A Lost Daughter

The construction of this dress started with buying black broadcloth, silk georgette chiffon, and silk taffeta ribbon. A pattern was drawn to my measurements using the book “60 Civil War-Era Fashion Patterns” by Kristina Seleshanko, and served as the base. The pattern was only altered for the silk overlay, which required pleats to be added to the bodice as well as the addition of a watch pocket in the waistband. The broadcloth bodice was machine stitched, then French hemmed by hand for stronger seams. After, the dress was sewn by hand using techniques learned in “Authentic Victorian Dress Making Techniques”, by Kristina Harris, and eleven years of research. This is my first project incorporating the use of a sewing brick, which was used for the hemming of the silk bodice and over skirt, creation of pleats, and the making of the skirt ruffles. My challenge with this dress came with the skirt, where the pleats and gathers didn’t sit in the waist band correctly. Due to the weight of the broadcloth and silk, the band was sewn to cotton tape and then twice to the bodice band in order to make it sturdy enough to be held there. Even after the careful making of the skirt, one box pleat is missing, causing the skirt to look off kilter when seen from the front.