Ah, I'm back to working on the Edwardian Tea Dress! Which is good, because I'm supposed to be wearing it on Friday! :) Sewing to a deadline- not something I'd recommend, but it's how I stop procrastinating!
As a reminder, here's my pattern. It's really modeled after the Rose "swim dress" from the movie "Titanic". (Or as I call it, "Something to wear while I run around the entire ship and then almost drown. Because I'm in First Class." Was anyone else amazed that this dress didn't get caught on something in the engine room, or at least dirty? Or was that just me?)
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| So pretty! |
Color Design:
The colors I chose I am calling peach, seafoam green, and marine blue. Since the pattern calls for three dress layers, I went with the peach as the bottom later, then the green in the middle, and blue on top (with the green also forming the sash in the middle). While it's not an exact color match, here's an idea of the final product.
I LOVED working with the peach fabric. Normally, I don't crush over peach. All costumers have some colors they veer away from, usually because it's too "modern". Peach was HUGE during my childhood (late 80s, early 90s), and so when I see it, I steer clear. But when I looked at it against my skin, it was so dreamy! I may have to go and make something else peach! Yummy!
Chemise panic!
My Edwardian underthings have been slow going. I have a completed Edwardian 1910s corset, which will go perfectly under here (as opposed to the Edwardian 1900s S-shaped corset), and a Edwardian chemise and drawers. But I had a brief moment of panic, because I realized I am facing something I've never done before- the V-shaped Edwardian back! Yikes! Would my chemise be visible?? I tried on my mockup with the corset and chemise, and you could see maybe 1/2" of chemise in the front. So, once the dress is finished, I'll try it on again. If I can't pin it down, I may just have to wear it with my Regency chemise, which has an adjustable neckline. Note for the future: need another Edwardian chemise, with a lower front and back. Sigh.Mockups & Body issues
To make people feel better, I will let you know that I went through four (yikes!) mockups for the bodice: first was too small, second needed some adjustment, and third needed even more adjustment, before I was happy.
One of my ongoing sewing challenges is that I have both sloping shoulders, and narrow shoulders. So, fitting around the shoulders (and even the upper rib cage) tends to have issues, and causes all of my fitting concerns. (Interestingly, despite my height, I fit patterns perfectly from the neckline to waist, and never have to lengthen my bodices. Yay!)
To see the effects of narrow shoulders in action:
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| Queen Elizabeth from Reign. Yes, the costumes are not authentic, it's on the CW, blah, blah, blah. I think it's fun and dramatic, and has hot guys with swords. So, nyah. |
I love this actress because she perfectly demonstrates what narrow shoulders look like. See how it's almost a straight line from her waist to her armpit? That's me. It's annoying.
Edwardian challenges:
Each new era has it's own "look" in term of silhouette. Edwardian (1900-1918), especially the 1910s, closely follows the looks of Regency (1800-1820), almost a century before. They both have the empire waistline (or in the case of Edwardian, the directoire waistline), the light fabrics, the fitted bodice (but not overly so, and not boned), and the skirts without support (no hoops, no bustle, crazy talk!). Working in this era, when mostly I've done late Victorian, makes me twitch a little.
For example, the pattern calls for a lining for the skirt. But when I look at Rose's dress, the fabric is so light and flyaway, and does not look like it should have a lining, so I nixed that step. However, I will add a petticoat, to give it a little support, but mostly for modesty, as the underskirt is peach and just a little see-through.
Have I mentioned I LOVE the Edwardian long corset? It curves over the hips to give a smooth line, and just makes me feel so elegant!
Project updates:
Once I got finished with the design and the mockups, I started sewing!
Since by this time it was Sunday, I decided to start on what would take the most time- the skirts. Since these go from just under the bust to the floor, they are LONG. I made a mockup of the skirt along with the last bodice, and without a hem, it went to 6" above the ground in my bare feet. Since I was thinking that I should make this slightly earlier (and thus a longer hem), I lengthened the skirt 4", and cut out and sewed the underskirt and two overskirts.
Here is the result!
The colors here look somewhat close to what they actually are. Next step: cut out and sew the bodice and lining, cut out the waist sash and rosette, add some hook and eye tape, and presto!
Ack, I still need to make jewelry!
Stay tuned!
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