Maude's Summer Edwardian Day Dress Part 1: The Bodice and Belt

Last week I started on my Maude's Summer Day Dress, using the fabrics that I bought from Abakhan, plus some tulle lace that I purchased from John Lewis on a day out with my mum. I started with the belt because a) I thought it would be easy, I mean, it's just pleats right? and b) it's pink satin!

I was wrong in thinking that pleating pink satin would be easy, as it slipped and slides all over the place and you can hardly get an even pleat! But in the end, it was okay (mostly because my Nana made it for me when I was away for a couple of days, haha), the pleats looked pretty and were secured, and I bought a black frog to use as a closure at the back, as I thought they were cute.

Then I moved on to the bodice. At first the instructions looked daunting, but when you're actually doing it it's okay, and you understand mostly. I really love the lace against the stripes on the bodice, and the little fluffy, baggy area of gathers in the middle! My Nana says that it looks like Cleo's tummy (Cleo being my slightly chubby cocker spaniel) or like a pouch to keep your lunch inside, which always makes me laugh, but it's part of the Edwardian pigeon-breasted look, I think!

The boning I used was steel boning left over from a corset project I never started, which I think works quite well, even if it was a big pain to cut with wire-cutters. For the closure at the back of the bodice, I decided to use a duvet strip of poppers (which is just as secure as a zip, I found) as they are more secure than hooks and bars, and then sewed some little black buttons over the top so that it looks like a blouse. I quite like how it looks with six buttons, but I'm considering adding fifteen buttons instead.

Next came the binding, which I used along my seam allowances and the neck and bottom of the 'blouse'. You can also see the boning channels that I made out of pale blue ribbon.

Next time I post, it will be about the lacy sleeves!