Today I finally finished a dress that has been lying around for quite some time. Before the Bath trip I found nice burgundy cotton with a black print pattern and I made a drop front gown out of it. Then I got distracted, had stuff to finish for Bath and... But now it's ready! I really like it, the hem has massive amount of fabric pleated, so it's maybe more of an early 19th century fashion than anything else. I used my basic bodice pattern, the same as for the white embroidered dress, but with drop front adjustments. I also found
The Hungarican Chick's tutorial on bib front gowns(aka drop front gowns) very helpful. As always, everything is handsewn, and the fabric worked like a dream, it's stiff enough to hold its shape and pleats nicely, but so thin that pleating doesn't make the dress look bulky. I might add some ribbons to tie the cuffs a bit tighter, but I ran out of ribbon for now.
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| First, pin the front flaps closed... |
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| Then tie the ribbons of the drop front bit. I chose to hide the knot/bow under the bib. |
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| The ribbons cross at the back and pass through little loops that help hold the ribbons in place. |
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| All pinned. |
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| I love the hem! |
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| I made me a "Marianne Dashwood" hat :) |
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| Works with the bonnet too. |
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| The pleats |
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| Some posing with my harp. |
