Bennett gowns~Step 4~Finishing the Gown

To finish the gown, put on your skirt and then put the bodice on over it. (Note: when you put this dress on it helps to firmly tie the drawstring ribbons to something, otherwise the back of the skirt will be The bodice should overlap and the gathering ribbons should be under the bodice. Put pins under your arms and a few spaced in between (make sure your hem is where you want it- pull the skirt up to shorten it), and take it off. Sew a running seam, backstitching at each end, from one arm pin to the other. It doesn't matter that this seam shows- the sash will cover it. Turn the dress inside out and fold the raw underarm edges up 1/2" and sew around the armhole. Do this on the other side. Turn the dress back out and put it on. Get out your wide turquoise ribbon and tie it as a sash over the seam connecting bodice and skirt. You are now COMPLETELY done!!!!!

Bennett gowns~Step 3~Bodice

First off let me say I have no photos and I apologize. I start working and I just can't stop to take photos.
But I do have instructions for the gowns...............
Step 3: Bodice
(Note: This is for a bodice without sleeves. I can't do it and you can invent your own pattern for that.)
Follow the instructions for the Bodice Lining, but use your sheer fabric curtain, your old pattern, and omit the part where you fold and hem all the edges. Then put the two together, raw-edged side of lining & wrong side of bodice together. Turn it inside out. Then fold all the edges of the bodice over the lining and sew them, except for the armholes and 1 side of the back slit. Then take some 1/4" wide white ribbon and cut 5 2-3" lengths. Fold that unfinished edge in half so that the raw edge touches the edge of the lining. Fold a ribbon length in half with the edges side by side. Put it on the lining at the top of the lining and then fold over the bodice edge and sew back and forth over where the ribbon is a few times. Then fold the ribbon over that seam to make a buttonhole loop and sew over that a few times. Do this at the bottom, the middle, and between the bottom/middle and middle/top. Then sew a few times over the 4 spots on the edge where there are no loops  to make a apparent continuous seam over that edge and trim all the loose threads. Now all your buttonholes are done.  Now turn the bodice right side out and put the buttonhole edge next to the other edge so that the ribbons go over that edge and it looks like it's buttoned without buttons. Take a fadeout marker and make dots inside the loops where you want the buttons. Then sew the buttons on those marks. You are done- try it on!!!!!!

Bennett gowns- Step 2- skirt

I am so sorry for the delay but I quit work on the dresses for 2 weeks due to school beginning, but I am back at work;

The skirt for the Bennett gown project I have had an idea for from the beginning. Before I decided to do a simpler Empire-style gown, I was going to go all the way and do a gorgeous, big Rococo ball gown.

After searching around for some easy way to do it, I decided to let it drop. I am not that good and I am not fast enough to do the thousands of seams required, but I hung on to the idea of making a drawstring-style waist to give a gathered look and keep it adjustable. These instructions, therefore, are for a high-waisted Empire gown with a gathered, adjustable back, made for my sister Augusta (mine will be made, eventually).

I used a sheer curtain, some muslin and about a yard of wide white grosgrain ribbon to make this skirt. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a sheer curtain for my pattern. It has the pre-made hems needed to make sewing simple.

INSTRUCTIONS:

First I took the curtain, held it up to Gussie, and cut it at around her underarms. Then I laid it on muslin, keeping the selvage edge of the muslin lined up with where the hem of the curtain ended (this makes it easier to hem) and cut the muslin right at the cut edge of the curtain. Then, putting the curtain right-side-in, I sewed a running stitch across the cut edge, trimmed it, and flipped it right side out so that the curtain faced up. Then I tried it on Gussie, bringing it up to her underarms, and it was too long, but I left that for hemming later. Then, while she was wearing it, I lined up the edges of the fabric and made sure they were near the center of her back, and I used a fabric marker to mark under her underarms where the drawstring would begin. Then I took it off her. I laid it out and folded it in half lengthwise. Then I checked the marks and made new marks that were identical(i.e. right on top of each other) and lengthened them so that they reached about to where I wanted the bottom of the casing to be (i.e. 2-3 inches) and made vertical 1" wide lines connecting the marks. Then I unfolded the fabric and put it right-side-up and cut my yard of ribbon in half and made one edge of both angled (this will be the edge that shows) and stuck the non-angled edge in between the skirt layers so that it went about 1/4 in. beyond the casing mark. Then I sewed a running stitch back and forth over that mark to secure the ribbon. Then, making sure I did not sew the ribbon, I sewed a running stitch from the casing mark to the edge of the fabric. This creates 1 drawstring complete with casing. I repeated on the other side of the fabric-marker rectangle (if the fabric marker is fade-out and will not fade out, I use this method; Take water, wet your finger, and rub the mark for all it's worth. It will seem to get brighter, but after about 20-30 seconds of rubbing, it fades out). Then I folded the skirt in half, right-side-in, added pins, and sewed a running stitch, backstitching at both ends, starting at the bottom of the skirt and going up to about 5-6 in. below the top edge. The fabric will be uneven, so sew the seam 1/2 in. from the edge of the shortest piece of fabric. Then I turned it right-side-out and tried it on Gussie, gathering it in the back. Then I folded up the curtain edge and put pins in, took it off, and ran a seam there. I did this a few times till it was to her ankles, sewing the last hem with a wide zigzag. That way I'll be able to let it out as she grows. Then it was done!!!

Bennett gowns~Step 1~Bodice Lining

OK..... Step 1............ Bodice Lining..........

Here are explicit instructions.

First of all I took an Empire-waisted dress of mine and I traced the bodice onto paper. The method I used for this is: Take as many pieces of paper that you need and tape them together. Then pin the waist tightly to the bottom of the paper and pin the base of the armholes to the paper. Then trace that line. Then remove the waist pin and put it at the top of the armhole (stretch the fabric if there is elastic) and trace the armhole. Continue like this. Then cut it out and fold it in half. Trim the non-matching parts. Then fold muslin in half and put the pattern at the selvage edge. Then trace the pattern onto the fabric and cut it out. You now have 2 fabric pieces. Then sew the shoulders and the sides, leaving the armholes, neck, and waist open, and cut a straight line down one side, so that you have a back opening. Then try it on. If it fits, fold over all the raw edges and hem them. Don't put any fastening on, this is just a lining. Leave the seams on the obvious side, since you will put the actual bodice on that part. Save your pattern. You are now done!!!

The model for this was my sister Augusta, for whom I will be making a "Bennett" gown as well.