I did this one already years ago - and the first comment I got was that it looks like a nightgown! Wharrgarbl... Anyway. The pattern is from Norah Waugh, "The Cut of Women's Clothes: 1600-1930". Same procedure as every time: enlarge, fit, cut out, try on, adjust, sew. I left away the fluffy flounces of the original and instead finished the edges with lace. The dress is only slightly trained and therefore thankfully survived a march through the muddy forest quite well. The original dress would have been fastened at the front, but I didn't want the skirt to be open on any side, so I changed it and now it's put on over the head, the waist is just wide enough to allow that. Nonetheless I'm going to line the bodice, the gathered fabric keeps slipping out of position at the shoulders. Nothing beats a good lining...
It was while sewing this dress that I discovered the best way to pleat the back of the skirt, namely in a way that allows you to leave away the little pad that usually kept the skirt from falling into the hollow of the back. I'll post a sketch of it as soon as I got time to draw one ;)
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