1910 Afternoon Dress, Part III: Pattern Alterations and Bodice Mockup(s)

Since I’m modifying Laughing Moon 104 so extensively, I knew I would have to make a mockup, or several mockups, before finalizing the pattern. Honestly, I’d have done at least one mockup anyway, but the pattern alterations just made it even more important. (sadly, the cat decided that she was more important, which delayed things a bit)

I decided to start by using the princess-seamed front pieces of the underbodice, but the more simplified back pieces of the guimpe (separate underblouse). I figured that this would allow for easier application of the trim and reduce bulk under the bretelles in front (since I could stitch the trim across the bustline to just the center front panel and hide the raw edges in the seams), but still allow movement due to the looser fit of the back. I first cut out the pieces as-is out of an old sheet and seamed them together as instructed, but it quickly became apparent that the bustline didn’t fit properly at all. The dress doesn’t appear to have been designed to be worn over a corset, or at least not the kind of corset that I have, since the curve of the dress bodice creates a high, perky bustline that’s almost pointy in shape. It doesn’t seem to match either the slight flattening effect of my mid-Victorian corset (I know, wrong corset, but it’s all I have), or the low, full bust effect that was en vogue in the Edwardian era.

I ended up cutting the side front pieces with a shallower bust curve, figuring that the bodice itself doesn’t fit that snugly (at least, not with the loose back piece), so it wouldn’t be an issue even if I did eventually get the right Edwardian corset. Anything was better than the bullet-bra shape I was getting from the original pattern.

Regency Muslin Shift

When I made my first Regency dress, I wasn’t sure if I’d be sticking with the period for costuming so I didn’t bother making the necessary underpinnings. As a result, my outfit was nice but didn’t have the little details that make an outfit look really right. Now that I’ve really gotten into the sewing, however, I need to build the outfit from the inside out.

I have a mostly irrational fear of making structured/tailored garments, so I found an Etsy seller (Beth is awesome!) to make me a set of short stays– they turned out quite well, and I saved a little money by agreeing to hand-sew the thread eyelets myself. In the process, I learned how to do buttonhole stitch, so that was an added bonus!

But of course, once I had the stays I needed a shift to wear underneath them– not only to keep them clean, but also to keep things… er… contained up top. I picked up 3 yards of bleached fine muslin at the fabric store (not as nice as my sheer cotton voile, but much cheaper and probably sturdier), and got to work.

Regency Dupatta Open Robe, Part I: Muslin

As you recall, I’m making a sleeveless open robe to dress up my sheer Regency ballgown for an upcoming event. Here’s my inspiration:

Since I  only have one dupatta to use to make the robe, I wanted to be extra-careful when patterning and cutting, which of course meant I had to make a muslin.

The Grey Lady, Part III: Mockup

Knowing that I would be modifying the pattern for this dress, I decided to make a mockup first to ensure it would fit after I’d changed things up. I’d intended to use my lining fabric, figuring that I could make the mockup, cut the new pattern, and then re-sew the pieces for a lining, but once I decided to use the slippery polyester lining fabric I was reluctant to subject it to too much stress with basting and ripping and re-sewing. Instead, I purchased some pale yellow cotton shirting for $1/yard to serve as my muslin.

The first thing I did was cut out the paper pattern pieces and re-trace them onto butcher paper, then tape on extra pieces of paper to modify the pattern. I added about 5″ to the hem, drafted a full-length straight sleeve instead of the flowy one on the pattern, and drew a much higher neckline than called for, since I’ve heard this pattern can run short and be rather revealing.

I also experimented a bit with the back pattern pieces, since I want to add some lacing to the back side seams to allow for fit adjustment. The first thing I did was change the position of the back princess seams, since they curve out to the armscye instead of going up over the shoulder like the seams in the front, making it impossible to just add lacing and expect it to fit properly. Once I figured out how to redraw the seam lines I added width in the seams to allow for the panels to expand and fold in on themselves depending on how tightly they’re laced. I did leave the center back zipper in– I couldn’t remove it completely because I’m not adding enough extra space in the waistline to allow it to fit over my bust, even when unlaced. It’ll make lacing kind of a pain, since the laces will have to be done anew each time the zipper is zipped or unzipped, but I think it’ll be good to have the flexibility in sizing. It’ll also give me some wiggle room (literally) for when I sew up my seams and blithely eyeball the seam allowance.

You can see the folding back seams here– I’ve pinned them in place, as well as overlapping the back to simulate a zipper closure. Just imagine the lacing between the black threaded seams down the back.

Once the mockup was cut, basted, and on my dress form, a few issues became apparent. First, my added hem length was probably overkill– at most I’d need an inch or two extra, not the five I’d added. The back lacing alterations looked good for the most part, though I’m beginning to see why the back seams were drawn curved in the first place– there’s a weird little blousy area right over the shoulder blades that I’m sure wouldn’t have been there if I’d kept the original seam lines. However, since I can’t figure out how to fix it short of putting in darts, I’m just going to ignore it and hope no one notices. I also noticed that the sleeves weren’t set deeply enough into the bodice– the “shoulder strap” sections were so wide that they restricted my arm movement– so I ripped out the seams and re-set them on a deeper curve.

I drew out a new neckline and marked where my gores would fall on the skirt, front and back. I also tried it on just to be sure that things fit properly (my dress form isn’t perfectly matched to my measurements), and marked the correct hem length and where I wanted my sleeve puffs to fall on the arm.

Then I carefully ripped out the necessary seams and used the mockup pieces to modify my paper pattern pieces, including completely re-drawing the sleeve (you’ll see how later).

Now that my pattern pieces are set, it’s time to get cutting on the real stuff!