I originally sewed this green Regency dress back in 2015 (give or take a year), made from a straight size of Simplicity 4055. I had barely gotten into historical fashion, I wasn't super experienced with sewing, and this was the very first thing I made.
Making it was a bit difficult, but I was proud of what I had made at the time. Even today I can look back and be proud of the work I did with so little knowledge or sewing background.
Today, though, this dress doesn't make me happy. I was a bit happier with it after I re-did it at the height of the pandemic, but even that feeling has worn off.
The neckline and waistlines are all wrong, the sleeves are... weird, and I can't tie the back closures by myself. Plus, the lovely dark green color doesn't fit into my Regency wardrobe, making it hard to wear with the accessories I have.
So what do I do with it?
The historical answers are to either alter it (again) or to pass it on to someone else who will get some use out of it.
I'll be honest, I can't see anyone liking it any more than I do. And to be even more honest, I've put so much work into the dress already and I am very attached to it. So passing it on isn't going to happen.
Altering it is a better, but much more labor-intensive option. The color would be easy to fix (the fabric is cotton, so some dye remover and a new dye bath should do the trick). Everything else will be... less easy. Especially because the skirt isn't as wide as it should be, and I only have a few small scraps of this fabric left.
The third, sadder, and slightly less historical option? Scrap it. The skirt has enough fabric to use for mockups and I can always find a use for the smaller bodice pieces.
Alteration options
There are two ways I can see myself altering this dress to work better for my wardrobe.
(Quick notes - The skirt is fairly narrow, but I don't know how much I actually have to work with because I haven't measured. The bodice is fully lined so I have two bodices to work with. Both of the following options require complete disassembly of the dress.)
Number 1: Center front drawstring
This idea would have the bodice end up like my white dress, with a partial bodice lining and a center-front drawstring closure at the neck and waist. Or maybe no lining.
I would use both the bodice front and bodice front lining to cut out two new bodice fronts. These new pieces would have a lower neckline, and would extend past the center front in order to allow the drawstrings to gather them up nicely. How much gathering there would be depends on how much fabric I have in the skirt, especially since I want to keep some pleating at the center back.
Two back panels would get sewn up to create a center back piece.
Then the bodice can be reassembled. The skirt would get reattached so that the current center-back opening becomes the center-front opening, and drawstring casings would get put in the neck and waist.
Since the sleeve and redying process would be the same, I'll only write it out once after my second alteration option.
Number 2: Apron-front closure
This idea would take the bodice to an apron-front gown. The bodice lining pieces would be re-cut to a better shape and stay the lining, and a large piece of one of the outer front pieces would become the bib/apron front.
Center back bodice pieces would have to be sewn up again, like in the previous option and then the bodice could be mostly assembled.
The center back opening of the skirt would have to be sewn up, and two new slits would have to be cut and finished for the apron-front closure. How much overlap I'd have on the sides of that would, again, depend on how much skirt I have left after leaving some to be center-back pleats.
Sleeves and dye
So the sleeves are probably going to be the most difficult part of this process. I have to come up with a new sleeve pattern that fits my arm well, fits into an existing armscye that is mildly deep-set in the back, and the new pattern has to be able to be cut from my existing sleeves.
So my game plan is to disassemble both sleeves and take a pattern from them onto some mockup fabric. and just... have at it, I guess. Lots of trial and error. No cutting into or reattaching the sleeves until I am completely happy with the results.
Then, finally, I can redye it.
The first step, of course, will be to un-dye it. I already have a box of Rit's Color Remover, but I might need a second box.
Once I know the results of that, I can make my final color decision. Right now I'm favoring either some shade of blue or a dark red, because those would match my color scheme best. However, a grey or brown might also do well because they would coordinate with those colors while bringing in some new colors that I can work into my accessories. And this will probably still be a work dress, so it doesn't have to be a super pretty color.
A simple dye bath or two will get the job done and I would be good to go, with a dress that fits me, fits into my wardrobe, and that I am once again proud of!
Of course, this all hinges on my motivation levels and ability to finish the projects I start, which have been... not great lately.
We'll see. The point of this post was to get all these thoughts out of my head, and it has been successful. So until the next time I have the motivation to sew something -
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
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