A floral Regency short gown and skirt

 Hi everyone!

Long time has gone since the last post...and I feel like we've missed a lot. I moved to another region, changed my job (I'm no longer a full time historical costumer alas...but I'm always employed in the sewing industry...), got married and changed a little my focus on historical reenactment introducing new eras (like 17th century) and putting apart some (18th century).

But let's try to start again. I have updated my "19th century" archive right now and noticed that despite the lack of time, I managed to make something new. The floral short gown is one of the few things I made and it has a special meaning to me as I made right after the loss of Furio, my beloved tuxedo cat passed at the end of August 2023. 

First of all, what's a short gown?

Short gown is a sort of jacket worn during late 18th century and early Empire/Regency era (I'm Italian so I should talk of Empire fashion though...) which is perfect for informal and/or working occasions. As the name suggests, the short gown is...short, though the lengths may vary according to fashion trends and purposes. Short gowns were often made in linen, wool and cotton and feature a drawstring closure at neckline and lower bust, some had a separate front lining and some not. I made mine in late 18th century style with a separate lining that crosses over the bust and my stays and a moderately high waistline. Plain, prints, and stripes were all very popular and sleeves came also in several shapes from short to long. My favourite is the 3/4 length. 

Some extant examples...

I wanted this project to be fast and low budget. Very low budget. I'm trying to use my stash instead of buying new stuff so I used what I had on hand...I'm sure you recognized this.

Sounds familiar?

It is! The famous Ikea duvet made it again! I had several left overs from my robe à l'anglaise which were enough to make a jacket or a small bodice so here there we go...

The construction was pretty much straightforward, I basically used my round gown pattern for bodice and sleeves and used a simple rectangle to make the skirts; I used machine stitching inside and hand finish outside as usual. I planned to wear it with my frilled chemisette but the weather was too hot. I left sleeves unlined to stay cooler and I'm so glad I did. 

                                          

                                           

                                           

I didn't take photos of the skirt but it has the classic trapezoidal shape with cotton straps. 

Some close ups...

A hat was mandatory...

Caught on the job by FotoDidi

My not impressed face in 36°C heat...

A classic mirror selfie before heading to the camp...

 And that's all for now.

I wish I had took more detailed photos of the inside of the jacket but I didn't have the chance to wear it again as my presence in Empire reenactment is quite low at the moment...

I hope you'd happy to read from me again and found inspired enough to make your own short gown! 

Regency dress "Boston", museum replica

Let me introduce this project. First of all, I've never been into Regency era. Oh well, yes, I've been, but never so much passionate; I prefer more fitted clothes, more structure and more volume. Yes, Empire gowns are extremely comfortable, easy to make and budget friendly (if you're going to make a day dress), look good on smaller body types like mine and are good friends in the summer heat but...they miss something. I don't know how to describe this feeling, I always feel like I missed something at home when I wear an Empire dress, probably because it looks like a modern dress rather than an historical one. 

Then I made Boston... and everything changed. 

Boston is not the he first Empire dress I made after an extant dress (read about the MoMu dress here) but it has something special. 

The weeks before the event in Marlia (Tuscany) I felt really down. There were high expectations from this event and my mind started to suffer; I felt like all my dresses were absolutely wrong, badly made, poor and miserable, all my patterns useless. I had too much pressure. The more my work goes on and the more I expect from me and my dresses. They have to fit in a certain way and have to be finished in THAT way; I would never, never go to an event with a machine sewn hem or a wrong fabric, I try to take care of every detail. So I feel really disappointed, sad and gloomy. I wanted to stay at home that weekend to work on other stuff. I also forgot to mention the dress I planned to wear (which now fits again!) was too heavy for the heat wave we had in September and my short sleeved green dress wouldn't have been a great replacement. So frustrating. 

Than my boyfriend decided to take me to the fabric store three days before the event. He wanted me to go because I needed that break away from home (and he was right). At first I refused; I was out of time to make a dress (I had to leave on Saturday morning and we were on Wednesday...) and had no ideas about. Then I walked into the fabric store and found this. The perfect fabric. Striped cotton sateen in burgundy. I  made a quick research on Google and Pinterest and found an extant dress at MFA Boston. It is more 1815 but our event was set in 1810s so it would have been perfect!

