Burda Style For people who sew
Description
As a Nancy Pena’s fan (french comic author), I needed to cosplay one of her emblematic characters…. And what better character than delightful and not so sweet Alice Barnes, young and enigmatic “demoiselle” of London’s good society.
It was my first attempt at historical costume sewing, and it turned out nice for a beginner’s dress! The dress is made of striped cotton poplin and striped black cotton for the underskirt. The “tea party” tie’s fabric has been especially printed for this project.
It was fun for a french sewer, used to the metric system, to trace old patterns in inches! Oh my! I will remember this for long!!! :) However, it was fun and not as difficult as it seemed at first! Of course I had to add a few inches here and there… hum! ^^
The hat is made of felt, buttons and feathers.
So, listen to my advice : if you ever want to make a victorian dress and go “oh no, it’s too difficult I’ll never make it!”, then stop thinking and go ahead sew!!! Try it! You could surprise yourself!
Material Notes
cotton poplin, cotton, felt (hat).
Difficulty
Intermediate
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Oct 22, 2011, 05.08 PMby alasse
Fabulous! And I also love your photo location :)
Sep 19, 2011, 04.36 PMby kerstika
Oh wow, what an incredibly beautiful dress! (And what an impressive project to tackle!!) And it looks absolutely stunning on you, too.
May 23, 2011, 06.05 AMby Anjomo
This is incredible! It must have taken ages to finish this. I’m so impressed!
1 Reply
May 23, 2011, 07.04 AMby grafiketgrafok
Haha! Thank you, but no! ^^ It wasn’t that long! What was very nerve breaking was the pleats of the bottom of the underskirt and the hem of the skirt ’cause I did that by hand… doing this dress took me a month (and it was not a full time job!!), at first I thought it would take me at least 5 or 6 months… So…!
May 22, 2011, 12.11 AMby smallone
wowza! I just came across this one….you are no beginner my friend!!!
1 Reply
May 22, 2011, 06.21 AMby grafiketgrafok
Haha thanks a lot!!! But I do maintain what I said : this wasn’t as difficult as I expected! Methodology and patience are key words of this project! ^^
May 19, 2011, 03.37 PMby momsgotanewhobby
A-maaaaaa-zing! What a terrific costume, perfect.
1 Reply
May 19, 2011, 03.38 PMby grafiketgrafok
Well thaaaaaaaank you! :) I hope next will be faaaaaabulous! :D
May 19, 2011, 08.30 AMby urbandon
Exceptional. Impressive.
1 Reply
May 19, 2011, 03.19 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thanks a looooot! :) It’s really nice to see how you all like it!!! It’s very encouraging!!!
May 18, 2011, 02.18 PMby mrsserfes
I’m not sure what else to say except, AWESOME! I love Victorian era fashion, homes, etc. You did a fantastic job!
1 Reply
May 18, 2011, 08.00 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thank you!! Guess what? Holmes is my next one!!! :)
May 18, 2011, 11.38 AMby merbecky
This is fantastic. I never would have thought that this was your first time making a historic garment. I love this period of fashion.
1 Reply
May 18, 2011, 07.59 PMby grafiketgrafok
Oh thank you! ^^ huhu! I love victorian fashion too! It’s so classy!
May 18, 2011, 04.32 AMby rogue-cellist
This is fabulous. You’ve done a wonderful job. I wish I had somewhere to wear something like this!
1 Reply
May 18, 2011, 07.59 PMby grafiketgrafok
Well I do hope I’ll find an opportunity too! Hahha!
May 18, 2011, 01.22 AMby reanalouise
I love the fabrics you used! I’m so impressed with how beautiful, and quite authentic it looks. I can’t imagine how it was dealing with all of that fabric at the machine, I’m sometimes overwhelmed by a large circle skirt!
3 Replies
May 18, 2011, 07.57 PMby grafiketgrafok
Haha! And you don’t know the best part!!! I hemed the whole skirt by hand!!! Because I really wanted the hem to be invisible and my little machine wasn’t able to do so….! I was close to a nervous breackdown after that!!! :D
May 19, 2011, 12.20 AMby reanalouise
Oh my god, you’re wonder woman!
May 19, 2011, 03.18 PMby grafiketgrafok
Hahahaha! ^^ Alas… NO! What I wish I were!!! :) Who doesn"t??? ;)
May 17, 2011, 11.58 PMby minnietheminks
Amazing for your first historical dress… well done
1 Reply
May 18, 2011, 07.55 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thank you, that’s very encouraging!! I’ll keep up the good work (well I hope!)! Haha!
May 17, 2011, 08.26 PMby tanitisis
This is lovely! Congratulations :) and the tie is especially fun!
1 Reply
May 18, 2011, 07.54 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thank you! Ah! I’m so glad you like it, cause it’s my favorite item!!! :)
May 17, 2011, 08.19 PMby kihli
This is stunning! I also dream of making a historical dress like that since a while, but I am scared because of the difficulty and the huge amount of work that goes into such a project. And I wouldn’t know when and where to wear it. But seeing your dress, maybe I should go for it nevertheless!
3 Replies
May 18, 2011, 07.53 PMby grafiketgrafok
Go go go!!! Try that book : 59 Authentic Turn-Of-The-Century Fashion Patterns ♥
May 18, 2011, 09.29 PMby kihli
Thanks for the information! I ordered the book at Amazon.de right away!
May 19, 2011, 03.17 PMby grafiketgrafok
You’re welcome! :) I hope you’ll show me what you’ll do with it!! :)
May 17, 2011, 04.19 PMby Ralf Schmitz
this is such a beautiful dress and i am very impressed of your workingskills! great material and pattern choice! i really really love it!
1 Reply
May 17, 2011, 05.14 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thank you so much! :) I still look forward to improve a looooot! And yes I was lucky enough to work with a fabulous fabric! Great quality and colour! I hope I’ll have enough spare time soon to make another one!
May 17, 2011, 03.02 PMby hoorayforever
Beautiful! I’ve always wanted to make a historical costume like this but felt too intimidated.
1 Reply
May 17, 2011, 03.10 PMby grafiketgrafok
Don’t!!! Believe me it’s worth trying! If you’re too scared of wasting beautiful fabric, try first with an old sheet or two! ^^
May 17, 2011, 02.57 PMby aluckmann
Wow, this looks amazing. I can’t believe you don’t think it was too difficult to make – maybe someday I will try something like this. Your pictures are quite lovely as well.
1 Reply
May 17, 2011, 03.12 PMby grafiketgrafok
Thank you! ^^ At first I thought I would never be able to make it! But I was determined to try! :) I stopped thinking and cut cut cut!!! :D