This March my family and I will be venturing out in public in all our Regency regalia! The 2nd Annual Melbourne Regency Picnic will be held on March 6th and I am very excited to go for the first time. It will be a lovely relaxing day out for our family, but the bit that is not as relaxing is getting all the children “kitted out” before then!
I decided to start with my youngest daughter, a sweet 5-year-old, and make her a quick costume using a pattern I have done before.
Pattern
The pattern for this dress is a free one available online, and it is the one I have used before, in “How to make a Basic Regency Girl’s Dress”. It requires scaling up, but it is fairly easy to put together using modern dressmaking methods.
I made some slight alterations to the pattern for this gown, such as omitting the thin side bodice panel, and bringing the drawstring casing all the way around the waistline (rather than only to the side seams).
Construction
The steps that I used were very similar to that for the basic Regency girl’s dress I have done before, so I will not detail all of the steps again here. Instead I will briefly outline some of the features that I decided on for this outfit.
Features of this dress:
- Simple bodice, with a centre front panel and two back panels;
- Slightly flared skirt, with lace around the bottom (and a deep hem for later taking-down);
- Short sleeves, with the fullness pleated over the sleeve head, the bottom edge ungathered and finished with a lace edging;
- Drawstring casing around the neckline and the waistline, which fastens with ties at the back.
This was a nice, quick weekend project, and the best part is that little girls need very little fitting!
A lovely floral fervour for my littlest flower-petal!
Related Posts
How to make a Basic Regency Girl’s Dress
Drafting a Pattern for a Girl’s Regency gown
Sources and Relevant Links
Image Source: Costumes for a Regency Child, from The Oregon Regency Society
Free pattern for a girl’s Regency dress – on Regency Society of America forum board
The 2nd Annual Melbourne Regency Picnic – the Event, from the Facebook page
Lovely! She will look and feel like a princess!