1910s walking dress (revisited)

Available on Etsy: HERE

A project from a couple of months ago, at the beginning of the spring. I had to attend a Belle Epoque picnic in Turin in the city center, so I needed a dress elegant and practical at the same time. I didn't want to spend money on a new dress so I decided to restyle an old Edwardian/Titanic era dress I had in my wardrobe. Made in 2014 and restyled the first time in 2015, the dress was actually wearable despite its technical issues but it needed a massive, new restyling. You can read about the two previous makeovers here. 

I basically left it unaltered as it was made in 2015 but I remade the hem (the skirt was too long), the back pleats and the inner seams, including all the serging. I also removed the macrame lace and went for some velvet ribbons, all hand sewn.

And some photos of the event...

And the dress in motion!

It was cloudy and rainy so I wore my 1910s velvet coat. 

The flower under the bust is a tribute to Paul Poiret, plus it's part of my brand's name! The dress form does not give justice to the gown, which looks better on the real body. Unfortunately I still dislike how the skirt falls on the back, plus the neckline is really too low behind the neck BUT despite this, is still a lovely costume I'm planning to wear for another couple of times. I still have to make proper photos with it on so let's keep in touch! 

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! 

Titanic Era - Downton Abbey dress revisited

Maybe some of you may remember my first Edwardian outfit ever. It was done using Simplicity #8399, the famous (now out of print) pattern released when "Titanic" came out in 1997. So, I already wrote a lot about the pattern in this previous post and now, after two years, I've been able to work again on this costume to improve it. I worked - and trained - a lot since then, so yeah, now I can consider myself an intermediate sewist; I couldn't stand the view of those mistakes anymore, mistakes committed when I was new to historical costuming. Sewing takes time, and practice. Lot of practice. You can't imagine how much you can learn project after project. 

So I took that costume out of my closet and looked at it carefully. A mess. Totally a mess. Some edges weren't hemmed before putting the lace (whaaat?), the seams weren't serged (I didn't own one at that time) and frayed a lot, the back was gathered and not pleated. 

(Sewists screams out there) Ok, now breath. 

I didn't take photos before the massive restyling, I was too ashamed. I held my seam ripper and starting to remove all that ugliness from my costume. I always wanted something simple with it 'cause I find the fabric really elegant as it is, so I put all my Titanic - Downton Abbey memories together to start figuring how the dress would have been. I went for a very simple satin binding around the edges of the overdress, completely sewn by hand 'cause it had to be perfect. After that and serging the raw edges I worked on the skirt: the Simplicity model looks more a Regency gown than a late Edwardian dress (ok, the Empire Revival was all the rage at that time but we all know the fitted gowns of 1912-1914 with their columnar shapes right?) so I pleated the back of the overdress with deep, very deep box pleats to allow a tighter fit. It worked perfectly, as you can see:

Then I started to work on the dress itself, which I didn't own before. It's made of a pale black - charcoal grey soft and thin cotton, a perfect match with the overdress. I used the same pattern pieces for bodice and skirt but the skirt has been altered according to my underbust to fit tight; I have very large natural hips so the columnar shape doesn't look good on my body and I've been forced to let the skirt falling gently with a wider hem. The bodice neckline and armholes have been faced with some cotton bias tape but - due to the non-stretchy nature of the cotton - I got some ugly wrinkles. Not a great problem since I'd cover that part with the overdress. 

The sash is made of cotton and black bias tape, I wanted to use a more classy satin ribbon (with looot of train) but unfortunately it wasn't wide enough to cover the very high bodice seam. 

The final touch: a fabric flower (do you remember the red flower Rose wears on her belt when she sees Jack for the first time?).

And so this the completed costume. I still have to wear it for a photoshoot but I took some fully dressed photos for my Instagram account. What do you think? It looks definitely a more professional product if you compare it with the first version. 

A thing I learned in these years: never, never throw your old creations away! Re-use what you already have, improve it if you can or what you can, sell them or gift them but never, never throw them away. I know, unstitching is a long process and requires attention, especially when working with sheer or delicate fabrics, but I prefer to give a new life to things than wasting them - especially when you're on a budget. Believe me, sometimes this is the best way to see how much your/our skills improved and to understand where and what you need to do better. 

Edwardian dress diaries

Hello folks! Finally I have some spare time to write a new entry!

Some weeks ago we had a lovely sunny day here in Italy and after taking some classical shots I could come back home to wear my Edwardian outfit! I started to sew a year ago and this is my second Edwardian inspired ensemble. I know it's not 100% accurate (as my other costumes) but I don't have advanced skills and my budget is quite small. I used Simplicity pattern n.8399 as the previous Edwardian/Titanic era costume I sewed (full tutorial here: http://daniellefiore.blogspot.it/2014/05/titanic-downton-abbey-inspired-dress.html) but with some differences: I decided to avoid the open overdress as in the previous one since it looked too much Regency at my eyes due to the huge back (it needs lot of pleats). With this one I did pleats on the back trying to make it more fitting, but I think it's still too large on the hips. 

The fabric is soft grey striped satin cotton with a black satin ribbon laced on the backunder the bust. The lace is the part I love at most: I found it at the local market at a very cheap price! I simply love how it falls on the arms. I know the hat is not Edwardian but I still have to find one. As jewels I wore a pearl parure without rings or bracelets. They cannot be visible but I was wearing a pair of black leather boots (for a good pair of Edwardian shoes check American Duchess out, her creations are awesome!). And now the parasol: it's a truly vintage piece from 50 years ago and it completes the look perfectly with all that white lace.

 

I didn't take so much photos during the construction - I'm so sorry - but it's the same of the previous costume. I uploaded some photos on my Instagram account, anyway: 

 

 

The fabric is really soft and smooth, a pleasure to work with! The only problem is it need lot of ironing before being worn.

Other shots from the day: 

I really enjoyed the walk with the costume, I wore it during an historical fair as well and some people asked me where they could find a dress like this :3 I was pleased because they were all surprised I'm a beginner costumer and seamstress *pride&joy*
I'm planning to sew other Edwardian costumes in the future, I'm in love with the swimdress worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic so who knows...maybe I'll try to reproduce that one.

All my costumes can be purchased on my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ilfiorenero
I hope you'll have some minutes to visit it!

*Updates September 2015*
I stitched again this dress, giving it a more elegant shape. The skirt has been hemmed in a better way and I added a black trim at the bottom. Every seam has been serged (no lining due to lack of budget). The lace has been sewn completely by hand.
The costume is listed on my Etsy shop and it's ready to be shipped! :)