"Lucrezia" italian renaissance dress

Hello folks, how are you? It seems winter is fading away, I really need spring! 

Today' I'd like to talk you about my last sewing project. It took me almost 5 months to finish it but I'm really satisfied! *smiles proudly*

I finally managed to sew an italian renaissance inspired costume, after watching several dresses during my researches on Pinterest (and Borgias, of course). I'm a beginner seamstress - keep it in mind! - but since many people asked me info about this project I decided to write an entry. First of all, I've to admit it's not a cheap project as the roman dress I sewed some weeks ago; I spent almost 70€ for fabrics, pattern, trims and threads and for me it's a small fortune. This is the complete list of used materials:

- Simplicity Pattern 9531, one of the closest designs to authentic renaissance fashion I found online

- 1.5 mt of red brocade for bodice and sleeves

- 5 mt of burgundy velvet for skirt and train

- 2.5 mt of golden trim

I started measuring myself following the patten instructions, but then - alas - I discovered the bodice was too big to be a size 12. Cutting out the pattern is always the funnier part of the whole job, and I finished to cut it after a couple of minutes. I stitched together the bodice parts and the gauntlets but I had to made them tighter because of their size (so I would say to follow your own size with this pattern, because "bigger is better" is not the best choice!). Then I stopped this project since I couldn't find an appropriate fabric for the skirt. I had a beautiful burgundy velvet fabric at home but it wasn't enough for the skirt, even without train. After several months I could finally buy 6 metres of velvet from an online shop at an affordable price and so I started to work on the dress immediately. 

After cutting the skirt and train I spent a while attaching it to the bodice. The skirt seemed really big for my bust but - surprise! - I was wrong! After doing some ruffles on the back I could definitely see the shape of the gown, and I stitched all together with the sewing machine. 

The trim took me almost a week to be sewed by hand with the backstitch, it was very heavy and the brocade didn't help. So after sewing it on the bodice I started to sew the zip on the back. I've to admit I used the sewing machine for bodice and skirt only, I find hand sewing more relaxing and "homemade". 

It was the turn of the gauntlets. I applied the trim and then, at last, I did the eyelets cutting a small hole with the découpage scissors. I spent some hours sewing their borders always by hand. Luckily the dress didn't need a huge hem and I just had to cut some cm at the front skirt. The last touch have been the red ribbons to keep the gauntlets attached to the bodice.

And that's the dress on during a shooting!