And so Boston was going to be made...

I had everything: a pattern, plain cotton for lining, buttons for the back closure, thread in matching colour and a lovely black velvet belt. I immediately pre-washed the fabric and luckily it dried quickly. The bodice was cut and assembled the same day, skirt and sleeves the day after so that I had the dress finished on Friday. I still ask myself how I did...but I did! And it was a success. Trust me, I never got so many compliments like on this gown! 

I altered a little the design of the dress to fit my pattern and I used buttons instead drawstring as fastening. There was no time at all to draft another model. The original dress has also detachable sleeves but unfortunately I don't have enough fabric to make them. 

And now the photos...

The original dress on the left

A success. The colour of my fabric is really vibrant and bright as shown in the photos, the stripes are of the same width of the original dress and so the sleeves. As told before I had to change some small details like omitting the piping and the ribbon at the back, but it's not a big issue. 

I got so many beautiful pics at the event, not like last year (when I was wearing an anonymous brown caraco some of you may remember - now sold). I'm so happy with this outfit I decided to offer copies of it on my Etsy shop! 

Other photos of the real Boston.... 

The detachable sash...

...and the detachable sleeves! 

Making a red open robe from "Patterns of Fashion" by Janet Arnold, pt.1

And here we are! After months of planning I can finally start to work on my open robe. I'll use the famous pattern in Janet Arnold book "Patterns of Fashion 1". I read a lot of tutorials on the web before getting involved in this project because you know, curved pleats are not so common and I read some contradictory opinions about. Some costumers consider it easy, others not at all. I was a little bit scared at first but then I realized I would have sewn them by hand so with more control than using a sewing machine. 

The pattern:

And the original garment in V&A museum: 

Some details:

- Length from CB to floor is approx 174 cm, which works great for me

- Underbust circumference is approx 87 cm, another great measure for me 

- Bodice lined in linen

Last month my group (Le vie del tempo) started a series of events set in the very late 1790s, so I had the occasion to make a Directoire dress. I always loved the look of open robes so I decided to make one as soon as possible to add a touch of elegance to my costume; I obviously started with a research and I found nice examples both in fashion plates and extant garments: 

I  immediately fell in love with the red one (and yes, red is my favourite colour!!) so I went to my local fabric store to purchase some beautiful bright red cotton cretonne. I will make mine sleeveless because I love how the elbow sleeves of my dress turned out. 

First of all my boyfriend scanned and printed out the pattern. I traced it onto paper marking all the lines and the pleats and in less then 20 minutes I was done. I put the paper pieces onto the dress form and realized then the bust was slightly small (My back shoulder width is huge despite having a small bust) so I added an extra 5 cm to the pieces to fit. And that's all I did! Now I have to do a mock up and see how the whole thing fits on the real body. 

Thanks for reading! 

A Regency red cotton Spencer (19th century)

It's Easter today so this means I'm having a break from sewing projects (believe me, it's a rare event!) and a break means..blog! Yay! I have a lot to write because the past weeks have been extremely rich in events and creations so don't waste time and let's start. 

The first creation I want to introduce you it's a simple red cotton Regency spencer. I already made a spencer with a very late 18th century look last year and this time I wanted to replicate with a more 19th century feeling. I used Sense&Sensibility pattern (no time to draft something by my own) using a red pique cotton I had in my stash. I used the double breasted option with self fabric buttons. So lovely!

The revers are made of black linen, all from stash. The lining is cotton. I had some problems with the sleeve gathers but we'll talk about this later.

The body of the spencer fitted perfectly at the first attempt (considering the bulk of the dress and undergarments I chose a size 14) and I couldn't be happier! The instructions are really easy to follow but must be read carefully. The back has a perfect diamond shape with dropped shoulders and the front is shaped by darts. 

