Planning a purple 1912 dress with Butterick 6093

Hi everyone! Fall has finally come so it's time to think to incoming projects, such as heavier dress, coats and shawls. Awwwwwwww!! I love autumn so much! 

So, next week or so I will attend a vintage event set in different eras and my group will be involved into the 1800s and 1900s part; I decided it was the perfect occasion to make a new 1912 dress after getting such lovely commnts after my pink chiffon one. It seems you guys really like this style on me and I have to say it fits my body type kinda good (my hips are not of the same opinion lol).

I have been gifted of Butterick #6093 pattern for my birthday. It has been released a couple of years ago in their Retro line and I'm so happy to have it in my own collection. My boyfriend gifted me the complementary jacket pattern as well but I just had the time to look at the instructions so for the moment I won't talk about that. The envelope suggests two different layouts, a dress with single lapel, lace and long sleeves and a simpler one with collar, short sleeves, cuffs and double skirts. They're both lovely but I want a simple, practical dress to walk in. I chose view A but with a single overskirt. 

Before getting into the cutting stage, I obviously did a little bit of research. I wanted a purple dress from ages after finding a beautiful cotton at my local fabric store so I didn't have doubts about the colour of my dress. It seems purple was a popular colour back then and I found very lovely photos: 

Kent State University

Kent State University

Kent State University

Kyoto Costume Institute

V&A Museum

Oh look! Downton Abbey!

I will add black collar for contrast but I'm unsure about the cuffs. The white/purple version worn by Lady Sybil in DA is really lovely but being a gothic lady the black/purple combo is so fascinating! 

After looking at the photos I started to read online reviews. The Pragmatic Costumer has the most detailed and technical reviews for this pattern; she made several versions of this dress and she has been my bible for this project. The dress has a very slim, columnar shape of the skirts which is accurate but kinda impractical - especially if you have large hips like me. She suggested to chose 1 or 2 sizes bigger for the skirts and she was absolutely right! I measured the pattern and I immediately realized I could never, never, never step into my usual size. For the rest, the pattern instructions are really straightforward and easy to follow. 

The pattern is labelled as "easy". Nah. It's definitely not an easy pattern for beginners. You have to know how to install zippers or hooks and eyes, use facings, apply collars and linings, make gathers or pleats. Not the first steps in sewing. 

The dress is designed for lightweight fabrics like cottons or silks but I think a medium weight fabric would work good the same. My fabric is 100% cotton with white cotton lining in the bodice. 

And that's all for now! Now off to cutting! 

Thanks for reading!