I hope this blog post entertains you and helps you think of pretty, if not somewhat silly things. We all need a little bit more of that right now.

My last post was about constructing a Poke Bonnet for a Regency Costume I had purchased. This is the sister post to that one, as the dress and bonnet, pictured here, were made so that my mother could have a costume for the Sanditon Screening at the Castro Theater. She is such a good sport! She also took the photos for this post. Thank you so much MOM! You are THE BEST!

This dress and the bonnet are actually very comfortable and very easy to wear. I’m able to wear it and my mom can wear it as well. We are similar in measurements but a few inches off here and there. The fabric I used was one that I had in my shop on a bolt and have been eyeing up for some time now. The print is so quintessentially appropriate and I knew that my mom would like it. Her favorite color is blue.

The gown was made using the American Duchess Simplicity Regency Gown Pattern. I bought it directly from American Duchess but it can also be found in Fabric Stores as well as Etsy. The fit was pretty good and required very little adjustment - Narrowing the sleeves and a slight bust adjustment in the under bodice. Otherwise, completely as is.

For the Chemisette, I borrowed the pattern from my friend Karen Tierney who is a professional dressmaker and costumer. Thank you Karen. I’ll list all the sources below. I love the idea behind the chemisette, which is basically just a fancy dickie. They wore them quite a bit in the regency era and I think they are a very sweet accent to a gown, making the neckline slightly more modest and interesting. Speaking of which, there is a great Fashion History Mystery podcast over on the Dressed Podcast, that talks about the origins of the Dickie. All very intriguing.

Now onto the bonnet. I wanted something a little more casual for the bonnet and searched Pinterest for ideas. I came up with two images below that I thought would be delightful inspiration to the hat I was trying to crate.

Both hats had soft caps and straw brims. I had several misc. straw hats tucked away in my hat supply box, but nothing quite right for the whole hat. In the end, I used a straw brim and then added to it to get the look I was going for which was a wider brim with a poofy and soft crown.

I started with the hat above. It had a ribbon covering the millinery wire, which I removed. Then I removed the crown as will by cutting it off with scissors, leaving a 1” band at the inside edge.

I cut a piece of white silk shantung quite several inches larger than the shape of the crown. The edge was machine gathered and then pinned and sewn in place around the brim . The center of the circle now acts as a lining for the hat and that was stitched in place at the crown.

To make the crown:

• I cut one long rectangle that was about 44” wide by about 18” -19” high.

• I sewed the selvedge edges together leaving a space open at the center.

• Then, the tube of fabric is turned to the right side and the seam is pressed open.

• The tube is folded in half, creating a folded edge along one side of the tube and the other side has the two raw edges matching. The space that was not sewn, becomes an opening for a casing, which is created by stitching that distance away from the folded edge.

• I then gathered the bottom raw edges (together) and stitched it to the outside of the brim at the crown seam.

• A cord was then threaded through the casing, gathered and tightened at the top. the cords were put into the gathered hole at the top of the crown and tucked inside, between the outer layer and the lining.

After sewing the silk crown to the straw base, the edge was finished with a navy ribbon by hand. Light blue coordinating gimp trim was then stitched on the inside edge of the brim to give it a little extra detail. The hat was trimmed with an ostrich feather as well as a band & cockade rosette made from the same fabric as the hat. The only thing it’s missing is an inside label and some neck ribbons. I’m still on the search for those and will add them eventually.

Resources

Dress Pattern - American Duchess for Simplicity - S8941 available at American Duchess or on Etsy

Dress Fabric - Bonjour Teaspoon on Etsy but we are currently out.

Chemissette - Made using the La Mode Bagatelle Regency Wardrobe - available from Amazon Dry Goods

Shoes (and Stockings) - Dashwood by American Duchess - They are on sale!

Hat - Me made (see above)

Until Next Time, Happy Costuming!

xo Jennifer