All posts tagged: Frou-Frou Francaise

A petticoat fit for a Queen

It’s done! Some 22+ metres of hand sewing later (3x 110cm side seams, sewn twice; 350cm hem, sewn twice; 280cm ruffle, sewn, gathered to 170cm, sewn again; 250cm of piecing additions; 100cm of pleating whipped to waist; 100cm of pocket slits; 30cm of ruffle join), I have finished my Queen Charlotte inspired 1760s petticoat. I am extremely pleased! Especially with the ruffle: It’s not exact, but the effect is close. To finish the petticoat, after creating my punched lace pattern, I sewed a single line of even gathering stitches 2″ down from the uppermost point of my small upper scallops. It’s clear in Ramsay’s portrait that Charlotte’s ruffle is held on with a single line of stitching. I gathered down my single line of stitching to half the width of the petticoat, and then stitched it on to the skirt using a running-backstitch. I’m extremely pleased with how close it is to the effect shown on Charlotte’s petticoat – down to the upper portion wanting to stand away from the skirt, and looking fuller and …

Queen Charlotte petticoat progress (and punched lace!)

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve been working on the Queen Charlotte petticoat steadily, while tackling Lace & Lacing projects, and modern sewing, and client sewing. There is a limit to how much QC sewing I can do a day, as the taffeta is so stiff that after a few hours my hands start cramping. The last I left you, I was rescuing my “Ooop! Cut it too short” disaster. I sewed the extensions on to the top of the petticoat, and was ready to pleat: I pleated each side of each half down with 6 pleats, each 2″ deep, and spaced 1″ apart, taking the full 175cm width of each half of the skirt down to 17.5″ – enough to wrap a little on each side over stays and paniers (I know, I used both cm and inches as I sew, sorry if it is confusing). Once I was happy with the pleating, I folded the top of the petticoat down slightly, checked the hem length, and then whipstitched the top of the skirt to cotton tape (I can’t …

A petticoat for a pretty, pretty princess

Published by The Dreamstress

This weekend I’m finishing up my two ‘Pretty, Pretty, Princess‘ projects. The first is a completely hand-sewn silk taffeta 18th century petticoat, to go with a matching robe Ã la franÃ§aise that I’ll be making for ‘Robes & Robings‘. I’ve had the fabric for this petticoat in my stash for three years now. It came up at Global Fabrics, and it was just so gorgeous, and so perfectly 18th century, that I couldn’t resist it. At the time, it was the most expensive fabric I had ever purchased (I think I paid $30 a metre for it). I held it, and hoarded it, and waited for the right time to use it. I used a tiny bit of it in making Shell’s wedding dress, but I was selfish and refused to let her have the whole lot for her frock (really though, I made the right choice. Taffeta would have been too stiff and formal for her wedding, and unlike the grey silk crepe, would have been completely ruined by a bit of damp and …