Remaking an 1840s Print Dress || Dressing the 19th Century Woman

Back in April, I attended my 1840s event in several years… and let’s just say I was not pleased with the current state of my 1840s wardrobe. After working through half a year of a deep dive specifically into 1840s clothing, I knew there were several things that needed to be worked on. This is the first in a series of dresses that will be “picked to pieces” and remade with better shape and construction techniques. This first dress is “wearable, but not up to living history standards” by my way of thinking. The dress was a bit too big in the waist, several inches too long at the sides and front waist, had pocket slits that were too far down, had modern selvages that were glaring when the skirts were pulled back for work, the skirt was not attached to the waist properly, the piping was too thick for normal historical use, the lining was cotton and not the more usual linen, and there was modern hook and eye tape down the back. While the whole gown was hand sewn, the stitches weren’t exactly small enough and there were some seams popping out. Needless to say, the entire bodice had to be taken completely apart, recut, then resewn. I was able to salvage much of the skirt sewing and since the dress needed to be made smaller and not larger, I did not need any extra fabric. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a lot of work! I was basically making a new dress from scratch but with the added step of having to unpick the whole thing before recutting and sewing together.

Helpful Links
How to make an 1840s dress:    • How to Make an 1840s Dress, Part 1 (Back C...  
How to make an 1840s dress (2nd video):    • How to Sew an 1840s Dress, Part 2 || Impro...  
How to pick an 1840s pattern:    • How to Pick an 1840s Pattern (Or Draft One...  
Mending and Making Do in the 19th Century (lots of good remaking tips!):    • Mending and Making Do in the Mid 19th Cent...  

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