#chintz:cotton in bloom

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M-P Goes all Crafty : WIP - The "Chintz in Bloom" Francaise

Pic heavy below the cut!

Hello again, friends! I thought I'd update with a few picture of my progress on the "Chintz in Bloom" robe francaise I'm currently making.

This hasn't gone as quickly as I would have liked, but that's namely down to one thing: the weather. It's been so darn hot this summer that even the thought of sitting in front of a warm sewing machine has made me want to melt into a puddle - so progress has definitely been restricted to 'when I can bear to machine-sew.'

I also ran into a difficulty that meant it took twice as long because of the fabric I'd used. If it had been silk, I wouldn't have needed to line the overgown - but, for my sins, I used cotton print. And I wanted to be able to pull the skirts up through the pockets, like this, to turn it into a walking dress AS WELL as an elegant formal gown.

Problem is, if you do that with an unlined quilting cotton, you get the ugly plain underside punched up through the pocket slits, which makes it just look... unfinished, and kinda cheap looking. . I still wanted that beautiful deep red! So, back to the fabric store to find a deep burgundy cotton lining that matched - and close enough that it wouldn't clash with the print. But the result is looking nice.

I've also added a lovely pink and burgundy fly- trim to the edge of my cotton ruffles. This wasn't on the original gown's trimmings; but as my fabric has a smaller, busier pattern than the original silk, the ruffle on the petticoat just wasn't showing up, and I wanted it to stand out a bit.

You can now see the trim much better - and I think when it's added to the sleeves and stomacher as well as the side of the overgown, it should look very nice and appropriately 1760s.

- hearty thanks to @tockamybeloved and her own beautiful silk creations, by the way - I'd have never have got up the courage to make a robe francaise without you!

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Work In progress: The "Cheery In Chintz" Robe a la Francaise Project...

Hello again, friends!

With lockdown rules yo-yoing around in my area, not entirely sure if I'll get to wear this any time soon outside an impromptu photoshoot in my back garden - but what the hey, I'll share my plans any way!

There's a delightful exhibit on the history of 18th century Dutch Chintz going on display at the London Textile and Costume Museum later this year, organised by no less than the Fries Museum from Leeuwarden!

A bunch of my fellow 18th century costumers invited me along to attend in 18th century dress - ideally, of course, in chintz, to pay homage to the historic prints on show.

But after looking through my wardrobe...alas, I HAVE no floral cotton gowns to wear!

So yes, that's right, there's another project in the works...

This above delightful silk robe francaise from the Mint Museum has LONG been on my 'to make' list, because that rich red wine colour is just divine (and the talented @tockamybeloved has been really inspiring me with HER fantastic robe francaises from the American Duchess pattern. But I never thought I'd find a fabric that would come close, until i stumbled across this delightful Dutch Heritage reproduction cotton print:

Best yet, it IS an 18th century reproduction print, made by a Dutch company - so I'm honouring the historical Dutch prints by wearing a modern one. There's a really nice symmetry to that.

Not quite the same, and a tad busier (and cotton, not silk), but absolutely PERFECT for paying homage to the exhibition. Plus, cotton will be nice and cool if it's still warm when we plan to attend. If it's outrageously warm I may wear the chemise gown, but this is a nice compromise for if it's a little cooler.

We'll see how it goes - I'll post pictures as I travel along in the making process!