DONE! HSF #9: Floral... Indienne anglaise en fourreau

Ta-Da!!  La robe, c'est finie!!! 

       

And I now have a record for the fastest other-than-a-skirt-only project I've ever made.

The Challenge:  #9: Flora and Fauna

Fabric: Indienne floral/stripe print (cotton) - an old tablecloth made from curtains (third iteration of this fabric now), approx. 80" diameter (2 yd, 8 in / 3m), printed in the '70s or early '80s and found in attic; white linen lining - 40" width, approx. 1 yd (from stash)

Pattern: Patterns of Fashion's c.1770-80 The Gallery of English Costume floral stripe with quilted petticoat; construction following Katherine's anglaise en fourreau (wonderful tutorial)

Year: 1770-80

Notions: poly thread (cream, red (since I ran out of the cream), white (for hooks/eyes)), 11 hook/eye pairs

How historically accurate is it? I'm not an expert at appraising accuracy since this is my first project, but I'd give it about an 85% accuracy.  The main detractor is the curve of the hem of the gown since I used the edge of the tablecloth to conserve fabric (and sewing time), and as the tablecloth was round, that meant that the front edge was also round instead of hanging straight to the floor; it looks like it's worn à la polonaise as a result (with a bit of a train), though it isn't actually polonaised.  It was entirely hand sewn except for the hem (original to the tablecloth), since machines and I don't get alone.  The pattern is accurate to Patterns of Fashion except for the hem curve, the fabric is cotton with a linen bodice lining.  Another detractor is that the thread I used was a poly blend (from stash).

Hours to complete:  14-16 or so; I started on April 27, finished May 6 at 11:54pm (that still counts, right?). 

First worn: Not yet, but perhaps to Colony House's Fourth of July celebration this year.

Total cost: 100% from stash/attic, so $0... but if counting what it cost at the time... the curtains were probably $30-40 back in the day; the linen was $6/yd the hooks/eyes were most of a set, so $3 when I bought them, thread (used two and a bit 110yd/100m spools) was $2/spool... $45-55 total 

Inspirations... primarily, the illustrations of the gown in Patterns of Fashion and this one (p.6 of the PDF): Blue silk brocade Robe à l'anglaise (1770-85) ... plus several gowns from the Met - Robe à l'anglaise (1784), Robe à l'anglaise (1750-75), Robe à l'anglaise (1785-89) - and the Colonial Williamsburg eMuseum (it's not letting me link at the moment, will post those later).

Had a really fun time making this... especially with the deadline.  It was definitely a challenge due to the limited material and the fact that some of it was (rather heavily) faded (one side of the skirt front, and one side of the back).  The most time consuming parts were the en fourreau pleats, the skirt pleats, and the front center trim (had to piece each striped "strip" from at least two if not three pieces of fabric to make the pattern match - often with millimeters to spare).  For posts on each part of the construction, click on the 'red stripe floral indienne' label.

...and, take a bow (curtsey) :-)