YAHOOO!!!! I am DONE with projects 4, 5, 6,7, 8, an 9!!! That's right--I've been working on these off and on for 5 1/2 months. (That tells you how bad of a seamstress I am).
But here it is, my (semi) authentic late 1840's Round Dress, made for the pioneer trek my sister is going with the teenage girls in her church. I used the 114
Laughing Moon 1840's-1852 Round Dress pattern, View A. This dress actually came together fairly easily. I did redo the neckline, as I thought it was a bit high in the front and was choking me. Maybe that was period correct but I knew my sister Megan would care more about comfort than authenticity.
Also, the sleeves were huge on her when I made them the same size as the bodice. I ended up taking them off again, after they had been completely finished, and cutting them down 5 sizes smaller, and now they fit perfectly. Also with the mancherons (sleeve caps), the pattern said they could be unlined, and I had left them unlined the first time, but that was horrible--they were floppy and lacked the body necessary to keep their shape. When I made the sleeves the second time, I added the lining, and they look great. Oh, and I cut the armscyes a little larger, for mobility. Another small note, the bodice fit my sister perfectly when I first made a mock up of it, but by the time she tried it on today, she had lost oodles of weight and it's now a bit loose. Ruff. Okay, I know, I really am happy for my sister.
This was the corded bonnet I made. The bonnets were actually my favorite part of these costumes to make, and I think they turned out the best. I used the
Timely Tresses Lucy Amelia Sunbonnet pattern. So fun, I'm definitely going to make some sunbonnets for my little girls. I used cooking twine for the cording. I think slat bonnets would have been more in keeping with the late 1840's as corded sunbonnets came out early 1850's, but really, slat bonnets are ugly, and corded bonnets are pretty. No contest. See why I say these are semi-authentic? Plus, there's no way under the sun that I was ever going to sew these by hands. I had no problems following the Timely Tresses pattern.
Now for my niece's dress. I actually used the exact same pattern for this dress (the Laughing Moon 114) but I used View B--with the fan-fronted bodice. This bodice was a PAIN! It wasn't that it was that big of a deal making it, even the fan-front. That was easy. But the pattern itself seems to have some issues. There was about 3-4 inches of extra fabric in length on the bodice overlay--and yes, I realize it was supposed to have a little fullness and whatnot, but it looked ridiculous. I wish I had taken a picture. Plus, I
found this lady, who also made this version who had many problems, and then
this lady as well, (this one doesn't discuss those problems in her blog, that was in another forum). So I think, it was more of a pattern problem than a sewing problem; well, also I had to do a SBA or in actuality a no-bust-adjustment which didn't help matters. I ended up unpicking the seams along the fan-front, cutting open the entire overlay above the fan, taking off a couple of inches, sewing it back together, and then adding a few more lines of gathering to cover the seam, and then hand stitching the overlay pieces back together. It was not fun.
The sleeves were easy and lovely though. I used just the mancheron part with tucks. That took me quite a while and a few Youtube videos to figure out. But once I got it, it came together fast.
Did I mention that I love these bonnets?
Now, I read that to get the 1840's shape you needed at least two petticoats--most women wore 4-5 at that time, including a corded one. But even the poorest of the poor had two--cloth was cheap. I used some bed sheets from the DI (a local thrift store) to make up two petticoats each for Danica and Megan. I used
Elizabeth Stewart Clark's free pattern linked here for the petticoat, and it was a breeze.
For the drawers, I used the Simplicity 9769, which are historically accurate. Which means, they're split, as in not sewn together to aid in using the bathroom when you're wearing 6 petticoats. I didn't realize this when I started making them, and as I suspected, my sister was not a fan. So they became not-split drawers. Also, I added and elastic waist, per my sister's request. And as humiliating as it is to admit this, I started making these before my sewing class and before I understood how sizing on patterns work, so the pattern I made for my sister was a size 12, which in pattern terms is no where close to the size 12 clothing size I thought it was. So that was a mess. Oops. Danica's turned out all right though.
Megan, in her completed outfit.
Danica, in her completed outfit. Danica's dress was a bit fancy for a trekking, but really, when I was 12 I would have wanted the prettiest dress--who cares about it being more a Sunday church dress rather than a work dress when you're only getting one, right??!?
Megan, Danica, and Devaney. Megan bought the dress for Devaney off of Etsy, since I'm taking some classes now and already had way to many things to do to have time to sew another dress. It's really cute; Devaney looks darling.
Ahhh, cute. Overall, I am very happy with how they turned out. I wish I had choose a brighter pattern for Megan's fabric, but at the time, I was trying to get at least a semi-authentic looking pattern, and I didn't want to err on the side of being loud--so I erred on the side of being too bland instead. Sorry, Megs. That's the only major thing I would have changed. Anyway, I hope Megan and Danica like them, because that's most important, right? Myles liked them apparently, because he asked me to make him an outfit next. Sorry Myles, my schedule is full up, maybe next year. Megan was, I think, a bit overwhelmed by my overly ambitious costumes. I
know she didn't expect all that, and she probably won't even wear all the petticoats and stuff. But I couldn't really help myself--it was fun! And I love the details. Like petticoats. Anyway, beware if you ever ask me to make costumes, I really can't help myself. There should be like AA type group for this.
Oh, I did make aprons for them too. I used Butterick 5509. They were simple, and again I used bed sheets from the thrift store for them.
And just in case you want to make your own Mormon Pioneer Trek clothes, or Dickens Faire, or Victorian clothes, here's a few links I found especially useful, or well, just fun to sit and wistfully dream about making dresses that look that good and then wearing them.
I can also safely say that I could pick out 1830's-1850's dresses fairly accurately now. Fun stuff. . And I have to say that I am NEVER going to sew a dress like that again when I don't have the person next door to try it on every five minutes or a dress form. I really want a dress form. And a serger. But you know, little by little. And now good night. Only 488 projects left to go.
So I held her head while I carried her the rest of the way down. My hands didn't look too bloody by the time this picture was taken. But still, it's macabre to have your hands covered in blood. I cleaned her wound when we got home (and Leo's scraped knee) and then took her to urgent care where she had three staples put in. She was very calm through the whole thing. I was impressed. It was kind of fun to clean it all up, I liked wound care a lot when I was nursing. 
