Thanks to all for your support over the regency dress debacle. You are the best! *hugs*


On Monday, after my rant and subsequent meltdown, I had a bit of a brain wave. Last Feb I started a Lizzie inspired sort of fan-front dress. I did a few toiles but couldn't get it to work the way I wanted so I abandoned the project and moved on to other things. Monday's brain wave was to figure out not only a better base pattern to start from but also how to better achieve the sort of slight fan front gathers I wanted.


So I pulled out my bodiced petticoat, made from the lining pattern from the S&S Elegant Lady pattern. I laced up in my newly completed stays and tried it on, noting the changes that would need to be made to create my Lizzie dress.


I love my petticoat but because of the neckline I can only wear it with one of my Regency frocks. That's not cool! It's been my intention since CosCol last year to trim down the neckline and straps so I can use it with my entire Regency wardrobe. Thanks to the tweaks I made in my stays it really doesn't fit anymore however (those new gussets make my bust a bit fuller) so I decided to just take the bodice off and instead add straps (like on koshka_the_cat's petticoat).


I traced a pattern off the old bodice, cut up a toile and tried it on. Pretty good. My ideas for the shaping of the fan front worked much better than the ones earlier this year. A couple of tweaks, a new master pattern tracing and I had a new day dress to work with. The pics above show the original bodice and the finial master pattern I came up with on top of it so you can see the difference.


I decided that rather than cutting a new bodice for the disaster pink dress I would start completely from scratch - a new fabric for a new dress. I chose to use a fabulous printed linen that I found in the LA garment district a couple of years ago. I've been hoarding it but now was time to use it. I will work on the pink dress when I have time to fiddle with it (and the matching Spencer) and make the outfit I REALLY want it to be.


My week has been insane so I didn't have a chance to work on my frock until yesterday. S came over and we sewed for most of the day. My dress was moving along swimmingly until I got to the sleeves. I had neglected to toile the sleeves on Monday, having been lulled into a false sense of security but the ease of fitting the sleeves on the disaster pink dress. I thought, "No big, I'll just whip up a sleeve toile once the dress is made, tweak the little bit that needs to be tweaked and carry on". Um no. I forgot that sleeves play dirty! Jerks.


So as it stands I have the basic dress nearly finished, only hooks and eyes and a hem left. I think I know the changes that need to be to the sleeve to make it work so hopefully another toile (or two) and I will be okay. *crosses fingers*


I do have fabric and plans picked out for a coordinating hat and Spencer but I don't know if they will get done for tomorrow. The hat maybe, the Spencer no way. Still a girl can dream!

Tags: 19th:regency:hat:gold, 19th:regency:spencer, z:archive:19th:regency:printed.linen