Victorian Ballgown: Final design!
Thank you everyone for all your helpful comments on my previous Ballgown post! After lots of thinking, and some sudden inspiration from my stash, I have made my final decisions!
The Inspiration
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get this gorgeous gown out of my head. I've been really attracted to simplicity in designs lately, so I loved the simple elegance of the overskirts. They're pretty without being too over the top (over the top is fun, but I'm on a time limit here :P). I also loved the unusual underskirt, with the ruching detail (the description under the picture says it's white tulle with green erm... well silk I believe :P). Not wanting to buy any more fabric, I decided to have a look through my sheer stash to see if I had something appropriate. Which leads me to...
The Fabric
The last time I posted with my fabrics, I wasn't 100% sure about the shot taffeta, but I thought the delustered satin was perfect. After seeing all 3 fabrics in the daylight, I absolutely loved how the shot taffeta looked with the embroidered taffeta and felt that the delustered satin was so close in colour to the taffeta that is was boring! Oh dear! I remembered I had (what I thought was) a small amount of a pinkish chiffon in my stash, but given the relative difficulty I'd had trying to match colours so far, I almost didn't bother pulling it out as I thought there was no chance it would match. It's a good thing I did bother, because it is the PERFECT match! As you can see in the first photo to the right, it's a coral/black shot chiffon and I was happy to discover that what I thought was a small folded up piece, was actually at around 7m! It looks absolutely stunning over the delustered satin, so it was definitely meant to be! I ended up going back to the Lincraft sale to pick up a few extra things before the sale ended: 2 more metres of the shot taffeta for frills, 5m of pale pink poplin for a petticoat, and 6m of pale pink sun silky lining for the embroidered taffeta pieces. I should have enough trims in my stash to work from, but I did buy 12m of a coralish coloured double satin ribbon to match the shot taffeta.
The Plan
I might start from the inside out...
Underwear
I'm not sure if I'll have time to make new matching underwear, so for the moment I'll just wear the chemise, drawers and corset that I already have. If I keep to my schedule, I should actually have enough time to make new matching chemise and drawers, though possibly not a new corset. We'll see!
Bustle
My bustle is all made, just need to decide if I'm going to make a detachable frilled overlay to cover the boning in the back, or if I'll make a frilled petticoat to wear... decisions decisions!
Petticoat(s)
I'm having trouble deciding which petticoat to make, whether it should have a train or ruffles... It's quite a huge decision! I think I'll make a separate post on that with pictures to ask for opinions!
Underskirt(s)
This is plural as I've got two in progress, but one of them will be worn as a petticoat to the ball (probably).
First there's the Pink/Gold shot taffeta. I cut this one out today using TV 208 Trained Skirt Ensemble view B, with the pleats on the side. I chose to do the 'poofier' version out of the taffeta as I had more of it to spare, and I intend to wear it as the underskirt with the day version of my gown, so I wanted it to have a bit more volume. I also added and extra 6 inches to the train (on top of the 4 inches I already added for length). I don't know if that's too much, but oh well, it seemed right at the time. I do also intend to add tapes to this one, so I can have the back bustle nicely, as the last version I made (the black linen one) just didn't bustle very well at the back. I've got plenty left over, so I plan to either do just one large pleated frill around the bottom, or perhaps two smaller pleated frills, depending on how crazy I feel. I've got various laces in my stash and some matching satin ribbon with which to trim the top of the pleats. Though my plan was to wear this as a petticoat under the ballgown, I may not, depending on how it sits. Will have to try when they're both on the dress form at tafe.
Then there's the Nude pink delustered satin, again cut using TV 208 but this time using view A. I managed to make it all fit with enough left over for a small gathered frill around the bottom, should I so choose. Unfortunately I had to play around with the positioning of the pattern pieces to make it all fit, so the front and side back pieces are cut with the grain along the cut edge, with the back and side front cut with the grain along the selvedge. I figured by doing it that way, if there is a difference in the sheen, it looks intentional. Though I very much doubt much of this skirt will be seen anyway. Oh and I had fully intended to draft up the pattern myself from Patterns of Fashion 2, but I figured the TV pattern was pretty much that pattern anyway, and I just didn't have the time to do all the maths and stuff. So yeah...
