quarter back gown for UTR

Since I live in Williamsburg, it was kind of an imperative that I attend Under the Redcoat this year.  Not that I objected... I'd never really been to UTR before, and was really happy to be able to experience the event and see many wonderful friends and new acquaintances in the process!

And of course, I needed a new gown.

I used a medium weight linen from Burnley and Trowbridge that had small lavender, white and black stripes and lined the bodice and sleeves with a light-weight white linen.  My friend Nicole draped the pattern for the bodice and sleeves on me, and I cut everything out about a week before the event.  If I didn't work full-time, this would have been a perfectly fine time-frame in which to sew a gown, but as it was I nearly keeled over and died trying to get it done on time.  Even so, Nicole ended up almost entirely making my petticoat for me so that I could actually get a few hours of sleep the night before I was supposed to wear it.

The innards of the gown are pretty typical-

The seams of the back pieces are constructed with the "weird running whip stitch thingy" which is seen in a fair number of extant garments, and which Abby (Stay-ing Alive) thoroughly describes in a very helpful post.  As I tried it out, I fell utterly in love with this method of construction.  It's fast, easy, strong, and looks really neat and clean.  And, as you can see from the photo below, it looks totally normal on the outside.

I still want to add cuffs and trim to the sleeves, but I was pretty satisfied with how it all turned out.  It was fairly cool and comfortable to wear and I do kind of adore the fabric!

UTR itself was also highly satisfying, and I was able to take my little drawing box with me and do some sketches of people... but I'll save that for another post.