Fantasy Empire Dress

I've already posted about the "one week wedding dress, OW" and how the first dress wouldn't fit, so I had to make another. When Bride's World was coming around, I decided that I already had a beautiful dress almost finished, and limited time, so I finished the "first" green dress and this is what came of it. (Thank you Liz, you are a lovely model).

Due to the fabrics I used, I can't market this as an historic gown, but it sure is pretty (and for sale).

The fabric has to be pressed before every single wear, and it doesn't like being stuffed in a garment bag.

Fabric:
The green is a polyester sari fabric in a graduated green (goes from bright grass green to spring green) with gold *stars*and a beautiful gold & green border design. (When I purchased the fabric for the original dress, it was on a 100% silk label, which is the only reason I got it, but I'm glad I did as it's lovely... I pretty much knew it was polyester, but the color was perfect and time was short).
The lace is 100% cotton with little primroses & leaves embroidered in a diamond pattern over hexagonal netting. It's very pretty and very forgiving.
The bodice lining is 100% cotton quilting fabric.
The trim is 100% cotton gold braid.
The flower is a silk yellow orchid, that is easily changed for something else (a tassel, a different flower, beads, etc.), but the lace panel needs something to weight it down.

This dress went through a lot of style changes. Mostly due to the fact that I had very little lace left over from the first dress. I kept the scraps that were too small to mail to the "OW" bride, and that's what I had to work with (this lace is no longer available).
-The top was already sewn together, but I did let out the side seams to better fit the Liz doll (t-shirt, duck tape, cardboard, stuffed with plastic grocery bags and finally covered with fabric to make it look good. I may post on how to make a really good duck tape dress form later). We knew the Liz doll was bigger than the real Liz, so the back didn't quite close, and the front was very tight on the doll.
-The skirt was already sewn together, and just needed to be attached to the top. The design issues were in the sleeves and the lace overlay on the skirt. I had very little lace, and no more green material... maybe enough for a clutch purse.
-Not pictured (and not finished) are the glove/sleeves. They are the same green sari fabric, no lace. They go from mid-arm to wrist, and do not attach to anything, they just magically stay on your arms... it's kinda cool.

I looked at 3 different fashion eras for inspiration.
-The early 1800's, which was the inspiration for the "OW" dress, and the base for the pattern.
-Ancient Greece and Rome, which heavily influenced the Empire style of the early 1800's.
-1910's tea and evening gowns, mostly for the glitz that I wanted in this dress.

Process:
Most of this was sewn together already, but going way, way back to April here's the process:
-I designed the dress using 3 different historic patterns and a lot of mistakes.
-Cut the fabric for this dress a bit haphazardly (the OW took better advantage of the fabric patterns). Made sure the bottom design stayed on the bottom of the skirt to proved an all-around border, and removed the need to hem.
-Flat-lined the lace to the top and sewed the bodice together.
-Sewed the skirt using welted seams, so it's very clean, no raw edges. There is a gathering effect in this skirt that is not in the OW gown. I wanted a cleaner look in the OW dress, so instead of gathering the extra fabric, I made darts. The gathers in this dress are very nice on someone's body, but not so nice on the hanger.
-Sewed the bodice lining to the bodice around the neck and back only. Left the sleeves and the bottom open for the sleeves & skirt. (in the OW dress I made drawstring channels so I knew it would fit the bride, in this one it's a fixed dress).
-Took my time arranging the sleeves & lace overlay on the skirt.
-Sewed the gold trim on the lace edges.
-Sewed the lace overlay to the green skirt, sewed them all into the dress.
-Sewed the sleeves into the armhole & hand-finished the armhole.
-Added gold trim to everything.
-Sewed on hooks & eyes.
-Added the flower at the last minute to weight down the front lace panel (it has a tendency to curve a little).

One of my favorite things about this dress is the asymmetry in the lace overlay on the skirt.
The other thing I really enjoy is that the gold trim alternates direction as it goes around the collar, under-bust, front and back overlays. It helps your eye move up & down the dress, instead of making you spin in circles.
Although the bodice sits on the shoulders it does not restrict arm movement, and you can dance & generally move around without flashing the room. I wouldn't try tying my shoes in a room full of gentlemen, but that's what slip-ons were made for.
The back of the lace overlay is cut in an M shape and is very elegant when you move.

