FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Alyse’s Bloody Jack
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Jacky Faber, street urchin, ships boy, member of the dread brotherhood of the HMS Dolphin, and coincidentally, a girl, is the inspiration of my design, from "Bloody Jack". Life as a ship's boy in the early 1800s was not a glamorous job for a boy, and far more dangerous and less glamourous for a girl. After spending months and months bound into a ship's boy uniform, Jacky resolves herself to make a suitable dress, in case she gets put off due to "The Deception," she notices that her face and body is rounding out and it won't be long until someone else does. Taking inspiration from the dresses she sees on the women in the Caribbean where their crew often make port Jacky drafts her own very first dress.
This is a notion I identify with heavily as this is also my very first dress and entry into the historical costuming realm. I chose to make a Robe a la Creole as it would have been a popular fashion among the ladies during the place and time of Jacky's liberties throughout the Caribbean. I have always loved the Bloody Jack series and to be able to bring any small part of these books to life has been a great pleasure. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Outline the construction…
I began making my dress on December 13th after watching Cathy Hay's call to compete. I had already been immersed in the youtube historical costuming communities videos and was inspired to take the leap. As a beginner, I purchased 5 yards of a thin but ultimately cheap muslin for the construction of my gown and used fabric repurposed from an old project at my closing Girl Scout office (if you see any stains on the petticoat, the culprit was likely a 7-year-old girl, 20 years ago). I used Morgan Donner's Chemise a la Reine video for inspiration and drafted the pattern in a similar manner where the top ruffle is a part of the original cut and there are no shoulder straps to affix the arms to. The construction of the main dress is 3 twill tape channels, 1 underbust, 1 at the waist, and one around the neckline. This, as you can imagine, requires straight stitches for incredible lengths. The body was hemmed on all sides, with bias tape around the top ruffle, before being gathered with thin tape. The arms are of similar construction, with 2 channels, stitched and gathered, and hand-sewn into the armsycle. The petticoat is drafted using the methods from the American Duchess blog post about 18th-century petticoats. The front and back panels are knife-pleated away from the center and the two panels join using twill tape sewn into the waistband.
That’s fantastic 🙂 Congratulations on your entry
Its wonderful!
Jackie Faber is my favorite literary character. No one I know has read her books. My email address honors her export business! I was so thrilled to se you bring her early dress to life. Thank you!
That is absolutely wonderful! I can’t believe it’s your first dress!
Looks Really Beautiful!
Very well done! You look straight out of a painting!
I loved Bloody Jack!!! I commend you for bringing that dress to life
Such a cool concept, and beautiful execution!
Gorgeous! Very pretty photos!
Very nicely done! Love the red sash with the rest of the look!
Very gorgeous dress, congratulations on this piece <3
Absolutely beautiful, I love the design of this!
What a gorgeous neckline!!!! And a more gorgeous smile!
This is fabulous, well done!
Oh, the gathers are deliciously amazing!! It looks so pretty, comfy and something I would totally wear as every day during the summer. Strong work!!
Just lovely!
Absolutely stunning work! I can’t believe this is in the beginner category, it looks just perfect!
Your inspiration also sounds like a really cool book, I definitely have to look it up now!
Well done! You must be so pleased! Good for you for taking part in the competition!
your work is so meticulous and neat and tidy. You did a really beautiful job on this, and it fits you well too. Beautiful work and it looks beautiful on you too!
This is in my list of things to do this year, also inspired by Morgan Donner’s version! Lovely work!
What a lovely chemise gown! Their simplicity is deceptive, and you navigated the pitfalls beautifully.
The attention to detail is so evident in this dress. It’s such a beautiful dress!
Such a beautiful gown you made! Also very neat on the inside. It suits you wonderfully. Well done!
This is so lovely and well-finished. Congratulations!
it looks simply effortless – lovely
So lovely, well done!
That’ so pretty! It makes me want to go to a garden party!
Oh wow, the complexity of this dress is amazing. Such a beautiful entry. Thank you!
What an absolutely stunning gown. You MUST take a bow!
Lovely! Everyone will want one but yours is the original. Excellent execution.
This is just lovely. (And huzzah for Bloody Jack fans!!)