FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY

Divider_GoldMoth

Cinderella

stitch-1

SUBMITTED BY:

Cat Harkin

LINKS:

Outline the story …

Cinderella is a story that many of us know these days through the 1950s Disney movie, but has existed for much longer than that. The constant details of the dead mother whose child is then abused, before she is eventually rescued through magical means can be traced back to ninth-century China, and has existed in many versions since. However, it was in the 19th century that the story was written in English for an English audience. The version I chose to base my outfit on was The Cinderella Nursery Story Book, published in 1878 – at this point in history, the emphasis was on Cinderella's goodness of character despite her treatment at the hands of her step-family. The fairy godmother helps her attend the ball because Cinderella is kind enough to help an old beggar-woman even though she has so little herself. This spoke to me because I have always felt that she is somewhat harshly treated, mostly on the basis of that Disney movie; we can all find ourselves in a situation that we are unable to get out of without help, and remaining kind to those around us at such times is a strength in and of itself that is generally underrated and undervalued. I was also inspired by the design by Shoomlah (link above) – it is a slightly earlier design than the date of my story, but the 1860s has such a grand ballgown feel to me that I couldn't go past it.

Outline the construction…

The undergarments are made of cotton – lawn for the chemise and drawers, and broadcloth for the petticoat. The petticoat started out based on the Truly Victorian pattern, which I then altered to include the pin tuck panels that were made from 3 metres of broadcloth sewn into 150 tucks, then cut into diagonal strips. The bodice and skirt are both made of silk dupioni (not historically correct, but I like the slightly rougher texture for her working girl by day feel) flat lined with cotton lawn, and the skirt hem is faced with cotton drill. Truly Victorian patterns were used as a starting point, and altered to suit the design, such as the 32 stripe panels that make up the skirt, and the bertha that I constructed by layering bias strips of the silk on a cotton lawn lining to match the lines on the original image, sewing those to overlap then hand stitching down all the free edges. The sleeves and overskirt were the biggest challenges – I found the dupioni didn't want to sit nicely under the bertha and ended up taking inspiration from an Angela Clayton dress for the gathered organza sleeves, and the overskirt was my first attempt at draping something myself, following the guide by Jennifer Rosbrugh. All the lace is hand sewn on, and every seam throughout has been finished, some by machine but most hand felled, including every single skirt seam.

COMMENTS

Divider_GoldMoth

7 Comments

  1. Avatar Dakota on March 12, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    Such a beautiful dress! The colors are gorgeous together and I love the design and execution!

  2. Susanna Antonsson on March 13, 2021 at 7:02 am

    So pretty and so much work! I love that you created the beautiful striped fabric yourself. Well done

  3. Avatar Manon L'Hostis on March 15, 2021 at 3:04 pm

    So much work went into this piece! I partciularly love the skirt’s “fabric”, it looks so neat♡

  4. Avatar Jennifer Radin on March 16, 2021 at 1:30 am

    It’s so pretty and flattering! Love the front especially.

  5. Avatar Gabrielle Post on March 23, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    Hey fellow Cinderella! I love your version of her ballgown and the twirl in the video shows how much you love it. Great work and I love your use of dupioni(one of my favorite fabrics), beautiful colour.

  6. Avatar Benigna on March 26, 2021 at 1:28 pm

    The dress is wonderful! I really like the collar.

  7. Avatar Kikkii von Fustian on March 29, 2021 at 1:06 pm

    This is so darling and beautiful!! I LOVE the skirt, I’m so weak for stripes haha <3 The fit and shape of the whole gown is spot on, well done!

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.