I'd like to do more of these fantasy dresses, this was fun, frustrating and very rewarding when I finished it. Now if I could just find some beautiful lady to buy and wear it, my artwork would be complete.

1650-60 Bodice

I made this bodice for Halloween this year, and didn't have any pictures I was happy enough with to post. Thanks to Jodi for taking these wonderful photos and sending them to me!.. And my digital camera is broken, so I'm back to film until I can get it repaired /replaced.

I love this boned bodice. It's (again) from Cut of Women's Clothes. Nora Waugh deserves to be a fashion history saint.
I don't have a petticoat to go with it yet. I'm still looking for the right wool, but for this modeling session, I used a long 18th century wool petticoat that is just a bit more rose than burgundy, and it seemed to work fine for the artists.

I made a lovely linen shift with a flop-over collar to wear with this bodice, but the ladies wanted to see more of my neck & shoulders, so we substituted the 18th century linen shift. Alas, historic accuracy takes another beating from modern art. I also left my bangs down because I forgot my bobby pins. Bad, bad me. I'd never do that at an event. This new hair cut is going to play hell with my historic hair-do's. Ah well, I look good and the reenactors can deal.

The cap and bodice (after all my rambling) are accurate for the mid to late 1600's. The bodice is English, and would have been worn in England and the English Colonies, it could also pass for German. It's made from 2 different pieces of wool.
The cap is a 2 piece, 2 drawstring linen cap. It ties behind the head, and falls off in a light breeze (I think it's too small).

Bodice Fabric:
I didn't want to use any good fabric, because I'm poor at the moment. So both pieces of wool are pretty moth-eaten. I can't sell something like that, so I get new clothes! I also had no idea if the pattern would work (it did, thank Nora).
The main wool is a very pretty burgundy, the accent wool on the sleeves is a rich red-brown. Neither wool has been felted. The light cream trim is cotton bias tape that I used to finish off the raw edges on the sleeve caps. It was stained, and there wasn't enough of it to do anything else with.
The bodice is lined with a heavy cotton canvas that has boning channels sewn into it. I cheated and put rivets instead of eyelets on the lacing strips. You can't see it, and I may replace the rivets with real eyelets if I don't shrink out of the thing by the end of the summer.

Bodice Construction:
I started with my usual 1" = 9" conversion from COWC, and it only took a little tweaking to make it my size (I'm shrinking, but I think the original garment was made for a full-bodied woman).
The waistline is about 1 1/2" higher than my natural waistline, and it just takes some getting used to. I thought that women must have used a "bumroll" (really a waist roll) to get their skirts to flair out, but I found out that if you've got a shift and a heavy petticoat on under this bodice that it pushes your waist in just enough to give your skirt that extra kick. As long as you don't think about it like "OMG, my belly fat is being squished out!" it looks really beautiful and very accurate.
I decided to make a separate interlining, and no lining as I had 1 day to put this together. The interlining goes around the entire bodice including the shoulders. There are 2 layers to the interlining, and boning channels are placed as directed.
I put the bones in the channels, sewed the lacing strips together (and used grometts rather than eyelets), sewed those on the interlining, and set this part aside.
I sewed the bodice pieces together then sewed the interlining to the outer fabric right sides together. The interlining shows from certain angles, so if I do this again, I'll put a wider seam allowance on the outer fabric and fold it around the lining instead of right sides together and turning.
I did not top-stitch like I usually would because I wanted to hand-finish this garment.

Sleeves:
The sleeves were a bit tricky. They are 2 piece, unlined (again because of time) and have 2 caps and a lovely cuff.
I sewed the upper & lower sleeves together, then sewed the cuff on. Then I sewed the lower cap onto the sleeve, and the upper cap onto the bodice. Then I set the sleeve and basted it. The inside edge is left rough like historic sleeves, excpet I overlocked the raw edges because I'm paranoid.

Finishing:
I hand-finished as much as possible, then handed out flowers with poems tied on them for Halloween.

Still have to do:
sew eyelets into the cuffs.
top-stitch.
Make tabs for the waist.
Make a petticoat.
It's wearable now, and that's really all I care about.

