The Jane Austin Project-- So It Begins.

It's that time again--The 10th Annual Jane Austen Festival takes place on the 2nd weekend in July in Louisville.  Daughter Anna and I had such a good time last year, we're attending again this year.  This year's theme is Persuasion.  In preparation, we're both re-reading Persuasion, Anna's favorite Austen book, and I'm sewing new costumes for the both of us.

I'm off to a rather slow start.  I wanted to do Anna's first, but I have yet to knuckle that girl down for her current measurements.  I'm trying to make stays this year, too, so the measurements are critical.  So I began at the beginning--the chemise for me.

I'm using Sense and Sensibility's Regency Underthings Pattern.  I love these patterns.  They come in a full range of sizes, 6-26, in one envelope.  The instructions are usually easy to follow, too.  The pattern pieces, though hand-drawn are on thick paper with very bold lines for tracing ease. 

As you can see, this is a very simple garment to construct.   It has a drawstring closure at the front neck; I used a pretty, narrow satin ribbon for the drawstring.   The sleeves are simply rectangles.  These are then closed and attached to the gown with a gusset.

I've never sewn a gusset before, or seen one in a garment other than in photos, so this was my head scratcher with this project.  It took several tries to get it right.  Finally looked at the pictures of the finished gusset and how it was situated then it made sense.

The fabric is a very thin voile from Fabric.com.  You can see Zelda's padding through it but it is going to be mid-July after all.   Temps are already hot and humid here and due to get hotter.  Next up are the stays.  This is my first effort at any kind of corset work so it should be interesting.  It has 3 layers of fabric, boning, and some kind of eyelet holes.   I'm intimidated but forging ahead.  Will keep you posted.