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Hello! This is the first part of a series of posts chronicling the construction of a dress for "L" - one of the first commissions I've done. Since I already went over the design sketches and fabric selection let's dive right in to pattern fitting. My last post had resources for the patterns I used, so on to the pretty pictures right away, lol!  And after a session with the client to fit the bodice, here is the end result: a custom fit bodice and sleeve pattern. The hoop skirt, underskirt, and chemise will be loose enough garments that I don't need exact measurements for that. And a thank you to Kate, who helped me remember how to use the dressmaker's underarm curve. ;)  Here are all the custom pattern pieces transferred to paper and labeled, plus cutting layouts for the hoop skirt, underskirt, chemise, bodice lining, sleeve lining, and veil.  A close up of the cutting layouts. If I were making this for myself I'd dive right into cutting out the big squares and not worry about wasting cloth. However, I was on a materials and cost budget so I wanted to be as thrifty as possible. Good thing too - I didn't have much leftover fabric!  And thanks to limited sewing space I am forced to be organized. Here are all the elements cut out and labeled in neat little piles for sewing.  And one footnote - after seeing the fabric in person both "L" and I agreed that brick red/black/green trim didn't go with the soft purple, nor were the sequins and seed beads necessary on a dress that already had metallic embroidery. The first real evening of work began with a seam ripper! Luckily, everything came off very easily with almost no trace. Since I don't want these posts to get too long, I'll stop here for now. I think next time will be hoop skirt, chemise, and underskirt construction.
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As a librarian by day, I am no stranger to research and gathering information. As a successful post graduate I also know once you think you've plumbed the depths of current information a new source pops up. So, it was little to no surprise that my first serious foray into researching actual costume construction (instead of cobbling together my sewing skills, Pinterest, and general thriftiness) yielded no less than 12 books to source. There was no way in heck I was paying $25-$50 for each book from Amazon, though that is where I did my initial research to find them. Inter-library loan to the rescue! I've looked through 8 books so far, copied the pertinent pages, and even bought one that was particularly useful. Or at least it had shiny colorful pages:  Here are links to the others I've had the chance to look through and recommend:
Besides, I believe in my last blog post I said I would post sources for "L"'s actual purple dress. So, below is a complete list of where I got materials, patterns, and inspiration for that particular dress.
And believe it or not, that was the end of my inspiration online. The rest came as I was sewing. I really was copying another dress I had so it was pretty easy. And yes! The dress is done! I'll be doing a series of posts next on how that went. Hopefully after that comes updates on my husband's doublet. We've had illnesses and family deaths, so things are going a bit slower there. In the mean time, here's a preview of the purple dress reborn:  |
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