Finally, there's the ruched chiffon underskirt. I decided to make this as a separate skirt, so that I could wear the delustered skirt by itself if I so choose. Versatility is good! As there is only 7m of the chiffon, I want to make the top section out of a different fabric (probably the sunsilky lining) which will be covered by the overskirts. As such, I'll have to wait until the overskirts are finished before I start work on this. I'm not 100% sure how I'll go about this yet, but it will either be a rectangle (or trapezoid, since the skirt flares) of fabric with gathering lines sewn in, OR They'll have to be individual panels that are ruched along the seams. OR I suppose I could do a combination of these. I'm thinking I'll make them shorter than in the reference picture, so the hem of this will end up scalloped from the ruching and show off a little of satin underskirt frill.
Overskirts
These will be draped over the foundations on a mannequin. The front appears to be just a standard swag, either with a second, shorter swag or a faux swag. The back section overlaps this front piece (which I may, or may not extend to the centre back?) at the sides. The back appears to be a large semicircular piece with the side points folded to meet at the back (see reference image). Well it's probably more oval, since it has a bit of a train. I plan to line the overskirts with the sunsilky lining, and I'll probably do the pleated frill trim as illustrated, though perhaps with some lace trimming as well? The back section will be a little tricky, as the folded back sections will obviously need to have the embroidered taffeta face up, but I'll probably have the undersections of this fold (which would be the top if you unfolded it) made from the lining fabric to cut down on bulk and preserve as much embroidered taffeta as possible. This will become clearer once I actually have a toile draped over my foundation skirts.
I would really like to do the beautiful floral garland trimmings as well, if I can find some reasonably priced, colour matching roses and leaves. I really wanted velvet roses, but they appear to be rather expensive :( If I have enough time, my plan is to make my own, using scraps of the dress fabrics so they match perfectly. But my other option is cream/ivory/white, depending what I choose to trim the rest of the gown. We'll see!
Bodice
After your comments on the different patterns I was looking at, I decided to go with TV 416 1870's Basque Ballgown Bodice. I'm not sure whether I'll do buttons with button holes, or do faux buttons with hooks and eyes, or just hooks and eyes. I'll decide once it's actually made I think. If I do buttons, I think I'll go with those pearl ones, but it depends on what I can find.
Accessories
I need to work out what accessories I'll be needing. I'd like gloves, but I'm not sure what length? I'd like to have matching flowers for my hair. I'm thinking of using pearls in the trimming, so I'd probably use those to make a pretty necklace as well. Also I'll need a bag, and a fan! For shoes, I do have a nice pink pair of heels that I could pretty up with some pearls and flowers. Though for comforts sake, I might just wear a pair of black heels :P White knee high socks, maybe trimmed with lace and ribbon? Anything else I'm missing?
My current timeline:
- Today (Fri 13/08) I cut out the base satin & taffeta underskirts (minus frills)
- Sat 14/08 Sew base skirts together. Hem. Attach to waistband (adjust hem from top according to my books). Cut out petticoat and sew. Maybe cut out frills...
- Sun 15/08 Drape overskirts on foundation skirts/petticoats (At my tafe open day). Determine size of frills and cut, hem, pleat, and sew onto skirts. Possibly cut out overskirt.
- Mon 16/08 Do any finishing still required on petticoats and underskirts. Cut out and sew overskirts together.
- Tues 17/08/Wed 18/08/Thurs 19/08 Cut out toile for bodice and fit (I'll probably need help with this, so I might have to bring it into Tafe Wed to get help, in which case, I'll work on trimmings for the skirt and whatnot, or maybe cut out the chemise/drawers?).
- Fri 20/Sat 21/Sun 22 Make bodice proper.
- Mon 23-Fri 27 Work on trimmings, finishings, accessories, etc. I might even be finished early enough to make a vintage dress for the fair the day after the ball.
- Sat 28 ACG BALL!!!
This is just a bit of a rough plan, but I'm not exactly sure how long things will take to put together, so I'm not necessarily strict with this plan. I have Mon/Tues off now, so yay! But if there's no huge disasters, I think I should have enough time to get everything I want done without any late night sewing sessions! I'm recovering from the second cold in a row (hadn't even fully recovered from the previous one) so I'll be making sure I have early night and rest as much as possible. I think the most difficult thing is going to be the bodice, and making sure I get a good fit from it, so we'll see how that goes. But I'm pretty optimistic about getting it all done. I've promised myself that I will NOT be staying up late, and I WILL have the who ensemble FINISHED in it's entirety by Friday evening. Last year I spent most of Sat doing last minute sewing, plus rehearsal for the costume parade, and it just sucked all the fun out of it. This year I want it all finished, so I can spend some quality time on Sat with my interstate friends. Sunday is the vintage fair, so I'd love to have a new outfit for that, but it's not going to be a disaster if I don't. Main thing is spending time with people I hardly get to see! :D AND FUN!!
