1815 Ball Gown

So, as some of you will recall, my January: Foundations entry was 1815 undergarments for a ball gown, which was to be worn on Valentines Day at a Regency ball here in Halifax. The ball was Saturday evening, and as of 4 am on Friday morning, my gown looked like this:

Promising, right?

There was some discussion on my facebook page as to whether or not I would get it done (I'm pleased to report that people seemed to have faith in me), and although I determined that I would, I knew that it would likely be without sleep. But hell if I was going to miss the only regency event before I leave Nova Scotia, especially after putting so much work into the ensemble already!

I put the bodice away at this point and got 2.5 hours of sleep before a full day of classes on Friday. I stitched much of the skirt during lectures and at singing practice, and when I got home around midnight I still had a couple of skirt seams and the cartridge pleating to do before I could even attach it to the bodice, let alone think about sleeves or a hem. Part of what was taking so long is that the sheer and fragile silk prevented me from leaving seams unfinished, even for one event.

I worked through the night along with my roommate Breeze, who was also making her gown (by machine, which was smarter - but I can't bring myself to machine sew historical stuff, especially when the fabric is nice). By about 11 am the skirt was on and both sleeves were finished and set in. We went to the mall to get flats for the event, since neither of us had period or even period-ish shoes, and hurried home as fast as we could. I put on everything and we marked my hem. By now it was about 3:00, and we had to be ready by about 4:45. I pinned the gold binding around the hem while Breeze curled my hair and put her own into a bun. Then I put the gown aside and we used just about every bobby pin in the house to do each other's hair. At 4:45 we packed everything up - just in time, because our ride was out front.

On the way to the event I stitched my hem, and the gown was finished.

It is made of a sheer white striped silk organza base, with figured stripes of gold silk cut from a larger length of silk organza as trim. It's completely hand-stitched using silk thread, with lapped seams on the bodice and felled seams on the skirt, and a cartridge-pleated CB section. There's a linen lining in the bodice for strength, and linen tape to lace it up the back.

It is worn over a cotton chemise, cotton short stays, a cotton petticoat, and a cotton drop-front undergown (see my January: Foundations post for these).

Here are some photos taken at the event by Dianne Grant:

 

My back hem got a little hiked up here - woops! It is actually level...

I'm so proud of Breeze's hair! And she did an awesome job on mine.

I'm wearing the gown with vintage ivory kid gloves and a lot of pearls (and we won't mention the shoes ever again). Oh - and fun silk clocked stockings (from AD) which only show when I'm dancing, or when Breeze and I are being silly.

The evening was wonderful! In the 72 hours before the event, I spent only 2.5 hours sleeping, but somehow I had energy to dance and enjoyed myself very much. The excellent food, researched and made by some wonderful NSCC (I think?) students, perked me up a bit too.

The Regency skirt-hike, or "wedgie pose"

Here are some close-ups of the gown fabric, and of the eyelets in back (which are covered by trim but which are all nicely bound in silk thread and deserve a photo).

Okay so I don't actually have any close-ups. But they exist! And they're tiny and even! =P

At the end of the night, it took about 10 minutes to extricate all the bobby pins from each other's hair, and no wonder:

I will leave you with this stunningly elegant piece of admirable decorum, in the form of a selfie taken at the ball:

We would do so well in the Regency.

And now I'm working on my entry for February's challenge, "Blue," which is a new 1860s corset! Updates on that soon; I'm still in the fiddling-with-the-pattern stage.

HSF January: Regency Foundations

If you've just arrived to the HSM-nee-F party and aren't sure what's going on, you'll find a button on my sidebar which will take you to the page for the Historical Sew-Monthly (formerly the Historical Sew-Fortnightly) on Leimomi's blog 'The Dreamstress.' It's great fun!

January's challenge was "Foundations," and I'm only a couple of days late! Well, four...but the stays and petticoat were both done by the second week of January, and the undergown was done on time except for one of the hem tucks and the sleeves; I just didn't have a chance to get photos until this morning. But anyways, here it all is.

I interpreted 'foundations' fairly literally, as I made all the undergarments necessary for my 1815 ball gown, which needs to be ready by the 14th of this month (sdkjfkdsjf!!!). However, these garments also provide the 'foundation' for a whole new era in my wardrobe, as I have never done early 19th century before. To this end, I made each of the garments quite versatile, and able to cover everything from around 1800-1830. Everything is hand-stitched, and made as accurately as possible.

The Challenge: Foundations

Fabric: Mostly cotton, of several types and weights.

Pattern: All my own patterns, draped based on museum garments and with some pattern-shape cues from Janet Arnold.

