Summer History is the Best History: My 48-Hour Dress - The Dolley Madison Dress

Almost a year ago (has it really been that long?) I posted about my visit to Montpelier, and how I absolutely fell in love with the dress that the Dolley Madison interpreter was wearing, as well as a lot of the other dresses in the museum. I had never looked into regency clothing much before that, but I am hooked now. The late 1700's are still my favorite time period, but I am slowly falling in love with the 1800's as well. Anyway, I had a pattern (Simplicity 4055) and an inspiration, and a break from school coming up, so it seemed like the perfect time to sew! Well, it's always the perfect time to sew for me, but that's besides the point. :)

The Dolley Madison interpreter from Montpelier, wearing the dress that inspired me.

The dress Dolley wore (well, a reproduction of it) in the museum at Montpelier.

So, on Maundy Thursday, Mom and I went to three new fabric stores and spent all day looking at wonderful fabrics, trims, notions, and pretty much being in a costumer's heaven. It was nice to have a mother-daughter day like that, and we got everything I needed for the dress! It was also nice, because I had just found out two days before that I got into my first choice school (William & Mary - Go Tribe!!!), and when we came home my acceptance letter from my second choice school (Washington & Lee!) was waiting for me in my inbox - it was a great day all around!

Anyway, I wanted another white eyelet dress, and we found the perfect material at a really good price at an Amish store called Verna's. I highly recommend checking it out if you live in central PA. It was a bit of a drive for us, but totally worth it. I also got a few different ribbons and trims there, as well as the buttons for my dress. We then went to another store (Hoover Bernina) where we didn't buy anything, but did discover how far sewing machines have come in recent years. I haven't sewn on a machine younger than 40 years old, and so seeing that new machines have color touch screens and USB drives for embroidery was eye-opening for both Mommy and myself. The staff there was really friendly, and I would recommend checking it out (again, if you live in PA), especially if you are into quilting - and they even offer workshops and classes for making different projects! We followed Hoover Bernina with a trip to Ben Franklin, where I bought more ribbons and trim (I love that sort of thing, and I can wear different ribbons with this dress), and ended at our local Jo Ann Fabric, where I bought the plain white material (it was cheapest there).

My fabric, lining, the new ribbons I bought, and the pattern that I used.

When we went to wash the fabric, we discovered that the embroidery on the eyelet didn't go all the way to the edges! So, after a quick trip back to Jo Ann's we learned that it's always like that, and the pattern accounts for stuff like that - crisis averted, and time to get sewing!

From doing some research on the internet, I had discovered that this dress has a very short bodice, even for an empire waist, and that I would need to extend it by a few inches so that it would sit below my bust and not rise up periodically. I would recommend doing this too, because the way the pattern lays out the top of the dress would not work well for anyone.

The bodice cut out, longer than usual...

...but fitting perfectly!

A back view of the bodice, no buttons yet!

Other than extending the bodice, this dress didn't really have any necessary changes, and was pretty easy to sew. I would suggest doing the lining first, so that you can make sure everything will fit you as this pattern runs small, but that's what I do for everything, as it's the easiest thing to do, and the lining is easier (and usually cheaper) to fix if you need to change anything. Even though there was nothing else that needed to be changed on this pattern, I did opt to make the skirt overlay the same length as the lining, because my overlay was not sheer, and was the same color as my lining. Also, that's the way the Dolley Madison dress was!

So, after putting the fabric in the wash, I started ironing it all out at noon on Good Friday. I sewed all that night, went to bed around midnight or one, woke up the next morning to sew in between setting up for an Easter egg hunt at church and dying eggs with my family, I sewed until midnight, woke up at 4:30 the next morning, sewed on the three buttons, and went to Sunrise Service for Easter, wearing my new dress!

The buttons! They're pearl buttons in the shape of hearts with carving on them - so pretty!

This dress was a lot of fun for me to make, mostly because I felt really professional while making it. I proved to myself that I could sew all day and still be smiling at midnight, and that I had the ability to make clothing that quickly if I needed to. Since Easter, I have worn the dress for a class presentation on Pride and Prejudice in English class and for Sewing Showcase with my 4-H group (a little fashion show for a local nursing home). I might wear it to Williamsburg some day, especially if I go to see a James Madison interpreter!