My next project is for a lovely young lady named Jenna. Jenna will be singing in her school's Madrigal Choir for the next 4 years and needs a dress to wear to the Texas Renaissance Festival on November 10th and another dress to wear to the Dickens on the Strand festival in Galveston the first weekend in December. I had a meeting with she and her mom yesterday to get a feel for what she liked and she chose the gorgeous Simplicity Pattern #4940:
Jenna's dress will have the sleeves pictured on the light green gown above. The Renaissance Faire in Texas is usually very hot up until about late November (and the way it's been going this year, who knows how long until Fall...January maybe??), so she chose a dark red drapery silk for the gown and sleeves, a cream drapery silk for the sleeve lining, and gold trim for the neckline, shoulders and sleeves. It will be fully flat-lined with cotton muslin to protect the underside of the silk skirt from the dust and mud of the Renfest, and protect the inside of the silk bodice area from sweat. I will give her a wrist loop on the inside of the back of the skirt so that she can carry her skirt and prevent any unfortunate tears from folks stepping on the back of her gown!
This is going to be an enjoyable project...I have not made any replica gowns yet, and I am interested to see how this particular gown will look in silk. I'll have to check Pattern Review for any pitfalls associated with this pattern. Come back soon to see pictures of the progress!