Year: 1800-1830, but for my current purposes, 1815. The stays and petticoat are the most versatile; the undergown is best suited to around 1810-1830, as it is quite stiff and full.

Notions: Cable ties for boning the stays and the lacing panels on the undergown, a wooden paint stick busk, some hooks and eyes on the petticoat, and a bunch of cotton twill tape.

How historically accurate is it? Around 90%, I think. All the patterns are accurate and based on museum garments, the fabrics are accurate, everything is made of natural fibers, and I stitched everything by hand, but the boning is plastic and I did use polyester thread because I hate sewing with cotton and I didn't have any linen fine enough.

Hours to complete: I never keep track. Not as long as I expected, actually. But a while.

First worn: Only to take photos. But it will be worn on the 14th of February!

Total cost: The undergown is around 3 yards of mercerized cotton at $5/yard, the petticoat is 2 yards of muslin at $2/yard, and the stays are entirely stash fabric. The paint stick was hanging out in my basement, the cable ties are from my considerable selection of various weights and widths, the hooks and eyes and thread were all stash, and the cotton twill tape was purchased for about $10 altogether. So for the entire set, around $29 Canadian. Pretty good!

And here are some photos!

Stays - began stitching December 27, finished in the first week of January.


I put a blog post up about the short stays and the petticoat about a week ago, so you can click back a couple of entries if you want to see worse photos but more information on those. =)

Right now I'm being lazy and just posting the pages from my portfolio, because they're all nice and formatted with the best photos, but if you're curious about construction photos or shots of the insides, please do let me know and I'm happy to post a few!

Petticoat - began stitching in the first week of January, and finished about four days later.

The bodice is double-layered, and the skirt is a single, very sheer layer.





















These photos are from a photoshoot I did with my friend Greta, who was lovely enough to come over and take good photos for me even though she's super busy. I'm afraid the photos of the undergown are not nearly so nice.

Undergown - began stitching about half way through January, and finished yesterday. Made of 3 or 4 yards of mercerized cotton (I actually can't remember how much...woops). Drop-front construction with lacing under the bib and a tucked hem. Hand-stitched. Made so it can be worn under both day and evening gowns. This was my first ever attempt at the bib-front construction, and although there are a couple of things I would change next time, I'm pretty happy with it.

Below, you can see a close-up of the front when all done up (sorry for having the tie in front; I had no one to help me and I can't get it tight enough behind my own back), and a photo of just the lacing under the bib done up, with all the other pieces and ties hanging loose. First the back piece wraps forward, and the twill ties go through little thread loops along the bottom of the bodice to tie at center front. Then the front comes up, the bib gets pinned through all the layers at the top (I pin it right through to the stays straps to keep everything in place), the ties go through more little thread loops along the back bodice edge, and tie (usually) at center back.



Overall, I'm quite happy with everything. I guess the true test will be in 10 days, when I put the finished ball gown over top of everything...

Regency Progress

Well, all three of my dear followers, you get another post.

Last night I finished my Regency bodiced petticoat and took some photos. They're really horrible quality photos, due to my not owning a better camera than the one in my phone, but you'll get an idea, at least.

This is a continuation of the HSF's January "Foundations" challenge, and is part of the ensemble for the 1815 ball gown (Deadline for that: February 13).

The bodiced petticoat is loosely based on this one, from the Met (left), although I did not slavishly recreate it. My fabric was cotton gauze, instead of stiffer linen, and I wanted the waistline low enough that it will allow for a slim-fitting gown in front (ie, no extra fabric there to force the skirts outwards - I want them to hang close to the waist for as long as they can) but contribute to volume in the back (ie, lots of pleats). I also ignored the tucks at the bottom, because I didn't have enough yardage, and the lace, because I don't really have time for extra bits right now. However, overall, the construction and shape are the same as the museum piece. It's more a corset cover than anything; the gauze is too flimsy to do much in the way of shaping the heavier fabrics that will go over top. My underdress will have a stronger constitution, with a slightly higher waistline and tucks for bottom volume.


Anyways, here it is, worn over my new short stays and my *cough*1850s-60s*cough* chemise. Again, sorry for the awful photo quality, and also for the black pants underneath - it's all a bit see-through.

It's held together with a tie at the back waist and two sets of hooks and eyes. The original has self-fabric buttons, by the looks of things, but hooks and eyes have less bulk and I really didn't fancy the prospect of making buttons out of the gauze.

 The back panel is 30-some inches wide with a little placket at CB, and all that length is pleated into the space between the two side-back seams, so lots of volume there. I also went with a pretty deep V in back because I'm not yet sure how low the back neckline of my ball gown will be.