Things I would change:
Again, I would add extra seam allowance to the outer fabric and fold it over the lining so the lining doesn't show at the neck.
Add more "puff" to the sleeve so I've got more arm movement. I can only raise my arms up to my shoulders in the front, and not quite that on the side. I'm thinking this was a mid to upper class garment, someone who had to do some work, but had servents to do the heavy stuff.
It could easily be converted to a working class garment by lacing the sleeves on at the top and leaving the underarms open for more movement.

hunting shirt... I mean coat...

This was a not-so-interesting project that turned out very nicely.

The "hunting shirt" is an uncertain garment from the 18th century that was made to go over other clothes (so it was big) to keep them from getting wrecked while you, (the man), went hunting. This goes in the same category as the "fringed frock coat," which I've found few reliable historic references to... yes, I know it's a Rev war coat and was issued to several companies, but I can't find a picture from the time period, only written descriptions. So much can be lost in writing, especially when it's a visual thing... you try describing how to knit a sock without diagrams...

In any case, the "hunting shirt" was BIG, went over your other clothes and could be a pull-over like a regular shirt, or split down the middle like this one. Aside from that I've only come across references to buckskin hunting shirts (and some of the originals still exist). I'm not saying the references aren't out there, I just haven't found them yet.

My dress dummy has cardboard shoulders on it for a man, and they are a little too wide for this customer, but perfect for another long-term project, so I didn't change it for the photos... I know it looks funny with a man's shoulders and a woman's bust.

This hunting shirt is made from linen/hemp fabric and lined with wool. The color contrast is fabulous! I'm so happy he picked brown.
My customer sent me the linen/hemp blend, which was a joy to work with. I had to wear barrier cream on my hands & face because I'm allergic to hemp, but it has the most wonderful texture, and is truly beautiful. The linen/hemp is silver, cream and soft gray... really beautiful. The wool is "100%" from JoAnn's, (but any wool from there is really 3% acrylic to help it keep its shape). It's a delicious red-brown that doesn't show up well on the computer.
Both fabrics were felted (meaning I washed the heck out it in really hot water a couple times, then tumbled dry to "fuzz" it up).

The small pieces (cuffs, collar, neck gussets & arm gussets) are all cut over-sized due to the thickness of the fabric. The large pieces (bodies & sleeves) are cut "normal" size, but long as requested.

The only parts that are lined are the body and sleeves. The fabric was so thick that it became too stiff to work with as it was layered. I did a lot of clipping seams to get things to lay flat, especially in areas where there is pleating (cuffs, sleeves & neckline). After clipping, I overlocked those edges to make the garment more stable. This helped flatten the seams, but it made them stiffer. Then I cut them to 1/4" to reduce the bulk even more. I made a diagram... click on it for a full sized image.

The front & hem are fringed to 1".

The best part of this hunting shirt is that it's hand finished. This means all seams that show (except the sleeve gusset) are hand stitched. The collar & cuffs are finished by hand, so is the neck gusset. The lining is hand stitched to the sleeves on the inside, and hand stitched to the body along the opening & hem. It's set back a little so it doesn't show from the top side. I used a combination of overcast & back stitch for this. Both work well. I could have used a running stitch if I knew the shirt wouldn't get thrown in the washing machine... but I'd rather be safe than fix it later.

If you click on this image you should be able to see the light stitching on the center front. I used thread that matched the outer fabric. I like the way the lighter thread looks against the red-brown wool. You can't even see the thread from the front unless you look really hard from very close up.

The finished garment is very heavy, almost 5 lbs. It should be a warm coat for the rest of hunting season!

Artistic Dress: the Countess Brownlow Dress in blue

This was an exciting project (well, exciting to me) and I really enjoyed working on it. It was supposed to be simple, yet these things never work out as planned.

An Artistic Dress can be just about anything, but they were inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, and the idea was to do away with the heavy corsets and body shaping that was so common for several hundred years. Artistic Dresses can be very simple or incredibly complex. My prices start at $100 because the simplest types of artistic dresses are very much like the chemise dresses of the late 1700's, which are super-easy to make... and very beautiful.

Last year I made an outfit for an English Country Dancer (early 1800's) and he was very happy with it. His wife, L., ordered this dress about 2 months ago. I've had a huge backlog, so it took me a while to get to it. Her event is Saturday. Talk about the skin of my teeth.