The cap of the sleeves is gathered in the back so that there's enough space for movement and wearing ease. To be honest I dislike this position because I think they give a bulky look but I can live with it; next time, however, I'll make a classic straight sleeve. The sleeves themselves also have a strange shape but they were definitely easier to put in position that the ones in the red crossover dress. 

The wrists have a sleeve band with fabric button and buttonhole. I'm so glad I decided to put them, they're really useful to keep the sleeves up and in place. 

The facing was really quick and easy. Since it wouldn't be shown I hemmed it by machine. The whole item is machine sewn inside but with outer finishing (buttonholes excluded). I hemmed the sleeves and the lower portion of the spencer by hand. 

I decided to add this garment on my Etsy shop as made to order item.

I also recorded a making-of video, you can find it on my Youtube channel! 

A Regency crossover gown

Last month I started to use the S&S patterns my bf gifted me at Christmas and with an incoming event approaching, I decided to make a new dress using some old Ikea fabric in my stash. I really liked the idea of a crossover/wrap gown, definitely different from my other drawstring dresses. I loved the fact to have a front opening dress with pleats at the front, definitely something eye-catching. So I went for "The Elegant Lady's closet" pattern.

Before proceeding with the post, I'd like to say something to beginners. The instructions for this pattern are not so simple as they seem. The bodice calls for a separate lining (not the easiest thing to understand for people not involved in historical costuming...), an extra skirt layer (the easiest addition), dropped shoulders with sleeves set in the back. Trust me, these are not so immediate steps for a beginner. I would recommend to avoid the separate lining and proceed with a basic one (so using the front pieces of the bodice as guide) and to do a mock up of the sleeves before cutting the final fabric. I basted, stitched, ripped  the sleeves various times before getting a clear idea of where they have to sit - especially for the seam. Where's the seam? At the side? At the back? At the front, as in 18th century? A mystery. I placed my seam on front but I'm really not happy. 

Mark everything when transferring the pattern onto the fabric and things should go easily. I also recommend to add the extra skirt layer on the front to avoid a gap while sitting or moving; you should obviously wearing a petticoat underneath but a white gap in a coloured dress (like mine) it's not so fashionable so why make economy for a extra yard of fabric only?

I also avoided the self fabric binding, binding the upper edges with black bias tape to create some contrast. I have seen something similar in a fashion plate of the time.
The skirts are put together using french seams, while the upper edges have been serged. Every hem and the binding is hand sewn. 

Despite these things, the pattern is really easy to put follow. At first I wanted to gather my front pieces but I realized it would have been really bulky so I followed the instructions making the pleats. Much better! My dress closes from left to right, I founded it easier being left-handed. It closes with a pin at the front but I will add some hooks and eyes for more support. 

The back fits tight so measure yourself carefully before cutting the fabric. Chemise, stays and petticoat add some cm to your measurements. 

I matched the dress with the brand new chemisette I made always from S&S and the outfit was so cute! Unfortunately we didn't took many photos during the event due to the bad light but we'll take new shots in two weeks when we'll be again in Stupinigi!
Some photos on the dress form directly from my Etsy shop:

Les dames de chambre de Paolina Bonaparte à Turin, photo by @leledigitalartist.  #reenactment #reenacting #reenactors #rievocazione #rievocazionestorica #rievocazioni #regency #19thcentury #history #historylovers #livinghistory #stupinigi #visionidastupinigi #napoleon #storia #storiaitaliana #historicalcostume

Un post condiviso da Il Fiore Nero (Danielle Fiore) (@ilfiorenero_handmade) in data: 13 Feb 2017 alle ore 01:10 PST

19th century cotton chemisette

Last Christmas I have been gifted (squee!) with a full series of Regency patterns created by Jeannie of Sense & Sensibility. I came across their website ages ago, when looking for Titanic tea gowns patterns. At that time I didn't sew yet (we're talking about more than 10 years ago!) so I didn't pay too much attention to the full series of patterns they offered but - recently -  I changed my perspective. Usually I try to draft most of my patterns to save money and assure me a great fit (I have a weird body shape with small bust and very wide hips so not every commercial pattern fits me) but since I sew mostly for others, I rarely have the time to drape a customized pattern for myself. So, yeah, sometimes I choose the easiest way using a premade pattern. 

