The collar

I have known for a while that the collar for this gown would be tricky. At fist I thought it was a velvet collar with some appliqué grapes. No big deal, right? That was before I read the description of the gown from the Kyoto Costume Institute. The description says it is a lace collar with appliqué. With a very limited view of the dress available, I will have to trust the description.

For anyone interested- this gown is from the Kyoto Costume Institute’s collection. Their books are amazing, and often very affordable used. Fashion History. From the 18th to the 20th Century: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century (Bibliotheca Universalis)

So, off lace shopping I went. I have this strange worry that I will someday get the rare chance to see more of the gown and I will have gotten it hilariously wrong.

So, back to the velvet and lace collar. Clearly it has a wide velvet edge, presumably over lace, so I am starting there. For the lace o spent a could of weeks looking to find a lace that was heavy enough to approximate. I have been unable to find lace as widely patterned or thick as was used, but I did find a nice embroidered lace to use.

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Velvet edge

The inside of should be nicely finished on this piece, as the edges are likely to show a bit. This meant laying out the velvet, then finishing the inside velvet first. Noting the nap of the velvet, and piecing it from the small pile of scraps I have left, I cut a 4 inch wide curved piece and tacked it in place on the front.

Before working on the front, I turned and stitched down the velvet on the back to give it a nice rolled edge. It looks great on the inside now. Good.

Back to the outside. I like the look of backing fabric (here the velvet) that curves with the trimming on top. The first of the trim is now appliquéd on, and it looks good. Comparing to the source dress, the pattern of the lace isn’t as big, but it was the best I could do. Once I get the bunches of grapes on there I think it will be really nice.

It is right about now that I start to wonder how on earth the dangling bunches of grape on the front of the collar stay in place. Ah, deceptively simple dress, how you torture me. Couture is couture for a reason and my goodness this is giving me a run for my money. The collar has taken me hours.

While I am at it, I finished the black blouse with a very small band at the neck.

The edging for the collar of the black blouse is shown in the photo above. The right side has been stitched down by hand, and you can see the pinned edge of the left side. Sheer silk chiffon is difficult to work with, but with patience and sewing it by hand instead of by machine it is possible. My work here is far from perfect, but I like it anyway.

A note on washing. I did not prewash the materials for this dress. Usually I do, to prevent later shrinkage, etc. For this one, nope. Washing the velvet was out of the question, and with the velvet and amount of hand sewing on the gown, I would fear even the hot tumble of dry cleaning.

This gown will be a cold water spot clean only. By doing this I am saving a bunch of potential disasters:

• Black chiffon fading, shrinking, and getting so soft that sewing it would be even more difficult
• Black velvet becoming black crushed velvet against my will
• 150+ hand stitched covered buttons shredding and falling apart.

Besides, I am making this for Costume College this year, and who knows if I will find places to wear it again after. Maybe a photoshoot sometime. Or the premiere of the Downton Abbey movie this fall.