really my color, but I think it will work well with this dress and with the romantic, girly mood I'm trying to set with it. Plus, I'll line the inside with ivory habotai and lots of lace and flowers and such--the pink color will never get near my skin!
The flounce attached to the foundation skirt. To the right, you can see the teensy bit of fabric that was left after trimming the flounce.
A close up of the trim.
The pinned waistband, ready for a fitting to level the hem before attaching the waistband.
Finished skirt front.
Finished skirt side view.
5/1/07
I've made lots of progress on the skirt in the past week or so...
I cut the foundation skirt out of white cotton sateen that I had in my stash. I only had enough for three panels, but I think that will be just fine. (It won't give as full a look as my petticoat, but the flounce on the bottom and the overskirt will compensate for that.)
I then started cutting my fashion fabric pieces. Three panels for the overskirt, six panels for the flounce, and lots and lots of little strips for trim, plus a few strips on the bias for piping the bodice.
The first task was to assemble all the different sections. The foundation skirt pieces to each other, overskirt pieces, trim pieces, etc. Then lots of ironing. Not only ironing all the seams but also pressing hem edges and the top edge of the flounce. I used my pleater foot on the flounce, but had lots of issues with it; I think it was simply the type of fabric I was using--it kept getting caught on part of the foot so that the pleats kept getting pulled out before they could be stitched down. It took a lot of patience and slow sewing. Once the flounce was pleated and hemmed, I sewed it onto the foundation skirt. (I top stitched all my hems since I already knew I wanted to add a trim that would cover it up.)
Next, I turned my attention to said trim. I took my long strips of trim fabric and sewed them into a couple of long tubes. (I had two different widths of trim, thus the two tubes.) Once I had turned and pressed them, I tried to pleat them on the machine. Unfortunately, the problem I was having with pleating the flounce was only magnified with the trim. So, I tried sewing a couple of gathering lines down the middle of the tube. After an hour and a half of trying to pull up those gathers--an hour and a half that only got me about half way through the first tube and wore my hands raw--I gave up on this idea and decided that it would be faster and look nicer if I just pleated the darn things by hand as I sewed them onto the fabric. It was one of those rare moments of genious that comes only when one is at the end of one's wits with frustration.
The technique actually worked better than I had anticipated. Sure, it was a bit tedious, especially when I was sewing trim onto the flounce, but the result was well worth it. I simply put little pleats in the fabric as I stitched down the center of the trim, simultaneously stitching it to the flouce, and then later to overskirt. The resulting trim isn't perfectly even, but I think that actually looks better than the slightly unnatural uniformity of the pleater foot. Now, I certainly won't abandon my pleater foot for future projects, but I'm super pleased with the way things turned out.
Once all the trim was on the two different skirt sections, it was time to put those two layers together. I serged the top edges of the skirts together and then hand pleated the waist edge in preparation for a fitting...
...and that's as far as I've gotten. I've got a bazzillion pins stuck into the pleats, but still need to go home and throw it over my hoop to even out the hem before attaching the waistband. Once that is done, the skirt will be completely finished and ready to attach to the bodice once I finish getting that piece assembled.
Update: Went home and finished the fitting and waistband. There is still one little section that seems longer than the rest--I just couldn't seem to get that part taken up far enough. My suspicion is that the flounce got sewn on a little lower there. I'll leave it as it is for the first wearing, but if it is in the way, I'll move the flounce up a bit.
5/11/07
I decided that I really did want to pipe the seams of the bodice. Now, I hadn't done any of my own research on this one, so I turned to my LiveJournal friends for answers as to which seams should be piped. Of course, by the time I got their answers, I had already pulled out and resewn most of the seams already. As it turns out, it seems that the only absolutely necessary piping is at the armscyes, neck edge, and waist edge. Apparently, the back and side seams were only sometimes piped as well as the shoulder seam. Oh, well. It's already done, plus, I happen to like how it looks now--gives visual interest and texture, which is good for a dress that's all the same fabric.
So, at this point, I haven't made much progress since my last post because I had to go backward before going forward. Last night I added piping to the side back, side, and shoulder seams. Then, I stitched gathering lines to the sleeve puffs while attaching a layer of netting for stiffness. I also got the buckram pieces of my bonnet cut out, and I gathered all the supplies I will need for finishing it.
Then, as I was planning my to-do list for today, I decided to take a look at my inspiration picture again. I noticed that the waist edge is trimmed. That means I don't need piping there, which means the piping I have already made will be sufficient to finish the bodice--just enough left for the armscyes and neck edge. Yay! So, I'm just going to bind the bottom edge and then sew the trim on top before attaching the skirt by hand.
5/16/07
Thanks to some sleeve issues, I haven't progressed as much as I'd planned. My first attempt at setting a sleeve in resulted in a backwards facing sleeve. Very frustrating. I learned my lesson, though, and double checked the pinned sleeves before sewing again. I eventually managed to get both sleeves sewn, with piping, and they look wonderful. Plus, once I trimmed and clipped the seam, the armscyes fit perfectly.
At that point, I had very little piping left and was afraid that I might have to make more. When I pinned what was left to the neckline, though, I was able to just sqeeze by. That made my evening!
Last night I finally added the boning, so it's finally starting to feel like a Victorian bodice now. However, when I went to bind the waist edge, I realized that the scrap of bias tape I had found is double fold. Now, in order to finish the bodice, I need to stop by Joann's for single fold bias tape or spend some time cutting and ironing strips of the cotton sateen that is sitting on my dining room table. :)
Since I was at a stand-still on the dress, I spent the rest of the evening working on my bonnet frame. I managed to get some of it sewn on the machine. I joined the back of the crown and sewed wire to the crown and tip. The front edge of the crown, though, had to be done by hand, as the frame had simply gotten too unweildy for the machine. Unlike the bonnet I made in the GBACG workshop, the brim on this one is made entirely of wire, rather than buckram. One wire funs around the entire frame of the face, and then another zig-zags in the empty space between that wire and the crown for support. I have all of these wires in place and just need to anchor the two together, then attach the tip to the crown. This wire section then gets a quick cover of netting before I start on the flannel layer.
