Making Dreams Come True

As many of you know-- the English countryside, Elizabeth Bennett's era -- is my dream.  Now, after years and years of thinking about it, I am doing something about it (which I have this blog to thank for that!).

Wearing time period costume clothing is the strongest pull into make believe that I can think of (that's what makes Halloween so fun . . . dressing up as your alter ego). 
Me and my daughters and all of you who want to come are invited to make a 1800's-ish dress and come to our English-style tea parties.

Soooo, here is the adventure I've embarked on,

 turning this pattern into a Regency period dress.  I bought this pattern cuz it was cheap and because it has the princess waistline of the Regency era.

I'm using my mom's old "portable" sewing machine.  I love this machine, it will last forever.

I had to line the whole dress (I just used white cotton fabric) because the floral print was kind of see-through and thin.  I just extended the top blouse pieces to go to the floor for the skirt part of the dress.  I'm tall so it was a lot of fabric.

 

After sewing the bodice to the skirt part, it was time to try it on (yup, over my shorts and tee shirt).

This pattern has a drawstring that you then pull and tie into a bow in the front to gather it in.

The dress goes to the floor, but those pictures were too blurry to post (from me setting the camera timer and running to get in place!).  Anyway, it fit pretty darn well, and I enjoyed wearing it.  I just noticed that the color of my t-shirt matched the dress.  Sorry, the t-shirt must go and puffy sleeves must be added.  I also want to make an apron to wear over it, just like in the newest Pride and Prejudice movie.

(Look, I'm already practicing the pinky thing, that will be handy when sipping a cup of herbal tea!).

I will post the finished dress when I get it finished.  Until then, the moral of this post is that you can create anything you want to, even from a pattern that looks nothing like the finished product, re-affirming that you can make your dreams come true!!!