Gibson Girl Project (Part 5): Finished Dress

My Gibson Girl dress is finished and I wore it to the Gaskell Ball last night. (The next post will feature pictures of a bunch of Gibson Girls from the ball!)

A side shot

The front of the skirt has some appliques that are mostly black, but with little silver threads and some tiny beads.

The finished bodice has netting lace sleeves, a pair of appliques on the center front, cotton lace around the neckline, and an appliqued belt.

The appliques on the bodice were purchased from Britex in SF, and was one of the “splurge” items for this project. I had looked online but wasn’t interested in the many rayon floral appliques I found.

The belt was made of organza and covered in appliques. The back of the belt was tied in a bow.

The sleeves are a simple tube but had a nice drape due to the lace. I got a lot of compliments on the sleeves but the lace did most of the work!

The hem had more of the same lace used on the sleeves. I gathered the top and put in little roses to solve a few problems: 1. If I sewed the top edge down the stitches would show, since the lace was transparent. 2. I did not have enough of the lace to do a full gather.

Here’s a picture of the train all spread out. After the picture was taken I added a loop to the middle to be able to hold it during dancing and walking.

The blue satin, netting lace and appliques were purchased new for this project, and mostly on sale. The linings, cotton lace, zipper, thread, hooks and eyes were from my stash, which cut down on my overall costs even more. I did purchase the pattern for the skirt, and it’s a Truly Victorian, so I spent more on that ($17.50) than I usually do for a pattern.

Final cost including tax and shipping: $119.25!

I got an amazing deal on the satin since it was a clearance remnant from Stone Mountain and Daughter. I was looking for something that was not as heavy as bridal satin, and not as flimsy and shiny as costume satin, and went well with the netting lace, and this was perfect.  The pattern called for 6.5 yards, and there were only 3.5 yards left on the bolt, so I had to do some creative cutting (and shorten the train a tiny bit). The fabric cost $14 before tax haha!

About half of what I spent was on the appliques, but I have a number of the little black and silver ones left for another project.

This project took a very long time! It was my first time sewing a dress from this era, and also the first trained gown I’ve done. I’m glad it’s finished, but like any fabric junkie I’m already planning my next project.