Good News!

I wanted to thank everyone who kept us in their prayers during our dry spell. I am happy to report that we’ve gotten a couple of inches since I last complained, and we are well on our way to a greener world around here!

I have more good news: I finished my Civil War dress! After some recent research I did, I find that it is not at all a period pattern, but it looks good, I think. Claire graciously allowed me to picture her modeling my dress (over an air conditioning vent) for the blog, but she was kind of my dress form through the whole process. :)

This was the pattern I used (Simplicity 4551, view C), and I didn’t have to have anything adjusted! This pattern has the dropped shoulders typical of the period, which saved us from needing to adjust the pattern to fit my broad shoulders. It wasn’t a very confusing pattern (obviously, or I wouldn’t have been able to finish it!), but I took me a while. Also, I changed some the stuff. The trim was supposed to be rickrack, but I wanted mine fancier so I put ribbon on (like you would bias). I also did only three skirt pannels instead of the four; it just seemed like a whole lot less marking (I'm afraid it was driven by laziness =C). The dress is actually quite comfortable, but, allowing room for the hoop, the hem is a bit long! :)I need to make a hoop skirt and an over-hoop-skirt-petticoat thing, but the entire outfit will be done then! Oh, I'm also hoping to find sort of a fancy pin of some sort to close the gap at the collar. Then it will be done! :)

I enjoyed working on this, and am actually eager to get started on Mama’s dress (I agreed to do hers so that it would get done)! Unfortunately for both of us, I only agreed to do it if she would cut it out how she wants it and mark it. I absolutely despise doing those things! There just isn't as much room for creativity on somebody else's dress, but her fabric is lovely! She wants view A, I believe.