Dressing Downton: Edith's and Sybil's How did that get there? Blouse

My latest Dressing Downton project has been to reproduce this lovely blouse worn by Sybil:

And Edith:

   

I used a lovely watercolor print for the main fabric and a lavender fabric for the cuff and collar detail.

I took my styling cue from Edith and paired it with a high waisted black pencil skirt. This was partially because it was a bit short to wear with pants but also because the shape was horribly unflattering when untucked.

Can you say boxy? So not flattering on my body shape. Tucking in is a must!

I drafted this from Colette Pattern's Sorbetto and Butterick 5559 (sleeves). I also drafted the contrast pieces. I saved myself from any facing/hemming by sewing the contrast on right side of contrast to wrong side of fabric and then flipping it to the outside. I pressed the seam allowance on the other edge of the contrast so all I had to do was press the sewn seam and slip stitch the floppy edge down. Easy and pretty.

I suspect this blouse would have been more flattering with underarm gussets so there wouldn't be so much fabric hanging around. I think I'll end up taking in the sides of the blouse near the waist to give a more flattering shape. It won't be as true to the original but that's ok with me.

Lady Edith's Closet: Flower Show Dress

One of my favorite dresses from season 1 is the ecru dress Edith wears to the flower show. Mary and Sybil's flower show dresses make a second appearance at the garden party but Edith's only appears once.

It features some crocheted lace on the neckline and sleeve cuffs. I've spied some at my local Jo-Ann's but there are quite a few people selling lace like this on etsy.

And it has a darling green sash that looks to be at or slightly above the natural waist. (It's kind of hard to tell where the natural waist is when you're wearing a corset! lol)

I love her oval brimmed hat! It's trimmed with white ribbon tied in a loop or bow with a large pale pink flower over it.

The look is accessorized with a pair of crocheted gloves. I could not find a picture of the back of the dress or a full length shot, but this pattern would be just the thing to copy this dress!

Find it on the Sense and Sensibility Pattern's website. I had some trouble with the last Sense and Sensibility pattern I used but I'm hoping a year's worth of sewing experience will make this one a success. I'm planning on having this made up in time for Easter.

Being Edith

So I slipped on my Edith blouse and squeezed into a black pencil skirt on the day I did the Edith hair to get some cute pictures.

And I even found a heart locket among my necklaces like Edith is wearing in this shot.

I so need a long black Edwardian skirt!

Stephanie's Black Floral Blouse

Here it is! The blouse you've all been waiting to see! Edith's black floral blouse made by yours truly.

I had so much fun making this blouse. I drafted this pattern from Colette Pattern's Sorbetto. It's a great pattern to play with.

I used a lovely floral fabric from Jo-Ann's, velvet ribbon to trim the collar and sleeves and buttons from Yummy Treasures.

This is probably one of the pieces I'm most proud of. It's so fun and sophisticated. I did a ton of drafting for this project and it doesn't look homemade. I adore the contrast between the texture of the blouse and the buttons/trim. It's a little bit different, but with jeans, it doesn't look costumey. And my husband loves it so that helps. ;)

Yay for a new sewing machine with a zipper foot! I used the black ribbon just like bias binding and it was so much easier to do neatly with the new feet.

Now I just need a great black skirt and I can be Edith!

Dressing Downton: Making Muslins

 A lot of the pieces I want to make for Dressing Downton are just not going to have a pattern out there, so I got drafting! Here is my first muslin for Edith's floral blouse.

Starting with Colette Pattern's free Sorbetto top and a spare sleeve pattern, I drafted in raglan sleeves, adjusted the neck line, and changed the darts to gathers along the seam where the sleeves attached.

The back was a bit big by the neck so I added gathers. The collar would hide them.

There was also extra fabric in the upper chest. I removed it from the sleeve piece and added the excess on the blouse front to the gathers. This worked out great since the gathers were a bit pathetic.

Muslin #2 was much better and I also added the collar. No more awkward excess fabric on the front.

The gathers worked out nicely on the back. Now it fits much better on the back of the neck.

I knot the design lines are a bit hard to see on the patterned fabric I used for my muslin but they are all there. And this is the fabric I'm making this blouse from.

Lady Edith's Closet: Black Floral Blouse

My first project is the lovely back floral blouse Edith wears when the Duke visits.



It is a lovely blouse-y shirt with raglan sleeves, a cute collar trimmed in black and two rows of buttons down the center. Instead of darts, the blouse is shaped with gathers at the seam across the chest. I choose this screen shot because of the mirror. There's just a peak of the back of the blouse in the reflection. Unfortunately, the picture quality of this screen shot didn't come out that great but you can see the rounded shape of the collar in the back.



Here it is in action. The sleeves are bracelet length and also appear to be trimmed with the same black trim as the collar. I think the trim is velvet. The buttons also look velvet to me. Regardless, something matte will be set off nicely against the shiney fabric.

Edith pairs it with a long black skirt, a belt and black shoes.

This is my fabric choice for this blouse. I got it at Jo-Anns.