In Sewing a Regency Gown Part 1, I drafted the bodice pattern for my quintessential white Regency dress. Now, I can go over construction!
I'm using a white cotton muslin from JoAnn Fabrics for the lining of the bodice, and a white cotton lawn from Renaissance Fabrics (which is, sadly, no longer in stock) for the outer layer.
Once I had my pattern pieces drafted, I cut out my fabric and used a large running stitch to mark the seam allowances, the center back, a line under the arm, and the bust darts, and gave everything a good iron. The cotton lawn had stretched and shifted a lot (likely as a result of cutting out my fabric on carpet), so I'm glad I marked the seam allowances.
The bust darts were the very first thing I sewed and, after years of planning this project, I was absolutely giddy about FINALLY starting to sew it!
With that done, I overlapped the lining and outer layers, doing my best to line them up. The seams were hand sewn with a backstitch (because they were short seams and I was too lazy to get out my sewing machine), and finished by folding the seam allowance onto the back panel and felling it with a whip stitch. The center front edges of the lining flaps were turned over twice and whipstitched as well. The center front edges of the cotton lawn were corrected to be on grain and given a tiny rolled hem.
(As a quick aside - in my first post I said I was going to use the American Duchess book for construction instructions. I did not do that. Their methods are a lot more accurate than mine, but mine still get the job done, I hope.)
Then it was neckline time. The neckline of the front lining pieces were finished the same way I finished I finished the flap edges, which was only a little difficult around the curved part. The outer cotton lawn layer was treaded much the same way, except I slipped some thin cotton cord into the hem to make the neckline drawstring and casing. With those done, I was able to finish off the short bit at the top of the center back panel by, again, folding the edge over twice and whip stitching it down.
And with that, the bodice was done! I'll be back in Part 3 of this series to talk about constructing and attaching the skirt!
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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