Wednesday 16 January 2013

Augusta Auctions 1820s Inspired Dress

While perving on the amazing creations on the Augusta Auctions website I found this amazing 1820s dress. I had previously cut out some yellow cotton damask to make a regency dress quite a few years earlier. I was inspired to dig it out of my ufo's (unfinished objects - mostly unidentifiable) pile. After digging for some time I found the cotton and with some consultation realised that it was possible to make a yellow and dusky green version of this lovely creation.

The original dress from the Augusta Auction website.

I had in my stash a beautiful dusky green  silk chiffon fabric that was perfect for the sleeves. Unfortunately, I did not have enough of the yellow damask cotton to create the beautiful decoration on the bottom of the skirt. I do not believe the feature would have the same impact as the stripes have in the damask (which makes me feel better for the lack of fabric).

In trying to replicate the dress I consulted with friends on the different construction techniques possible for the decorations. Most of it is bias tape and piping, which ended up looking far more complicated than it actually was. This was a wonderful and joyous thing. I did have to construct most of it by hand. This was a challenge as I am not overly confident in hand sewing due to my arthritis. It did turn out wonderfully though and I have now started to use hand sewing more, as my confidence builds. 

I also decorated a straw bonnet to go with the dress. It was shaped off an original from the Kyoto Museum book on page 160. I also used this image as inspiration for the trim placement. Overall I am very happy with the resulting dress and bonnet and look forward to being able to wear it soon.

The front view of the completed dress.
 The back view of the completed dress.
 Regency Bonnet
Back view of the bonnet.



1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting this dress, we loved reading your thoughts on it! If you haven't already, please follow us on facebook, we post lots of pictures from our collection! https://www.facebook.com/AugustaAuctions
    Take care!

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