My boyfriend made me the best present ever, purchasing for me a whole series of Regency patterns: this collection includes undergarments, several dresses, purses, embroidery patterns and spencers. Oh my god. You cannot imagine how happy I was, my hands were absolutely scratching while looking at the pattern pieces. I HAD to try them asap! However, I had a very difficult January fighting against a bad ribs inflammation so I couldn't sew or cutting without feeling huge pain: this situation translated in a temporary closed shop on Etsy and a period of relax. I felt kinda down (being self-employed if I don't work I don't get paid...) and during one of these afternoon I decided to challenge my pain sewing a very small piece from these patterns: a chemisette! 

The Regency undergarments pattern includes two chemisettes, one with ruffled collar and another one with a pointed collar. I decided to make the first one with a flat ruffle. I used some sheer cotton I had in my stash plus some satin ribbon to close it. That's all. I made it all by hand excluded the shoulder seams, made by machine with a french seams.

A general overview with the dress on.

The chemisette came together really quickly, it was extremely easy to put together and it took me just a couple of days to be finished. In a normal health status I would have finished it in a day. I decided to avoid buttons or pins so I left the two part of the chemisette open, because there's enough overlap on the front to keep it closed when worn. 

This item is available on my Etsy shop in different standard sizes!  

Black linen spencer (1795-1805) from "Regency Women's Dress" by Cassidy Percoco

In August I turned 30. An important date, yes, so I decided this birthday deserved good self - gifts. After checking my Amazon wishlist I chose to buy two important books for my costuming activity: Regency Women's Dress: Techniques and Patterns 1800-1830 by Cassidy Percoco and Costume Close Up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790 by Linda Baumgarten.
They are two different books, referring to two different eras as the titles suggest: Regency era and 18th century. 

Let's start with the first one. After reading several reviews online, I decided to buy this book because I needed some Regency patterns to be drafted by my own. The book lacks of technical explanations about assembling the garments so I wouldn't recommend it to beginners or sewists used to commercial patterns (like Simplicity, just to tell one) but the patterns are really well drafted and easy to use thanks to the grid. I'm European so I use cm instead of inches but the grid made the conversion easier (a square = 1 inch = 2,5 cm). The pattern came out easily (I drafted it follow my measurements directly) and with very few alterations needed (ok, I've been lucky). 

I needed a spencer for my latest Regency event in Stupinigi. It had to be warm enough without being too heavy so I went for black linen and cotton lining. The spencer in the book dates around 1795 to 1805 so it refers to early Regency fashion with the typical curved sleeves. I did several alterations to the closure (the pattern calls for button and buttonholes mounted on two strings that keep the spencer closed on the front) and I closed it with a simple drawstring. The back seams are all piped and the whole thing is lined in cotton; the bottom of the garment is faced with black bias tape - all hand sewn. 

The neckline has two small lapels at sides and  a regular collar  - nothing hard here.

The worn garment:

Pros: 

- The pattern was really easy to be drafted 

- The linen and the cotton are really warm and comfortable on skin

- Black is a versatile colour I can use with all my Regency dresses

- The drawstring closure makes it unique (the linen keeps it in place)

- The back of the spencer ends with very nice small tails

Cons: 

- There are no images of the extant garment. This would have made things easier, especially for lapels and collar. 

- The illustration in the garment description are minimal  and not detailed

- I made the sleeves a little bit tighter in the upper arm and too large in the lower arm - my fault, I'm not a friend of curved sleeves and I need to practice

- The lapels need a brooch or some small stitches to stay in place when worn

I hope these small pros&cons may help some of you out there! Pay attention to sleeves and keep in mind to enlarge your pattern enough since you're making an outer garment that has to be worn over your regular clothes (don't make my mistake...).

Now the photos - I hope you'll enjoy them!

Some examples of fashion plates from the period (because references are everything):