Here are pictures of what I did this weekend. Never have I been so determined. Never have I cherished the results so much.
Inspired by Bleak House, I searched for the perfect pattern to recreate an 1850's gown a few weeks ago. I had read reviews on Truly Victorian patterns, and they all seemed very positive, so I went to the site and looked around. This dress caught my eye immediately, and I ordered it. Then, I bought a roll of tracing paper and traced my size of the pattern, so that I could keep the pieces all in tact in case I needed them later (by the way, these patterns are sized differently, and are fitted much better than generic patterns).
Saturday morning I woke up early and sewed all day. Sunday morning I woke up early and sewed all day. Today I woke up early and sewed all day. Voila!
The dress above was my first attempt at this new pattern I ordered. It looks quite nice as long as you don't look on the inside or read the actual directions too closely. I purposely changed the sleeves for more of a day look, and skipped the piping altogether on the bodice. I had never made piping, and the idea was too intimidating, so I just used store bought bias tape. And, instead of sewing on each hook and eye separately I used hook and eye tape for the first time. What an invention! It worked wonderfully. For this dress I also gave up trying to sew the skirt to the bodice as I intended, and just made a waist band for the skirt and finished off the bodice with bias tape.And then....I began again with the most lovely fabric I could find.
This one went much smoother. This morning I got up and went straight to the store to pick up some cotton yarn to make piping (an idea I found during research). I found my zipper foot, cut out the strips of fabric (on the bias), pressed them, and sewed in the yarn. Easy as pie! If only I knew. The piping made the gown look much better, and I found out why I was having trouble attaching the skirt to the bodice without it. I was so frightened when I finished sewing the skirt to the bodice. It was inside out and there was a pile of tangled fabric in my lap. But when I turned it to the right side it looked absolutely perfect! I don't know how I did it on the first try.
This time I also used the sleeves from the pattern. They are a little overwhelming when the dress is on, but I admit I like the way the look very much.
The colour is much richer in person - a deep rust red.
The end to a delightful weekend.
