1830's Girl's Dress

[atherleisure]

Here is the 1830's dress I made for my daughter to wear to costumed events with me.



It's a little long, but she didn't want me to shorten it so I'm leaving it as is. It's almost all rectangle construction - the only curves are at the armscyes.

I really like the pleated sleeves, but you can't see them very well in the pictures. The fabric was pleated on the top of the arm and smooth underneath. Then there are two bands across the pleats and a third band at the end of the sleeve. It's a detail that I saw on an extant dress online and really liked. The dress I saw was marked 1832-1835, but with that pleated sleeve, I wonder if it wasn't really more like 1837-1839.



The petticoat underneath definitely gives it more fluff, even if it's not as much fluff as you see in some of the pictures of the time. She probably needs another full petticoat that buttons onto the corded one, but I want to do my dress next, not more underwear!

Comments

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

So cute! The pleats are really nice, glad you showed a closeup.

Has her petticoat been starched? That can really make a difference and might be something to try before making another petticoat. :)

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I haven't starched her petticoat yet, but I have heard conflicting things about starching corded petticoats so I'm not sure. I think I'll at least give it a light spray starching and see how that looks.

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

What a charming dress! She looks wonderful!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm so excited she wants to do these things with me. It's interesting that E is starting to share some interests with you at the same time.

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

She looks so cute! I really like all the tucks.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Lovely! The sleeves are a really nice detail; even if they don't stand out, they add a texture that reads really well overall.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I think the sleeves are my favorite part of the dress.