This is a Regency gown I created using Mrs. Chancey's fabulous pattern from Sense and Sensibility Patterns. I've never had a gown so comfortable! I've rarely worn dresses in "regular" life but I think I'm sold on the idea. I hope to make more before school starts again in January.
For those interested in how I changed the pattern: I'm a tall girl (5'9") and long waisted so I had to add length pretty much everywhere except the sleeves. I added 2" to the bodice. I'm also narrow shouldered. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until after I had sewn the sleeves in and was trying on the dress to play around. Since I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave them where they were, I pulled out all my stitches, trimmed each shoulder by about 3/4", tightened the side seams, and reinstalled the sleeves. If you can see in the above shoulders, the sleeves are still very far out on my shoulders; I'll have to play with this more on my next gown.I redrafted the neckline on my own, then followed Mrs. Chancey's instructions on the "Alterations" page to make the dress button in the front. Unfortunately, you can't see them in the photographs (I covered buttons with scrap fabric to match) and they don't look so great up close. Lessons for next time. The placket in the skirt keeps popping open as well, so it looks like I'll be adding snaps.
I'm thinking about adding a sash out of the same fabric that is in my hair. Although that is scrap from another project, it matches the burgundy pattern perfectly! Better lucky than good, my mom says. I'm just afraid that as is, there is a little too much uninterrupted fabric for my tastes; a sash would break it up and add a bit of contrast.
Tomorrow is our Christmas party. I'm excited to wear my new dress! It's all good if you're having fun, right?!
