I've been working on a new Venetian gown! How did this come to be, you may ask? Well, a while back, I came upon this fabulous dupioni silk. It's hot pink shot with blue, so it appears different shades of purple-ish depending on the light and angle. I got a deal on the remainder from the bolt and set it aside, wondering what should I make it into. A wonderful fantasy gown for my collection, perhaps? A fabulous fanciful historical gown for myself? Finally, fanciful Venetian gown won! I don't have a portrait of anyone wearing this color, but it makes me really happy. I have seen mention of shot fabrics in period, and they did have pinks and blues. And, yes, various qualities of silk did exist, not only smooth silk. Smooth silk, however, would have been preferred, as it was (and is!) more costly and higher class ish.
Enough of my rambling. The gown is a basic bodice pattern with an open V in front. The ladder lacing goes through some lacing rings I stitched to the inside. I wear a corset underneath, but I still added boning to the bodice to maintain the shape. The skirt is cartridge pleated, which I did in the library one day! I reinforce my cartridge pleats, when the fabric is so thin, with a satin ribbon. I did some hand beading on the bodice, and the insert is silk lined in linen with an interlining, the same as the bodice itself. The insert will be pinned to my camicia when worn.
It's almost done! I actually just need to make a petticoat! I'm going to wear my old cutwork sleeves for now - or go sleeveless when it's warm.
No comments:
Post a Comment