Girl's 1770s Dress

Settler or Princess?

The Challenge: April: Upping Your Game (Women's Clothing & Pleats)
Material: Cotton flannel, with Osnaburg lining, cotton thread
Pattern: Larkin & Smith "18th Century Girl's Gown"
Year: 1750s to 1770s
Notions: Twill tape, eye hook
How historically accurate is it? Pattern and construction are accurate.  Color is accurate.  I'm not sure if cotton flannel was available in New England at the time period.
Hours to complete: 40 to 50
First worn: July 9, 2019. First public outing will be August 3 at Old Sturbridge Village.
Total cost: About $10. The fabric was reclaimed from an old bed sheet.


Since I started late, I'd like to catch up on the first six months of The Historical Sew Monthly Challenge.  Gabriella has been needing a new dress for events for some time, and I was determined to make her something for Hubbardton.  I missed the deadline by a couple of days, but the majority of this piece was finished in about one week, with some details and hemming that I finished up in the last couple of days.  The dress fit nicely with one of the HSM Challenges.  The Challenge for April was "Upping Your Game," or doing something that you're not great at, in an effort to become better at it.  Since I've mostly done men's clothes in the past, and since my pleating is generally horrific, this dress hit two of my weak points.

Pleats!  So many pleats!

The pattern is from Larkin & Smith, and is based upon their research into a circa 1750-1770 girl's dress from a private collection.  I followed the hand-sewing instructions to make it as historically correct as possible, given that I was sewing it out of a bed sheet.  Flannel is period correct, but I'm not sure if cotton flannel is, so that may be the only bit not accurate.  I can say that the Larkin & Smith pattern and instructions are excellent, and were easy for me to follow.

Yay! Pocket slits!

Like the cloak that I made for her earlier, the important thing is that my customer is happy.  She's not used to the tight fit, which is period, but she's extremely happy that it has pocket slits.  So happy, in fact, that she spent the next couple of days after these photos hand-sewing a pocket for herself, based on the one pictured in "Costume Close Up."

Overall, I'm very happy with how this turned out.  Construction photos below.

Larkin & Smith pattern and instructions - Highly recommended!

Tracings of the correct size pattern pieces.

Pattern pieces cut out.

Bodice fabric and lining pieces cut.

Pinning the pieces

Bodice front and back pinned.

First fitting. A bit tight.

First fitting. Goofy face is apparently mandatory.

Hand sewn eyelets in each bodice back piece.

Bodice back finished with plackets.

Placket opened to show eyelets.

Bodice lining finished.

Finished bodice interior.

Finished bodice front.

Finished bodice back.

Pleats.  I'm pretty happy with these.

Finished dress, minus hemming and skirt hook.

Finished back, minus skirt hook and eye.

Bodice back is spiral laced.