This dress was a continuation of my experimental archeology in finding the best way to make a 1540s Italian Court Gown. And I think you can just see my excitement when I opened the package. If not you can definitely hear it when on the video.
The primary difference between this dress, and the others I have made in the past was the internal structure. Instead of using cotton canvas, I used Horsehair canvas. I still don't think I can properly articulate what that changed, other than it make a bigger difference than I was expecting. Once the boning channels were placed, I knew that this dress would fit me differently from all of the others. And I am not disappointed.
Adding the fashion layer is fairly straightforward. But it's a lot of smoothing and pinning, and basting to make sure that everything is in place. Something else that I did differently on this round was to add extra fabric on the sides so that I didn't have to go through the fashion and lining in order to sew the eyelets on. And it honestly made my least favorite part of build court gowns tolerable.
After the fashion fabric, it was time to decide on the guards. Originally I got a buttery yellow color from Fabric Mart for this. But the more I looked at it, the more I hated it. And the golden yellow I tried in its place wasn't much better. So I threw it out to my friends to help me decide and I got a recommendation for teal. This isn't a color combo that I would have ever thought of, but I am very impressed with it. I can't imagine a better combo.
I didn't get much, or any content of me making the skirt. But it was fairly straightforward A-line construction. With a padded hem that allowed for volume as well as some structure. This is my favorite way to hem court gowns, and honestly, any dress that needs a little something at the hem.
Was this dress done to the level that I wanted? no. But was I able to get some interesting data to take into my next dress build? absolutely. I feel like with each dress build I level up in some way or another and I can't be happier with the overall shape and look of this dress.
Don't forget to watch the video to see my ADHD brain tackle this project in the most chaotic of ways!
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MARTY | @scrappypatterns
Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories, TAFFETA.
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