In the Easter Parade

So, a bit about my Easter dress.

Easter rather snuck up on me this year and I hadn't intended for this dress to be my Easter dress. The inspiration came from a 1911 fashion plate I found on Pinterest. (Pin found here)

 

I bought the material for it a good month or so ago and hadn't gotten around to making it yet, until I found out Easter was only two weeks away! Yikes! I had no other ideas, and not enough stash built to come up with something else so there it was!



 

I ended up choosing a basic mint green cotton, and sadly regretting it...  But it was affordable compared to anything else, so I went for it...

 

The lace was a much better choice! I have found that a husband's opinion is a wonderful thing! I had planned on some kind of crochet lace or a "Woven" ribbon with a pattern, but could find nothing to suit. We tried Joann's, Wal-mart, and even Etsy, but upon entering Hobby Lobby, Joshua found the perfect thing for it. This gold embroidered netting lace. (Excuse my terms... It's what it looks like. lol!)  It worked perfectly, the only downer was it took about 8 yards to finish it. Yipes!!

 

I used my well loved copy of Sense and Sensibility's 1914 afternoon dress pattern.

The cotton was thick, and as I chose to go for a true double layer skirt it made things rather bulky when gathered, as it pictured above. So instead I took the skirt back off, cut a good two inches off the sides of the underskirt and pleated the overskirt to give it a sleeker look.

 

One of the occupational hazards of working with an antique treadle machine is the prospect of oil and grease. Most times I am very cautious about it and am able to avoid it. Sadly this time I was not so fortunate. I noticed at one point I had a little under my nail, so I very carefully wiped it off and checked the dress, it seemed clear... Not so... A nice big blotch on the bodice... someplace I couldn't just cover... So I took it downstairs and used my "Cure-all" of dishsoap... Unfortunately that didn't touch the grease, but it did manage to create a whit spot around it the size of a half dollar where it had stripped the color from the muslin...

 

After some debate of trying another cleaner, my wonderful husband came up with the idea of putting in a dart to cover it. So perhaps it's not a very period correct solution, but it worked! Thank Heavens, and I was able to finish I off just in time to wear to church yesterday morning. :D 

 

But there it is, and I think it quite looks like the fashion plate. :D

 

Although, Joshua says that in the above picture I look like Maria Romanov... And I rather agree...

 

 

So there we are, Hoping you all had as wonderful an Easter as we did, Celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord with Family and Friends.

 

Until Next Time!

Megan