HomeBlogSuch a good idea in my head: my Belle gown

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Such a good idea in my head: my Belle gown — 18 Comments

  1. Ah, there is just *nothing* like “slash-and-burn” sewing (as one of my friends termed my method). Comes from being short before they invented petite sizing – if I wanted it to fit, I had to wing it. So I have no mental safeguards against “gee, I want this to happen, so let’s just cut this, and move that, and put a dart here” and all those other adjustments that perfect-size-whatever people quake in their boots to consider.

    I have found with “slimpsy” fabrics (my sister-in-law’s term for slippery, flimsy, hard to work with fabric) that the direction of pinning is crucial. Longitudinal pinning let the fabric slide and slump like mad; latitudinal holds better. Not perfect, but better.

    In the end, the dress looks even better than the museum sample – and YOU look gorgeous wearing it!

    • So cool to run into another ‘slash and burn’ seamstress! Love that term! I’ll have to keep that pinning trick in mind. Usually I only pin when there are gathers or many layers involved. For me, just holding it together works better. LOL

      Thanks so much!

  2. Oh, I remember the days of making my own clothing. People today have no idea. Since I read a lot of Regency, I was enamored with wanting to make a cape… yeah, I love looking at Regency patterns. Shades of Carol Burnett… I used drapery material. It was batiste and I figured if I messed it up… who would know… right? I had an extra package of drapes I didn’t use and thought… here is material… why not use it. So, I did. Of course… I cut one of the panels incorrectly… my brain goes weird on reversals. Any way… I needed a new panel and so I took one off the window in the back room. It was a small window and one panel can drape across the window just fine… right? Well, I finished it. It is not perfect, but I have a cape. Now, where the heck am I going to wear a full length cape? OH well….

    I loved this post and love the pictures. Your gown is beautiful. It is amazing what we can do when under stress. Congratulations on a job well done. Remember, only you know where the errors are. Well and all your followers… however, I bet you only told half of the problems you had. Those that sew… understand… mums the word.

    • You must share a picture of that cape! I have one that is still half done. I have worn it for warmth in costume despite the face it remains unhemmed and I have not yet finished the hood!

      Yeah, you’ve outed me about only half the problems. Figured it would become unbelievable (and boring!) if I included stuff like accidentally cutting into the lining when I was trimming the seam and not having enough fabric to cut a new piece… LOL

    • The hooks were extra long so after sewing down the back of the hook, I had to add another row of stitches along the shank of the hook, otherwise it pulled up from the fabric and left it pulling and puckering. Hope that makes sense. Thanks, Mary!

  3. Wow Maria. You look amazing! Congratulations on your eventual success. I have never been able to sew, maybe because my mum made all my clothes from being little. She taught herself from necessity as we didn’t have a lot of money and at the time my dad was an engineer at a print works so used to get cheap materials.
    We had to do sewing for one year when I was at the Grammar School but the teacher was very old fashioned and insisted we made a knee length gathered skirt and blouse. Now we were talking of the sixties here so an a line mini skirt would have at least been wearable. As it was I didn’t actually finish mine and my mum made something else with the material.
    My forte is crochet and knitting although I don’t actually think a knitted ball gown would work.
    Anyway you looked absolutely fabulous Maria so I would go with that last minute, cut corners method every time ?

  4. I don’t sew. I’m not blessed with the patience to deal with fiddly things. My husband, however, is the magician with the sewing machine. When we were first married, he made me skirts, blouses, and dresses, and his most recent sewing project was making a quilt for our son’s bed. He’s also a far better cook than I am, too. His private high school made all the boys take cooking and sewing and all the girls had to take woodshop and autoshop. This was after the boys had taken the shop classes and the girls had taken cooking and sewing, so they all learned how to do both. 😉

    Your dress turned out beautifully!! The color and sheen to the material are gorgeous on you!!

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    • I am impressed that your husband sews! That’s pretty awesome! I know other men who cook, but none that sews too! I would have loved to have taken woodshop and autoshop as a kid!

      Thanks!

  5. Gorgeous ball gown! I’ll never forget my first and only dress I made in home economics…it looked like a curtain! My step-mother made me wear it! Yup…one of those! I never took to sewing after that! Though now I would love to learn but that means buying a machine and taking a course and having less time for reading! No, I will stick to mending things with needle and thread!

  6. I love your Belle ball gown, Maria Grace. The colour is lovely and the whole dress looks lovely with you on the arm of your very own Mr Darcy.
    In the past I have had a go at sewing skirts and my own wedding dress. That was exciting as made the wedding dress with my sister. Would really love to get back to the sewing maybe a very late New Year resolution to get back to sewing that could go into the New Year.

    • How awesome that you got to make your wedding dress with your sister. I made mine as well, but was on my own with it. Doing it with a sewing buddy would have been great fun.

  7. There was a time when I made much of my own clothing. And I even made smocked dresses for my two girls and a niece. But never again. I can just imagine your frustration. Glad it all worked out. Unless you sew you cannot understand all the attention to details and if your body does not match the measurements on the pattern: curses!

    Your dress does look amazing! Good job.

    • Having to made all the adjustments when the pattern doesn’t agree with your shape is definitely annoying! I’ve always wanted to try smocking, but never had daughters for whom to do it. Just can’t see the boys wearing it…

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