Finally Finished!
I finally put in the last stitches of hemming and finished off my entry for the HSF challenge: Art. I was inspired by 1790s chemise gowns. In contrast with 1780s chemise gowns, these ones have fitted backs and often long sleeves.
These paintings are from the Tansey Miniatures Foundation.
The rundown:
The Challenge: Art
Fabric: Striped cotton fashion fabric (I think it's a voile) and cotton broadcloth lining
Pattern: Started off as the lining from the Open Robe in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion Vol.1
Year: 1790s
Notions: Cotton thread
How historically accurate is it? Pretty close. The design is totally accurate, the fabrics are accurate, the thread would probably not have been cotton though. Also, most portraits show some type of closure at the wrist, but I was able to get on my fitted sleeves without needing a closure. Machine sewing is obviously not accurate, but hand-finishing is! Overall, maybe about 90%
Hours to complete: Don't even know. I've been working on this on and off for the past month and a half.
First worn: Not yet
Total cost: Striped fabric was about $5/m and I used probably just over three metres, broadcloth was $10/m but didn't use much of that. Altogether, around $25.
The back. The dress dummy's back is much wider than mine at the shoulders so it doesn't fit properly.
The front has flaps that are connected to the back at the sides and pinned together to hold the back tightly to the body. (Obviously the flaps are too small on the dressform, but they have a 1/2 inch overlap on me.) The drawstrings are tied tightly to secure the front. When the gathers are redistributed over the front, the slit is completely hidden. (This makes it difficult to tell on museum websites what is going on with the front of these sort of gowns. It's really hard to tell if there is or isn't a slit. I noticed that some have a seam at centre front, and assume that this is left partly open near the top.)
The hemming it took me a while to finally get around to. This is my best guess at what Costume Close-up calls slanted hemming stitches.
And a close-up of the neckline where I used le point a rabattre sous la main which looks like running stitches on the outside and whipstitches on the inside.
All it needs to finish off the ensemble is a petticoat, a sash, and some big ol' 1790s hair!
These paintings are from the Tansey Miniatures Foundation.
The rundown:
The Challenge: Art
Fabric: Striped cotton fashion fabric (I think it's a voile) and cotton broadcloth lining
Pattern: Started off as the lining from the Open Robe in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion Vol.1
Year: 1790s
Notions: Cotton thread
How historically accurate is it? Pretty close. The design is totally accurate, the fabrics are accurate, the thread would probably not have been cotton though. Also, most portraits show some type of closure at the wrist, but I was able to get on my fitted sleeves without needing a closure. Machine sewing is obviously not accurate, but hand-finishing is! Overall, maybe about 90%
Hours to complete: Don't even know. I've been working on this on and off for the past month and a half.
First worn: Not yet
Total cost: Striped fabric was about $5/m and I used probably just over three metres, broadcloth was $10/m but didn't use much of that. Altogether, around $25.
The back. The dress dummy's back is much wider than mine at the shoulders so it doesn't fit properly.
The front has flaps that are connected to the back at the sides and pinned together to hold the back tightly to the body. (Obviously the flaps are too small on the dressform, but they have a 1/2 inch overlap on me.) The drawstrings are tied tightly to secure the front. When the gathers are redistributed over the front, the slit is completely hidden. (This makes it difficult to tell on museum websites what is going on with the front of these sort of gowns. It's really hard to tell if there is or isn't a slit. I noticed that some have a seam at centre front, and assume that this is left partly open near the top.)
The hemming it took me a while to finally get around to. This is my best guess at what Costume Close-up calls slanted hemming stitches.
And a close-up of the neckline where I used le point a rabattre sous la main which looks like running stitches on the outside and whipstitches on the inside.
All it needs to finish off the ensemble is a petticoat, a sash, and some big ol' 1790s hair!