CoCo Dress #2 - Teens Dress

So, dress number two is strictly in the planning stages at the moment, unless you count the fact that I've cut out and pinned together the mockup for my teens long line corset.

I have loved the 19teens for as long as I can remember. Movies like Titanic and shows like Downton Abbey have only encouraged that tiny little obsession. When deciding what outfits I wanted to plan for Costume College it wasn't difficult to decide on something from the teens. I love the high waists, slim column lines, and layering of silks and sheers.

Inspiration:

I have been obsessed with this 1910 blue afternoon dress from Augusta Auctions that I stumbled across on Pinterest a while ago.

1910 Blue Afternoon Dress - Augusta Auctions

Aqua silk satin - FIT Museum

I really love the look of the bright silks overlayed with sheer black. Normally black looks so...drab, mostly because historically speaking it's mostly been associated with mourning. But mixing it with brighter colors just balances everything nicely.

With that in mind, I browsed Ebay until I found the perfect sheer black dupatta with a subtle beading/sequin design along the short edges. I think it'll be perfect for an overlay.

I struggled for a while to decide what color I wanted as the underskirt. I was leaning toward blues, but my eye always gets caught by purple. I found this wonderful vintage silk saree on Ebay that is a great violet color that changes between purple and blue depending on the light.

I'm very excited for this dress, and I hope I can make my sketch come to life. It's just a basic design for now and I'll most likely embellish it a bit with some more beading and sequins.

The Bedroom Dress

My first project for Costume College 2018 is what I've come to call the bedroom dress. It's not anything you'd necessarily wear in the bedroom, more so...things you might find in a bedroom.

My underpetticoat and outer petticoat are made from bedsheets, and the bodice will be made from a curtain panel. Hence: The Bedroom Dress.

The underpetticoat was a simple cotton flat sheet I had recycled from a previously attempted curtain project. It was already cut out for the most part, so this weekend I pleated that baby up, stitched on a wasitband, and called it a day.

The outer petticoat is a beautiful heavier weight striped cotton bedsheet I've had for years. The only reason it made its way to my fabric pile is that the fitted sheet ripped in the corner. I tried to fix it but to no avail, it kept ripping and I finally gave up. I have a king sized bed so there's a lot of fabric there and I knew some day I'd make it into something.

Simplicity 8161 (photo sourced from PatternReview.com)

The pattern I'm using for this dress is Simplicity 8161, the Outlander dress pattern from American Duchess. I had already sewn up the undergarments pattern (Simplicity 8162) and decided to ease myself into this costume adventure with a pattern I already had. It's not the most historically accurate pattern, but I'll be using some of the HA pattern hacks released by American Duchess, as for the rest...well frankly, Scarlet, I just don't give a damn!


There are a few things I've changed to how I plan on sewing the pattern. I've omitted the neck ruffle from the chemise pattern, which I'll cover in a separate post later. As for the gown itself I'll be doing something more along the lines of View B, with the petticoat and separate bodice. Although, I will be adding a bit to the bottom portion of the bodice to give it a little something extra. I haven't decided 100% what I'll add, but in my sketch I've drawn it as tabs, but we'll see when I get to cutting out the mock up.

My colored pencil sketch of what the dress should look like

For the bodice I went with a red floral print. The fabric is a curtain panel by Waverly. I got the inspiration from Festive Attyre's Curtain Along project a few years ago, and was able to find the panel on Ebay.

Waverly Felicite curtains (photo sourced from Lowes.com)

Here are a couple of in progress photos from pleating the outer petticoat. Pro Tip: Pleating striped fabrics is SO AWESOME, no marking the fabric, just grab a stripe, fold and match. TADA!

Laying out the fabric and pleating away

Close up view of the pleats. Starting larger in the middle, and smaller towards the waist to center the fullness of the skirt at the hips to help fill them out.

Pinned to my dressform, all dressed in proper undergarments!

I'll post again when I start the bodice mock-up and start fitting that. So stay tuned!

Introduction!

So if you read my About Me page (if you haven't you should CLICK HERE) you know a little bit about how I got started sewing, and how I got into historical costuming.

If you'd prefer the abridged version its: I had a sewing machine. I have always loved historical dramas and their costumes. One day I bought a ticket to a Downton Abbey event, made a 1920's dress in 3 days, and fell in love.

I might as well blog about my bumbling journey through the world of historical costuming. Specifically, this year will be my first year attending Costume College in California. Since getting into the historical costuming world I've seen a lot of talk about Costume College. The idea of it has intrigued me and I've watched in awe for the last two years or so as the pictures come rolling in after the weekends events. Up until the end of November 2011 my mindset in regard to actually attending was, "Yea, right, I'll be good enough to go when pigs fly." Then I had a conversation with my friend Rachel, who told me she was going and encouraged me to go as well. I was self deprecating for a while until she reassured me that she would also be showing her lack of historical sewing mastery and was just as nervous about attending as I was. So, I made a split second decision to go (before I could think about it long enough to change my mind) and bought a plane ticket for the weekend. I was quite literally jumping in head first with all my (modern) clothes on.

While dressing in historical clothing is not required to attend Costume College, it is most certainly encouraged. I figured, if I was doing this, I was going all in. I had absolutely ZERO idea what I was going to make but my gears got turning and I eventually decided on 3 outfits.

1. Outlander Dress - I had already purchased the Simplicity Outlander patterns from American Duchess and had actually finished making the chemise, stays, and bum pad. So, I figured it would be easiest to continue in that vein and follow through with a gown as well. Although, my plan is to veer away from the plaid and wool Outlander-y dresses, and come up with my own design using the Simplicity patterns.

2. Teens Evening Gown - I loooooooove fashion after the turn of the century up to the 1920's, and I have drooled over Titanic era fashion for years. So, why not make my very own evening gown from the era? I'm starting from scratch on this one. Literally, I'm starting from the undergarments out. I will be drafting my own chemise/combinations, have purchased a pattern for a teens long line corset, and will somehow make a petticoat. For the dress, I purchased Laughing Moon #104 and will eyeball it a bit as far as how the gown is styled.

3. Marie Antoinette (2006) Red Belt Dress reproduction - My most ambitious project for Costume College is the famous red belt dress from the 2006 movie Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst. I'll be wearing my undergarments from the Outlander dress, and have purchased a JP Ryan Robe a l'Anglaise pattern for the dress. This is the one I'm most nervous about, so wish me luck!

I am super thrilled to be attending this year, and hope you'll follow along while I attempt to finish 3 projects without losing my mind.