IKEA LJUSOGA Italian Gown

When I saw Fresh Frippery's post on a group of dresses made with IKEA's Ljusoga bedsheets, I knew I needed to get in on this gorgeous fabric! Shortly after, I had sold my old phone and had a little extra cash, so I bought the king-sized set and waited for inspiration to strike.

I can't remember if inspiration struck so much as that I wanted to get going on this project. The Modern Mantua-Maker's stunning Italian gown was definitely one inspiration, as was the Italian gown pattern in the An Agreeable Tyrant catalog. As much as I love the pleated back gowns, I wanted to try a new style, and the quarter-backed Italian gowns were all the rage this past year. So that's what I decided to do.

I started with petticoats, as I usually do. I hand-sewed the printed one, and machined the white taffeta one. I also misjudged skirt lengths and got not enough of the taffeta, so it is extra short! I've since added a ruffle that I can't decide if it looks silly or not.

White poly taffeta (front view).

Worn over the white one (back view).

Then it was time to make the dress. I again used Reconstructing History's 822 pattern as a base, and then modified it heavily using the gown pattern on Page 39 of Patterns of Fashion 1.

Original pattern in pale green, finished (mostly) pattern in dark green.

My mock-up was OK...

Aside from the stays issue. The grey cover shows where the stomacher-front stays hit on my body. I didn't want that much showing over top, so that's when I decided I needed a new pair of stays!

I'd made a custom draft from Stays & Corsets, but was really disappointed with the fit (the draft has you take off a minimal amount of circumference, resulting in a snug t-shirt fit and not a supportive garment). I'll write more about them in another post, but I ended up making the 1780s stays from a pattern originally provided by RalphPink.com, which I believe is a straight-up draft from Corsets and Crinolines. It is no longer available there.

And I was really glad I did, because the new one changed the shape of my bust! My original pair flattened my bust and pushed it up, this one pushes it more forward. This was the shape I wanted for this gown. I did have to add some width and height at the CF neckline to ensure overlap and modesty, but that was an easy fix. Then it was time to forge ahead!

According to the date stamps on my photos, this dress got picked up again roughly 2.5 weeks before Costume College. Nothing like the last minute to get started. Here's the finished back on July 11:

And my first on-me fitting with the proper bits on July 13:

I'm putting this unflattering photo in because of that whole "myth of perfection" series that ran around the blogosphere last year. Welcome to what I look like when I sew on days where the temperature reached +30C. For comparison, as I write this it's -35C, and I look much the same ;)

I was pleased with the fit, and the amount of overlap I had at CF. I ended up cutting a lot of it off, but I was grateful for it.

We have sleeves and a neckline! Now for the skirt! #18thcentury #sleevils #handsewn #duvetcover #roadtococo

A post shared by totchipanda (@totchipanda) on Jul 15, 2017 at 11:02am PDT

By July 15, the bodice had sleeves, so I moved on to the skirt. I used the POF gown again, cutting my panels the full height of the diagram, and shaped the front top edge before pleating. I used a full width of the duvet cover, and a little extra (which I machined on with cotton thread; by then I just didn't want to do another long plain seam; and also had to piece a tiny corner on at the bottom where it met the skirt). I cut and hemmed slits for pocket access and hemmed the front edges (thought I had while stitching the hem: were silk selvedges nice in the 1700s, and you wouldn't need to hem them? Brilliant!). Then I pleated forever, having to redo it at least once. I split the center back to accomodate the point at the back, but stitched it back up a couple inches. I had two layers of pins going on to keep everything in place, and semi live-blogged about the process on Instagram:

Getting there... #18thcentury #handsewn #duvetcover #pinsforever

A post shared by totchipanda (@totchipanda) on Jul 15, 2017 at 3:24pm PDT

A note on the back construction: I used a technique previously known as "weird running whip stitch thingy" (Stay-ing Alive) or "the stitch with no name" (Burnley & Trowbridge; link goes to a YouTube video of how to do it) and is now known as the English Stitch (The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking). I LOVE this stitch, it makes a neat, tiny seam that is very secure, and gets your back sewn together with one pass of the needle. Very efficient!

