Truly Victorian News Center

I never really liked the early 1900's until I saw your work. Your stripe dress and now this fabulous lace blouse is just jaw dropping. You are so inspiring!

I like this a lot. May I suggest that a white battenburg tableclot can be dyed any color as all I've ever seen are cotton. Then the possibilities really are endless.

A stunning dress on a beautiful woman! Well done. How do you top this? How did those Victorian women make those dresses without all our modern day machinery. Thanks, Marcia, for showing me this website.

Brillant! Turned out beautifully!

It is STUNNING! Great fabric use!

What a wonderful idea, Heather! I've been wondering how I could make one of those beautiful lace covered blouses they had.
Val

What a wonderful idea, its gorgeous. And finding black was a bonus. Now I want to find some in different colors, if they make them. Or, white with a color underlay. Oh the possibilities!

Wow, Heather, it turned out fabulous. A tablecloth, huh? Never thought to use one for anything other than a table. Thank you for thinking outside the box and sharing.

What a lovely idea! It turned out beautifully!

Wow! Makes me want to start searching for a battenburg tablecloth. But I suppose I should finish my Edwardian corset first so I can work my way out...

Very pretty and summery!

HI there - Would this be easy enough for me to make for a 150th in New Zealand? Im only 14 and have only made 2 dresses like this (PLAIN).
Thanks
SCOTT

Simply gorgeous. More and more I wish we could wear dresses like this on a daily basis without turning heads, and making our neighbors think we're whacked. Love it.

this outfit is really cool.

This pattern has the vest built into the bodice. But you could easily make it without the vest, too. I never thought of it that way, until you mentioned it. But, ya, then you could wear a blouse with it, rather than the fitted vest. Cool idea!

Lovely! I've admired this jacket in the original historical drawings for some time now. The collar-less style allows the wearer to vary blouses and collars. A very versatile garment for a costumer's wardrobe. A great addition to your already excellent selection of patterns!

Fantastic!

That is so beautiful and elegant. One day I hope to have an embroidery machine. Now, which one?

Thanks for sharing this. I have some cotton organdy that needs using up - so am very inspired by your dress.
I've also been wanting to get an embroidery machine for years but never did - and there is a used Designer 1 in the local shop - would you recommend this brand for your project?

I did use stabilizer under the edge. I cut narrow strips and just laid the fabric over the strip as I sewed. It worked so easily. I am using a water soluble stabilizer, so when I am done, it just melts away. Love the stuff. I did have to cut away the fabric after I sewed the strip. It was a bit tedious an nerve wracking to get the fabric trimmed as close as possible to the stitching. But I did it one evening while sitting in front of the TV so it went faster than I thought it would.

The gathering foot is awesome! I've had the ruffler foot for years, it actually tucks every stitch (or few, depending on how you set it) so the ruffles look pleated. But I'm getting just as beautiful results for my purposes with the much less complicated gathering foot. I'm using it on my old model Viking #1 Plus, with a stitch length of 6 and all the tensions left normal, and getting a 2 to 2.5X gather (depending on the fabric).

Love that Emerald, too, btw. Those and the D1 were my favorites to sell when I worked for the company. Guess I'm going to have to play with the stitches on the Designer for edging. Did you have to use a stabilizer to do that? Did you trim the fabric outside the scallops by hand after stitching? I'm always worried I'm going to clip a stitch and the whole thing will unravel! Your bodice is gorgeous. My imagination is a bit limited when it comes to trims!

loving this series on the dress. When is the next bit due

I'm glad you chose to spend the extra money and time to embroider the edges, I think it will be stunning. 3 weeks...ouch, but you'll be super happy you did it.

Can't wait to see your following photos and comments as the dress progresses, it's going to be magnificent!

Very cute!! Great job getting them to wear the costumes - they must be very well trained!

Very pretty! I look forward to trying out the newly updated patterns.

Oh! Lovely Heather. I am excited to see the new CAD patterns.

And now's the time to seriously work on those Edwardian patterns. With all the hoopla and excitement over the Edwardian and 'teens gowns on Downton Abbey, there's very little to choose from on the market. Now. But the Big Three will probably jump on the bandwagon soon, like they did with other movies.

Yay! How exciting, Heather. So happy for you and all of us who use and recommend your patterns.

Looking forward to the updated 1860s patterns.