Stripes and Paisleys

10/24/05

So, I actually began. I'm overwhelmed with work, my thesis, and the GBACG newsletter, but if I don't start this soon, it ain't happenin'. Of course, what really happened was that my BF needed some pants hemmed, and when I sat down at my sewing machine I realized that I really missed sitting there. I actually told my machine out loud that I missed it. That's when I knew it had been too long. The next day, I went up to my mom's office to pick out fabric and a pattern for my Dickens Fair dress.

First, the fabric. It's actually very similar to the fabric I used for my last Dickens Fair dress, the 1830s dress. It's a striped pattern that alternates between subtle polkadots and Paisleys The only difference with this fabric is that the color is primarily a deep red rather than brown.

The good news is that my most recent corset still fits...barely; there is less than a one inch gap, but I am lacing fairly tightly since I know I will lose more weight between now and Dickens Fair. I also think I have a chemise that will work--nothing period, but like I said, it'll work. The bad news is that I do need a new pair of drawers. I was never entirely happy with the old ones. Too much bulk, and while I liked having a tie waist band so that it was adjustable, the pattern I used (Simplicity) had you sew the ties into the side seams rather than going all the way around. In a way, I understand why they did this--so that the front would lie flat--but on the other hand, with the rigors of washing, if one of those ties become detached, that's it. So, um, yeah. That's what happened. One tie came out, so I figure it's time for a new pair.

But in any case, the drawers can wait. I've been itching to sew, and drawers are not going to be sufficient. So, instead, I began working on the dress itself. (I've also decided that the petticoats can wait, even though those will take quite a bit of time since I want to do a corded petticoat and several flounced petticoats.) I was anxious to get started on the dress itself, so once I had the fabric and the pattern (Simplicity 4400), I began working on a mock up of the bodice.

The bodice fit pretty well on the first try, but I didn't cut out anything close to the size the pattern recommended. (I thought these Martha McCain patterns were supposed to be historically accurate. I guess the company still uses their standard scales to determine sizes. So, if you are planning on using one of these patterns, keep in mind that their measurement chart will not produce a garment that fits as it should.) I think my measurements with my corset on put me somewhere in the vicinity of a size 20...I cut the 14 and it fit perfectly in the bust and just needed to be taken in at the waist.

I had time yesterday to get my bodice lining and fashion fabric cut out. I was planning on putting the bodice together before cutting everything else out, but then I realized I want some bias strips to make piping out of for the bodice seams, and I may as well cut the sleeves out too. I'm going to wait to cut out the skirt because I want to make sure I don't have any goof ups on the bodice first. Then, if I have plenty of fabric left over (which I should), I want to do some self-fabric trims; nothing too fancy as this is supposed to be a day dress, but maybe just a few flat bias strips at the hem of the skirt with the stripes going alternating directions.

12/14/05

I ended up finishing this dress in just a day or so, thus, no dress diary. I apologize profusely and will attempt to describe the construction process in as much detail as possible.

First, the bodice. As I mentioned before, you have to be rather careful with the sizing of this one. Although Martha McCain has taken great pains to produce a period garment, Simplicity still insists on printing sizes that include modern ease. (I find this ludicrous considering that they have gone to the trouble of printing patterns for the proper undergarments and everything. You'd assume that people making these garments would also have those same proper undergarments and would be measuring over them and thus need very accurate measurements for the finished garment. Oh, well.) Anyway, as far as bodices go, this one is fairly strait forward. All the edges are finished with bias, which should then be hand stitched to the lining. Of course, I cheated on this and machine stitched it, covering the top stitching with a braided trim.

The one major change to the bodice was the boning and its placement. I used spring steel for the boning at the darts and side seams and spiral for the back seams. The pattern has you put a short piece of boning at the center back and center front, which I eliminated, not realizing their purpose. I realized later that this is to keep the points from flipping up, and it would have been a good idea to include them. Oh, well. At any rate, the pattern has you use plastic boning, which I'm sure works just fine if you are wearing a corset, but it just seems kind of silly to go through all of these period construction techniques only to use a very modern kind of boning.

Okay, on to my favorite part of this dress--the sleeves! So beautiful! They are a bit time consuming, but I managed to find a few shortcuts to help a little with that. First, the pattern has you line the sleeve, which isn't really necessary if you don't leave a slit and just hem the bottom edge. The pattern also has you hand stitch the lower edge of the puff on; instead, I just stitched that edge on first and then flipped the fabric up to sew the center gather and finally the top edge. Of course, the top edge is eventually sewn into the armscye, so I didn't need to worry about top stitching there. I covered the center gather with the same braided trim I put on the bodice. Surprisingly, the fitted part of the sleeve still needs to be eased into the armscye, but that was easy enough since slight puckers would never show.

The skirt cause me some serious thought. I was very concerned about how long it would take to mark all the pleats and such. In the end, I decided to keep the skirt completely separate from the bodice so that I could move the closure to the center back, which made pleating it much easier. Also, since the skirt would now sit at my natural waist, my folded edge could be the same depth all the way around. It worked like a dream and saved me a lot of time. The only adjustment I now need to make is to attach hooks and eyes to connect the bodice and skirt at the sides; while wearing it, I realized that the bodice tends to sit a bit higher there than the skirt does, showing not only the skirt waistband but also a bit of corset. I know. It's quite scandalous and cannot be left as such.

Now, I had intended to make a new corded, layered petticoat to wear with this dress. I was so delighted with my 1830s petticoat that I wanted to make another that has more of the bell shape of the later period. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible, so I wore my 1830s petticoat for now. I'd still like to make a new one, which would be useful for the dress I want to make for next year. Since I hope to eventually wear this dress with the new petticoat, I just hemmed the skirt with stitch-witchery for now.

The dress managed to make its debut at fair, though just barely. I never did have time to sew hooks and eyes on the bodice, so my mom had to sew me in. (The stitches ended up coming out sometime after three o'clock. Fortunately, I was about ready to go home by then anyway. My late nights combined with the cold I had caught on Friday just wiped me out.) I did receive many compliments on the sleeves, and everyone politely ignored my visible waistband.

2/14/06

Well, I may actually have a summer event to wear this dress to, so it's time to start thinking about that corded petticoat again. I'd also like to make a new corset that is more appropriate for mid-century. (It seems like the Silverado corset is best for an 1880's shape, which is fine, but if I have time to make a another corset, I'll use the excuse.) Of course, I'll also need to finish the dress itself. I started putting hooks and eyes on the front, but never finished. I also need to add hooks to keep the bodice over the waistband at the sides. Once I finish a new petticoat, I'll also be able to put a real hem on the skirt. Then, if time permits, I can finally get around to making a new chemise that is actually a bit more period than the generic one I've been using.

Anyway, it's still a lot left to do, but not nearly as bad as needing to make an entirely new outfit for an event.