1914 Edwardian Peony Garden Dress

I named this dress after my mother's peonies. Already owning four of these gorgeous bushes, and the one being older than the others, it has produced gorgeous blooms this June. Within the heavenly scented folds of pastel pinks, there are on the outer edges milky whites and ivories.

This dress is one of my dresses that I can add to the list of "burning the midnight oil" though it wasn't quite midnight when I finished it. What is it about sewing historical clothing that causes me to want to sew for as long as I possibly can without stopping? Probably because it's so much fun. ;)

I used three different patterns actually for this dress. Using the 1914 Afternoon Dress pattern from Sense & Sensibility, I greatly modified the bodice. Several years ago I made a white cotton lawn dress without ever making a trial mock bodice. The neckline and shoulders were far to big on me (even for a Norwegian/English build) and I sold it eventually, with even now regrets. It was a really pretty dress! Back to this dress: I grabbed some cotton fabric from my stash and began eyeballing how I thought the bodice should look like with the neckline/shoulders not to wide, and also squared off the neckline.

This beautiful picture has always been a favorite, and it was my main inspiration for this dress:

For the sleeves, I wasn't sure if I wanted straight or lightly gathered. Did I want them shorter or elbow length? Lace or no lace? Looking through my patterns, I found an original 19-teens blouse pattern and decided to use it. Nothing like using something period correct! And for the skirts, I knew I wanted straight skirts; no gathers or pleats. Anything that will slimline a person is greatly favored. ;) I used a modern skirt pattern that was based off of an original 1914 wedding gown.

This is the result!

Right off from the beginning, I knew that I wouldn't keep this dress. As much as this is a beautiful delicate pink, and the vintage lace detailing and vintage buttons kept tempting me, this freckled strawberry blonde looks dreadfully sick in pale pink. It pains me to have to sell it, but I'm sure whoever decides that they must own it will love it as much as I do.

This link will take you to more pictures and the listing. I'm off to teach a violin lesson, but if you have your eye out for some 1930s aprons, I'll be adding at least one to the shop this afternoon. To warn you, it is a very tempting piece of material that looks perfect made into a 1930s depression era apron! ;)