My 1770 polonaise, winner of Best in Novice Class, Recreation and Best in Show, Recreation, in the Historic Masquerade at Costume Con 22 in Atlanta. The following description is the documentation I included with my entry Pattern: A Polonaise with Detachable Embroidered Lawn Ruffles c. 1770-1785, p 37-39 Patterns of Fashion 1 c. 1660-1860 by Janet Arnold Fabric: Changeable silk in green and gold. According to Textiles for Colonial Clothing by Sally Queen, "Changeables enjoyed great popularity in the 1770s." Bodice lined with white linen |
Decoration: Self-fabric pinked ruchings. I took most of my inspiration from An Open Gown and Matching Petticoat c. 1775-85 from Patterns of Fashion pages 40-41. The dress has ruchings around the neckline and a wavy pattern down the front of the skirts. I doubled the wavy trim on the skirt to make a figure 8 pattern. A c. 1775 sacque back dress on page 70 of The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute: Fashion has a similar figure 8 trim. The two bands of ruchings on the sleeves are based on the c. 1780 dress on page 88 of the same book. I used straight pinking for the dress (I purchased a reproduction scalloped pinker, but was unable to get it to work). Examples of straight pinking can be seen on the c. 1760 dress on pages 50-51 of Fashion and the c. 1760-65 dress on pages 34-35 of Fashion in Detail by Avril Hart and Susan North. I decided that the irregularity of ruched trim would pick up the colors of the changeable silk better than box pleating. Examples of ruched trim can be seen on the gown and matching petticoat c. 1778 on page 13 of Eighteenth-Century Clothing at Williamsburg and page 8 of What Clothes Reveal both by Linda Baumgarten, the c. 1780 dress on page 88 of Fashion and the c. 1745-1760 Brocaded Silk Gown, Stomacher and Petticoat from the frontispiece of What Clothes Reveal. |
Construction: The dress is completely hand sewn. I used the method from An Open Gown and Matching Petticoat, Patterns of Fashion pages 40-41. The lining was made first, then the silk layer mounted on top and backstitched into place. The sleeves are sewn in from the outside. The bodice armscye seam allowance is turned in, the sleeve inserted and backstitched into place. I used the bodice lining to cover the seam allowance. This technique is shown in Costume Close-Up by Linda Baumgarten and John Watson with Florine Carr on the jacket, c. 1775-1785, pages 39-42. The skirt is pleated. Excess fabric is turned inside as was done in the period to make future alterations easier. Like the c. 1770-1785 gown on page 23-28 of Costume Close-Up, the skirt is slipstitched to the bodice and the lining brought over the seam allowance. The skirt is hemmed with a narrow hem down the fronts and around the bottom, sewn with a running stitch. The dress closes in the center front with pins. |
The Petticoat
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Accessories
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Shoes and Stockings: Reproduction shoes from Fugawee. Tied with silk ribbons. Reproduction clocked stockings from Townsend and Sons.
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