Jame:
When I did the Eleanor of Toledo dress in Janet Arnold for myself, I
doubled the size of the pattern to 1/4" scale first. I only dress dolls,
so this was a big project for me. Then I went to my fabric store,
checked all the costumes to find one or more patterns with pattern
piece(s) close to the Hunnisett diagrams. I then fitted the bodice
pieces of the two commercial patterns to me and then using the Hunnisett
diagrams as guide, altered and recut them using sew in interfacing(lies
much nicer on fabric than the commerical tissue paper. In some cases,
using commercial pattern pieces for fit, allowed me to keep some of the
grainlines and notches/balance marks.
You may have some luck in enlarging the Hunisett bodice diagram which
is already larger than the usual 1/8=1" to roughly fit your daughter.
I would put your daughter in all undergarments she is to wear first.
However I did cheat on the Eleanor of Toledo dress(which I'm going to
alter to make more accurate). Because our Nebraska/Iowa Renfaires can be
hot and steamy and subject to sudden downpours, I built the Elizabethan
corset right into the bodice. The original dress laces on the side
backs, so this allows me to loosen/tighten the fit for weather and
weight loss/gain. You could alter the 1569 dress bodice to allow for
this. I worked all the eyelets by hand using large jewerly jump rings on
either side of each hole made with an awl and covering rings and
reinforcing each hole with a button hole stitch. Time consuming but
worth it. But since your daughter is a growing girl, metal eyelets would
work. Also put grow tucks in the skirt, and pleat it to the waistband
deeply enough to allow for horizontal growth. Make the bodice separate
and alter the shoulder straps so they can be extended for growth, if you
wish.
Elizabethan clothes are great as they were designed to be in pieces to
mix and match.
I hope this is a rewarding project for you both! Your daughter in bound
to become quite a little expert in knowing how many pieces of clothing
children "way back when" had to wear!
Cindy Abel
Hi!
I would like to make the 1569 Elizabethan dress (or something near as
possible!) that is illustrated on page 63 (the one in the middle of the
group) of 'Patterns for Women's Dress 1500-1800 for my nearly four year
daughter. Yes, I'm being very ambitious here! The thing is, how would
scale the pattern (on page 68 onwards) to fit her? Am I being a bit too
ambitious?!
All the best!
Jayne
---------------------------------
To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new
Yahoo! Security Centre.
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