😍😍😍 my fingers are so sore and the lighting and background are terrible BUT... I got out all the layers and dressed up Josephine and i am IN LOVE. cant wait to try this gorgeous thing on myself! #18thcentury #handsewn #duvetcover #roadtococo #hotdamn

A post shared by totchipanda (@totchipanda) on Jul 15, 2017 at 4:53pm PDT

I finished the bulk of the work in a week! I sewed mostly in the evenings after work, for 3-4 hours at a time, while watching RuPaul's Drag Race or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Netflix, and the skirt was completed on July 15 by 6pm. My fingers hurt (really need to focus on proper thimble usage) and I was so proud of what I'd accomplished.

The petticoat and gown got hemmed a few days later, and I despaired on trimming. By this time, talk was going around the blogosphere about "millinery", a term I'd only heard applied to hats before but seems to have meant all the little finishing touches (so, kinda like a hat) like ruffles and accessories. I made a couple of little ruffles to go into the elbows of this gown but did not have the brain power to suss out a neckline treatment. So I cut a length of scrap taffeta with pinking shears and tied it into a bow to pin to the neckline, and cut a triangle of voile to use as a neckerchief and fill the neckline in. (I needed it anyway, the straps I added to the stays were totally visible on my shoulders.)

A few hours before the gala, I took a quick peek into the dealers hall, where a booth was set up with almost every kind of trim anyone could want. I picked out a pleated organza (certainly poly) and turquoise velvet ribbon and rushed upstairs to start sewing it on.

Last minute trimming for #costumecollege2017 #gala #bettergetstarted #yegsewistinla

A post shared by totchipanda (@totchipanda) on Jul 29, 2017 at 6:21pm PDT

All in all, I'm really happy with this dress! It was definitely a challenging project, but it suited where I am in my sewing journey, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Curtain-Along Gown

Back in 2013, I was utterly charmed by the curtain-along gown, hosted by Festive Attyre. It was so neat to see everyone in their gowns, how widely the print could be used across the decades! It wasn't until I saw Amanda's dress-in-a-day gown, however, (which I found months after the dress was posted) that I decided I need to join in. I kept an eye on Amazon and finally picked up some curtain panels, 3 cream and 1 black. (I'm still on the hunt for 2 more black panels, just so you know...)

#curtainalong gown is nearly finished! Just needs a hem :)

A post shared by totchipanda (@totchipanda) on Apr 5, 2015 at 7:46pm PDT

I don't remember the timeline on this anymore. I started sewing it while I was watching The Amazing Race on cable TV, intending to hand-sew the entire thing -- my first 100% handsewn gown -- and see how long it would take. I'm pretty sure it was 2014, with a push of finishing in 2015, where it sat without a hem for another 2 years. I initially wasn't going to take it to Costume College, feeling that I didn't have time to finish the hemming, but I did end up taking it, and hemming it on Thursday in between my limited class and the opening of registration. I wore it on Saturday of Costume College.

Because it's been so long since I started, I'm not really sure what some of my thought processes were. My petticoat was weirdly long, puddling on the floor at my feet. When I tried it on over a bum pad, the back length was fine, but the front was still too long. I pinned it up and gave it a really fast hem, trying to angle in nearly 4" of fabric at center front. (I need to take that out and do it properly!)

The cat liked it though. Hiding under skirts is his favourite!

The gown hem is also much deeper at front than sides or back, but because it's open, it was a lot easier to do.

I had fitted it over a pair of stays with a stomacher. I used the Reconstructing History pattern as the bodice base, with guidance from The Fashionable Past for construction, and Gown #3 in Costume Close-up for the sleeve, trimming, and skirt tying-up placement. The trim was cut with pinking shears and gathered by hand before being applied.

And how long did it take to hand-sew? Not that long. I can't even estimate for this one since it took so long to do it, but my recent hand-sewn gown was done (sans petticoat) in a week of mostly 3-4 hour chunks.


The Facts:

Material: 100% cotton

Pattern: Started out in life as Reconstructing History 822

Year: 1770-ish

Notions: cotton thread

How historically accurate is it? I would probably pass in-period

Hours to complete: at a guess, 30-40.

First worn: July 29, 2017 at Costume College

Total cost: $50 CDN

HSM '16: #2 Tucks and Pleating: Market Hat

At the end of January, I got an opportunity to volunteer for a local Regency event, to which I enthusiastically agreed shortly into February. I immediately started planning my gown, wanting to both wear my new stays, and also not wear last year's gown for the 4th time in a row. Not the least because last year's gown has a lower back, and my stays would be very visible over the neckline. Oops?