I'm so excited by my gown, and I really hope it ends up looking as good as it does in my head!
The Inspiration
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get this gorgeous gown out of my head. I've been really attracted to simplicity in designs lately, so I loved the simple elegance of the overskirts. They're pretty without being too over the top (over the top is fun, but I'm on a time limit here :P). I also loved the unusual underskirt, with the ruching detail (the description under the picture says it's white tulle with green erm... well silk I believe :P). Not wanting to buy any more fabric, I decided to have a look through my sheer stash to see if I had something appropriate. Which leads me to...
The Fabric
The last time I posted with my fabrics, I wasn't 100% sure about the shot taffeta, but I thought the delustered satin was perfect. After seeing all 3 fabrics in the daylight, I absolutely loved how the shot taffeta looked with the embroidered taffeta and felt that the delustered satin was so close in colour to the taffeta that is was boring! Oh dear! I remembered I had (what I thought was) a small amount of a pinkish chiffon in my stash, but given the relative difficulty I'd had trying to match colours so far, I almost didn't bother pulling it out as I thought there was no chance it would match. It's a good thing I did bother, because it is the PERFECT match! As you can see in the first photo to the right, it's a coral/black shot chiffon and I was happy to discover that what I thought was a small folded up piece, was actually at around 7m! It looks absolutely stunning over the delustered satin, so it was definitely meant to be! I ended up going back to the Lincraft sale to pick up a few extra things before the sale ended: 2 more metres of the shot taffeta for frills, 5m of pale pink poplin for a petticoat, and 6m of pale pink sun silky lining for the embroidered taffeta pieces. I should have enough trims in my stash to work from, but I did buy 12m of a coralish coloured double satin ribbon to match the shot taffeta.
The Plan
I might start from the inside out...
Underwear
I'm not sure if I'll have time to make new matching underwear, so for the moment I'll just wear the chemise, drawers and corset that I already have. If I keep to my schedule, I should actually have enough time to make new matching chemise and drawers, though possibly not a new corset. We'll see!
Bustle
My bustle is all made, just need to decide if I'm going to make a detachable frilled overlay to cover the boning in the back, or if I'll make a frilled petticoat to wear... decisions decisions!
Petticoat(s)
I'm having trouble deciding which petticoat to make, whether it should have a train or ruffles... It's quite a huge decision! I think I'll make a separate post on that with pictures to ask for opinions!
Underskirt(s)
This is plural as I've got two in progress, but one of them will be worn as a petticoat to the ball (probably).
First there's the Pink/Gold shot taffeta. I cut this one out today using TV 208 Trained Skirt Ensemble view B, with the pleats on the side. I chose to do the 'poofier' version out of the taffeta as I had more of it to spare, and I intend to wear it as the underskirt with the day version of my gown, so I wanted it to have a bit more volume. I also added and extra 6 inches to the train (on top of the 4 inches I already added for length). I don't know if that's too much, but oh well, it seemed right at the time. I do also intend to add tapes to this one, so I can have the back bustle nicely, as the last version I made (the black linen one) just didn't bustle very well at the back. I've got plenty left over, so I plan to either do just one large pleated frill around the bottom, or perhaps two smaller pleated frills, depending on how crazy I feel. I've got various laces in my stash and some matching satin ribbon with which to trim the top of the pleats. Though my plan was to wear this as a petticoat under the ballgown, I may not, depending on how it sits. Will have to try when they're both on the dress form at tafe.
Then there's the Nude pink delustered satin, again cut using TV 208 but this time using view A. I managed to make it all fit with enough left over for a small gathered frill around the bottom, should I so choose. Unfortunately I had to play around with the positioning of the pattern pieces to make it all fit, so the front and side back pieces are cut with the grain along the cut edge, with the back and side front cut with the grain along the selvedge. I figured by doing it that way, if there is a difference in the sheen, it looks intentional. Though I very much doubt much of this skirt will be seen anyway. Oh and I had fully intended to draft up the pattern myself from Patterns of Fashion 2, but I figured the TV pattern was pretty much that pattern anyway, and I just didn't have the time to do all the maths and stuff. So yeah...
Finally, there's the ruched chiffon underskirt. I decided to make this as a separate skirt, so that I could wear the delustered skirt by itself if I so choose. Versatility is good! As there is only 7m of the chiffon, I want to make the top section out of a different fabric (probably the sunsilky lining) which will be covered by the overskirts. As such, I'll have to wait until the overskirts are finished before I start work on this. I'm not 100% sure how I'll go about this yet, but it will either be a rectangle (or trapezoid, since the skirt flares) of fabric with gathering lines sewn in, OR They'll have to be individual panels that are ruched along the seams. OR I suppose I could do a combination of these. I'm thinking I'll make them shorter than in the reference picture, so the hem of this will end up scalloped from the ruching and show off a little of satin underskirt frill.