This petticoat could work for 1820s or even early 1830s gowns, too, which is nice. I like versatility in my foundation pieces.

On to the undergown!

Looking Ahead to 2015, and 1815 ball gown plans

Well, since I've begun here by posting what I completed in 2014, I might as well add what I'm planning on doing in 2015. These posts are always fun to put together, but I find they usually fall apart about a month later when life intervenes or a new event is announced and suddenly you're sewing new things you'd never even planned on and everything else has gone out the window.

That's what happened two months ago, actually, when I heard about the Regency Ball on Valentines Day. I've never done Regency before, so the 1840s gown I've been working on had to go on hold. In light of this, the Regency gown and the 1840s will be the first two things on my list for this year, and they're definites: I have the fabric and I've begun working on them. The Regency ensemble nicely fits into the HSF's January challenge, Foundations, since I started working on my stays over Christmas and have to make every other type of foundation before February 14. The copper 1840s gown would fit really nicely with one of the challenges this fall, Brown, but I'd really like to have it done before then...


The Real List

- 1815 white and gold silk Regency ball gown, plus cotton undergown, modified shoes, and other accoutrements

- 1850s-ish (might become an 1860s) corset to replace the Lavinia H. Foy 1868 patent corset I made years ago, which has finally given out. I really need to stop wearing my 1890s corset with earlier stuff. And I'd rather not finalize my 1840s-50s bodice pattern until I have a proper corset to go under it.

- 1840s copper silk-cotton day dress with removable sleeves and additional pelerines for wearing as a slightly-behind-the-times-Rural-Ontario dress for the 1850s-60s. The waistlines are quite different for these periods, but based on some of the more rural day dresses I've seen it's not impossible to have a plain gown that, with, interchangeable berthas, pelerines, and sleeves, could be reasonable for each decade.


The Wish List

- A light blue Edwardian girl's dress for regular wearing for HSF February (Blue). If anyone's seen Tin Man, I'm thinking something a little like Young Azkadellia's dress from the Finaqua scenes, but with some influence from Little Red's dress in the new Into the Woods
- An 18th century quilted petticoat, finally (I've been planning this for two years now and it still hasn't happened)
- Edwardian corset from "hearts" patent
- Edwardian lace tea gown (I actually have part of a bolt of lace for this - I just don't have time for it right now)
- 1830s day dress for the Lowell Mill sew-along going on on facebook right now
- Something for each of the HSF challenges
- The 5 or 6 other corsets I've been eyeing (hah)
- A black wool and velvet English fitted gown from the mid/late 16th century - but now we're really getting into the "wishful" category.

I'll post more on the other projects as I get to them, but for now, here's a look at the 1815 project.


The 1815 Ball Gown

The gown is loosely inspired by this one, on display at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto in their "Fashion Victims" exhibit:

However, it will be more closely based on these, which have the diagonal details on the bodice and various incarnations of stripes:

 <--- Silk gauze dress, 1806-1809. The main body and sleeves of my gown will be in a white sheer silk organza with the same teensy little opaque dimity stripes - they're about 1/16th of an inch wide.

<--- This is what I'm basing my bodice off of. It's blue pleats with tiny little folds of white silk net inserted between each pleat and sewn down. My inserts will be strips of figured gold silk organza, inspired by the figured gold silk edges on the gown in the Bata.












               --->
This is a white and gold silk gown from 1804-1814, held at the Met. It has the sort of stiff fabric and slim fit in front which I am aiming for (although it's hard to tell when it's laid out flat because the pleats in the back push the skirt out to the sides).

Above, left, is a fashion plate for a bridal dress from 1816. Ackermann. More little white-on-white stripes!

Above, middle, is a French evening gown from 1815, worn by Empress Josephine. This has the lower waistline which I prefer, and will be mimicking. No heavy beading and pearls for me, though, alas.

Above, right, is a striped silk dress from 1815, held at the Nordiska Museet. Stripes!

And finally, right, a fashion plate for a ball gown from 1819, this one not only striped but also sporting a stiff silk organza skirt. This one still has quite a high bodice, which is unusual for such a late gown. I will be ignoring that part of the design. =P


So, that's the plan for my Regency gown. White/sheer and gold silks with vertical woven-in stripes in the main fabric and diagonal gold pleats in the bodice. I have finished the stays and have only one more hook and eye to add to the bodiced petticoat. I'll buy fabric for the undergown tomorrow, drape it on Saturday (if I can drag my butt to the studio), and begin stitching asap. I have all my silks, and exactly one month from yesterday until the ball. Crossing my fingers that this is enough!