After some inspiration I sat down to make a quick regency dress from some material that had already been waiting for me to get motivated again. The inspiration was actually 1860s stuff, but regency was first in line on my to-do-list :) Again the pattern is from Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion Vol. 1".
The fabric looks quite plain, still the more as the photo turned the green into some kind of pale mud-brown. Actually it's a tiny woven pattern of white and linden green which looks very nice once it's made into a dress.
I still don't know exactly how I managed to fit the pattern to my body, but somehow it worked even without a dress stand - thankfully! 1 1/2 days of sewing and an equal amount of time for the finishing touches, and now it's almost perfect (not completely satisfied with the sleeves, but anyway...). I didn't expect so much hand-sewing for the details of the bodice to be necessary, but it really paid off. Very clever pattern, the bodice gives a wonderful push-up effect and hence makes a very nice silhouette, and the dress itself does not only look good but also wears very well.
The front flap has three rows of tucks that I sewed with the sewing machine and afterwards overstitched them by hand. Thus the seams are very strong but still look period. The flap closes with hooks and eyes that are hidden by little mother-of-pearl buttons.
Beneath the flap is the gown's secret, the built-in push-up lining that closes with two hooks and eyes beneath the bust and over it with four buttons.
