1795 Round Gown - the accidental dress.

This is a dress that never was meant to be -it is  an accidental dress; I couldn't think my way through a construction so decided to make a mini version to test ideas.
Sensible decision?
 Seeing as it wasn't meant to be happening most of the making hasn't been recorded.






 Moving on from the chemise a la reine-

my illustration for my chemise a la reine based on a
Gallerie des Modes original.

KCI round gown 1795ish

 it seemed right to stick to the drawstring idea but move it on 10 or 20 years.  The KCI (Kyoto Costume Institute) has a lovely light linen example - printed with carnations-  but as usual in these things a full 360 eluded me, so had to make up the back.

 The gowns have a lot in common - the drawstring reigns supreme and while the round gown skirt  has more fullness at the back  but is gathered all the way round.  The sleeve is still shaped and in two parts,  but I can not see clearly enough to see if the shoulder strap is still a separate piece or not. The  shapes and fitting, however,  are changing; the back is cut and fitted and the waist is migrating  rapidly upward.


The model I chose to make is a real hybrid - or transition piece. The back is panelled and  semi fitted, the separate shoulder strap is now part of the front bodice piece, leaving a diagonal seam on the back  It is still depending in drawstrings for fitting at the front and has a decidedly fuller back skirt. For mine the bodice and skirt are made separately and joined at the waist.



bodice pieces

 The dress began with the bodice - shoulder seams and bodice front first, because I wanted the neck complete to start making the channels for the drawstring. The bodice is lined and the channel is made by the stitching for the neck edge  and a second run of stitching parallel to the edge. The drawstring is threaded between the 2 layers of fabric and tied at the centre front. But where to attach the strings? Some seem to go all of the way round the neck, others just the front neck. Mine are anchored to the seam allowances for the front bodice piece so only that central area is gathered.  And then to lace ruff or not?  No - this is an accidental dress not a full production piece.

rounded sleeves!

cuff and top stitching along front seam.

The side back panels were then sewn in place  and sleeves made up.  These  were fun - I top sewed the seams running up the arm - it really did make them rounded tubes - they very nearly managed to stand up but kept over balancing.  A simple binding was added as a cuff rather than the pleated example on the KCI dress. ( colour - the one on the left is accurate - it is the vile berry cloth I've used for linings! The more attractive rusty red is because of the late evening sun)




With the bodice complete the skirt was sewn up and attached.
About 3/5s of the volume is gathered and stitched down at the back. This looked so heavy that I introduced a couple of small pleats  on the centre back panel - a bit counter intuitive but it did work.  The front section was loosely gathered and sewn on.  The  channel for the waist drawstring was made using the seam allowances - folded upward inside and top stitched. Not ideal  or elegant but it served. I tried adding tape covering the seam and threading the string behind that but the additional bulk prevented it from gathering evenly.

A spot of hemming and it was done.  As a round gown - it functions. As an attempt at an accurate round gown - oops.
 Do not like the waist - the raw edges should be buried between the lining and top fabric- it should look effortless. ( the desire to see the mechanics and bones of  construction came much later!). The back should be more exaggerated - a real diamond with points at each corner- mine belongs to a slightly later period.






Was this wise to make? Ummm. It has tended to reinforce the problem areas and to confuse further.  It has also highlighted the 'maternity' quality of the style. Poor Gwen does look as if there are only a few weeks to go!  I hate the feeling of dissatisfaction with decisions made, even compromises should be happy ones.

 " 'Never mind' said the HMIs. 'Never mind.'"

Problem is - now part way through making a full size version of a round gown for me and am getting that same sinking feeling......
Time to go and attack a bush in the garden - something is bound to need brutal cutting, slashing, sawing, or  at least hitting!
 Oh, Happy Sunday!



white pelisse

Of  lovely April days, invasion of cat,  white pelisse, and other many distractions. This is the blog as it was meant to be!

Last week-

The making of the white pelisse-

The sun has shone, the grass and weeds are happy. The bees buzz, there are butterflies, the garden is in its purple Spring phase.  I might have been distracted from costuming but I have been refining copies and interpretations of fashion plates to show the latest additions to Gwendoline's wardrobe as well as constructing 18^th Century items for myself, so it has been busy.

