October 7, 2017

1863 Plaid Day Dress



Hello Everyone!

I'm delighted to share with you this creation of many years, my *first* Civil War Dress! For as long as I can remember, I have loved and admired the beautiful gowns of the 1860s, but it has taken me until this September to get it fully finished.


I started it about two years ago. I made a chemise, a corset, drawers, and the dress. The biggest problem that I didn't have a hoop skirt...and since I've always wanted one, I decided that this summer was the time to make one!

This isn't a post about my undergarments, so I won't get into to much detail about the corset and hoop skirt and petticoats. But I just have to mention my hoop skirt, because I love it so much! If I was a woman who lived in that day, I would see it as something "liberating", since it frees you from all those layers of petticoats and is so much cooler for summer and indoor events. I made the hoop skirt this September. After searching around on the internet for the cheapest option, I finally decided to draft my own hoop. I ended up making the entire thing for about $45 dollars, which I think is a pretty good deal! The circumference of the bottom hoop ended up to be about 120", though the finished product may have grown a little.

So, now, onto the dress...


I used the Laughing Moon 1860's Dress Pattern. The pattern went together really well. It fit almost prefect, and I hardly had to make any adjustments to the pattern. I originally made the dress with the pagoda sleeve option, but after doing some more research and looking at more period pictures, I decided that the pagoda sleeves needed to go. There were also some other adjustments that needed to be made. 



So this summer, I "re-made" the dress, almost from the beginning. I took off the sleeves and the skirt, then fit the bodice a little better. Before, it had been slightly crooked and the binding fit very strangely. Once the bodice was finished, I re-pleated the skirt, this time with a dog-leg closure, sort of complicated, but pretty common in these mid-victorian gowns. 

The skirt is fitted to the waistband in three different ways. The back has cartridge pleats, the sides are two big box pleats, and the front is knife pleated. I love the way how these pleats all flow out over the hoops.

Cartridge pleats just make me so happy:) 






The sleeves are probably my favorite part of the finished dress! I based them off of several pictures I'd seen, and I'm totally in love with them! For the sleeves, I just drafted them on the bias, and sewed them until the fit. The puffs were made by following the tutorial on Romantic History, and they turned out great! The cuffs are just basted on, and I based them off a period photograph. 



Every material I used in making this dress is from Hobby Lobby, I think. The fabric is some blue and tan small plaid that I have always admired. The dress is entirely flatlined with plain cream cotton, which makes it sit really nice, but also makes it really hot. Especially when its 75 degrees in full sun...:) But anyway...



Even though a lot of people think that clothes from this time were really restricting and hard to live in, I've found that I can function pretty well in them! In the afternoon that we took these pictures, I went walking for a mile in the corset and hoop skirt, and went walking through corn fields! And it was all comfortable and easy. 


Fall leaves and civil war dresses...two of my favorite things. Especially when they're together:) 


Photos by my sister. 




August 16, 2017

My Blue Regency Dress -- 1801

This has got to be one of my favorite projects ever. The lovely blue linen, the big knife pleats, the white ruffles, and that blue linen scarf just make me so happy. So much fun to wear!


I made this 1801 blue regency dress about two months ago. It's entirely hand sewn, except for one tiny seam in the lining that doesn't even serve any purpose. So, yes, it's hand sewn. I'm wearing it over my 1860's chemise and drawers, and my regency bodiced petticoat. I love how this project turned out. It's also hand sewn, and there's cording and tucks around the hem. So cute! There's an excellent tutorial on how to make a bodiced petticoat here. The light blue linen scarf is a modern scarf that I threw on last minute, and I'm so glad I did!


The fabric is a rayon/linen blend from Joann's that I bought years ago. I know it's not an overly accurate color for linen in the 18th century, but it's cute. It started out as a rather ill-fitting 1780's dress. It was quite plain and needed a lot of improvements, but I wore it all the time just the same. Earlier this year, I saw a turquoise regency dress on a book cover and I decided I needed one too. I had just enough fabric to remake the 1780's dress into a 1801 dress and I'm very happy with the result. 


                         


I used period techniques whenever I could on this dress. The bodice lining is constructed first, and then the linen is topstitched onto it.  I know this is maybe more of a 18th century technique, but since this is a early 19th century dress, I figured it would work. 

This dress is a bib front gown, which means the front panel is pinned into place after fastening the ties on the bodice underneath. Some dresses fasten with buttons, but I chose to used pins because it's so adjustable. 




This skirt is pleated and unlined. I wanted a very loose look to the pleats, so I think there's one 4" box pleat in the back, and 1 1/2" - 2" knife pleats all the way around. This skirt is just rectangle panels, not shaped like a lot of other regency dresses are. It's also a little wider in the skirt, but it still has the narrower silhouette of that era. 

























This outfit feels like something straight out of Sense and Sensibility! Out for a walk in the English countryside... I feel like it's something that someone could have really worn back in the early 19th century, not just a costume. I think I could live in clothes like these. 







These two look very Grecian to me. Or Roman;) I guess it's the scarf and the hair ribbon...
The Regency Era was very much inspired by classical architecture and fashion, so I like how these pictures turned out. 





Photos by my mom :)





August 15, 2017

Hello!

Hi there! Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my new venture here. I love sewing and vintage and I'd like to share my creations with you! I've been a seamstress for nearly 11 years, and almost everything I've made is blue, hence the name, I Dream In Blue. :) I must warn you, I think they'll be many more blue creations in the years to come!
 I hope you enjoy my blog, feel free to leave a comment and join me in this adventure!