The Dress: Patterning

For the pattern, I started off with the 1901 gown from Janet Arnold, which is also the skirt pattern for my dressing gowns, as it is a full circle at the hem and gives that nice swoopy s-curve.  I also used the underbodice pattern, as I had enlarged it some time ago, but I can now tell that the original was much closer to, if not the same as, the Oak leaf dress bodice.  The overbodice was draped onto the underbodice, the back and front are each one piece. 

Bodice mockup with petticoat.

The skirt was a bit of a wrangle, as it turned out the original had a gathered back and, as I found, you can’t just insert material into the center back seam of a skirt with a circular hem and have it come out not looking like a giant squared-off Grand Russian Imperial something or other.  Luckily, that was fixed by using simple geometry; a compass, protractor, and a tape measure secured to a tack.  The shorter overskirt was patterned by fiercely eyeballing the pictures and mocking up to fit.  The flow and drape and size of the underskirt was extra important because it had to fit 6 applique’d motifs that met at the hem and hopefully appeared vertical when the skirt was worn.  The skirt pattern was finished September 2014. 

Also to be patterned were the sequin layout and the velvet motifs.  The sequins I did by again fiercely eyeballing all pictures of the skirt and trying to figure out how the sequins went on under the velvet applique, then drawing the squigglies in pencil on the overskirt pattern until it looked right. 

The velvet was much the same way.  I had already drawn up a pattern for my fiance M’s wedding suit, but it needed to be slimmed, lengthened, widened, etc. so I mostly freehanded it again.  Only half, though, and used the mystical power of mirroring to trace the other side.  The originals show much interweaving of the pattern, so each motif ended up being 5 pieces.

Old motif on left, new motif on right

The bodice applique was patterned thusly; I traced off the overbodice, and then glared at pictures that I analyzed in, what else, Paint, to show proportions and things and what goes over and under what and what those bits look like underneath those other bits, and drew it all out as it would appear on the final bodice.  I then traced each of those bits to make its own pattern.  

Analysis of original bodice showing anatomical underlay

All the pieces for bodice front and back.  Cut 2.

The pieces on the right are my own interpretation of the left; I would do a few things differently regarding proportion 'next time', but would be much more interested in someone else's interpretation of this delicate jumble.  I even looked for the original drawing of the overbodice pattern and couldn't find it.  Did I throw it away?  It seems unspeakable, but at the time I was quite pressed and took a certain glee in 'breaking the mold', since I was NOT expecting to do this again.  Of course I now regret it, because it was a beautiful thing in itself, and I can't show it to you.

Underskirt pattern.  This ends up being split in the the fabric by a vertical seam on the left, parallel to the front seam.