A few days back I got the bee in my bonnet to start sewing on this 1790s chintz gown, inspired by the Museum of London gown everyone loves so much:
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| Museum of London Chintz Gown- this fabric is of course far lovelier and more subtle than the dark ground Indienne chintz I have. I don't think my final product will do this gown justice, as my fabric is so big and loud... |
I hacked up my
Robe Royaliste pattern, shortening the waist up to the empire line, then added the sleeve pattern from my
1780s cream Indienne gown (the only sleeve I've ever drafted that actually fits), and there we go.
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| The back of the bodice with the skirt just haphazardly pinned on, so I can see how it will sortof look. This fabric doesn't mirror patterns, so I tried to cut the pieces so that there would not be any obvious repeats, especially in the center back (had this problem on my ivory version, and it bugs me to this day). |
I decided to deal with the drop-front portion of the gown after completing the back and underbodice on the front, since it will take some mocking up to get the neckline. In the process I was tickled to find that without the bib and front skirt panel, you just have an open robe.
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| Fitting the under-bodice over my new Regency stays. The bib will lap over the top, covering the boobular region, but only just... |
There must be something magical about this fabric, because it just goes together so nicely. (famous last words?). I have the other sleeve to put on, then the trained back skirt. After that, I get to deal with the bib and front skirt, but I'm hoping with a little experimentation, this will go together nicely too. :-)