We looked at all different artistic dresses, and pricing it out we came up with this one. It's Countess Brownlow, painted by her husband, Leighton Brownlow in 1879. Isn't that gown fabulous?
It's essentially a chemise dress with a fixed yoke, fitted undersleeves, poofy drawstring oversleeves and a self-fabric belt (sash, whatever). As far as I can tell it would close in the front with the belt fastening in back. The petticoat is satin, and most likely a gored skirt without a bustle. She is probably wearing a chemise under everything, and at this point drawers... though I'm not sure about lady's underwear in the Artistic movement, I've never come across that information.

L. wanted the dress in blue cotton from the beginning, and we decided to go with the satin petticoat as well. Unfortunately genuine (ie, not poly) satin is quite expensive, so we (I) settled for a cotton/poly blend, which is quite pretty and fairly durable, and OK for what she wants it for. I used silk to trim the yoke, and standard cheep nylon/poly ribbons for sleeves & drawstrings. The thing has a million snaps.


Construction:
BODY: I started out with the chemise dress pattern (Cut of Women's Clothes) and modified it from there. First I raised the neckline, both front and back, then got rid of the train and scoop neck (to create a more square neckline). This naturally increased the size of the armholes, which is good as she has to have full arm movement.
I got rid of the drawstring under the bust, but kept the one at the waist.
Increased the size of the shoulder straps and reduced the amount of fabric due to the thickness... it's a thin cotton, but for chemise dresses you need something you could watch t-v through, and she's a small woman.

SLEEVES: I increased the size by a lot. Added 6 drawstrings instead of the original 2. This is designed as a 1/2 sleeve, which will end just above or below the elbow. It was 32" long.
The next thing was to mount it on a long undersleeve to give it structure and the lower sleeves that stick out. I used some Edwardian cut that I didn't take note of, other than it was the shape I wanted. It's really quite comfortable.

PETTICOAT: I used an original magazine pattern (1886 from Goodeys, I think) for an All Round Skirt, that is super-pretty and works well for a variety of styles. The butt is pleated and can fit over a small bustle, or train on the ground. I left this one short so she could dance without tripping over it... hopefully. It has a fitted waistband and closes with hook & eyes and one lonely snap.

My dress dummy always makes things look stubby; it needs a new stand.

Sewing:
1. I fit the top together like a chemise dress (real helpful, I know) then sewed the sleeves and set them.
2. I sewed the front together leaving 4" open below the waist so she could get it over her head.
3. Then I draped it over the dress dummy (too big for my customer) and arranged the folds to look nice. That took some time.
4. It took a while to figure out what trim we liked, I did a lot of pinning and picture taking. She settled on the bi-colored silk, which I loved too. I also really liked the white lace (at left), though that made it much more Edwardian than Artistic.
5. I hand stitched the silk onto the dress, creating the fixed yoke. I didn't sew through all the layers, this gives it more dimension and better shape.
6. It took even more time to figure out how I was going to close the front. I finally settled on snaps and discovered that I HATE sewing the bloody things on. A button takes 30 seconds. A snap takes 10 minutes. No joke. Figure that in for your time if you ever decide to use snaps. I used 20 of the little buggers. Get thin needles.
Snaps were common in Edwardian garments, I'm not sure about the historic accuracy for the 1870's.
7. Sewed the satin hem on, and finished off the sleeves with a narrow satin bias tape.
Note: I always cut my own bias tape from the same fabric. It looks better and wears better.
8. The hem is hand-stitched. Watched Pirates of the Caribean while doing that. "Cuffs" are hand-stitched too.
There was a lot of hand-stitching.
9. Cut & sewed the petticoat. I used French seams and did a machine hem due to time constraints. It looks OK. Because it's a gored skirt the hem is a little crinkled on the inside, but looks great on the outside.
10. Attached the waistband and then sewed on the hooks & eyes and the last, lone snap.
11. Pressed the heck out of everything then boxed it up to get wrinkled and carted 1/2 way across the state in a Fed-Ex truck.

The dress and petticoat came to $175 before tax and shipping.

I took pictures, but in my typical fashion, not the ones I should have.
Here are some more Artistic Dresses for your viewing pleasure.

Symphony in White
Whistler
1862
(This is the one she wanted to begin with, but it prices out at around $250)... not including the polar bear rug.
This is a very fitted dress, it's got a pleated bodice that probably goes over a cut base (that's how I'd do it), long undersleeves with poofy oversleeves and cuffs. A gored, trained skirt (attached), belt and tons of buttons. Lace at the collar. The most complex thing about this dress is the bodice. It probably has a hidden button placket down the front to get in and out of it.









