FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Perfect Landing
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Samuel Bearman (Photographer and Videographer)
Outline the story …
It's bigger on the inside. The idea of a vehicle which can transport you to other worlds through space and time alone is mind boggling but add to it the idea that this vehicle itself is its own world and I was hooked. Stepping through a threshold has always felt a little like magic to me, like a portal to a new place with its own culture and delights. Sewing is like that a little bit for me; through studying original texts or other's research, I can step into another time. The 18th century is just distant enough to also give me this feeling and, as a time traveler through textiles, I felt it was most appropriate to express this by making this Robe a L'Anglaise into a T.A.R.D.I.S. dress.
Outline the construction…
For materials, I used a lightweight linen for the lining and the back portion of the underskirt (to save on other fabric as I have seen on some extant garments), a dark blue cotton sateen for the bulk of the underskirt and overdress, a Police Public Call Box satin ribbon for the ruffles, and a Police Public Call Box front door cotton print for the stomacher decoration. The techniques primarily used in this project include the mantua stitch (which I adored both because it was fun to learn and because it looks flawless from the outside), whip stitch gathering (used for creating the 18th century ruffles per The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking), and some self-fitting techniques (taping paper pattern pieces and marking them against the body along with lots of trial and error). The main hurdles that came up happened in the context of self-fitting. I don't own a dress form and my SO was only available for some of the time so most of the fitting was accomplished through trial and error along with marking paper pattern pieces long before actual fabric was cut out. Another difficulty related to fitting was that my weight fluctuated significantly throughout the long fitting and sewing process so the dress fit differently at each wearing.
For instructions on how to pattern and make the Robe a L'Anglaise, I looked almost entirely to The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking by Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox.
That is an amazing first project, it looks very lovely. I especially like how you found the perfect TARDIS blue linen
Thank you so much! The TARDIS blue fabric is actually a cotton sateen but when I found it, it definitely screamed TARDIS at me! 😀
Wow!!! You achieved such a great looking dress. I’m really impressed with the fit you achieved. Well done <3
Aw, thank you so much! Wearing the stays during the fitting process definitely helped a ton (not to mention being able to pin the dress lining to the stays during the fitting process).
As a Doctor Who fan I love this and it is made even better by such a great dress! I love what you have done!
Aw, thank you so much! I’m looking forward to taking it for a spin at a Doctor Who themed something one day!
Beautiful construction! Congratulations!
Thank you so much!
Wow, this is your first project? So amazing! Blues are my favorite!
Love this it looks absolutely fantastic