The best part of working on the bonnet frame last night was seeing some tangible progress. The dress has been going so slowly since I finished the skirt that it was nice to have something come together so quickly.
5/21/07
Okay, I need to back track a bit now. I finally managed to get the bodice completely finished and the skirt attached on Thursday night. I don't have any pictures of the dress at this point since I don't have a dressform to lay it over, and I didn't have my corset to do a fitting.
On Friday, I picked up my corset, and once I got home, did a fitting in order to mark the placement of the hooks and bars. I was a little upset that the waist was still rather snug and the point below the waist didn't fit at all. I ended up just doing hooks down to the waist and left the rest open. Once I had sewn on the hooks and bars, I sewed the wooden buttons I picked up at Joann's on for decoration.
I then pleated the rest of the strip of trim I had left and applied it to the sleeve hems and to the waist edge of the bodice. At this point, I really wanted to get to work on the bonnet and, figuring the dress was wearable at this point, moved on to the flannel layer of the bonnet.
I don't remember how much of this layer I was able to do Friday night and how much I did on Saturday. My fingers tell me that most of the work was done on Saturday--they are still a bit sore with all that handsewing I did this weekend.
Now, for the bonnet construction, I relied mostly on what I'd learned in Lynne's class, only referring to the pattern directions as a reminder. (Part of me wishes that I'd just followed the pattern directions, but I was a little concerned about leaving the back of the bonnet so soft with how soft the buckram was that I used. Ultimately, I'm very glad I put wire between the crown and tip seam.) Of course, combining prior knowledge and pattern directions in this way made for some moments of contradictions and more than a few moments of improvisation. I'm more than happy with the final product, however, so I guess I should stop with all the qualifications and just describe the process.
As you can see in the pictures with the previous post, I wired all the edges described in the pattern, including the brim, but also added wire to the back edge of the crown and around the tip. The pattern suggested covering the brim with cotton or silk net; I didn't have either on hand, so I skipped that step. However, I did line the entire bonnet with flannel in order to cover up the wires. I figures that should be sufficient. It wasn't. The brim wires still showed through both the flannel and the fashion fabric. Maybe it still would have done that with the net, but it is worth a shot next time I use this pattern. Once the flannel was in place, I had a base to sew the brim lining to. I cut a rectangular strip of silk habotai and simply gathered it to fit the underside of the brim, turning the corners up to fit the brim points.
I really liked the way that this bonnet pattern has you cover the brim. You sew one edge of a bias cut rectangle to the underside of the brim (right side of fabric facing the right side of the brim lining fabric). You sew about a quarter of an inch away from the wire edge. You then flip the fabric to the outside of the brim, gently stretching the fabric to fit and sewing the raw edge to the front of the crown. Once the brim and tip were covered with fashion fabric, I sewed the crown piece on, turning under the raw edges and covering up all the other raw edges and stitching.
The rest of the lining proved a bit difficult as I had a problem fitting the crown to the tip. After clipping the back edge of the crown and trimming the tip about a quarter of an inch, I finally managed to sew them together. I then set the combined pieces into the bonnet and whip-stitched the folded front edge to the brim lining, covering up the raw edge.
Since the front brim edge was already finished by the fashion fabric, the only edge of the bonnet that needed to be bound was the neck edge. I sewed this in much the same way as the trim fashion fabric. After trimming all the layers of fabric so that they were flush with the neck edge, I sewed a bias cut strip to the inside of the bonnet, right side facing the lining. I then flipped the binding to the outside, folded over the edge, and hem stitched the folded edge to the fashion fabric. The irony is that the curtain would later cover most of this work up, but it does give a nice clean edge around the neck.
The curtain was another very simple element to add--simply a rectangle pleated onto the bonnet. I also added trim to the bottom edge that immitated the trimmings on my dress. I also added this trim to the seam between the brim and the crown.
By Saturday evening, I had a very lovely (and finished) bonnet to wear to the picnic. I would have liked to have added some other trimmings, but I had neither time, materials, nor inspiration at the moment. So, the next time I wear it (which will probably be at Costume College) I'll need to do some trimming and froofing.
On Sunday morning, I actually got up earlier than I needed to. I was worried that I'd have too much to get done before the picnic, but as it turned out, I got all the necessary errands done quickly and had some time on my hands. Since I really didn't have anything to trim the bonnet with, I decided to work on the dress a bit more. I took some of the leftover trim and sewed it to the bodice so that it finally matched my inspiration picture. Once I got the dress on, I wasn't entirely happy with the placement, but I can fix that in no time for the next wearing.
The big problem came when it was time to get dressed. Although I had spent nearly an hour sewing hooks and bars onto the bodice, I hadn't realized that none of the hooks had that little safety catch so that they don't spontaneously come undone. Since there was no stress on the closure from neck to bust, those hooks kept coming undone. Below the bust, I hadn't placed the hooks close enough, so I had major gap issues going on there (that's what I get for not closely following the pattern instructions--there was supposed to be a piece of boning in there). I chose the quick solution--I sewed myself in.
So, again, for the next wearing, I'll need to use some pliers to pinch the hooks a bit more closed, to discourage them from coming undone, and I need to add about twice as many hooks to solve my gap issue. (Really, not such a big deal since the space between bust and waist is only a few inches and only need four or five more hooks.) Or, I could try to get a piece of boning in there to firm the edge up a bit, which means removing the hooks that are already there and then resewing them.