Blue-sprigged dress
This dress was a real challenge! A friend asked me to do it at the last minute for her niece, for her 16th birthday party, which was to be a real Regency dance. She had very definite ideas, having done her research, and the Monday before the event I received some lovely (but fragile looking) white crinkled gauze with blue rosebuds sprigged all over, and a set of measurements. She wanted quite short puffy sleeves, a high waist and the usual skirt with gathers at the back and front mostly plain.
My heart sank when I saw the gauze, never having used it before, but there was no time to agonize over it. I washed it and the lovely lawn lining fabric. And then when I ironed them, realized the difficulty with the crinkled gauze, that I would have to iron it flat before cutting it out. I warned them that it would be somewhat flattened, but that was OK. Then I had to re-draught the pattern as mine (basic Folkwear gown) didn’t have a small enough size, that was a good learning experience, especially since I had never seen my customer!
I plunged ahead with some trepidation, deciding to insert a narrow waistband in order to manage the gathered gauze. I lined the bodice (simplifying the front into one pattern piece), removed the gathering in the back bodice, and left some gathers in the front skirt as I felt the thin gauze would look too skimpy and it would not flare well if cut as in the original pattern.
Bodice side front
I left the sleeves unlined, and inserted the drawstring in neckline and sleeve cuff centre so that they could be sewn down once the dress was fitted. Then I added a separate skirt petticoat that could be removed (only basted in due to time constraints) so that they could make a bodiced petticoat if they wished.
At 4:45 on the Friday afternoon the messenger arrived at my door and I had just finished the hem! Off it went, to some success, as it fit, and it was “just as I imagined it”! I was also very pleased and relieved!
Bodice back