Read part 1 and part 2. Once I had made the bodice and skirt, I tried them both on together and discovered a problem. As soon as I started to move, the bodice popped out of the skirt. I puzzled over how to fix this …
Read part 1 and part 3. The blue underskirt is the basic skirt from Simplicity 1728, gathered all around instead of pleating the front. The aubergine overskirt is 6.5 yards of chiffon with three deep tucks in the bottom third. I calculated the tucks so …
For my 1855 ball gown I chose a royal blue cotton percale with an aubergine chiffon for the overlay, which turned out to have the most wonderful iridescent, colour-shifting effect. I used the same base pattern as my 1860s ball gown: Simplicity 1728. I shortened …
This is my first foray into the world of hoop skirts: an 1860s ball gown for Viennese Nights in San Diego, 2016. I learned that you have to walk differently (slow and smooth), sit differently (between the hoops) and that if your hoop skirt is …