One more picture

These two dresses were actually made for End of Trail. The blue and red wasn't worn at that event though, and debuted at the convention.

All Done!

I finished everything! It's a minor miracle! I got the last bits done on the Madame X dress Wednesday before I had to get everything packed up to the trip to the airport Thursday morning. The only alterations I had to make in Vegas were for my own dress, which wasn't at all surprising given how much time I had to work out the bodice pattern. Sadly though I won't be able to wear the dress again until I replace the corset. Trying to take in a corset as much as I needed to take that one in is a recipe for pain, let me tell you.

Here is Thena's blue lace dress dress. She took 3rd place in the costume contest with this (and a wonderful presentation!)



Lastly, the fringed dress. This ended up not being worn at this event, but should make it's grand debut at End of Trail this year.

Getting things done!

Well, the weekend was very unproductive, but I knew it would be since Dickens opened. I got a whole lot done Thursday and Friday though! The blue lace dress is finished!

I added some little bows to the sholders and did the corsage thing for the skirt today. All I have left to do is a couple of hooks on the skirt, which I will wait to do until I'm in Vegas and have the person this is for with me.

Today I got the skirts for the day dress finished as well. This went much quicker than I thought it would, and I'm really pleased with the pleats and ruching on the underskirt.



This afternoon I will get started on the bodice, after taking a much needed latte break though! If I can keep it up like this for the rest of the week I'll even have my Madame X dress done!

Thena's skirt

It's done! Well, mostly done. I have a bit of hand sewing yet to do, and will be taking up a few more drapes with some flowers or bows or something, but the machine work is done.

I have the front of the bodice put together, and should get the back done tonight. I'm going to put the button holes in before attaching the front to the back I think, since the tail/train thing makes the whole thing huge and unwieldy. Hopefully I have some bias tape to finish off the edges with. If not, I can pick that up tomorrow when I run to Britex for some ribbon for my Worthy Matron dress.

And dress number 3

My 3rd project for Vegas is this dress. I'm making it for one of the Wild Bunch wives, and my brother's future mother in law. This is based on one of the patterns from Ageless Pattern, with a healthy does of my own modifications (mainly, I'm taking off the train and will probably leave the neck line open instead of having the little undershirt thing show). I love the colors! It was a minor miracle that I found the yellow tassel fringe! It matches the reverse side of the blue fabric almost perfectly. Who would have ever thought? Of course, once again I've spent more money on the trim than I did on the fabric, but that's the way these things go.

More inspiration and a bit of progress!

Last night I finally got the blue tail bodice cut out. Yay! Of course, I did run in to a bit of a problem, in that the tail bodice tail pieces are wider than my muslin, so I need to either piece together a flat lining or go get wider muslin. I think wider muslin is a better plan, personally, so with any luck I send the ultimate wearer of the dress on a muslin buying mission.

Here is the sketch and swatches for this dress:

The underskirt is done, except for a dust ruffle and hem binding. This weekend (or maybe tonight, we'll see) I will finish off the hem, drape the lace over skirt, and put the whole thing on to it's waist band. Once I get the lining for the train, I will get the bodice put together. The last step will be doing the tapes for the bustling in back. This is always my favorite part. I usually use large snaps to hold everything in place, which allows you to un-bustle things and iron it all out, but requires a great deal of hand sewing. I'm a sick person, I like hand sewing. Sitting in my living room sewing snaps, drinking tea, and watching costume movies is my idea of a perfect winters evening.

Inspiration

I am planning to make the dress out of black duchess satin with a re-embroidered net overlay for the skirt to add some sparkle and depth. The net has a large diamond pattern marked out in flat sequins and floral embroidery.

The second dress is based on Ageless Patterns #1010. The dress will be done with a pearl colored underskirt and a blue and yellow shot taffeta for the dress. Through some miracle, I found yellow tassel fringe that matches, and I'll be laying that on top of pearl colored fringe for the skirt trimmings.

Dress Three is based on a fashion plate from 1885. I can't find a scanned version, but it's a pretty basic v-necked bodice with 3/4 sleeves, a long train, and a lace overskirt. The body of the dress is in an ice-blue taffeta, and the lace is a creamy re-embroidered net. Hopefully I can get a sketch or the fashion plate uploaded at some point.