I decided to use a clingfilm  base and made Gwendoline a masking tape shell. This was sectioned into pattern parts and then cut and flattened to create templates- and it worked! There is very little gaping, or bowing, or pinching – all without any fiddling, adjusting or cheating in any way. Umm, wow. Don't worry, it won't last.

This of course has lead to unwise decisions, there is no point having patterns that will only fit once, I wanted to find out how flexible this approach would  let me be – 1820s shapes- lower waist, broader shoulders, exaggerated sleeves and decoration. The fabric is curtain offcuts – trying to look like a heavy weave cotton or linen but I'm thinking that the closest this has come to nature was being sat on by an invading cat. ( I yelled, it went from snooze to panic in one move, did a complete circuit of the kitchen tops and windowsills at full pelt before escaping out the backdoor, fled through the hedge and off down the road.... leaving me with hairy fabric and chaos!)

 One idea arising from the gingham frock (last week) was using the smocking as a substitute/sculptural form of gathering, so set out to try a Juliet style sleeve with the repeated gathered bands down the arm. I also wanted to do more with pleating on the bodice. Even my favourite pelisse has gathers above and below the waistline. This fabric is quite stiff, it will bend and flex but goes clumpy and lumpy on curves and bulks up very quickly. The pleats in the back look good but have left the waist heavy, a wider waistband than originally planned might be needed or else the waistline is going to end up the thickest part of the whole garment!

last week's progress

Having faith in the pattern pieces makes such a difference – and saved so much time. No repeat fittings, unpicking and realigning. Getting from 'what shall I do now?' to having a believable bodice took less than an hour. The smocking took about the same. If I had a brain I would have done the smocking before making up and attaching the sleeve. But the sleeve was a bit of a guess, I knew I wanted more fullness at the back rather than the front, and that Pingu arms must be avoided. So I began with a basic gathered sleeve shape and made the curve at the top steeper and off centre . It did take some minor fiddling as the fabric protested about curves but it sits reasonably well, although many sins may be lost in the puffiness. And of course the piece I cut as a pattern is now firmly attached !.

 

This week-

Overall the pelisse has worked quite well- the good times did not last  The collar was a problem, it still tries to stick straight out rather than relaxing on the shoulder. Repeated washing did not help it, the fabric has a great deal of 'boing' - it tries to reset itself to flat each time. The radial  pin tucks have helped  a little and something to experiment with later on. Fears about the waist at the back were well founded, it is thick and seriously needs stiffening. Perhaps come at it from the end - put a bow on the  waistband cb so the bulk becomes deliberate ( see little blue example above).
  I do wish this stuff would make its mind up - it bends when I don't want it to and is too stiff when I want it to bend.

 As a relatively plain pelisse it is fine, the gathers in the sleeves give it more character and style. The gathering on the centre back  should perhaps only be attempted with finer cloth. Poor Gwen does not look terribly happy it. It does nothing for her figure - the extra bulk on the waist is not good , there is nothing voluptuous or even jelly-on-a-plate-ish about her to give definition, she ends up looking like a tree trunk. In the plates above, the waist is so narrow in comparison to the shoulder/ sleeve line, and  Gwen goes in just a little and out not a lot. I do wonder about making her a set of stays /padded bodice-  can't pull her in but might be able to push her out. ( I'm sure I thought this before sometime - a little set of transitions with bust enhancer?)

One moment - repeated washing?  Knowing how much I enjoy domestic chores  you will have realised this had to be an emergency. Well, first the 'sharps' needle I was using was very sharp and I hadn't noticed, second time was due to creating drawings in pastels. The washing has caused problems, now the lining is not happy at the armhole, causing the wrinkling seen above, a bit of unpick and pull  will hopefully sort it but this garment will remain untouched until the pastel phase ends.

Distractions-
1. Pastels- not a medium I usually use but... apart from the dust .....they are quite fun.

