The 1873 dress turned out exceptionally yummy. The poufy-ness. The gorgeous heliotrope/wisteria color. The kazillion yards of ruching….
It debuted at the Gala at Costume College 2011 and couldn’t have found a happier setting. Here are a few more photos and notes on the making of this delicious piece.
Remember, the inspiration came from the original dress held at the Victoria & Albert Musuem in London and also shown in Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail. Don’t worry – I will be making a day bodice for the skirt like the original.
Here’s a look at those enormous back bustle poufs. They were flatlined with two layers of nylon netting. That, along with the natural stiffness of the silk taffeta, gave the poufs the 1870s silhouette I wanted.
Below is a close up of the gathering. I ran one machine basting stitch, pulled it up to my measured length (14″), then hand tacked the basting line to twill tape.
The lower ruffle on the back panel was 18″ deep with three sets of three ruching lines and a 4″ ruffle at the hem.
The bodice was designed from an idea (page 43) in Victorian & Edwardian Fashions from “La Mode Illustree” by JoAnne Olian.
The sleeve puffs were altered from the Truly Victorian’s #442 1860s Evening Gown Bodice. (yeah, really – Cool how the shape can translate for a decade into the future!)
To not feel left out, the bodice, of course, needed its own bit of ruching too. So I made a separate ruched bertha collar and mounted it to the neckline which was then finished with bias. Both edges were piped with 1/8″ cotton cord.
The bodice closed with simple buttons along the center front which was an historically accurate closure. The bertha area was fastened with three metal hooks and thread loops. It was finished with a quick matching bow.
The “official” photos by Richard Man who was the official photographer at Costume College 2011.
Let’s eat!
Mijn naam is mark uit Nederland en ik vind vichtoriaanse dameskleding prachtige genot om de zien en ben er graag in gekleedt.
With this and the Licorice dress, what bustle were you using?
For the Blackberry dress I believe I wore the Truly Victorian 101 bustle with ruffled overlay and at least one petticoat with ruffles down the back and around the hem.
For the Licorice dress I wore the same TV101 bustle with two starched petticoats over made from Truly Victorian 170 petticoat pattern. However, The black underskirt from the Licorice dress is the same as what I wore (and made initially for) under the 1875 Scotch & Soda Dress. When I first wore that I had the Truly Victorian 108 Grand Bustle on but the hoops at the bottom, I decided later, were not right for the particular fashion year. Future wearings will be the same as the Licorice ensemble – TV101 bustle with two petticoats.
OOPS, made an error. I should have ssaid “attach the ruffle to the garment” Sorry.
Cathy Hickman
I love your site. So interesting to me.
My main interest is in creating period doll clothes. Mostly French fashions. The technique I’m searching for was used for light weight fabrics on these small garments and also on childrens clothing, as far as I know, and makes a very lovely flounce and bretelles. Here it is; after I have gathered the ruffle onto a string and gathered it up to my desired length, how is the ruffle then attached to the ruffle. I can figure something out, but I want to know how it was actually done. I don’t know how long this method was used, but I know childrens fashions from about 1850-60 used this technique.
I appreciate any help or direction you can give me.
Cathy Hickman
Cathys Dolls
Hi Cathy, The easiest way to attach is by hand with a short running stitch. For a modern technique you could use a zipper or cording/piping foot to sew right next to the cord. You might find more suggestions in this post.
Good luck!
Found your site through pinterest. Your sewing talent is AMAZING!
Why, thank you Texan! Welcome to our joyful community here. 🙂
Wow, I know all the ruching is hours and hours of grunt work, but don’t give that box-pleated lower skirt front short shrift- that section is SUPER fine!
Oh – forgot to put in that the skirt and evening bodice took me 78 hours, over half of that was spent on the bodice – if you can believe.
I love the dress! Very well done! How many yards did it take?
Hard to tell. I purchased 13 yds. but there were lots of dirty spots and lines throughout the piece. Got a terrific deal on it though! I figure I have maybe 3 yds. left for the day bodice. So with cutting away the dirty area, maybe around 8 yds. Not sure exactly.
Yours was my favorite dress at Costume College this year. Just AMAZING. Bravo!
Wow! Thank you! I think your dresses are incredible and very inspiring too. I’d love to have your wardrobe. 🙂