Gothy Chemise a la Reine

Pattern is from reconstructing history 819 “1783-93 Chemise Dress or chemise de la reine”

Fabric used: linen that I dyed purple. It’s not the greatest quality ever (thanks Aliexpress) and neither is the dye job amazing, but it’s ok as a whole.

Notions used: approx 10 yards of black lace that I ruffled. Approx 4m of bias binding that I used as ribbon channels (interior of dress)

In general the pattern is easy to follow, although I didn’t actually print it out. Instead I just vaguely cut out the fabric while referencing the pattern pieces. I’ll probs alt print out and cut the shoulder pieces when I attempt this in the future because that part ended up wonky.

However, after I was done I really hated how the dye job seemed really uneven and I decided to shorten it and add lace over. I also had issues with how the ruching was very uneven (covered by the belt) because the bias tape shifted while I was sewing it on.

The lace ruffles were pretty much necessary because the dress just looked plain without it. I also regretted sewing the sleeve bias binding on the outside because it looked rather harsh(?). In the end I sewed lace over that too.

And then…I decided I wanted it short. I ended up way too trigger happy with the scissors and the skirt was way too short. I added lace over it and I still hated it until I wore a petticoat underneath it. I still don’t know if I made the right decision to make it short but…oh well. I used about 2m of lace, gathered it, and sewed it over the skirt (while I was wearing it because who needs a dress form).