2 reviews for Patterns of Fashion 1798-1805 Drop-Front Gown from Salisbury Museum
Rated 4 out of 5
Katherine Caron-Greig –
I had been trying to figure out exactly how a drop-front gown worked so when I found the perfect embroidered linen-cotton blend I knew I had to try one. I found the Janet Arnold pattern quite easy to work with. Of course, it helped the the original was almost exactly my size! I scaled up the pattern by hand, which was much easier than I thought it would be. The construction details in the book are quite helpful, though I wish there were a few more, such as exactly how the lining and outer fabric are attached. I wanted to make a long sleeved dress, so I used the under-sleeve pattern which I extended with the Sense and Sensibility long sleeve pattern. The pleating instructions for the skirt are very clear, and result in two invisible side plackets. I didn’t run into any problems making this dress; overall a much better experience than the average pattern.
Rated 4 out of 5
Teresa Liao –
The biggest challenge with this dress was scaling it up and modifying the original pattern to fit me. After the fit was right, the dress itself went together in no time. I modified the sleeve to remove the puffed upper sleeve and extend the long false sleeve all the way up to the armscye. I also skimped a bit on the skirt width, but this didn’t end up presenting a problem at all as there is already plenty of fullness at the back of the skirt. Combined with the pattern markings and the illustrations, the construction notes are sufficient to get the dress put together; however, I did have a couple creative problem solving moments. I never could figure out how exactly to attach the front skirt and the drop-front to the waistband; I ended up just sandwiching the skirt piece into the folded over waistband and then hand stitching the bottom edge of the drop-front in place. I also didn’t know how to attach the bodice lining, so I just made up two bodices (one of fashion fabric and the other of muslin), sewed them together and turned them through the armscyes.
Katherine Caron-Greig –
I had been trying to figure out exactly how a drop-front gown worked so when I found the perfect embroidered linen-cotton blend I knew I had to try one. I found the Janet Arnold pattern quite easy to work with. Of course, it helped the the original was almost exactly my size! I scaled up the pattern by hand, which was much easier than I thought it would be. The construction details in the book are quite helpful, though I wish there were a few more, such as exactly how the lining and outer fabric are attached. I wanted to make a long sleeved dress, so I used the under-sleeve pattern which I extended with the Sense and Sensibility long sleeve pattern. The pleating instructions for the skirt are very clear, and result in two invisible side plackets. I didn’t run into any problems making this dress; overall a much better experience than the average pattern.
Teresa Liao –
The biggest challenge with this dress was scaling it up and modifying the original pattern to fit me. After the fit was right, the dress itself went together in no time. I modified the sleeve to remove the puffed upper sleeve and extend the long false sleeve all the way up to the armscye. I also skimped a bit on the skirt width, but this didn’t end up presenting a problem at all as there is already plenty of fullness at the back of the skirt. Combined with the pattern markings and the illustrations, the construction notes are sufficient to get the dress put together; however, I did have a couple creative problem solving moments. I never could figure out how exactly to attach the front skirt and the drop-front to the waistband; I ended up just sandwiching the skirt piece into the folded over waistband and then hand stitching the bottom edge of the drop-front in place. I also didn’t know how to attach the bodice lining, so I just made up two bodices (one of fashion fabric and the other of muslin), sewed them together and turned them through the armscyes.