I took images of the making progress of the 18th century dress i’ve been working on. Here is the progress so far on the underskirt. This would of been worn over the pannier which rests on the corset tabs at the waist. Then the jacket would be draped over it. The underskirt was decorated as elaborately as the rest of the dress with laces, frills, ribbons and bows. We decided on a beautiful blue on cream Toile de Jouy flower pattern for the underskirt. I then added 2 layers of beautiful lace, finished with cream braiding. The stomacher, which was the part that sits in the corset at the front, was also decorated the same as the dress with big bows and lace. Every day a maid would hand stitch the dress to the stomacher and corset. A
t the end of the day the maid would rip the stitches open. I’ve used press studs and hook and eyes to secure this dress. I’m not sure if Johanna Blackstone has a maid to sew her into her dress every time she wants to wear it! More images coming soon!