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I haven't done this much hand sewing in a *while*...and let me tell ya...my hands are still sore. 🤣
It's finished & I am so thrilled with how this Edwardian evening gown turned out. The fit, the shape, the details, the textures, all of it...I'm just really really pleased with it.
My inspiration for the design of the bodice was based on just looking at *a lot* of net & silk bodices and gowns that survive today and taking what I was seeing into consideration for what worked best for my body, the time I had available, and what materials I had at my disposal. As much as I can joke and tease about how Edwardian era dressmakers must have just thrown lace and trim at the wall and just used what stuck (cause some of these bodices are just pure decorative chaos), I understood how easy it was to keep going with applying trim and decoration. I stopped where I did, mostly out of time, and I got everything I *needed* on the bodice stitched down...but I totally could have kept going. 🤣
This bodice was made using Victorian and Edwardian sewing techniques that I found in my collection of antique bodices and is mostly hand-sewn. The seams of the silk taffeta lining were sewn by machine, but everything else had to be sewn by hand.
Bodice Drafting Instructions: https://archive.org/details/americansystemof00merw/page/22/mode/2up (this pattern block is meant to be mocked up and carefully fit to the body - it will *not* fit you perfectly in the first fitting unless you're body is the drafting ideal for this shape.)
Instructions on how to construct a late Victorian/Edwardian Evening or Wedding Bodice: https://archive.org/details/dressmaker01butt/page/88/mode/2up
Dry Goods Economist, 1909, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dry_Goods_Economist/HZhBAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=lingerie%20dress (NOTE: I used Lingerie dress for a price reference simply because it was a dress term that I could easily use to find prices, what I made is *not* a lingerie dress, and is usually just described as what it is - a silk dress with net overlay.)
The inflation calculator I used: https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1902?amount=1
00:00 - 7:04 - Pattern Drafting, First fitting, Pattern adaption & Squarespace
07:05 - 11:13 - Lining Construction, Second Fitting (ft. Nicole), Stitching up the back, adding the satin & net overlay
11:14 - 13:00 - Draping the front placket, sleeves, and belt on Chrissy
13:01 - 18:15 - Final sewing (trim, gauze, sleeves, sequins, hooks & eyes)
18:15 - 19:30 - Final Reveal
19:30 - 24:32 - Cost break down of the project & how it compares to Edwardian prices
24:33 - 25:15 - Bloopers
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📚My books:
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Dressmaking: https://amzn.to/2GrkAIQ
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Beauty: https://amzn.to/2TTwJtq
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📪 Abby Cox
642 N. Madison Street
Bloomington, IN 47404
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