This is an 1890’s walking dress. I made View C without the sailor tie. The pattern is easy to follow and goes together fairly quickly. I made a few changes so it took me longer than it might if you follow the instructions exactly. The pattern calls for a zipper in the back of the bodice, and a bustle. I made it with a hook and eye opening in the front and eliminated the bustle. I used purchased bias hem tape to finish the hem and used braid trim. I found that it is fairly easy to move the bodice opening to the front by cutting a separate facing that is as wide as the neckline (be sure to remember the seam allowance). I first tried just cutting the pattern pieces a little wider than the seam allowance and folding the fabric over to create a facing, but this didn’t seem to provide enough stability for a hook and eye closing. I thought that the separate, wider facing gave better results. The skirt and peplum are supposed to be cut longer in back to accommodate the bustle. Without the bustle, the skirt will have a demi-train or you can use the front peplum pattern piece and the side skirt pattern piece to trace new hem lines if you want to make the peplum and skirt the same length all the way around.
Joyce Turowski –
This is an 1890’s walking dress. I made View C without the sailor tie. The pattern is easy to follow and goes together fairly quickly. I made a few changes so it took me longer than it might if you follow the instructions exactly. The pattern calls for a zipper in the back of the bodice, and a bustle. I made it with a hook and eye opening in the front and eliminated the bustle. I used purchased bias hem tape to finish the hem and used braid trim. I found that it is fairly easy to move the bodice opening to the front by cutting a separate facing that is as wide as the neckline (be sure to remember the seam allowance). I first tried just cutting the pattern pieces a little wider than the seam allowance and folding the fabric over to create a facing, but this didn’t seem to provide enough stability for a hook and eye closing. I thought that the separate, wider facing gave better results. The skirt and peplum are supposed to be cut longer in back to accommodate the bustle. Without the bustle, the skirt will have a demi-train or you can use the front peplum pattern piece and the side skirt pattern piece to trace new hem lines if you want to make the peplum and skirt the same length all the way around.