2. The fake book. - it started with a charming photo posted on facebook from the Australian Jane Austen Festival in Canberra.  In the general flow of very learned conversation we decided the photo looked like a book cover, couldn't resist it, and....  Last time I caught up it was either Mr D would emerge a la wet shirt, or she had  just shoved him in.  The drawing took  over a morning and then working out the editing  programme took about the same. (Gimp2 - a free download, complex but very good)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Gave up putting it off and set up a website- AARGH.

 

https://sites.google.com/site/franbrammer/home‎

View shared post

  Pastels were easy, Gimp is straightforward. If I had known how to do this it would have been simple! Used Google sites, free, supposed to be an easy site builder, self hosting, and well I'm googled for almost everything else. Looking back, once the mind shift was made, it was straightforward enough.  Over riding the templates was the most frustrating thing - typing in black, size 12 in default font to find it published in blue, boxed in a corner and.......

Hopefully all sorted, hopefully,.... Feeling very exposed at the present.  Be warned - will have to start experimenting with promoting it next....

 

 

And totally recommend

BBCs   "At Home With The Georgians: A Man's Place. 

So much more than important people and oh look at the houses. Well done to Amanda Vickery.

A little sewing, alot of pastels.

So this is not the post I was hoping for - that was even drafted and photos done.... and then.... distraction struck with a vengeance. Here are some tasters/teases for the real blog, construction, more smocking, fashion plate......

 but this is the one you are getting.
Let me explain - Started the new idea on Friday, tried a new way of drafting the pattern - worked well. Using up some fabric stash- brilliant. Went together sweetly, even embellished according to plan. Suspicious? So was I. Only things left to do are finishing the lining, applying the fake waistband (cut, pressed and ready) and fastenings ( set out and waiting). This was obviously too much to cope with. It felt like being a real costumer - even had a cat invade and sleep on the spare fabric. So of course got distracted, by a nose.
 It was too long, like a beak,  it was looking at me, and had been looking at me for most of the week. While the kettle boiled it could be sorted - that was breakfast - it is now lunch. Sorted that nose, done another and sorted that too.
So I'm always doing painting and drawing along side the sewing but this was a pastel work. For anyone who hasn't used chalk/soft pastels they are a rare species of demonic life form. Never get the exact colour, or marks in the right place, and  they conspire and giggle in the box just waiting their chance. Not too bad, until you realise the amount of coloured dust they spread happily over everything, the cutting/work table, the floor, me. It isn't just any old dust, this is friendly dust, wanting to get really close and stay with you for life.  Not the place for a plain white anything. I am actually going to have to WASH UP to get it  off my fingers. This is traumatic.
The new garment is on hold until the table is wiped down and dried, everywhere hoovered  and clean.

What I will share with you is the cause of all the trouble-  a study by Adolph van Menzel.

von Menzel

Watteau

 It has the same informal charm as the Watteau studies and is an unusual, beautifully lit  pose. I can't decide if she is being coy or looking for goldfish.
After a couple of pencil tries out came the evil pastels and battle commenced. They are actually quite fun to work with  and working on a coloured ground was a change - the colours are bolder, the paler tones are more vibrant, but they mix in unexpected ways, sometimes clear layers, sometimes muddy, chalky and opaque.

initial working

Having got this to a reasonable place it was pinned to wall (gently shedding dust) for a few days so that I could evaluate it and plan the next stages. It really was the nose, and elbow, and claw hand, and skirt detail.
It was going to be a quick amendment, no fuss, no mess, no trauma. It was. And then the 'should I do a background to balance the composition?' decision. And then came the 'while the pastels are out....' moment.

The Yellow Dress.

  The dress is the yellow gingham made and posted about last week. I haven't tried to  be pedantic about the gingham pattern, focussing more on the shapes and fall of the skirt. This is a very different outcome to the 1824 fashion plate pose done to previously. I  like the idea of presenting my Regency creations in as Regency a way as I can but I do like the  substance of this- is does make the fashion plate look over precious (but in an entirely charming way. Of course).





