As I neared the end of the bodice drafting process, I realized that I had to figure out the circumference of the skirt so that I could draft the outer later of the bodice.
Now, I'm not great at math, so I was venting my confusion on my Instagram stories. I know that 3x the waist measurement is standard for most gathered or pleated skirts, but surely that was too much for the sleek Regency silhouette? But 2x the waist didn't seem like enough, either.
Two other Instagram costumers, @frauleinninka and @alexis.sarah.montez, came to my aid! @frauleinninka said that the hem of her late 1790s/early 1800s dress (which is really lovely and you should go see it) was 3x the underbust and @alexis.sarah.montez said that 3x would be good if the fabric was light. Unfortunately I'm a contrary-mary and decided to go with 2.5x the underbust.
Armed with that information, I did some more math, and more referencing Regency Women's Dress. I decided that roughly 15" would be gathered down into the 2.5" at the bottom of the center back panel. (This may seem like a lot, but the dress pattern I started with from "Regency Women's Dress" called for 18" to be cartridge pleated down to 1.") About 7.75" on either side of that would not be pleated or gathered. The rest of the circumference was split in two and told me how much I needed to extend the front panels of the bodice to match the skirt.
With the math blessedly done and the skirt panels cut (one full width of the fabric, plus some extra), I could start constructing the skirt!
The two skirt panels were seamed together using a running backstitch to form a tube, and then the seam allowances were used to form a rolled hem. I rolled them instead of felling them in the hopes that it would be less visible from the outside. I was talking with @fraulinninka again at this point, when she suggested a mantua maker's seam (which seams and finishes the fabric all at once) might work. She was probably correct, but I was already done with one seam when I saw her message.
Next step was to find center front on the skirt and (carefully following the grain) cut a slit 10" long. Both edges of the slit were given a rolled hem, and the bottom of the slit given a few whip stitches to reinforce it and keep the fabric from tearing.
This was the point when I realized that I had no idea how I was going to attach the skirt to the bodice. I could hide all the raw edges between the lining and outer layers of the bodice, but the outer fabric is so sheer, and that would only work in the back, up to the point where the front lining and the gathered outer layer separated. I could hem the top of the skirt before attaching it, but that sounded like a lot of work. I could start writing this blog post in order to procrastinate and in the hopes that it would help me think through my options (hello from past Alex!).
I ended up folding and ironing half an inch down around the entire top of the skirt, then folding that edge in again, resulting in a quarter inch fold. The seam allowance at the waistline of the bodice was also folded up and ironed (roughly half an inch). The seam allowance on just the front outer layer (the part that gathers on the drawstring) was folded in again to get the quarter inch fold.
With that prep work done, I carefully lined up the edge of one side of the outer bodice with the center front slit of the skirt. The folded seam allowances were folded into each other with the drawstring cord sandwiched between them. I'm not quite sure if that explanation helps, so check out the diagram below. It was difficult to get everything in place, but I like the finish it gave.
I started by pinning everything in place while I whipstitched the edges of the drawstring casing in, but quickly discovered that was too hard to maneuver, so I basted the edges of the drawstring casing instead, and just used one pin at the end to hold the drawstring in place until I could stitch it down. I had marked a line on my bodice pattern where I wanted the drawstring to begin
This process was repeated on the other side of the outer bodice layer.
Then, in order to connect the rest of the skirt, I completely disregarded the folding and ironing I had done on the upper edge of the skirt! From the ends of the drawstring casings to the back bodice seams, the skirt and bodice were lined up, pinned, and sewn right sides together.
I decided to finish the waist seam of the bodice all in one go. I started with the front lining (the edge folded up twice and whipstitched), then the side with the ungathered skirt attached (bodice layers trimmed, skirt folded up over that twice and felled, catching only the lining layer of the bodice), finishing the bottom of the center back panel (folded up twice like the front lining), then the other ungathered side section, then the other front lining. It mostly went well, but things got a bit fiddly when it came time to transition between having the skirt attached and not having the skirt attached.
At last, I could do the center back. When I was doing all the finishing I talked about above, I was intending to cartridge pleat that section, since that's what the pattern called for. I even got the gathering stitches done before deciding that this fabric was just way too thin. So I decided to try a whipped gather, but I didn't like how the gathers were turning out. I ended up freehanding some pleats. None are more than a quarter-inch wide and many of them overlap. They're not perfect, but I was getting pretty frustrated at that point, so I decided they were Good Enough. The tops of the pleats were whipped to the seam allowance on the inside, then I slipped my needle down and whipped them to the bottom of the seam allowance from the outside. That still wasn't secure enough for me, so I went through and whipped down all the visible folds on the inside too. The pleats didn't need any finishing beyond that because I used the selvage edge.
Once the skirt was attached, I could hem the skirt! I put the dress on over the proper undergarments and (with my mother's help) pinned where I wanted the hem to fall - hitting the top of the foot in the front and just hitting the ground in the back.
I had assumed (silly me) that rolled hems would be common on the sheer gowns, but research proved me wrong! Looking at the pre-1815 gowns Regency Women's Dress again, hems (when discussed) seem to run about 1-2." Pictures of extant gowns seem to confirm this, though my research here was limited to the Pinterest board I put together specifically for this dress.
So the hem was evened out, folded up twice, and ironed. The hem is a little over 1.5" deep in the front and a bit over .75" in the back. Doing this allowed me to not cut the hem at all, making it more adjustable. I attached the hem using a sort of whip stitch, but spaced out like a herringbone hem stitch. (If there's a name for this, please let me know.)
And that's the skirt done! Did I make it way more complicated than I needed to? Absolutely. Do I regret that? Kind of, yeah. But I was never aiming for 100% perfectly historically accurate and I'm just so excited to finally see this dress come to life!
I'll be back in part 4 to draft and construct the sleeves, and there will eventually be a part 5 with nice final photos and some of my original inspiration!
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
Comments