Dressy Dresses

I have made a couple of dresses for dressier events.

I made this dress for Homecoming my junior year of high school

Dresses

I also enjoy wearing dresses from time to time. I used to have a couple more that I had made, but they got a little small for me, so I donated them.

This dress is made from a lovely, soft, flowy rayon. I made it using a pattern I found in an issue of Threads magazine. I will admit that it's a bit revealing to wear on its own, but it works great as a swimsuit cover up.  

Skirts

I don't usually wear skirts, but I do like to every once in a while.

You might recognize the fabric of this skirt from one of my vests in a previous post. That's because I made this skirt to match my vest. Worn together, I have a fairly professional looking outfit. 

I drafted this pencil skirt myself with the help of an online tutorial that I have now forgotten the name of. But the result is great and fits me well.

One Vest, Two Vest, Three Vest, Four!

I love me some vests! They are great, versatile pieces for layering. I've made four vests so far, and I love them all.

All of these vests have been made from the same pattern pack. I think the pattern was a project runway pattern. This one is made from a pretty paisley cotton print.  

Civil War Era Skirt and Two Bodices

I made this ensemble versatile for both day wear and more fancy wear. I need to update the fit for both bodices, but the day bodice especially. The skirt is box pleated and lined about halfway up.

*Update* I can wear this ensemble again thanks to my new corset, which, although not period correct, will reduce my waist down to the measurements I had used to make these pieces originally... in a much more comfortable manner…If lacing down to approximately 24 inches is ever truly comfortable.

As you can see, this bodice has quite a small waist…I was still under the impression even when I made this set not more than 3 years ago that I should make my waist as tiny as possible. If I had a more comfortable corset I might be able to wear this set again, but with my current corset for this era, I can't.

The ball gown bodice is a bit more forgiving in the sense that it laces up the back. I stole the lace to use on something else, I think, so I have the bodice pinned to the form for this picture. It looks lovely when I wear it because of the off the shoulder neckline.

Civil War Underpinnings

Ah, the ubiquitous Civil War Dress. This era was the first era of interest for me way back when I was about 14. My very first dress I made for this era I'm not particularly proud of… It was made out of a purple, shiny, stretchy, synthetic fabric of some sort. It closed up the front with, wait for it, velcro. My hoop skirt was probably the most humorous part of the outfit. My dad had some old bandsaw blades that he lent to me to use as my hoops. I covered the still rather sharp edges with masking tape and attached the two hoops to a makeshift skirt made out of an old sheet. I wore this dress as a Halloween costume. As I was walking, one of the hoops came unattached so I had to carry it. 

I made the rest of the  underpinnings afterwards. I still use the petticoats and the chemise. The corset is a bit small, but I can still wear it.

I purchased this lovely cage crinoline. Disregard the petticoats on the floor...

Here's the crinoline with my two petticoats over the top

The chemise. It's really quite comfortable, although I think I might have put it on my dress form backwards...

And the corset…This was the first corset I had ever made. I used a simplicity pattern. I didn't make a mockup, so it was much too big at first, thanks to the added ease that commercial patterns include. "Never fear!" thought 14 year old me, "I'll just take it in using additional seams!" So that's what I did. It still gives the shape I wanted. I will admit that at the time I still had a highly romanticized view of corsets. I was convinced that I needed to make my waist as small as I could. And at the time I could probably lace myself down to about 22 inches using this corset. But as I have matured, I know now that corsets, at least during this particular time period, weren't used for tight lacing. They were used for a slight reduction in waist and support for the bust. This being said, I had to add bust gussets to this corset to make it even remotely comfortable to wear nowadays. The hips are too small now, too. But if I lace it only just snug, it's not too bad. 

Just goes to show how I have improved as a seamstress. Look at this corset and look at my most recent corset and it's hard to tell that they were made by the same person. I might even make a new corset for this era now that I know how to fit them properly. 

Late 1830's Dress

I like the look of this dress. The skirt is quite full, as well as the sleeves.

Front view. I love the sleeves :)

Side view. I didn't take a picture of the back because I couldn't get the dress closed over my dress form. It fastens up the back with a multitude of hooks and eyes.

This is a detail of the cartridge pleating, also known as gauging, used to gather the large amount of fabric in the skirt to the waistband.