Regency dress

Finished

A make by Naomijane

About this make

This will be a replica of an American formal dress dating between 1818-1822. I first attempted this last summer and was stupidly happy with the results! It's not an easy make, but past me left future me notes and instructions should I want to make it again...now I just have to decide whether I should authentically hand sew the whole thing, or cheat and use a machine?

Sewing diary

Finished this make 6th of July 2026
Monday 6th of July 2026 · 3 weeks ago

Done! Today I finished the puffs, inserted the sleeve, added an extra button and button loop, attached some drawstrings, and bound the hem. Now it's ready to live its best life...in a wardrobe with the rest of my historical recreations.
Sunday 5th of July 2026 · 3 weeks ago

Got a sleeve finished!
Saturday 4th of July 2026 · 3 weeks ago

Today I did lots of hand sewing. Six of the puffs are now sewn, only 4 more to go. I also hand sewed the piping into the armhole, ready for when I insert the sleeves.
Thursday 2nd of July 2026 · 3 weeks ago

Last night I hand basted the bodice and skirt together, and this morning I sewed them properly (by machine). I will probably topstitch it as well, as the original was joined together that way.
Monday 29th of June 2026 · 4 weeks ago

Spent a nice hour hand sewing in my yarden. I've been switching between felling the skirt seams and creating puffs for the sleeves. Once those big jobs are done the bodice can be attached to the skirt and it'll be nearly finished.
Tuesday 23rd of June 2026 · 1 month ago

Today I have sewn an imperfectly piped puff. The first ones are never the best... And I have a migraine coming on, and its too hot to do anything. Anyway, I've reminded myself of the technique and I know that the piping needs to be 30cm long and that the placement of the gathered puff IS important. That'll do for today.
Monday 22nd of June 2026 · 1 month ago

I decided I would use a sewing machine for certain elements of this dress. I seamed the skirt panels together using my 1907 Jones, and switched to my modern to add piping to the bodice (it has a zipper foot for piping). It's strange to think that my (119 year old) sewing machine was made only 85 years after this original dress was worn...
Sunday 21st of June 2026 · 1 month ago

Today I cut out all the main pieces and hand sewed the front of the bodice. I haven't decided if I'll continue to hand sew it all. There are some elements, like the piping, that are almost too fiddly to do by hand.
Started this make 21st of June 2026

To-do list

All done!

Create darts, topstitch to centre
Join centre front seam of bodice
Lap front of bodice to side piece, topstitch
Pipe and backstitch side piece to back
Gather back piece
Pipe and backstitch shoulder seam
Pipe and bias bind neckline
Make drawstring and channel for bottom of bodice
Make button loop and sew small button for top of bodice
Make miles of piping
Gather sleeve puffs
Pipe sleeve puffs
Sew sleeve puffs to sleeve
Insert sleeves to bodice
Bias bind sleeve openings
Fell stitch skirt seams
Attach skirt to bodice
Make button loop and sew small button for top of skirt
Bias bind skirt hem

Stash items used

White floral polycotton

Fabric · using 2m

Notes for the future

Future self, don't make this dress again. The sleeves might be period accurate but they are ridiculous.

What I learned

Last summer my first attempt at this dress fitted perfectly, so I made no changes to the pattern pieces. However this dress, made to the same specifications, does not fit. I retried the first dress and that no longer fits. So the lesson is measure measure measure! And I also learnt how to sew a button loop.