"Most true it is that ‘beauty is in the eye of the gazer.’"

Goodness, it's been quite a busy few weeks since arriving home from my first Costume College; with a whirlwind of craziness at work and another costumed event last weekend, I've barely had time to take a breather. As per usual, I've unpacked all over our living room, leaving a bit of a hurricane of petticoats and bonnets (and gloves and hairthings...).

Overall, I had a wonderful time at both CoCo and the Nahant Vintage Dance weekend, with both affording me a chance to wear my new 1840's gown. Even though I have a had hankering for an 1840's fan front bodice for several years, surprisingly, I saw very few other ladies in 1840s attire at either event. Despite this, I am in love with my new gown. The fabric is a 19th century reproduction quilters cotton from Judie Rothermel's "Party of Twelve" collection. For the pattern I used Truly Victorian #454 - German Day Dress pattern which came together like a dream - super easy to fit (there's got to be something said about princess seam bodices...), even with the gathered front. Markings for the center front gathering were super simple and initially I began by machine gathering my stitches, but switched over to hand basting once I pulled too hard and broke the stitching. Once I had basted and pulled the gathers, the bodice goes together like any other dress, however, you will need to stitch over your gathering on the front to keep the stitching from coming out later (don't miss this step!).

In favor of time saving, I pleated my skirt to the gown (instead of gauging/cartridge pleating) and finished stitching the hem and hooks and eyes on the plane to LA Thursday morning. The only part of the pattern that gave me trouble was the sleeves. Even though I took in the armscye at the shoulder and side seams, I did not need to take it in on the sleeve, leaving me with a lot of excess to gather. After two tries on the machine, I found it much easier to hand set the sleeve, which made it much easier to control the gathers.

Paired with my bonnet (more info in an upcoming post), I think I make a quite lovely Jane Eyre, I'm just missing my own Mr. Rochester and the New England seaside will have to pass for an English moor.