Sorry that this won't really be a dress diary, but I was a little pressed for time while making this dress and didn't have time to keep one. 

Inspriation: It was the fabric with this one.  I'm usually not a "red" person, but when I saw and felt this fabric I fell in love.  It is a fairly heavy polyester satin that is so soft and has wonderful body.  Then I came across a couple of Truly Victorian patterns I liked that started to put me in mind of a dress that Nichole Kidman wears in Moulin Rouge.  Obviously, I was not going for an exact reproduction of the film costume, nor was I going for a completely authentic Victorian ball gown.  What results is an interesting hybrid that I absolutely love.

The Skirt:  This pattern, while looking a little complicated on paper, was pretty simple to put together.  Of course, the first time I made it, my pleats went the wrong direction; trust me, this totally destroys the look of the skirt.  I didn't notice my mistake, however, until I'd already started on my second skirt.  Now, let me explain the need for two skirts.  It had nothing to do with the pattern or anything like that (after all, I didn't even need to make a muslin of this one).  The problem is that a time span of nearly a year passed between making the first skirt and actually deciding to finish the entire outfit.  During that time, the skirt had spent some time in storage, and a little while hanging up on the outside of a wardrobe.  When I finally went to put the finishing touches on the skirt, the satin was full of snags that were very visible.  Rather than try to cover them up with trim, I decided just to start over.  Luckily, I had just enough fabric for another skirt and the bodice.  The second skirt went together in no time at all; it was cut out (that's the tricky part since the pieces are so large) and sewn together in just a few hours.  I didn't do any hand finishing since I was in such a hurry, but I would imagin that if you want to hem this by hand it would add a considerable amount of time. 

The Bodice:  I can't rave enough about Truly Victorian's sizing method.  Whoever first came up with the idea of having a different sizing for front and back pattern pieces was a genius and should have a statue erected in his/her honor.  I made just one muslin, made a few adjustments, and then was able to get started on the actual bodice.  The only change I made to the pattern was to eliminate the sleeves; the armscye was then finished by handstitching the lining to the outer fabric.  The only problem I ran into with the bodice was my own mistake; the boning I used was too thick.  (The boning, purchased from Farthingales, really is excellent boning, especially for corsets, but it does not have enough give for bodices.  The only time I might use it for a bodice is if I make a bodice that I'm not planning on wearing a corset with, or more precisely, that the corset is built into.)  The result of using it for this bodice was that the waist of the bodice actually stands out from my corseted waist as the boning is too tough to bend to conform to my shape.  The only saving grace is that the boning is strong enough to produce a nice clean, structured line to the bodice--no wrinkles here!  When I have the time, I will probably work on shaping the boning by hand so that the bodice fits a bit better and accentuates my hourglass figure (hee, hee).

Trim: I purposely did not want a lot of trim on this outfit for my first wearing (the Gala at Costume College with a Moulin Rouge theme).  The only trim I put on was at the neckline, because I wanted to sandwich it between the layers of fabric, which I obviously can't do once the bodice was finished.  I found some organza ribbon with a satin edge that I pleated and sewed around the neck edge.  Now that the event is over, however, let the trimming begin!  I have a beaded trim that I want to place around the hem of the skirt and drape across the armscye.  I may also do some beading on the back of the skirt to accentuate the train and the pleats.  If I can find some black lace that I like, I may also add that to the hem, but we'll see.  The only structural thing that still needs to be done is that I still need to add some stiffening to the hem (I think the pattern calls for buckram, but I have some crinoline on hand that I may use instead).

3/11/05

The crinoline worked wonderfully. One thing I did notice is that once there is weight on the hem of the skirt, petticoats become an absolute necessity for holding the skirt shape. I nearly panicked the first time I tried on the skirt with the crinoline hem facing; the front hem drooped down so far that I was walking on it. Mom pointed out that I should try it on with my usual undergarments, which fixed the problem right up. The petticoats give just enough support and body to the front of the skirt to straighten the hem out no matter how much trim I put on it.

Anyway, I made the hem facing about three inches wide, then covered the stitches on the outside of the skirt with black beaded ribbon trim. I then added a little black lace dust-ruffle to the inside of the hem, and covered those stitches on the outside of the skirt with a black satin ribbon that I sewed in to scallops. I also applied the beaded trim to the hem of the bodice and draped two swags over the armcyes. I think the last touch will be to add black satin rosettes to the neckline, but I have to test it out and see how I like the look.