# "The Dress"



## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

Well, here it is, finished at last. No hoop in this pic so can't tell how big the skirt is


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## marilyngf (Nov 5, 2011)

absolutely gorgeous


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## jeannietta (Mar 14, 2011)

This is great. I can appreciate all the work that went into creating an authentic Civil War era dress. When my son Alex was a boy (25 years ago) he became fixated on the civil war. I decided to get an "authentic" bugle boy pattern and make him a costume for Halloween. Lots of work with all the buttons and trim - but it was such fun. His older brother wanted a GI Joe costume. We took Alex to a re-enactment that year and I have the most darling pictures of him standing in line with the re-enactors, saluting. It is one of the few garments I have saved from that time - great memories.


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## NanaMc (Sep 22, 2014)

Oh how nice! Is it for a special occasion?


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## Bernie01 (Aug 2, 2012)

Absolutely stunning you look gorgeous. Would love to see it with the hoop in it.


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## charbooth (Jan 9, 2015)

Absolutely Regal!!!!!!


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## krashdragon (Nov 7, 2014)

I can appreciate all the work you put into that dress.
For I while I sewed for a lady that made authentic men's Revolutionary War uniforms. Ruffles, lace, umpteen million buttons, knickers, vests, hat and the coats with contrasting facings. I was so glad we didn't do dresses...and we have sewing machines!
That is a gorgeous dress!


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## whiterose (Oct 19, 2012)

I love your dress. It is beautiful - lots of work went into it. You should be proud of yourself.


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## edithann (Feb 12, 2011)

whiterose said:


> I love your dress. It is beautiful - lots of work went into it. You should be proud of yourself.


I agree...lovely!


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## dragonfly7673 (May 13, 2014)

That's beautiful


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## shirleyoboe (Feb 21, 2012)

Beautiful job!


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## Kay Knits (Aug 4, 2012)

Wow!! That is really impressive. What a wonderful seamstress you are. I can see why last weekend you were tired! Great job.


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## bwtyer (Oct 31, 2012)

You did a fantastic job! Look at all that detail- no shortcuts at all! Very, very nice! :thumbup:


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## Bubba24 (Jan 2, 2012)

Beautiful..


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## sanditoes48 (Feb 6, 2013)

WOW!! Absolutely beautiful! What a lot of work and beautiful work. :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## 44gram (Dec 10, 2011)

That is gorgeous.


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## Naneast (Jun 12, 2011)

That is beautiful! Great job... :thumbup:


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## String Queen (Apr 9, 2012)

Perfect fit. Looks beautiful


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## yover8 (Oct 21, 2011)

What a beautiful outfit! Your sewing skills are outstanding - well done!!

Can you imagine doing all that tailoring by hand - by lantern light or candle light? Amazing


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

Wow! Gorgeous dress!


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## kiwiannie (Jul 30, 2011)

Very pretty,fabulous work.


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## tikhea (Aug 11, 2011)

very beautiful...a labor of love...


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## KroSha (Oct 25, 2013)

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like it would have made more sense to post the photo on the original thread:

http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-334063-1.html#7273435

To help avoid confusion, I've crossed referenced each on both.


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## Aunty M (Jul 7, 2014)

Kay Knits said:


> Wow!! That is really impressive. What a wonderful seamstress you are. I can see why last weekend you were tired! Great job.


👍👍 ditto.


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## Chrissy (May 3, 2011)

Oh WOW! what work (wo)manship! Your sister must be so proud of you. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## jonibee (Nov 3, 2011)

Quite "fetching"..beautiful constructed period dress...


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## tikeur (May 19, 2012)

absolutely gorgeous....Bravo!


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## mac.worrall (Jun 24, 2011)

Does the hoop lift the skirt all the way round?I'm a bit ignorant of the American Civil War period fashion

Beautiful work!


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## cakediva (May 8, 2013)

Gurl you rock!!!!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!


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## Corndolly (Mar 1, 2014)

Perfect, you really have put an enormous amount of work into it. You must be very pleased with the result.


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## Ms Sue P (Mar 19, 2011)

Beautiful


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## stirfry (Nov 3, 2011)

Beautiful.


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## Marge St Pete (Jul 21, 2011)

You did a wonderful job. It's quite nice.


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## The wheeze (Nov 11, 2012)

That is fantastic, I love it!


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## Davena (Feb 24, 2013)

Oh Wow,,,, I bet your sister is thrilled with this beautiful work of art... She will be the best dressed female at her outing.....Congrats on a well done job and being the best sister one can have.... Happy Crafting.... Davena


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## grommitt (Apr 12, 2011)

That is absolutely gorgeous what a lt of work & week worth it.