Jane Morris in a blue silk dress
Not sure if this is the title... probably not.
Rosetti
1868

You can see how this one is a little more fitted than the Brownlow dress. It's got a top very similar to contemporary garments, without the bones. It may be a sack-type dress with a separate belt, or the belt may be part of it... could go either way.
If I were making this I would want to use silk, but just to sew it would probably be around between $150 and $200. The belt with silk flowers would add to that.







Portrait of Francis Leyland
Whistler
1872-73

Dear God I love this dress! Someone please order it so I've got an excuse to make it.
This is a super-complex garment, yet the simple elegance makes it one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. I LOVE this dress.

It's a princess cut base ($250), with a separate yoke gathered at the shoulders in elegant little lines. I love the trim that connects the yoke with the body in back.
The sheer overlay is a sack-back tea gown ($200) with embroidered blossoms. Another overlay in blue makes up the sleeves and part of the yoke.
Then that fabulous collar! Heavy metallic trim with lace framing the neck.
And the cording that wraps her arms!
To make it would be somewhere between $500 and $1,000 depending on the fabrics. With hand embroidery or appliqued silk flowers it would be quite a bit more... but worth every penny.
Have I mentioned that I love this dress???

18th century trim: Rosettes

A rosette is a strip of fabric or ribbon gathered or pleated into a round shape. It can be single or layered with other rosettes or trims, like beads, lace, silk flowers, jewels, etc. Rosettes were accessories that could be worn on almost any garment.

There are several kinds of rosettes, and a lot of them were used on 18th century clothes, hats and shoes. You can see one on a French Revolution hat here, I think it's ribbon, but it could be a metal medallion made to look like a rosette.

You can use ribbons, lace or fabric strips to make these. Ribbons work the best, and striped grosgrain ribbon works the best of all. In fact, any striped material will totally rock with this trim.

The first type is a round fabric rosette. Cut a length of fabric (the wider the strip, the longer you will need). I used about 10" of fabric to make a 3" rosette (1.5" strip). You need to have enough fabric to go around the outside of the circle without curling in, and enough to turn over at the ends. You will need more if you want a frillier rosette.

Finish the ends of your strip however you want, I rolled a small hem for this one.

Depending on the material, you can do one of 2 things.

1. Tie your thread at one end, make a running stitch along the "inside" edge, then pull the thread tight. The fabric or ribbon will make a nice neat circle and you can stitch the center closed from the bottom. Leave the ends of the thread if you are going to sew it onto a garment, cut them if you are attaching it to a pin or clip.
This works well for lightweight fabric or ribbon.

2. Anchor your thread at one end, make a very small pleat and overcast stitch it in place. Make the next pleat with a slight curve toward the center. Stitch in place again. Repeat. You may have to make several stitches to keep the pleats in place, but don't panic if they slip around a bit.
This works well for thicker fabrics or large rosettes. You will have to finish the inside with a button hole stitch, or put a smaller rosette (or bead) on top to cover the hole.

The next kind is a folded ribbon rosette, which I'm too tired to make tonight, but you can see a great video of it here. She's a bit sloppy, (because it's modern), but the first one she makes is one of the more commonly worn types of the 18th century. If your edges and folds are a bit neater, it's perfect. The cut bit she gets into is more along the lines of silk flowers rather than true rosettes, and is more 19th century than 18th.

18th century trim: Chain Puffs

I'm sure there is a correct name for these things, but I haven't come across it, so I'm calling them Chain Puffs. This is a really nice trim, it's easy and takes a lot less fabric than ruffles or ruching. It was very common on gowns and petticoats in the 18th century.

It can be cut on the straight or the bias, but I think straight is easier.

