REGROUPING AND DESIGNING SOME 1910-1912 DRESSES

Waaay back in 2017 I almost finished a jade green linen dress using Truly Victorian’s TVE45 1911 bodice pattern and TVE30 narrow panel skirt pattern. It got put on my back burner for 6 years. I kept wanting to go back to it but just wasn’t feeling it. Maybe it was the color; maybe it was how I trimmed the bodice. And recently I thought the skirt wouldn’t fit me anymore even if I finished it. I was wrong. Either way, I got bored with it. So, I decided to sell it, and start fresh with some other fabrics I had, and with some new ideas of trimming it. The kimono sleeve pattern is very quick to sew together, and basically has no fitting.

Two of my fabrics are cotton, and quite sheer. One is a darker baby blue than the photo shows, another is a striped patterned sheer, and one is a rosy linen. The blue cotton has white embroidery that follows the length of the selvedge and I cut it so the embroidery goes down the front of the bodice, then cut a piece to go across it. I also will add some to the sleeves. Then cut the skirt so I get it going down the front of that. I’ve also wanted to make an all-white dress and add laces to it, so the white cotton sheer has possibilities. But the rose linen has been clamoring for attention for a long time, and I have definite plans for it.

I’ve been collecting ideas for trimming the bodice for the entire 6 years this has been on my planning board. I still keep coming across other dresses that this pattern could be used for making them from. Isn’t that pink one with the black lace overlay to die for? You can raise or lower the center piece to whatever level you want. 

 

I even saved pictures of outfits that friends had made just for the inspiration. The first photo in cream I saved from way back around 2008.

A few years ago, I bought some fabric in a tobacco brown linen to go with some trim for another bodice, that would look fabulous like this dress, but I only bought 8 yds of the fabric so I’m not sure if I could make it with this. Worth looking into though. 

Getting back to my rose linen, this is the dress that it wants to be. And I have the perfect lace to trim it with. It would be fun to use a lace overlay with it, but my lace trim is an off-white, and I don’t have any lace fabric that would work with it. So that needs some further thinking. I think this will be a fun dress to trim out. The photos came from the Idaho State Museum.

I have a few ideas for the belt too. There’s the one on the purple dress that uses the lace on it. Then there’s these. I like the idea of using buttons on them too. And that swag between the buttons on the light brown dress is cute.  

I went to another sewing workshop again last week, and got all three of the fabrics cut out for the bodice, and am currently cutting out some fabric to flatline them. So, progress is being made, albeit slowly. I decided to use the Laughing Moon #104 Titanic dress pattern to make my skirt with because I decided I wanted an A-line skirt rather than the narrow one.

I had a slight “squirrel attack” yesterday when I noticed a blue dress in one of my friend's photos that sure looked like it had the same lines as the bodice pattern I’m using. And its an evening dress! I hadn’t even considered this could be made in a fancy fabric too. This has got me thinking of what I could use for that now. LOL!! And of course then I had to go looking for more ideas along that line. If these are making you think of the dresses worn on the Titanic movie, then you've got the right idea. 

And where, do you ask, will I wear all these at? I have no clue at this time. IF, and that’s an IF, I get the rose one done, I’m thinking I might wear it to the Sunday Tea at Costume College.

I do have some sad news to report. My tiny, almost-21-year-old kitty and sewing companion left us last week. She spent most of her time in my sewing room, climbing on fabric, or in bags of scraps, and kept me company. She was my rock during the last few years of isolation too. I’m still waiting to hear little reminders that she’s still here with me, like her brother Rudy did when he left us. But she's running around with him now. 

                                              May 24, 2023