Edwardian jumper dress and tucked blouse (1900-1905)

Finally I can talk about this dress! Before we start, I have to add I didn't draft it by my own but I used a gorgeous pattern by Black Snail Patterns for both dress and blouse; I was out of time to draft a new dress and blouse by myself so I cheated, using the pattern as guide for the main pieces and making my own alterations. 

The dress shown in the pattern is very similar to the afternoon dress I planned to make for Venice and shown in PoF 2 by Janet Arnold. Alas, I spent too much time on my 1840s tartan dress and had a very little time to make another frock before leaving. I already had fabric and trim in stash so I could start the work on the dress very quickly; the description says it's a jumper dress, an informal garment worn in summer time with a simple shape, worn over a blouse and a belt. Due to its loose shape it doesn't require a corset so it was perfect for the long and hard day in Venice. Wearing a corset for the whole day was out of question. I wanted to live the day as much as I could without feeling restricted in my Edwardian corset. A simple boned belt would have worked perfectly, and it did. 

The dress is worn over my usual Edwardian layers (petticoat, ruffled corset cover ecc ecc) minus the corset. 

In the following pics I'm wearing a vintage fur, an antique brooch and parasol, vintage gloves and a self made new hat, covered in black cotton and with a vintage birdcage veil.

The construction was really simple. No lining required so measure carefully before cutting your fashion fabric: there's no room for error! The bodice went together really easily: the sleeves and collar have a self facing, the bottom is gathered to get the "pigeon breast" of the era and attached to a waistband. I changed the way the skirt is pleated. The pattern calls for box pleating and top stitching, which I disliked. I moved all the pleats to the back to have smooth hips and volume in my derriere. I also used snaps instead of buttons and buttonholes to close the bodice because I didn't want to get crazy with buttonholes (I don't find sleeves hard as many costumers out there but I find buttonholes really frustrating!!). The skirt and the waistband close with hooks over a placket. Hem, sleeves and collar were trimmed in black to hide the top stitching. That's all.

The pigeon breast is obtained once the dress is on, using the belt as a firm base to hold the gathers in place. 

Before making the dress of course I made the blouse. Very easy construction here as well, if you already know how to make an Edwardian blouse and tucks you're half done. The pattern calls for chest tucks, collar tucks and sleeve ruffle tucks and the chest ones need to be self drafted using the guidelines included in pattern instructions. It took a while but nothing endless. I omitted the lace insertions since there was no time at all. The sleeves have an inner tape to be fitted at the elbow. I find them a little bit long for my arms so next time I will make them shorter. The rest was absolutely perfect, as it was drafted for me! Forgot to mention I used a size 12 for both blouse and dress. 

The blouse looks absolutely gorgeous also without the dress, paired with a simple skirt as I did for this photoshoot. 

Making the Kyoto Costume Institute striped jacket pt.2 (1790s)

After two years I did it. The KCI striped jacket is finished! If you are an old follower of this blog you probably read part 1 of this process, concerning the first steps of patterning. Alas, I never managed to finish this jacket and the toile I made remained in my stash for a long time. I had everything - the fabric, the buttons, the pattern - but I didn't feel ready to work on it, probably because the fabric was no longer available for purchase and there was no room for error. 

But I'm so glad I waited. My body changed too much in two years and my skills improved. 

The first thing I made was to work again on the mock up, draping it on the dress form according to my new measures. The back was still perfect (just a little bit of room at sides) but the front was way too big. I ended up in taking approx 6 cm on both front pieces! I also had to alter sleeves lining, which were too roomy in biceps area. After this, I could start to work on the fashion fabric. 

The construction was really straightforward. I lined collar pieces with fashion fabric instead of using scalloped scissors (my cotton frayed too much), pressed them and basted; then I sewed lining and fabric together leaving a small gap at the back to turn everything right side out. Not a HA sewing technique but its gives a clean and fast finish, if you press it properly after. I made the same with the sleeves, basting cuffs to the fashion fabric and joining the fabric and lining at wrists. Armholes were then serged. Again, not HA but all my costumes have modern finish inside to last in time.  

Just some notes about the cuffs. They are not functional. There's no need to button them because they match perfectly my  wrists but buttons can be added as decoration; I decided to leave them off for now since the original garment doesn't have button in sleeves. 

Waiting for front collar pieces...

Then buttonholes. Again, like in the cuffs, just a row of buttons is functional. Sewing all the buttons took a while, they had to be sewn at a specific distance to look specular and the functional row deserved more attention since my figure is not perfectly symmetrical. 

The last step has been the decorative sash, made out of light blue cotton sateen I had in my stash from ages. Last but not least the wig. My hair are naturally curly but way too long to be styled, so after a long wait I decided to use a wig

And it was done! After the first complete fitting, I could look at my new creation with a more critical eye and noticed my hip pad is too big for a late 18th century figure. The jacket looks better if worn without skirt supports, allowing the multiple skirt layers to do their job. This means I have two make at least two new skirts to balance the absence of the hip pad (I cannot use the red one shown in photos since it would be too long at back...) which could be a good excuse to use some beautiful silk crepe I have purchased recently. Or muslin. Or cotton voile. Still have to decide.