I made only the bodice and top sleeve of this gown, but I was very satisfied with it. The directions are clear and the pattern pieces went together nicely. I made this bodice for a Civil War ball gown, and the seam construction didn’t need to be altered. The back seams curve outwards and the front is gored. I did eliminate the zipper and put buttons down the back. I also cut the dip in the bodice narrower. Altogether, the finished garment is very pretty.
Rated 5 out of 5
Teresa Liao –
When I first used this pattern, I was not a new sewer, but I was entirely new to costuming. I made every piece in the package and, although I would never do my own farthingale again, I gained a lot of knowledge from the experience. Since doing my first costume I have used this pattern again with wonderful results. The beauty of it is that as I have learned more about costuming, it has been very simple to adapt this pattern and add some of my own variations. For example, on my last gown I lowered the neckline, made puff-and-slash sleeves, and rather than sewing the sleeves onto the bodice I made sure that they tied on.
Rated 4 out of 5
Kristina Pohl –
This is the Shakespeare in Love dress. I must say that I’m very, very happy with the pattern. The only glaring faults (in my eyes) are the curved seams and the attached chemise sleeves. To alter the pattern, all I did was take the center front piece (which has straight edges) match it up to the front side pieces and chop off the curves to make a nice, flat front. It worked great. The only problem I had with it was the ease. I measured myself over my Elizabethan corset, and discovered that rather then needing a size 18, I only needed a 14 for it to fit right. Go figure. I also am going to make the front point very short (as soon as I get more piping), so it’s more of a Tudor/Early Elizabethan style. It’s really easy to put together. The instructions for all of it are wonderful. I’ve only been sewing for a year, so even novice sewers can do this one with confidence. The only thing I’d recommend is making a muslin of the bodice first.
Rated 5 out of 5
Elizabeth Freiheit –
It was a great pattern for me (with less than 1 year sewing experience). I made the bum roll, but decided not to wear it. I bought a great hoop skirt for $25 on eBay (half the price of the steel hoop boning required to make it). The leader of my Renaissance singing group told me that I needed to use a heavier fabric for the skirt than prescribed in the pattern. As a result, I needed to create a better closure system at the back. I flattened the shape of the bodice to make it more Elizabethan. In addition, I had to take off at least 2-3 inches of the bodice to make it snug enough. I made the under-sleeves detachable and then sewed chiffon chemise sleeves to the bodice under the puff over-sleeves. I’ll probably replace the chemise sleeves with an entire chemise. I haven’t gotten around to adding all the jewels and pearls. This dress took quite a bit of time, but was really worth it.
Rated 4 out of 5
Maryann Mecca –
I made the skirt. As with most Simplicity patterns it is straight forward and relatively easy to follow. There is an inherent problem in the design. The finished waistband is only approximately 1″ wide which is not nearly enough to support the weight of the skirt and give enough room to add sufficient closures. The first time I wore the skirt, the hooks bent open and the skirt came off (an embarrassing moment). I ended up adding 2″ to the width of the band and replacing the two skirt hooks with 4 coat hooks. It hasn’t come off since. The instructions for the cartridge pleats were easy to follow, and posed no problems. I did substitute small buttons in the front for the beads called for, as I did not think the beads would be secure enough to hold. The pattern also called for snaps to close the back. These were omitted as I did not think they were necessary. Looking at the photo, they weren’t. There was another problem. The skirt was not full enough to fit over the bum roll (pattern and instructions included). I added an extra piece 43-1/4 wide to the back. This helped considerably although the bum roll still did not look right. Determined not to take the pleats apart again for more alterations, I gave up on it figuring I had my own “natural” bum roll built in. The underskirt is made from the same pattern as the farthingale (easy to follow). I would recommend here that the underskirt be made a bit larger than the farthingale for a better fit.
Rachel Franklin –
I made only the bodice and top sleeve of this gown, but I was very satisfied with it. The directions are clear and the pattern pieces went together nicely. I made this bodice for a Civil War ball gown, and the seam construction didn’t need to be altered. The back seams curve outwards and the front is gored. I did eliminate the zipper and put buttons down the back. I also cut the dip in the bodice narrower. Altogether, the finished garment is very pretty.
Teresa Liao –
When I first used this pattern, I was not a new sewer, but I was entirely new to costuming. I made every piece in the package and, although I would never do my own farthingale again, I gained a lot of knowledge from the experience. Since doing my first costume I have used this pattern again with wonderful results. The beauty of it is that as I have learned more about costuming, it has been very simple to adapt this pattern and add some of my own variations. For example, on my last gown I lowered the neckline, made puff-and-slash sleeves, and rather than sewing the sleeves onto the bodice I made sure that they tied on.
Kristina Pohl –
This is the Shakespeare in Love dress. I must say that I’m very, very happy with the pattern. The only glaring faults (in my eyes) are the curved seams and the attached chemise sleeves. To alter the pattern, all I did was take the center front piece (which has straight edges) match it up to the front side pieces and chop off the curves to make a nice, flat front. It worked great. The only problem I had with it was the ease. I measured myself over my Elizabethan corset, and discovered that rather then needing a size 18, I only needed a 14 for it to fit right. Go figure. I also am going to make the front point very short (as soon as I get more piping), so it’s more of a Tudor/Early Elizabethan style. It’s really easy to put together. The instructions for all of it are wonderful. I’ve only been sewing for a year, so even novice sewers can do this one with confidence. The only thing I’d recommend is making a muslin of the bodice first.
Elizabeth Freiheit –
It was a great pattern for me (with less than 1 year sewing experience). I made the bum roll, but decided not to wear it. I bought a great hoop skirt for $25 on eBay (half the price of the steel hoop boning required to make it). The leader of my Renaissance singing group told me that I needed to use a heavier fabric for the skirt than prescribed in the pattern. As a result, I needed to create a better closure system at the back. I flattened the shape of the bodice to make it more Elizabethan. In addition, I had to take off at least 2-3 inches of the bodice to make it snug enough. I made the under-sleeves detachable and then sewed chiffon chemise sleeves to the bodice under the puff over-sleeves. I’ll probably replace the chemise sleeves with an entire chemise. I haven’t gotten around to adding all the jewels and pearls. This dress took quite a bit of time, but was really worth it.
Maryann Mecca –
I made the skirt. As with most Simplicity patterns it is straight forward and relatively easy to follow. There is an inherent problem in the design. The finished waistband is only approximately 1″ wide which is not nearly enough to support the weight of the skirt and give enough room to add sufficient closures. The first time I wore the skirt, the hooks bent open and the skirt came off (an embarrassing moment). I ended up adding 2″ to the width of the band and replacing the two skirt hooks with 4 coat hooks. It hasn’t come off since. The instructions for the cartridge pleats were easy to follow, and posed no problems. I did substitute small buttons in the front for the beads called for, as I did not think the beads would be secure enough to hold. The pattern also called for snaps to close the back. These were omitted as I did not think they were necessary. Looking at the photo, they weren’t. There was another problem. The skirt was not full enough to fit over the bum roll (pattern and instructions included). I added an extra piece 43-1/4 wide to the back. This helped considerably although the bum roll still did not look right. Determined not to take the pleats apart again for more alterations, I gave up on it figuring I had my own “natural” bum roll built in. The underskirt is made from the same pattern as the farthingale (easy to follow). I would recommend here that the underskirt be made a bit larger than the farthingale for a better fit.