1906 Ball Gown

So sorry to have been silent for so long...

Here's an article to present my 1906 Ball Gown, made last year for the beautiful event Downton-sur-mer.
The pattern comes from a Frances Grimble's book using apportioning scale.

The first step was to scale up the pattern, really easy using the apportioning scale tools on the books.



I had only one little problem on skirt length, as you can see in the picture I had ton extend about 44cm (17").

I made my mock-up with an old sheet from my grandmother.

I decided to change the back closure onto a side closure, using a piece of hook and eye tape.
But I also need to find a solution for 2 things :
- how to sew the sleeve with the closure ?

- how to slip the bodice easily with the shoulder stripes ?

The sleeve is sewn only in front side and once sliped, buttoned on the back.

The shoulder stripes are buttoned to the back too.

And then came the looong time for trimming ...
I cut out 2 yards of black lace and did a lot of tests to find the most lovely and delicate way to arrange it. It took me one week before I have finished hand-sewing all the lace, but I'm very satisfied with the result.

I let you enjoy some pictures in situ :)

September 2013, Trouville (France) : Downton-sur-Mer 1913

More pictures of this event :
Le P'tit Photographe part 1
Le P'tit Photographe part 2

A few weeks ago, we went to UK with friends ; this week end gave me a new occasion to wear the dress. We had diner on Bluebell Railway train in Sussex.

More pictures of the trip :
La Machine à recoudre le temps
Temps d'Elégance

1909 Evening Dress - Janet Arnold (1st try)

I have been wanting for long to try and use Janet Arnold's book to make the "1909/1910 Evening Dress from the London Museum" (in "Patterns of Fashion 2 - c. 1860-1940").

I knew I making an attempt at something really hard for me, because the dress which is patterned is a small size, so I would have to make a lot of modifications to do, but I really wanted to try...
Well, now I think I shouldn't have ... It made me completly crazy and after hours of work, I decided to stop the project for the moment.



This is the beautiful drawing of the dress by J.Arnold.


It's a dress for an approximately 74cm (29") waist corseted women, so quite far from my measurments...

This is how the pattern looks like into the book.

The first step was to understand what all the parts were for and how they would match the bodice lining.

It took me some time but finally I went trough  with the great help of a friend of mine.





I used a printer to enlarge all the parts once (x800% considering the 1/8 scale of the book) and then I tried to ajust the underbodice parts. That's when my nightmare began ...
I knew what to do and how to do it, but nothing worked as planned so I stopped everything and tried something else, using the brassiere pattern of Festive Attire and after a long fight, the underbodice was done !

The next step was the drapped bodice and the sleeves parts.

Drapped bodice / undersleeve

As the drapped bodice is a round drapped part, it was quite easy to adjust. I added 1,5" on the center back (red line) and 3" on the back (red line).

That was a different kettle of fish with undersleeve part : as you can see I made 5 adjustements and was still not happy of the results.

Front skirt

So I decided to put the whole part above the waistline appart and started the skirt adjustements, far easier to me.

I only added a little bit in centers (front and back) and sides seams and I moved the front dart of 1", and a priori it's looked fine.



I say "a priori" because I was so dispirited that I didn't try to make a mokeup of the skirt...

Finaly, after 2 weeks of a long work on this dress, I gave up... I don't need this dress for the moment (until September) so I will try again in a few months, I haven't said my last word !!  

I still have a lot to learn about patience...