Towards the beginning of this summer, and pandemic, we got invited to a socially distant Regency picnic by a member of the Houston Regency Society on their private property. It was so nice to have a historical costuming event to prepare for, as other events were being cancelled left and right. I had a Regency outfit that I made for Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, but it would be too hot to wear outside in the summertime. Following my posts this week on my quick Regency sleeveless spencer and my quick picnic bonnet, today I’m sharing the a simple Regency yellow dress that I made for a friend in attendance.
[Related: My First Foray Into the Regency Era]
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If you’re no stranger to the blog, you know I have a thing for sheets and curtains. It’s just cost effective, especially if they’ve already had a first life on a bed or window. In this case, I had a leftover sheet from my neice’s Hufflepuff quiddich uniform. I used McCall’s 7493 pattern and cut 2 dresses at the same time for efficiency (the floral cotton dress pictured above is for my Lizzy Bennet costume from Pride Prejudice and Zombies).
The consruction was very straightforward and I didn’t make hardly any modifications. I used every bit of the leftover sheet on this dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric to put the bodice front pattern piece on a fold…so I cut two pieces for the bodice front, stitched them together (which added an odd seam in the front center), and then stitched gathered lace down the front center as if that was the plan all along. I rather liked the added detail, so I gathered more lace for the top of each sleeve as well. Yeah…totally planned that (not really, but let’s pretend I did).
My friend and I are the roughly the same measurments in the bust, waist, and hips, but she’s about 6″ shorter than I am…so I added 5 rows of tucks to reduce the length by 6″ without cutting off any fabric. I think it turned out beautifully, and she looked like a ray of sunshine!
Parasol: Lace Parasol Umbrella Wedding White Cotton Fashion Wooden Handle Decoration Umbrella
Up next are the reticules for us ladies, a waistcoat for my husband, and eventually the picnic as a whole.
[Related: A Quick Regency Sleeveless Spencer and A Quick Regency Picnic Bonnet]
More Regency costuming on Red Shoes. Red Wine.
My First Foray Into the Regency Era
A Quick Regency Sleeveless Spencer