tiistai 21. tammikuuta 2014

Red and white block printed gown

It's nice to have a new dress. This particular dress has been on my to-do list for a long time, ever since I bought those Indian block prints and long before that really. The reason I haven't got around making it until now has been, as ever, the lack of the right fabric. Anyway, I found nice white cotton voile around the New Year and was really chuffed to bits. Finally!

The "little white dress" is certainly the ubiquitous Regency fashion
item, but the patterned print fabric dresses were equally popular, in all available colours. I'm not well read enough on the topic to write about it at lenght, but there's plenty of information on the subject to be found in the net.

The dress pattern came from Janet Arnold's book, and it's the same I used for my very first Regency dress, the white fern dress. I always liked that pattern and it worked well, so why not use it. I cut the pieces and then set out printing them. I used the narrow border print on the neck edge, the cuffs, the "belt" piece and the hem. For the hem I also used the big paisley prints to create a wide border. The rest of the dress is printed with the little flower motif. I measured the hem border very carefully, to make the both hem pieces match when I sewed them together. I was a bit less meticulous with the flower motif, and didn't measure and mark the placements. It shows, if you examine the dress really closely, but not so much as to really bother me. I'm already planning to print fabric for another project, so maybe I'll be more careful next time.

Now, then. Enough with this, here are some pictures.

The neck-edge and the belt pieces

Sleeve


The dress hem


It was surprisingly hard to print both the hem pieces. It didn't really take that long, but after finishing the first piece, I procrastinated for a week before starting on the second piece.


I like the back and the pretty pleats

Well, it's winter, after all, so the Shetland lace shawl came in handy here.

The colour looks pink but it's actually red. I swear I'm not doing this on purpose... :)


This dress has already proved to be very versatile, it matches most of my Regency spencers and shawls. That's what I really like about Regency fashions (and try to keep in mind whenever I make new things), that you can mix and match different items of clothing and have a new outfit with small changes and different combinations.


I made this 1790s-1800 spencer in early January 2013

The dress with the long-sleeved frilly chemisette


The dress closes with 3 dorset buttons and there's a ribbon running through the belt channel underbust that ties at the back, to secure the fit of the bodice.




Looks fab with this spencer, too.

24 kommenttia:

  1. That's beautiful. Must have taken you ages to print all that fabric. What paint did you use to do it with?

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! The hem pieces took the longest, other pieces I finished in an evening. I used Panduro Palett textile paint and it works fine, I've used it for all my fabric printing so far.

      Poista
  2. Lovely. The print is great and the location of the motifs is very sensible. Can't wait to see more of it someday when it's not winter. ;)

    Best,
    Quinn

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! I really like this dress, maybe because it was such a straightforward project; I knew what I wanted and there were no problems. I can't wait for warmer weather, the dress has a very summery feel. :)

      Poista
  3. It looks lovely, light and summery and hopefully bans winter's darkness and grey days!
    The print is amazing...all the tiny flowers and so accuratley done! (I already fail on writing a letter with ink without spreading the ink all over)
    I love the dress with the bright red spencer best!

    Sabine

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! I'd really wish there was a summer event where I could wear this. Also the red spencer is more of a summer jacket, with those shorter sleeves and so far I haven't got to wear it that much. The block prints are very easy to use and it's fun!

      Poista
  4. It's beautiful!!! The printing came out perfect! Fantastic job!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! The printing is far from perfect, but it'll do :) Still, I like it.

      Poista
  5. I love how you've made this dress so interchangeable. I especially like the red Spencer.
    Val

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! That's almost the best part with the dress, that it goes with anything in my existing wardrobe.

      Poista
  6. Wow! I was in love with the dress before I realized you did the printing. I'm so impressed. It's truly beautiful.

    VastaaPoista
  7. Wow, wow & wow! This is amazing. You did a magnificent job. I like that you showed different ways to wear it.

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! I didn't consciously plan it, but the dress turned out to be very versatile; it goes with anything :)

      Poista
  8. That is gorgeous! I've been wanting to try that myself, only need to get the blocks. Very inspiring to see such a good example :)

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! I really like block printing and I'm already planning a new project with them :)

      Poista
  9. It's absolutely gorgeous and so inspiring! I've always wanted to print my own fabric, but I was worried that it would take forever. This gives me new hope!

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. I say go for it! It didn't take forever :) I'm sure I could've finished printing all the pieces over one weekend if I had been working on a deadline.Thanks for your compliments!

      Poista
  10. Another incredible creation! You never cease to amaze me with your talent and eye for beauty!

    Blessings!
    Gina

    VastaaPoista
  11. Absolutely beautiful, Noora! I love it :)

    VastaaPoista
  12. What a lovely and elegant gown! Now I'm itching to try block printing myself! I have a print block that I got over a year ago, but only recently ordered ink and a stamping pad for it which hasn't arrived yet. You said you used paints - how do you apply the paint to the blocks?

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Thank you! This was a nice project. I would definitely use textile paint rather than ink when printing fabric, especially fabric meant for clothing. The paint dries nicely and it's later set by ironing. I used a bit of superlon to dab paint on the block print and then pressed it on the fabric. Of course, you have to dab some more paint on the print each time, but this hand printing business is really not as slow as it sounds :)

      Poista
  13. Wow! I am so impressed by your work. I am INSPIRED! Thank you for sharing.

    VastaaPoista