1887 dress, 2011

This dress is based on an Ageless Patterns dress pattern, which are great for authenticity as they are copies of original victorian patterns, but the pattern pieces can't be trusted to be used just as they are. I had to make a lot of adjusting to get the pieces to work together. The skirt is striped silk taffeta and black duchess silk satin draped on an unbleached cotton four gore base that I drafted myself. The hem is faced with the satin. The bodice is made of the same materials, silk taffeta and silk satin flatlined with unbleached cotton. It's boned with spiral steel cased with cotton and hand sewn on the seam allowances that were whip stitched in to the cotton lining. I'm still going to make a hat to complete the outfit, but this is how the dress turned out.

Construction pictures: