Cinderella

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.