The Singing Costumer

  This dress. Oh boy, this dress. Where do I even start? I guess, the very beginning is a very good place to start. This dress has been in progress since 2016. It’s made of a pink quilting cotton with a blue and cream floral design. The garment consists of a separate skirt and bodice. It closes down the front with hooks and bars, and the skirt attaches to the blouse in the same way. It started its life as Simplicity 5442. It has gone through several changes since then. Originally, this was made for a college broadway revue show. I made this for Joanna from Sweeney Todd.  My voice teacher from college was teaching voice at another school and needed some costumes. This was when I was starting to get really interested in historic dress and costumes. The pattern was for a sheer dress, fashionable in the Victorian era. I used the pieces marked for the sheer layer and just made it in the cotton. The pattern has a lot of gathering and is very pretty. I knew that I wanted to keep it, ...

  For the blouse, I used a lightweight polkadot satin from my stash. I don’t remember where I got it, but probably Joann Fabrics. I used Truly Victorian 1903 Plain Blousewaist. I made size E. But it might have been better to make the back size F and the front size E. I have to corset down pretty tightly for it to fit. (I am still learning how to size Truly Victorian correctly.) There was a step in the instructions that I didn’t understand until I actually did it. But the pattern was clear. This polkadot satin was too light and flimsy, I thought.I used one layer of fashion fabric and one layer of white cotton for the front, back, and the sleeves. Each piece was serged around each edge except the neckline.  I really wanted some pleats down the center front, since I saw that feature so often in antique fashion plates. I should have sewed the pleats first and then cut out the front piece. Instead, I added some width in the center and just hoped for the best. The neckline unfortuna...