FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Scotland in a Dress
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
all photos by Susan Vandivier
Outline the story …
I have been reading "The Outlander" books by Diana Gabaldon since 1992. When the series came out, I was so inspired by the costume design of Terry Dresbach Claire's wedding dress in particular. I love a sewing challenge, so I thought to myself I want to make a gown. I am not one to copy but used the dress as inspiration to make my own one of a kind creation. I knew I wanted to embroider silk (which I had never done) and use real Scottish Tartan. I love mixing different textures of fabrics. I also knew I wanted the embroidery to be monotone, so I modified a 1970 vintage crewel design that had thistles and bees. The name of Gabaldon's newest book, yet to be released is, "Tell the Bees that I Have Gone". I knew I wanted a statement gown, something Aunt Jocasta (Jamie's Aunt in the story) would wear to one of her famous garden parties. An idea starts to swirl around in my mind and this dress is one of them. I knew ahead of time I wanted the bodice to lace in the back. I also knew I wanted to make an embroidered stomacher, and skirt front. The design evolved as I went along. The pleating at the bottom is 5 yards of silk. I made the pleating separately and then attached it and the lace embellishment by hand. The metallic gold lace on my sleeve cuffs is over 100 years old.
Outline the construction…
The tartan used is 100% medium weight wool. This particular design of Tartan is Outlander actor Scott Kyle's fan Tartan, designed by The Kilt Studio in Bathgate. The silk used is a designer silk named 24carat. All of my embroidery and beading is done by hand. The thread used to do all the embroidery is silk. Beads and silk ribbon were used as well. I made the underpinnings, the corset, bum roll, petticoat, and pockets. I used an old McCalls pattern that I drastically altered for the base of my construction. First step was the embroidery, then lining the silk. I used muslin to "audition" different silhouettes and ideas for the Tartan overskirt. This dress is actually 3 pieces. The bustle skirt has hooks that attach to my corset, lots of trial and error! I was inspired by 18th century gowns but not historically accurate construction techniques. My goal was to look like Scotland in a Dress. Which in case you were curious weighs 15 pounds. I love the challenge of figuring things out on my own, however the bias matching sleeves I hope never to do again haha. The total gown took about 6 months to make and includes 250 hours of embroidery. I used some boning in the bodice and a busk in the front center to hold the shape of the bodice, and am wearing my 18th century style boned corset underneath. The silk skirt is pleated and has pocket openings on each side.
Wow! You’ve done it again. So very beautiful. Can’t wait to see and hear about the next one.
This is gorgeous! Love the monochrome embroidery and the mood to the next book. Lovely interior finishing. I’ve been rewatching Outlander and thinking about rereading it as well while we wait for “Bees” to be published!
Thank you Nancy!! I have been working on my current dress since April 1 2020!
Such a beautiful dress. I love the embroidery and the dedication of 250 hours has really paid off.
Thanks so much Heather, I really enjoyed working with Silk Thread for the first time.
This is beautiful.
Thank so much Gabrielle!
Insane attention to detail! Good luck!
Thank you Michael it was definitely a process.
That embroidery is everything!! Wonderful job!
Thank you Amanda!
This is beautifully done. A wonderful Jocasta combination-gorgeous silk and tartan. Your embroidery is superb!
Thank you Carol I love mixing different textures of fabric. So happy to hear you enjoy my embroidery too.
Your hand embroidery is amazing
Thank you Jackie, the Silk thread was amazing to work with.
So stunning, I love the embroidery
Thank you Carly I appreciate your comment !
Amazing enbroidery work. It’s stunning.
Thank you Mathilde, the silk thread I used really makes the design pop.
Such a wonderful outfit! Your work is gorgeous. And while the embroidery was fantastic, it was looking at the bodice from the inside that just did it. Such lovely detail.
Wow! Thanks so much Jaye. I had the bodice completely finished, but when I tried a final fitting it was an inch too long! So I painstakingly had to rip out and redo the bottom…that was a nail bitter. I am so glad you appreciate my careful efforts. The long piece of gold silk holds my “busk” which helps to support the shape.
The embroidery on this is just out of this world. well. I guess it’s in Scotland! Anyway. it’s lovely. I hope you can hang your dress out where you can see all that beautiful work as you go about your day. Also– avidly waiting for the bees to get told so I can get to reading the next book! Best of luck from Icarus!
Thanks so much Icarus , lovely to meet another Outlander fan!
This is so beautiful! I’m a huge scotland fan 😀 so you shot me there!
The inside of the bodice looks so neat!!! wow!
And the pattern of the sleeves is matching your front bodice?! is this for real?!
The embroidery over all is just beautiful! I love the litte bee so much 😀
Thank You Effi! Oh my goodness those sleeves nearly killed me. As I am self taught, I waisted 3 yards of tartan trying to figure out how to make them match!! I then searched the internet. Thank goodness for You- Tube videos and the generosity of other artists sharing their knowledge.
Incredible details and beautiful stitching and finishes! The inside of your bodice is PRISTINE! I love how you brought this to life and I could absolutely see this on Jocasta. Great work!
Thanks so much for the compliment Maeri❤️✂️.
The embroidery pattern used on the stomacher is amazing! Did you use the same pattern on the skirt or a different one? The Tartan you chose look wonderful against the gold silk, which really brightens up the colors of the Tartan….. hmm, you did that on purpose, right?
Great comment! The design of the dress progressed during the 6 months it took to make. After embroidering the skirt , I then realized the stomacher needed to be embroidered so I worked out a new design to fit the space. I know very little about photography . The tartan is bright but does appear a bit brighter in some of the photos.
Beautiful! The embroidery is well done, specifically the bee. I love the addition of the beads to it.
Thank you Katie . I like the beads too they give a nice dimension to the embroidery
Beautiful colours! Gorgeous fit and construction. Lovely embroidery.
Thanks so much Laurie❤️✂️
This is so impressive! <3 I'm in love with the embroidery on the stomacher/front, super cute!
Thanks so much Kikkii❤️✂️
Beautiful dress! I love the fabrics you chose!
This is such a beautiful creation! I love that just looking at it, I could take some guesses at where it was going – but then your text was still so beautifully written to bring attention to other bits of the outfit. Amazing job!