An 1860's Gathered-Front Day Dress: Part One

Part One: Bodice Mock-Up

After much deliberation, I decided I wanted to make a less formal day dress for the 1860's. My current blue striped dress is still wearable and serviceable, but it's a bit fancier than what would have been worn day to day for working around the house.

I did a bit of research to find extant, gathered-front dresses from the 1860's. There were plenty to base my dress on, so I got to work modifying my darted bodice pattern to turn it into a gathered bodice with a darted lining. I also wanted the sleeves to be full, but cuffed, similar to a bishop sleeve. So I used the bottom portion of the sleeve from my 1837 day dress, lengthened by a couple inches.

 As I was fiddling around with the sleeves, I realized I could use the top portion of the 1837 sleeve as an epaulet for this dress.

I find that I like the heavier gathering look.