Step 1: Cut or rip fabric strips. These can be self-fabric or a contrasting fabric. Lightweight fabric (silk, taffeta, cotton, etc.) works well and 3" is a good width to start with. You can use heavier fabrics, but plan on covering the ends with something else... like a rosette!
Step 2: Sew all strips together (see comment on Ruching post)
Step 3: Sew strips into a tube and turn. DO NOT press. Leave it puffy. If you use sheer fabric, you can stuff the tube with a smaller tube at this point.
Step 4: measure & mark the intervals you want the puffs to be. I marked every 2" on this garment and it looks great. You could do shorter with lighter fabric, or longer if you used a wider tube.
Step 5: Gather the fabric into a W shape by pinching up the center then pulling up the edges at your marks. Make a small stitch in the center or at the bottom. Do not overcast onto the top side, you don't want your stitches to show. Tie your thread off and repeat until you've pinched the length of the tube. At this point your puffs will be a bit sloppy, don't panic you'll finish them later. Bury the ends of your threads or cut them very short.
Step 6: Arrange the chain on your garment and pin each puff. Don't stretch them sideways too far or they will pull on the fabric. Make sure there is a little give length-wise so there is room for more "puff".
Step 7: Cut a comfortable length of hand-stitching thread and stitch the ends under the first puff or plan on covering the raw edge.
Tack each side down and then tighten the pinch with several passes through the center near the top of the pinch. Tack the pinch to the garment.
Try to keep your stitches small, and make sure you don't pull too tight. Keep the threads between the fabric & lining, or inside the puffs so it doesn't show. Keep your stitches small and hidden. The blue line shows the easiest thread path.
Step 8: Tuck the raw end under the last puff or cover it with another bit of trim.

Here's a close-up of the finished chain puffs.
Sorry it's dark, I'm on my husband's computer and he doesn't have an image-editing program.

This chain was made with a heavy cotton, and is very heavy. It's the look I wanted, but I won't be using something that thick again. You could actually iron these things and they wouldn't flatten much.

Use lightweight fabric if you decide to do this.

18th century trim: Ruching

I've looked for a nice site that tells how to make trim for 18th century garments, but the closest thing to helpful that I've found are sites on modern ribbon crafts or quilt applique.

The first trim I want to show is Ruching.
This is a ribbon or fabric strip that is gathered and stitched down.
The most common place this was seen in the 18th century was on Sack-back gowns or Brunswicks like this one.

This is Lady Mary Fox, and I want this Brunswick... without the dog.

If you are using self-fabric, (the same fabric the dress is mad out of), which was the most common thing to do in the 18th century, you have to decide if you are cutting on the bias or the straight grain. Each looks different, so try it out and see what you like. (If you are doing lots of curves, cut on the bias). This takes up quite a bit of fabric, so plan on buying at least 2 yds for trim.
Sew all your strips together end to end... make sure all your seams are on the same side.
Next you need to finish the edges. Sometimes it was turned over, pinked, or a decorative stitch was added. I've seen some paintings where it looks like there is separate trim of the same color. This could be dyed lace, or a crocheted edge... I'm not sure.

There are many variations in the stitch, here are 2 basics.
The first is a straight running stitch that is gathered. Make sure to gather and then backstitch every 10 stitches if you are using one thread.
You can do 2 running stitches side-by-side and gather the material all at once.
Modern sewing machines do a great job if you are making doll clothes, costumes or are in a rush.
To make even gathers, measure every 3" and gather into 1", or something like that.

There is no substitute for hand stitching historic garments.

The next looks best on finished edges, wide trim 3" or more, or ribbon. It doesn't work well with pinked edges... which I'm using anyway.

Mark your trim at even intervals. Sew a running stitch from point to point, looping over the edges. Pull the thread straight and you get a squiggly looking ruche.

A nice variation is a curved line rather than a triangle, it's very historic.


These are the 2 finished ruching styles. They can be edged, stitched down once or several times, paired with beads, lace, other trims, etc. Just look at some paintings or historic garments.

The fabric I used here was cut on the bias and is a very narrow scrap, about 3/4". Use wider stuff unless you are making doll clothes or sleeve trim.

A nice combination is stitched pleats with ruched edges. This was done by sewing gathering stitches on the straight fabric, stitching down the pleated center and then pulling the threads tight on the outside. You can see this in several sack back gowns from the mid 1700's.

Here is a doll dress I made as a test garment for a sack-back gown from one of Diderot's illustrations. This was more to figure out the lining than anything else, but it's a nice doll dress... to bad I still have to make the doll to go with it. The ruching isn't perfect, but it's a nice example.

I will eventually make a sack-back gown for myself and it will have loads of ruching on the gown and the petticoat. First I need paniers and fabric... then I need some serious time.

Why, oh why do I want a dress that will make my hips look even bigger???