My Victorian day dress is coming along pretty well. I’m having a little trouble maintaining my inspiration to sew with this one, though. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I’m not going to have time to make this one super fancy with lots of amazing details. I tend to like super fancy things, so with this being a bit plain I might be bored already?
Anyway, I got the bustle put together. I used the Truly Victorian pattern and bought the kit with the pre-cut and capped wires for the Imperial Tournure (TV163). It was really easy to assemble!
Dat bustle.
Unhemmed underskirt over the bustle.
I was pretty excited when the bustle was done, because it adds a whole new dimension to the dress and makes it more definitively 1880s. I think I’ll get really into it again once I put it on for the first time (I haven’t tried it on myself yet because it doesn’t have closures yet. I am the laziest person ever when it comes to closures. Half my every-day skirts don’t have hooks–I just safety pin them on me.)
I adjusted the fit on the bodice a bit, and it seems to be better. Once I got the lining in, however, I realized that the vest pieces still overlapped too much in the front, so I trimmed them down. I feel like I’m really not going to know if the fit is exactly right until I get the buttons in the front, at which point I can’t really adjust the fit any more, so I’m just hoping that it’s alright. It would be much easier to tell if I had a dress form that was an exact replica of my torso. Mine is too broad in the shoulders, too thick in the ribcage, and too flat in the cup size for me, so when I put things on my body they seem to fit, but on the dress form everything looks awkward. At some point I will make my own dress form, but for now I’m making do.
Here’s the bodice over the bustle and underskirt:
I feel like I’m going to like the back of this dress much more than I like the front. At least when it comes to the bodice.
Look at that bodice tail.
So I think there’s a good chance this will be done in time for the two events the first week in December. I don’t know if I’m going to have a hat and a coat to go with the outfit, but I’ll have a dress at the very least. By next update I should have sleeves and buttons. Maybe even the overskirt!
And if anyone wants to see more in-between updates, I post a lot of progress pictures on Instagram, so you can follow me there @mylittlewolfie.
The Victorian Archivist 