1860s Ballgown

[Forteisbest]

So I've been working on this for a good two years now, and I've finally finished.  I was definitely not ready to start it when I did, I didn't even know how to attach piping (and I had to make it), nor did I know how to fit things properly.  Also I couldn't sew a straight line.  But I started, and finished.  Woo!  And here, have pictures.  You can't see my face, shh.   I'll use my mannequin later, so it looks...better.  But right now my mannequin has been corseted so long it's almost disfigured, so I'm letting it breathe.



Just so you all can see it in the thumbnail, as per kindly suggestions from kindly folks.



The Chemise and Pantaloons.  Very billowy.  And Plain.  I didn't take the effort to trim the chemise, because I need to make a new one anyways.  Mine isn't an Evening Chemise, so it's too high up on my neck, and shows above the top of my gown.  But hey, I learned how to gather with this.  Or rather, I perfected it.



The Pantaloons have trim.  Pink bows. <3  But scandalous, I'm showing ankles! :O



The Corset.  It's a cotton one, so it's not very strong.  I've no desire to suffocate myself, and the weaker fabric encourages me not to cinch it too tightly.  Also, I ran out of time, and I'm going to make a new one later.  A longer one.  Longer corsets are aways better.



Another Corset shot.  They're Slimming.



The Hoops.  I made them, I didn't order them.  So much straight-line-boning stitching, oof.  But they're lovely.  I wanted huge ones, they have a little over a 200" circumference.  Can't get them that swoopy on the internet.



The Petticoat.  I gathered those two ruffles by hand.  So much ruffling.  But I wanted to be sure the bones of the hoop didn't show through the skirt of the ballgown.  I'm not a lampshade.



Finally!  The Ballgown!  Again!  It's got a bit of psychedelic wall in the corner, ignore that.  It took me three attempts to make that bodice, since I had no idea what I was doing.  First time, my stitched lines weren't straight.  Second time, the bodice point in front was crooked.  This time, it's close enough.   Also, I can't lift my arms.  I don't know how they danced.



Sleeve detail, just because.  Altogether, the whole thing with underpinnings weighs a little over ten pounds.  So heavy.  But I love it.

[Harvey]

Very cool. I know what you mean about the weight, I made the Kaylee Shindig dress for my daughter. The colours are great!

[tinybits]

Wow.. Intense! So i don't have any clue on the era clothing, the chemise and pantaloon is also part of the ball gown to go together?

[Aislynn]

Wow this is absolutely incredible!  What patterns did you use?  You should be so freaking proud!

[BlankGirl]

OMG!!!!! You did such a fantastic job that I cant believe you didnt know what you were doing. That dress is epic! GREAT JOB!!!!

[mama24boyz]

I think your dress is BEAUTIFUL!!!!  I LOVE that style!!

[Ludi]

Impressive amount of work and beautiful result!

[Forteisbest]

Thanks, you-all.  You're fabulous.

tinybits--  Without the proper "underpinnings," our modern selves aren't the right shape.  The dress would look weird.  So the chemise and pantaloons and all are part of the ballgown.  By my standards. XD

Aislynn-- Oh, so many patterns.   And they were all out-of-prints (except the actual ball gown) from various internet sources.  For chemise, pantaloons, and hoopskirt I used Mcalls 3609.  For my corset and petticoat I used Simplicity 5726 (Don't use Simplicity for corsets.  They're too big. By a lot).  For the actual gown, the bodice was Pastpatterns 704, and the skirt was Truly Victorian TV240.  I drew on a page what I wanted, and then found patterns to make it work.  I should have started smaller.   And thanks.

[yoopidou]

Very beautiful ball gown, I hope you get to dance in it many times.

[WingsOfClay]

amazing!!!

u might want to move that picture of the FINISHED outfit up to the top of the thread, so that people see that from the homepage as a thumbnail. when i clicked, i thought it was just a post about a night-gown...the final full length image of the gown blew me away!!!