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## gracieanne (Mar 29, 2011)

Wow! That is amazing and so beautiful!


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## KroSha (Oct 25, 2013)

Are you going to be able to post a photo with the hoop in the skirt?

Would like to see how that looks!

Thanks.


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## lucylee clown (Mar 18, 2012)

I am really impressed with your beautiful dress. The colors, pattern, trim and style are perfect. It looks fantastic on you. What plans do you have for wearing the dress?


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## colonialcrafter (Nov 7, 2012)

Isn't it amazing how much work went into making a dress back then, not to mention how many yards and yards of fabric were needed. No wonder why the average lady only had "one" good dress to wear even in a time when cottons had become cheap and available in this country. Good job!


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## tat'sgran (Dec 13, 2011)

May I respectfully ask how many yards of material was required to create this beautiful suit.. especially the skirt? xo ws


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## Nowwhat14 (Jan 10, 2015)

Beautiful!!!!!!!!


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## Medieval Reenactor (Sep 3, 2013)

Verrrry nice! This is such an attractive dress and I'm impressed with all the work you put into it. Yes, hope you can post it with the hoop.


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## randiejg (Oct 29, 2011)

What a beautiful job you've done on the dress. It absolutely looks authentic. I can appreciate all the time, effort, and skill you must have put into the project. The results are wonderful.

Many Kudos to you!


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## shepherd (Feb 25, 2012)

I must ask, and please excuse me, but was it machine sewn or hand sewn? Either way it is absolutely awesome! I ask because I have done both for re-enacting, and I must say that the hand sewn outfit I made nearly finished ME! And the best part of it, the long seams in the shift that were french-seamed to keep them from raveling were totally hidden in the final outfit! What did you find most challenging?


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## canuckle49 (Sep 24, 2012)

Wow, that is outstanding ! Your work is excellent !


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## dana768 (Jun 14, 2011)

fantastic :thumbup:


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## Dee in DM (Apr 22, 2014)

WOW! What an accomplishment! It looks lovely and very authentic!


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## glnwhi (Jan 19, 2011)

Beautiful, a job well done. When I was younger I made clothes of all kinds and authentic costumes are among the most tedious.


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## happy senior (Apr 16, 2014)

absolutely beautiful. Fantastic job and one to be very proud of. Kudos to you.


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## jaml (Feb 4, 2011)

Just beautiful!


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## riversong200 (Apr 20, 2014)

Wow! Beautiful work. It looks so authentic.


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## Medieval Reenactor (Sep 3, 2013)

shepherd said:


> I must ask, and please excuse me, but was it machine sewn or hand sewn? Either way it is absolutely awesome! I ask because I have done both for re-enacting, and I must say that the hand sewn outfit I made nearly finished ME! And the best part of it, the long seams in the shift that were french-seamed to keep them from raveling were totally hidden in the final outfit! What did you find most challenging?


I did wonder the same thing. I hand sew, including French seams, as the underdress, overdress and apron are all linen. Took me almost 2 years to finish my latest overdress, then I lost a lot of weight - it's just going to have to hang on me! For period clothes, hand sewing really does look different. Of course, the patent for the "modern" sewing machine was taken out in 1844 (thank you, Beatles, for this useless bit of information) so anything after than could quite plausibly been machine sewn. have been


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## gloriam (Aug 11, 2011)

That is fabulous, what beautiful work.


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## Evie RM (Sep 19, 2012)

I don't sew and I admire anyone who can make something so great on a sewing machine as the dress you made. Your work is very beautiful. Thanks for posting the picture.


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## Tigerfrilly (Jun 26, 2013)

Amazing, all your hard work shows


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## tnbobie (Jan 19, 2014)

Wonderful dress. Great work. :thumbup:


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## glassbird (Jul 18, 2013)

That is Stunning! Wow, you can see why people only had one good dress. Thank you for posting a picture. I read your post last week and I was hoping you would. Beautiful, beautiful work. 
Chris :thumbup:


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## oge designs (Aug 14, 2012)

What a lot of work, absolutely fantastic !!


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## jdsanford5 (Jul 5, 2012)

Gorgeous - what a fabulous job you did - love it ;-)


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## KnittyGritty800 (Apr 1, 2014)

Very impressive! I'm not an expert on costumes, but my guess is that Martha (Washington) would have been delighted to wear your dress...and George would have been happy to see her in it.

Bob
The KnittyGritty


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## LadyRN49 (Oct 15, 2011)

Amazing


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## elenapicado (Mar 18, 2012)

Ohhhh, it is so beautiful!!! It took my breath away when I saw it. I love it!!!!


