Back in October, the PA side of Washington's Crossing had a little 18th century market. I didn't feel like wearing my green and pink striped linen gown again, and with the weather that weekend I definitely wasn't going to wear my wool jacket either. My only other dress is the red silk one I made back in March. So of course that meant I spent the day before the event making a whole new gown. Because who doesn't do that?
I'd already altered my bodice pattern for what I wanted earlier in the week, but I waffled until the last minute whether to actually make it or not. But in the end I did make it. I spent about 10 hours on it, not counting the drafting time, and it's a mix of machine and hand sewn. Anything visible is handsewn, of course. I'm really happy with how it came out, and the only tweaking it needs is taking the sleeves in slightly at the elbow. My original sleeve pattern stops just below the elbow and includes a dart there for shaping. For this dress I wanted the sleeve to end just above the elbow, so I just shortened the pattern piece without changing the underarm seam shape, so it currently flares out slightly instead of tapering in. But that will be a super easy and quick fix.
It's made as a late style en fourreau, inspired primarily by this gown in the LACMA collection, because I liked the cutaway front shape of it. I wore it retroussée dans les poches, or pulled through the pocket slits, to keep it up some. I also wore it with new mitts, made of a brown shot cotton/linen blend, and a new Quaker style bonnet, in a very non-Quaker color. It's fantastic. I made it based on the video posted on Facebook a few months ago by the Margaret Hunter shop.
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