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Last weekend my sister and her fiance flew into town to spend her birthday with us and attend the Living History Society's winter ball. The period was civil war era. I loaned her a dress which meant I had to scramble to come up with something for myself. I sewed frantically until the last minute as usual, but we made it to the ball!
I had just enough fabric left from my purple plaid dress to make an evening bodice. I had a half yard of acid green silk/cotton satin to work in somehow. I originally bought it to go with the day bodice, for covered buttons and trim. That didn't pan out, but I still loved the bright green with the purple.
I bought some more of the same satin in white and some gorgeous wide lace from work. With these I made a bertha with ruching and piped edges with green bows in front, back, and shoulders. I absolutely love the look of this, but it did seem to gape away from my body slightly. It didn't feel slippy but you can see it in photos. Alas. I suppose I just sew a tucker to it. I suppose this is the danger of making a separate bertha rather than just sewing trim directly to the bodice, but I like how a separate bertha conceals the closure and looks seamless.
I also made a sash with long tails in back. The sash ended up slightly tight, which made it wrinkle more than I wanted, but I can move the hooks and eyes for next time.
I really didn't get any good dress shots. We were in such a hurry getting ready, and then I didn't take my camera to the ball with me.
The ball was a lot of fun. The dinner was delish and the dancing was wonderful. I think my sister had a blast! It was so nice to have her at a costume event. And my future brother-in-law is a great dancer!
I had just enough fabric left from my purple plaid dress to make an evening bodice. I had a half yard of acid green silk/cotton satin to work in somehow. I originally bought it to go with the day bodice, for covered buttons and trim. That didn't pan out, but I still loved the bright green with the purple.
I bought some more of the same satin in white and some gorgeous wide lace from work. With these I made a bertha with ruching and piped edges with green bows in front, back, and shoulders. I absolutely love the look of this, but it did seem to gape away from my body slightly. It didn't feel slippy but you can see it in photos. Alas. I suppose I just sew a tucker to it. I suppose this is the danger of making a separate bertha rather than just sewing trim directly to the bodice, but I like how a separate bertha conceals the closure and looks seamless.
I also made a sash with long tails in back. The sash ended up slightly tight, which made it wrinkle more than I wanted, but I can move the hooks and eyes for next time.
I really didn't get any good dress shots. We were in such a hurry getting ready, and then I didn't take my camera to the ball with me.
The ball was a lot of fun. The dinner was delish and the dancing was wonderful. I think my sister had a blast! It was so nice to have her at a costume event. And my future brother-in-law is a great dancer!
