A Bit of Fantasy

My dear friend and budding author has recently been working on her first book and asked to do a photo shoot with me for the front cover. My mind immediately sprung on ideas of recreating, Zara, the main character's, dress/coat. She draw me some pictures of the outfit she had in mind which converted a medieval inspired dress into a long coat by adding full-length slits under the lacing in the centre front, back and sides; thus making the outfit very practical.

The whole project took me less than a day and I completely skipped making a mock-up, but it turned out to be almost perfect!
I used a doona cover for the dress but I ran out of fabric so I was forced to cut the right side-back panel out of the decorative border which has a slightly different pattern and colour.

 

For the chemise, I cut out a basic peasant style blouse out of a sheet. I completely guessed the width of the sleeves and the amount of gather around the neckline but it turned out really well!

All in all I'm very happy with how this turned out. I originally planned to have the lacing gaps larger but it still looks really nice with how they are. It is a really flattering design and since making it, my sister and cousin have both used this pattern for outfits of their own!

Date: Fantasy 
Description: Long coat and chemise 
Time: One day
Cost: Less than $5!

Gibson Girl Ensamble

With the final decision of the theme for our first ball came the need to sew an outfit. I had really wanted to sew a ball gown but I was running out of time too quickly. Also, Mum had picked up a brown sheet from the op shop a few weeks earlier, and because the sheet felt nothing like a normal sheet but was really heavy and tough, it was ideal for a skirt. So I decided to put away my dreams of a ball gown for another time and make a skirt-and-shirt outfit.

I started with the skirt. The iconic feature of this era was a skirt with most of the fullness pulled toward the train. So I cut a half-circle skirt but made the top hole half an oval rather than a circle, which when sewn together, created the look very effectively.

I then atatched it to a waistband and it was done!

  

I also whipped up a petticoat to help shape the skirt.

 

Then came the next problem: what style of shirt should I have? I finally came across a sketch of an evening blouse with a boat neck, which was all the convicing I needed to steer away from the iconic high collars.

I ended up making it from the fabris of an old skirt with squence on it. All in all I wouldn't concider it a very periode accurite blouse, but it served it's perpose well!

And finally I whiped together a princess slip and a corset cover to wear underneath.

  

By this time it was the day before the ball so I had no time to make the dawers or corset so I just boroughed them from my 1860's outfit.

Over all, I'm really happy with how the skirt turned out! It sits so nicely and is really fun to wear. The shirt, however, I'm not completly happy with. The sleeves turned out well but the neckline is quite rebelious and refuses to sit well for long.



Date: 1900
Description: Gibson Girl Evening Assamble
Accuracy: I would say that the skirt it fairly accurate as far as my knowlege goes but the shirt is far from accurate!
Time: About a week on and off
Cost: About $10 (all the fabric was from sheets or op shopped clothes)



God Bless!
Hannah