Chemise Dress
I realized I never did post about the chemise dress I threw together. It is based on the Elegant Lady's Closet drawstring gown that I've done like five times now. I added a LOT to the fullness in the front to get the look, and I was kind of going for this, not exactly, but the over-all look:
Next time, I definitely need to do the sash, but over all, I think I nailed it. I love this gown. It's from cotton voile. The bodice is completely hand sewn, as I really love having portable projects. The skirts are less portable, so of course they're not hand sewn. ^_~ The hem is, though. For some reason, my hems always look better done by hand. I've never mastered that hem stitch on the machine. Ah, well.
Originally, I toyed with the idea of dying this gown, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to dye the white on white striped gown that I wore to that first Georgian picnic. That will make it look like a "new" dress. I'll also dye a length of it to make Vee another matching dress. Plus some of the white on that striped dress has yellowed with time, so I think dying it might cover that up? Hope so, anyway! Then I can make another dress out of the stripey stuff and have two different dresses there. LOL. Plus, this chemise gown will be a great base under an open front gown, under a spencer, or under just about whatever I want.
The only images I have from it are from our Bastille Day brunch back in July (thanks jenthompson!):
Before I went out, my hair was all nice and tightly curled and slightly frizzy as per appropriate for the era. Heh. By the time I got into the restaurant, though, my hair was all flat because of the rain. Rain in mid-July. Who could have planned for that? It did make for lovely weather to dress up, though. Only three of us dressed up, but another family showed, so we had quite a nice little gathering.
Oh, if you go to Le Madeleine on Bastille Day and tell the clerk "Happy Bastille Day" they give you a free small dessert. I do think "Vive la France!" would be more appropriate, but hey, what do I know?
Next time, I definitely need to do the sash, but over all, I think I nailed it. I love this gown. It's from cotton voile. The bodice is completely hand sewn, as I really love having portable projects. The skirts are less portable, so of course they're not hand sewn. ^_~ The hem is, though. For some reason, my hems always look better done by hand. I've never mastered that hem stitch on the machine. Ah, well.
Originally, I toyed with the idea of dying this gown, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to dye the white on white striped gown that I wore to that first Georgian picnic. That will make it look like a "new" dress. I'll also dye a length of it to make Vee another matching dress. Plus some of the white on that striped dress has yellowed with time, so I think dying it might cover that up? Hope so, anyway! Then I can make another dress out of the stripey stuff and have two different dresses there. LOL. Plus, this chemise gown will be a great base under an open front gown, under a spencer, or under just about whatever I want.
The only images I have from it are from our Bastille Day brunch back in July (thanks jenthompson!):
Before I went out, my hair was all nice and tightly curled and slightly frizzy as per appropriate for the era. Heh. By the time I got into the restaurant, though, my hair was all flat because of the rain. Rain in mid-July. Who could have planned for that? It did make for lovely weather to dress up, though. Only three of us dressed up, but another family showed, so we had quite a nice little gathering.
Oh, if you go to Le Madeleine on Bastille Day and tell the clerk "Happy Bastille Day" they give you a free small dessert. I do think "Vive la France!" would be more appropriate, but hey, what do I know?