Some of you may remember the royal blue satin-and-velvet ballgown I made earlier this year for my friend Nona. Nona is just the loveliest person to work with in costuming. She is thorough in her planning, she knows exactly what she wants and she doesn't complain about being fitted. :)
After her ball gown was finished Nona brought me the Simplicity 3727 pattern along with a beautiful blue and green cotton plaid. She loved the style and the fabric was exactly what she had in mind. She told me to take my time and not rush with this dress since she did not need it right away.
Finally - after five months! - I am starting on this dress. I hope to have it done so Nona can use it next weekend at our next Civil War event. I am rather glad I did not make it earlier this year since it is working up to be quite visually heavy - more appropriate for cooler weather than warm.
Simplicity 3727 is a pattern based on an original dress from the Wisconsin Historical Society. It is more of an 1850's style than a true Civil War (1861-1865) style, but even so, this style is really far more appropraite than most gowns seen at events around here. ;) And Nona is a bit older, so perhaps this may have been a style she would have liked and would have continued using in the period. I have made 2 other dresses from this pattern for other people, but this is the first one I am making in a natural fiber! *bliss* Synthetics just do NOT work well for mid-19th century sewing!
The fabric is a 100% cotton plaid in dark royal blue and emerald green. Nona looks very nice in these rich, clear, dark colors. The trimming is black cotton fringe and black velvet ribbon. The ribbon is made from bias strips of velvet yardage, which was a lot more economical than purchasing ready-to-use velvet ribbon. I just "eyeballed" the strips but tried to keep them at about 3/4" wide. The sleeves are partially open, and instead of the fringe trimming the edges of this opening, Nona opted for black cord frogs to close this opening decoratively. Matchings frogs will be used as decoration on the bodice. The lower sleeve is lined with black cotton sateen and the upper sleeve with plain white cotton.
The sleeves are really very rich and heavy looking. I love the contrast of texture and mood between the sleeves and the undersleeves. The undersleeves are quite light and dainty and have a very feminine pointed cuff, which I love, and are trimmed with very dainty lace. They close at the wrist with a buttohole and shell button.
The collar is also of light white cotton and trimmed with the same lace. Here you can see how large the collar is. This definitely dates the dress to the 50's. By the 60's, the collars were much more narrow. I still have to slip stitch the bias band to cover the seam allowance on this collar, then it will be ready to baste into the neckline of the basque once that is finished.
No pics of the skirt - but its just a plain old rectangular paneled skirt with the typical hem facing and waistband. :) This weekend Nona will be coming over to get fitted for the basque. Hopefully we won't run into any snags and I can get some pictures of Nona wearing this gown next weekend!
Love,
Sarah