The second image is  based on the Scarf/shawl dress from the week before and is the development from the "Regency Wedgie" pose as discussed on facebook and pinterest. It was too good a thing to pass up so I had added a quick sketch to the mix and this grew out of that.. After so many still poses this was meant to be dancing ( just about turned into the 1960s/70s flamenco pose) and she is holding her  over dress rather than adjusting the underwear!

shawl dress with initial illustrations

 

They have turned out better than I expected, the shawl dress needs more attention, but pastels allow for a combination of approaches - the directness of pencil mark making and line, and then the more painterly handling of surface and colour. They have made me work larger, more quickly and to be bold in the use of  the limited choice of colours that I had, forcing me to be more experimental with  mixing and contrasts. The coloured paper puts more emphasis on working with light,  which I have probably enjoyed just a little too much. The water colours are still the choice medium, there is so much still to develop there. ( They look better in the flesh - more subtle, and softer) but these have been fun! And messy! And now to clean up....... or should I have a go at the dancer first...to save cleaning up twice...... how about the far shoulder of the yellow dress- should be puffier.....
It will be tea time soon.

More Doris Day than Grace kelly.....escape to the 40s/50s

As my facebook contacts know I went for a little detour into the 1950s. I have the sad and tattered remains of a vintage pattern for a ball gown and have always loved the illustration on the cover. The saucy eyes and pose are not the best reasons for making a dress, but.  I had a donated (thanks Althea) piece of rosebud cotton that was so period it crawled out of the cupboard and prostrated itself on the cutting table before I had the pattern pieces out of the packet. As usual I was  making a scale version - this time  measure in inches, switch  to cm and divide by 4, and at a ballerina length it just fitted onto the cloth.

compare J Arnold's 18thC to scale piece of the 50s

There should have been  bells sounding from the word go. With the clear guide to the pattern shapes and then laying the pieces out on the floor it should have been apparent that this was a close cousin in construction to some of the 18thC robes I've been making. Not my brightest moment - I hold having to crawl around under the table to get enough floorspace as my excuse. (don't know why it is sideways in the photo- it wasn't that bad!)  Construction was fairly straightforward - central pieces with inserted panels over the hips to give the skirt fullness and pleated at the seam lines, back opening, no sleeves. The muff I took as optional and declined to make it.
On the whole it went together well, there is a complex join at the shoulder which  was a pain at that this size - too many layers to join and too little room for seam allowances - the armholes are bound and the tops are not really meant to join directly, there is a fold on the bodice front that carries over the shoulder rather like the robings on a robe francaise,  and they attach under that.  This has ended up as a little solid lump on the point of the shoulder but at least it is holding the shape and the garment together.


18thC v 50s

 The back is also reminiscent of the last polonaise dress I made  -en ferreau- with long central sections, cut into at the waist line with the bottom section then being pleated and reattached to the top to form bodice and skirt. This one was done in 2 parts, the front or back bodice and middle panels of the skirt cut as one continuous piece,   the side skirt panel attaching under the bust dart with the skirt seam hidden in inverted pleats then attached to the bodice. This means that the long line form neck to hem is uninterrupted front and back with a short  seam over the hip.
Neat.
 The theory was fine, the sewing not quite so good. I did tight mini French seams which are stiffer than the fabric so the skirt seams stick out with greater determination rather than aesthetic awareness. Sometimes doing things right is wrong, and doing things less than best is better. Hope that makes sense. 

The over all effect is more tea dress than ball gown - cotton was always going to do that to it, but the style works well. I had to make up a little wadding figure with wide enough shoulders to model it on to get the full effect of the cut. The emphasis on the breadth of the shoulders compared to the torso and then balanced by the full skirt is very glamorous and for such a modest dress very flirtatious. I don't know if this  comes across in the photos but I tried to capture something of it in the illustrations. Loved painting the rosebuds! Shame about the faces. Really need some real people to model these dresses for me - don't know any this scale!

Some things remain the same no matter what era- Where are my diddy scissors?, I know I left my favourite needle stuck in the arm of that chair, where is it now?, and why after taking things out of a cupboard do they never fit back in?