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| Page Views: 2,978 | The Making of my Venice Carnival Costume by eddilowe - last update: Sep 9, 2005 |
This is a Robe a le Francaise. It is made entirely from scratch with a pattern I bought from America from JPRyan. Janice Pence Ryan is a historical costume maker in the States and is a tutor on Penny Laidner's costumeclassroom.com.
I took the online class to help me with the construction of the gown as it is made to be put together correctly for the period (about 1755-ish I believe).
The class and completion certificate cost around $80 in total and was WELL WORTH IT. I would have found it difficult to make the dress without the extra tips. It also gave me tips on what materials and trimmings to use. I did loads of research on the Internet and possibly printed off every colour picture of a Robe a la Francaise I could find for reference.
I also must've watched Dangerous Liasons I can't imagine how many times.
Unfortunately the pattern I ordered was the wrong size so I had to try and amend all the pattern pieces to fit me which was difficult because A) I had never altered a pattern before and b) you can imagine that once you change one piece you have to alter every other related piece as well. :o(
The mistakes to me are glaringly obvious but I'll learn by them and when I have another go in a couple of years time hopefully I'll get it right.
The cloak I made was fairly simple to put together. |
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This is the petticoat on it's own which needs trimming with some flounces around the bottom for next year but I haven't got round to it yet. |
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This is the stomacher on it's own. The pattern just gave the shape and the construction details. You have to decide how to decorate it yourself to go with your dress. I came up with this design after many hours of looking at pictures and reading. |
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The pleats are some of the hardest bits to do especially since I'd had to enlarge my patter across the shoulders as well :o( This meant estimating how much extra material would need to be added so taking into account that some would be pleated away and so not go towards the total widening. |
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This shows the lining that is sewn into the top of the dress. This is not how it would have been made originally. The lady would have worn a chemise with the lacey ruffles at the elbows (which would have come out the end of the sleeve) underneath her stays which were a form of corset. This is because, can you imagine how scratchy an early corset/set of stays would have been without wearing something underneath.
The stomacher would have been pinned directly onto the stays and the robe section of the dress (the blue part here in the photo) would then have been pinned up to the edges of the stomacher. The lining here just makes the whole process a lot easier for construction purposes.
It's a bit complicated but if you've ever seen the opening sequence of Dangerous Liasons you'll know what I mean.....
Order of dress: Chemise, Stays, hoops, stomacher, robe. |
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These are my pockets hoops, made from a pattern from JPRyan. The hoops are crescent moon shaped on the bottom and sit comfortably around the outsides of your thighs. There is an opening at the top of each side, and a corresponding opening in the hem of the dress where it sits aboue the openings on the hoops.
This means that you don't have to carry a bag about with you and can keep your belongings in your hoops. Anything will go in there; your camera, your purse/wallet, makeup, fan, guidebook, anything you want! |
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This is the dress and cloak all completed with the hat and mask I bought from Venice. I am currently decorating the hat which should be finished soon. |
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kopwint Thu Oct 29, 2009 05:40 UTC
happy and free with peaceful on your great days, wishing you from Burma, happy birthday,happy birthday,happy birthday.., and get success and smart, and get strong and harmony, and get healthy and wealthy in your days ... Know Burma where is?? | GracesTrips Mon Oct 29, 2007 21:03 UTC
Happy Birthday, Edwina! That is amazing how you made that costume! I applaud what a wonderful job you did! ENJOY your day! | MikeStarr5 Mon Oct 29, 2007 20:45 UTC
Happy Birthday from Mike and Shelley in sunny "Barking Town" - Woof, woof. | Mikebond Mon Oct 29, 2007 15:17 UTC
Happy birthday from Italy! |
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