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## train (Nov 6, 2011)

what a wonderful dress this is. You have so much talent, and I'm sure, quite a lot of patience! It's beautiful


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## SallyAnn (Apr 21, 2011)

What a gorgeous dress! You did a beautiful job on it and look lovely in it!


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

Bernie01 said:


> Absolutely stunning you look gorgeous. Would love to see it with the hoop in it.


Lol. I'll tell Amy you said so! That isn't me, it's baby sister! I plan on making myself something for next year but not that fancy. Full explanation under the topic what I did this weekend. I have more pictures now at the event and I will post them to this topic in a little bit.


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

KroSha said:


> Maybe it's just me, but it seems like it would have made more sense to post the photo on the original thread:
> 
> http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-334063-1.html#7273435
> 
> To help avoid confusion, I've crossed referenced each on both.


You are right, I should have done. Thank you. I have more pictures now, should I go back to the original post or this one. Must say I am not very tech savvy.


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

KroSha said:


> Are you going to be able to post a photo with the hoop in the skirt?
> 
> Would like to see how that looks!
> 
> Thanks.


Yes I will. Wasn't a big enough hoop to do it justice though.


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## KroSha (Oct 25, 2013)

mamaw5 said:


> You are right, I should have done. Thank you. I have more pictures now, should I go back to the original post or this one. Must say I am not very tech savvy.


Since this one refers to that one and that one refers back to this one, if I were you now, I'd just continue posting here in order to keep all the photos in one place.


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## Catmouse (Dec 2, 2013)

It's sooooo beautiful, you did a great job. Top!!


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

First of all I want to thank you all for your lovely compliments! You make me feel so special! 
Now I will try to answer as many questions as I can. 
First, this isn't me in the picture, it's my sister Amy. I made the dress for her. She will be participating in fort days at several Events on the Texas Forts Trail. Fort Chadburn is this weekend. My mother and aunt also participate. 
I'm not sure about the yardage. Amy bought the supplies. I can say that the skirt has four panels, each 55 " long. This includes a 10" hem and a 5" top facing. It measures 6+ yards around. 
It was sewn on a modern machine. I nixed even the thought of doing it by hand! I have made vintage baby clothes by hand, with French seams. My hands hurt bad enough doing it the modern way! There was a lot of hand work on it though. Mom and Amy did most of that. Believe it or not though, the skirt is attached to the waist band by hand and I did do most of that. 
It may sound crazy, but the most challenging thing was the button holes, lol. So many layers and boning really made it difficult. Took more than an hour to get them in. 
All the "underpinnings" are authentic as well and need to be replaced. I made the corset, chemisette and petticoat to go with a previous costume. 
Amy borrowed the hoops for this event and they really aren't big enough. Now if I just get the pics from today to download I will post them! 
Once again thank you all so much for your kind comments, I am just a wee bit proud of myself. Lol.


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## Grammy Toni (Apr 30, 2011)

Beautiful! Miss Scarlett would be quite envious.


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## KroSha (Oct 25, 2013)

Grammy Toni said:


> Beautiful! Miss Scarlett would be quite envious.


But remember, Scarlet made her dress from her draperies!

Does anyone remember the Carol Burnett skit where she wore the drapery fabric along with the whole drapery rod across her shoulders?

"Gone With The Wind Parody - Carol Burnett"






Hah hah hah hah hah ... ! ! !

For those who might be interested, the entire skit was uploaded into parts:

"Carol Burnett - Gone With The Wind Part 1"






"Carol Burnett Show- Went With the Wind, Part 2"






~~~


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## Norma014 (Feb 27, 2015)

Love your gown! You did an excellent job! I have done a couple Civil War gowns - one was the curtain gown from the movie that Scarlet Ohara made; another one that Mary Lincoln wore (with the big bows down the front. They were quite a challenge and I loved doing them. Don't have room to do them anymore.


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

Ha ha ha, that about Scarlets drapery dress is so apt! The dress and the under blouse are both made of drapery fabric!


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## Mirror (Jun 23, 2014)

mamaw5 said:


> Well, here it is, finished at last. No hoop in this pic so can't tell how big the skirt is


Is this for special gathering ?


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## Mirror (Jun 23, 2014)

Little house girls they wore similiar and when we kids we love watching them you done a great job.


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## Aunt Nay (Nov 25, 2011)

Well worth the effort! Those styles are flattering to many body types. Old style women's wear always makes me feel dressed up.


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## auntycarol (Mar 24, 2012)

Wow, that's amazing and well done on such fantastic work.


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