Overskirts
These will be draped over the foundations on a mannequin. The front appears to be just a standard swag, either with a second, shorter swag or a faux swag. The back section overlaps this front piece (which I may, or may not extend to the centre back?) at the sides. The back appears to be a large semicircular piece with the side points folded to meet at the back (see reference image). Well it's probably more oval, since it has a bit of a train. I plan to line the overskirts with the sunsilky lining, and I'll probably do the pleated frill trim as illustrated, though perhaps with some lace trimming as well? The back section will be a little tricky, as the folded back sections will obviously need to have the embroidered taffeta face up, but I'll probably have the undersections of this fold (which would be the top if you unfolded it) made from the lining fabric to cut down on bulk and preserve as much embroidered taffeta as possible. This will become clearer once I actually have a toile draped over my foundation skirts.
I would really like to do the beautiful floral garland trimmings as well, if I can find some reasonably priced, colour matching roses and leaves. I really wanted velvet roses, but they appear to be rather expensive :( If I have enough time, my plan is to make my own, using scraps of the dress fabrics so they match perfectly. But my other option is cream/ivory/white, depending what I choose to trim the rest of the gown. We'll see!
Bodice
After your comments on the different patterns I was looking at, I decided to go with TV 416 1870's Basque Ballgown Bodice. I'm not sure whether I'll do buttons with button holes, or do faux buttons with hooks and eyes, or just hooks and eyes. I'll decide once it's actually made I think. If I do buttons, I think I'll go with those pearl ones, but it depends on what I can find.
Accessories
I need to work out what accessories I'll be needing. I'd like gloves, but I'm not sure what length? I'd like to have matching flowers for my hair. I'm thinking of using pearls in the trimming, so I'd probably use those to make a pretty necklace as well. Also I'll need a bag, and a fan! For shoes, I do have a nice pink pair of heels that I could pretty up with some pearls and flowers. Though for comforts sake, I might just wear a pair of black heels :P White knee high socks, maybe trimmed with lace and ribbon? Anything else I'm missing?
My current timeline:
- Today (Fri 13/08) I cut out the base satin & taffeta underskirts (minus frills)
- Sat 14/08 Sew base skirts together. Hem. Attach to waistband (adjust hem from top according to my books). Cut out petticoat and sew. Maybe cut out frills...
- Sun 15/08 Drape overskirts on foundation skirts/petticoats (At my tafe open day). Determine size of frills and cut, hem, pleat, and sew onto skirts. Possibly cut out overskirt.
- Mon 16/08 Do any finishing still required on petticoats and underskirts. Cut out and sew overskirts together.
- Tues 17/08/Wed 18/08/Thurs 19/08 Cut out toile for bodice and fit (I'll probably need help with this, so I might have to bring it into Tafe Wed to get help, in which case, I'll work on trimmings for the skirt and whatnot, or maybe cut out the chemise/drawers?).
- Fri 20/Sat 21/Sun 22 Make bodice proper.
- Mon 23-Fri 27 Work on trimmings, finishings, accessories, etc. I might even be finished early enough to make a vintage dress for the fair the day after the ball.
- Sat 28 ACG BALL!!!
This is just a bit of a rough plan, but I'm not exactly sure how long things will take to put together, so I'm not necessarily strict with this plan. I have Mon/Tues off now, so yay! But if there's no huge disasters, I think I should have enough time to get everything I want done without any late night sewing sessions! I'm recovering from the second cold in a row (hadn't even fully recovered from the previous one) so I'll be making sure I have early night and rest as much as possible. I think the most difficult thing is going to be the bodice, and making sure I get a good fit from it, so we'll see how that goes. But I'm pretty optimistic about getting it all done. I've promised myself that I will NOT be staying up late, and I WILL have the who ensemble FINISHED in it's entirety by Friday evening. Last year I spent most of Sat doing last minute sewing, plus rehearsal for the costume parade, and it just sucked all the fun out of it. This year I want it all finished, so I can spend some quality time on Sat with my interstate friends. Sunday is the vintage fair, so I'd love to have a new outfit for that, but it's not going to be a disaster if I don't. Main thing is spending time with people I hardly get to see! :D AND FUN!!
I'm so excited by my gown, and I really hope it ends up looking as good as it does in my head!