I wondered how I could possibly fit my gown and/or accessories into the challenge theme. It only occurred to me late in the month that the pleating required to fit the skirt width into the center back would absolutely qualify, because up until then, I had already started another item that was "done enough" to also work. And, I think, be more suitable, since the challenge info states "make a garment that features tucks and pleating for the shape or decoration", and this item is most definitely shaped by the pleats.

Introducing: The Market Hat!

You've likely seen some version of this hat around the internet before. I first saw it way back in summer 2013, in photos of the Curtain-Along meet-up at Costume College that year. Oh, what a lovely hat Loren wore! Then, in 2014, I realized I needed a similar hat in order to recreate an art piece for the Art Challenge (which I still have yet to complete). Where could I find a pattern for such an enchanting object?

At the time there wasn't many. I scoured the internet and came up with a few ideas -- Kannik's Korner has a similar item, that I could probably use to suit my needs, and The Sign of the Golden Scissors. But, both of them seemed awfully expensive at the time, especially since I couldn't find shipping rates. I thought I might get around to developing my own pattern, if I ever decided on what I was actually looking at. I had a hard time imagining the 3D object laid out like a 2D pattern, so I put off thinking about it for a long, long time.

I did not get around to drafting one. My chosen pattern was not any less expensive, but several factors made it the best option. Maggie of Undressing the Historical Lady put out a pattern in between these two in cost, and unlike the others, was a print-at-home pattern, so at least I wouldn't have to pay shipping! That pushed into the "best option" category, in fact, and I bought it last summer when the exchange rate was sliiiiightly more reasonable than it is now.

I tried to look at options for the brim board at Michael's, but all I could find was a humongous sheet of material that I didn't feel comfortable purchasing, even if I used a coupon. It was 24" x 36" and I only needed a fraction of that. I used a found-item from work that would otherwise have been recycled, sheets of super thin cardboard that came on top of a stack of loose paper to protect it. But since they were only 8.5" x 11", I had to use several sheets (three, in fact) to get a piece wide enough and stable enough to go into the brim. And even though I followed the directions for the brim, pressing in my seam allowances and stitching by hand, my brim board was just too big to fit into it. I had to trim and trim and trim until I could stitch up the seam allowance for the caul to attach to. (I take full responsibility for this issue. The pattern pieces fit just fine together, and I think my board ended up being thicker than the recommended material which took away from the fabric too much.)

The caul's shape, as directed in the pattern, is achieved entirely by pleating. One could theoretically play with the pleats, how many and how deep, to achieve a different look. I have 9 pleats on either side of a central box pleat. And then I immediately had to run to the mirror to try it on!

It's been languishing ever since, waiting for the final two steps (finishing the caul/brim seam and then decorating), but I would not feel bad about wearing it should the need arise at this exact moment. I used some of the leftover fabric, actually in a separate cut, for one of my accessories for my ball outfit, but saved the rest from this cut to make a "ribbon" to decorate with. Partly complicated by the fact that I could not find my pinking shears for most of the month. They had decided, for the last 6 months, to make their home with my partner-in-crime.

And since this post is ONLY 6 months late (HA!), it still hasn't been finished... and I've misplaced the spare fabric... but I could still totally wear it right this moment!

The Challenge: #2 Tucks & Pleats
Fabric: 100% polyester
Pattern: 18th Century Bonnet/Market Hat
Year: late 18th century
Notions: thread, ribbon, bias tape, thin cardboard
How historically accurate is it?: Looks great! I don't know if this type of cardboard was being produced in-era, and we won't even touch polyester.
Hours to complete: 10 or so.
First worn: Not yet
Total cost: $27 CDN for the pattern, materials were all free-to-me! I would expect to spend roughly $30-$40 CDN (without the pattern) on this if I were to buy all new materials. Silk is difficult to get in Edmonton, and with the exchange rate being so poor right now, even "cheap" silk is expensive to ship in. Americans might be able to do this project for under $20 US.

Want to admire more market hats? Maggie's own market hat, which you can see on the Etsy listing, is also visible here at American Duchess; Lauren of American Duchess has a lovely one (this is more of a research page, so be sure to click through to entries at the beginning of July to see the finished item in action!); The Couture Courtesan has a beautiful piece made from her own pattern; Peryn's gorgeous hat (and dress); and so did Festive Attyre with Maggie's pattern. Got more? I'd love to see them! Even after looking at them all summer, I still think this hat is adorable!