Simple patterns, please?

[grace]

*bounces in with a beaming smile. Here's the final today...and yes, that's my sweetheart. We were at a small living history event and I was the lady of the house. So much fun!

Any feedback for this and future dresses would be much appreciated.

Thank you all so much!

 

[MaryDee]

I love the fabric! It makes a spectacular dress! I also love how you designed the front! I'm making a few criticisms here, but those are basically things to keep in mind for your next effort!

I hope those are period-correct buttons! If not, you might plan to replace them at some point. Hang on to all fabric scraps--among other things, they could be used to make covered buttons. I'm still using hooks and eyes, because my hand-done buttonholes are still pretty awful. A large proportion of the period dresses I've inspected fasten with hooks and eyes and have buttons sewn down the front only as decoration (no buttonholes). This made me suspect that many ladies of the past also had problems with buttonholes!

Just as a matter of taste, I would not have done a waistband, which IMHO kind of spoils the vertical lines of the dress. Most period dresses used self-fabric bias piping (very fine) (another use for fabric scraps) at the bottom of the bodice, with the skirt hand-sewn to that. Plenty of period dresses had waistbands, though, so at this point please don't bother to change it. However, you do need somehow to secure your belt (thread belt loops) so it stays on top of the waistband!

I notice that you have a neat white collar, but you really need white cuffs, too, basted to the dress cuffs and changed daily. In the course of daily wear, cuffs really get grungy, and the detachable cuffs protect your dress sleeves (so they wear longer) as well as presenting a neat and clean appearance when changed daily (or more often).

The one thing I find fault with is the hem. All the period dresses I've seen use a faced hem; you find the fold-over kind that you put on the dress only on petticoats. A hand sewn hem won't be quite so obvious. At this point, rather than redo the hem, I'd consider sewing a single row of trim (washable) over the hem-stitching to hide it.

http://www.thesewingacademy.com/2018/02/merchant-row-make-do/ has more suggestions in how to make over a dress. For next time!

 

[Mrs. V]

*bounces in with a beaming smile. Here's the final today...and yes, that's my sweetheart. We were at a small living history event and I was the lady of the house. So much fun!

Any feedback for this and future dresses would be much appreciated.

Thank you all so much!

Very nicely done! I do looove the fabric. I like your shawl and bonnet too, really finishes the outfit. Now, what dress is next??

 

[Belle Montgomery]

*bounces in with a beaming smile. Here's the final today...and yes, that's my sweetheart. We were at a small living history event and I was the lady of the house. So much fun!

Any feedback for this and future dresses would be much appreciated.

Thank you all so much!

You look beautiful! If you don't mind me asking, where was that pic taken? You resemble a lovely young lady I met at the Canfield Living history.

 

[grace]

@MaryDee, thank you very much! I appreciate your comments. I do have a set of cuffs; I ran out of time to get them on, a 'helpful' family member tossed them out and now I'm trying to get stains out of them. *sigh! Sewing is still very hard.

The hem is a faced hem that was too long! So I tacked it up quickly. Thanks for the trim idea!

Also what exactly is bias piping? I honestly don't know...

@Mrs. V, that fabric is even better in person. Purple, blue and textured stripes! The shawl is a part of a wool dress that moths ate before it was given to me. *facepalm. I hope to make a quilted bonnet next out of the same stuff.

@Belle Montgomery, thank you! This is at Hope, Indiana. That house we are in front of has stood there since 1837.

And no, I was not her. This was my first living history.

 

[Mrs. V]

@MaryDee, thank you very much! I appreciate your comments. I do have a set of cuffs; I ran out of time to get them on, a 'helpful' family member tossed them out and now I'm trying to get stains out of them. *sigh! Sewing is still very hard.

The hem is a faced hem that was too long! So I tacked it up quickly. Thanks for the trim idea!

Also what exactly is bias piping? I honestly don't know...

@Mrs. V, that fabric is even better in person. Purple, blue and textured stripes! The shawl is a part of a wool dress that moths ate before it was given to me. *facepalm. I hope to make a quilted bonnet next out of the same stuff.

@Belle Montgomery, thank you! This is at Hope, Indiana. That house we are in front of has stood there since 1837.

And no, I was not her. This was my first living history.

You might need a larger hoop, to take up the extra length. Maybe a 6 bone hoop? I know my recent outfit's skirt is a tad long. Still have not decide what to do about it, but I do have a larger diameter 4 bone hoop..was given to me by a taller lady. It is a tad long, so I am thinking I need to take it up around the waist...I'll keep you posted!

 

[MaryDee]

I do have a set of cuffs; I ran out of time to get them on

Been there, done that!

The hem is a faced hem that was too long! So I tacked it up quickly. Thanks for the trim idea!

The skirt length should be adjusted at the waist! As I suggested, though, instead of undoing it and starting over, disguise the stitching line with trim. Thats an appropriate place for trim on a skirt. @Mrs. V's suggestion of larger hoops is also good, although it depends on the width of the skirt whether the larger hoops will work. Another method of shortening a skirt is to make a tuck or a row of three tucks (should always be an odd number,although I don't know why) near the bottom. Make sure you won't need the excess fabric for something else! It's best to practice tucks on a petticoat first!

Piping: https://historicalsewing.com/piping-tutorial-basics-19th-century-costumes. Most (not all) CW-era dresses used self-fabric piping made out of scraps of the dress fabric cut on the bias (diagonally--it stretches and conforms to curves) at the armscye (for reinforcement), the neckline (ditto) and around the bottom of the bodice (if no waistband). As mentioned in the article, be sure to use a very thin cord (like 1/8" or less). Don't use prepackaged piping--it's far too heavy, and the piping should always be made of your dress fabric. Be sure to save all fabric scraps--for piping, covered buttons, possibly patching if a campfire spark burns a hole. Use fabric of a similar weight rather than scraps of your dress fabric to test your sewing machine stitching (I learned that the hard way).

If you don't have Elizabeth Stewart Clark's Dressmaker's Guide, I strongly recommend it as your next investment! It explains about piping (p. 82-83), tucks (p. 165-168), adjusting skirt length ("balancing," p. 163-164), and just about everything else! http://www.thesewingacademy.com/shop/

The sewing does get easier as you go!

 

[Belle Montgomery]

@MaryDee, thank you very much! I appreciate your comments. I do have a set of cuffs; I ran out of time to get them on, a 'helpful' family member tossed them out and now I'm trying to get stains out of them. *sigh! Sewing is still very hard.

The hem is a faced hem that was too long! So I tacked it up quickly. Thanks for the trim idea!

Also what exactly is bias piping? I honestly don't know...

@Mrs. V, that fabric is even better in person. Purple, blue and textured stripes! The shawl is a part of a wool dress that moths ate before it was given to me. *facepalm. I hope to make a quilted bonnet next out of the same stuff.

@Belle Montgomery, thank you! This is at Hope, Indiana. That house we are in front of has stood there since 1837.

And no, I was not her. This was my first living history.

Regardless...I repeat-you look beautiful!!! Please keep doing what you are doing!

 

[grace]

Just for fun, here's a photo a professional photographer took of me as well. You can see the dress a bit better...though I look a bit haughty here...*giggles and giggles. I'm not that bad, I promise!

 

[mofederal]

Very nice, the dress is beautiful. I would say more, but I like to sleep at night on the bed, too old for couches. I think you did a great job on the dress. I used to sew all of my own uniforms. It was a learning experience.