I can finally announce that I will be making this costume in my fashion and textiles class this year as apart of my full year project.
This costume will also be my garment I will use as apart of my scholarship entry. I am determined to top the fashion and textiles within my school this year and getting a scholarship would be fantastic too. Top scholar for Technology is also up for grabs and award that is given to the top students within the subject over the whole country. This would be an amazing award to receive and would help me significantly when applying for courses and school in London.
What am I making
In class I am going to be making a (simple) Elizabethan dress that will be paired with a French Hood. Both will later be paired with a loose gown which I will be making outside of school.
The dress and gown as pictured in Janet Arnold’s ‘Patterns of Fashion Book 3’
The dress can only be seen from the front view. The dress has long sleeves and those can be seen through the arm hole of the gown worn over top of it. The dress does have a seam down the center of the bodice though at this point I’m unsure if I want to keep this or just make the bodice in one piece (Which I think will be easier for my skill level). At this point I want the dress to have eyelets down the back of the bodice and into the skirt which will lace up to create an opening and closure. I don’t like the look of historical ‘replicas’ that have invisible zippers running down the back. They almost always pucker and just don’t do the dresses historical justice. Because of this I will hand sew the eyelets myself. I also want to include a bum roll to give the dress that nice added lift, I will also be borrowing a long petticoat from the costume room at school because I really doubt I will have time to make one! The dress will include some basic beading around the neckline and possibly the sleeve cuffs too. And lace! The dress will have a trim of lace around the neckline and sleeve cuffs seen in the picture. I wanted to get something similar to the pointed lace design seen in the picture and had been eyeing up a roll in my bosses work room for a while and today plucked up the courage to ask if I could have a meter. She gave me the whole roll!
Its cotton lace and in a roll that large and such a good condition is very rare, I couldn’t be happier being its new owner! I’m still unsure if I want to keep it this colour or possibly dye it black.. Opinions in the comments please! I will do tests I promise and not bulk dye!
The Italian duchess satin is lighter than the brocade for the gown but the pair match together well.
The gown is gorgeous and I love it so much! The gown has long hanging sleeves which are topped with winged shoulders. Most for the edges and seams are covered with a trim or bias tape. The pattern is still confusing me to be completely honest. Before I start my mock up I will take it into mt textiles teacher to see if she make any sense of it. What confuses me is there is a secondary pattern that goes on the back to create the wing but I have no idea where the seams fit because they aren’t there in the reference image. The wings just merge into the back panels perfectly and I can’t see how with the patterns and instructions!
The brocade for the gown is a darker red than the dress satin, the pattern is a very dark red creating a really nice contrast between the three different colours.
Have I mentioned that I love this brocade. I really look forward to seeing this costume all put together but don’t expect that until October!
The French Hood will be made of the same materials as the dress and gown from scraps ect. I will be following a mix of online tutorials and the book ‘The Tudor Tailor’s tutorial. I’m heading to Christchurch in a fortnight where I will pick up the necessary materials for the hood there as well as thread and some more pins because I have bent/blunt so many while making Demongaze my current armour project.
I’m aiming for something similar to A Damsel in This Dress ‘s French hood tutorial.
Their tutorial goes into so much detail and has already helped me understand the basic construction of a French Hood. And they have such a wonderful blog so if you haven’t checked them out already you should do so now! I’ve been reading their blog for a few months now without realizing I hadn’t followed them! No wonder they didn’t appear in my reader! I’m an idiot!
The plan so far
I still have a lot of book work to be done in class before I can begin my dress such as finish my ridiculously detailed research (I’m at 29 pages as of today this does include other book work), draw the designs myself which I’m not too happy about its been at least a year since I have drawn figures and of course make a mock up.
The dress will be lined in a similar colour. It will have an inbuilt corset (I’m going to follow Angela Clayton’s tutorial on this). I am still debating if I want cartridge pleats or not, they are historically accurate which is making me lean towards them more than normal gathering/pleats. It will have embellishments such as beading trims and lace. The back will be laced up with hand sewn eyelets.
The dress will be made in class first because its the bigger of the two projects, the French hood will be left until after that is complete.
The gown will be made out of class though I will likely consult my textiles teacher as I go. The gown will also be lined in a similar colour. It will also have a trim of some sort going around the edges, I’ll likely buy this online as I will have more option compared to NZ’s limited range of all things sewing.
And that sums everything up I think
My next update for this costume will be once I have started the mock up and venture into the world of boning and drafting (far more) complex patterns than I have before!
I was going to update this blog with all of my book work from my textiles class but then suddenly thought, What if I get done for plagiarism from my own blog…?
So I will bulk post everything once I have got all of my results for the year. To be on the safe side.
My next post will either be on Demongaze or Ophelia.
Thank you for reading
-Nivera
Nivera Gilbert 