unwrittenmelody: Pre-baby- I was very small waisted as well as big busted- Learning to draft my own patterns was such a blessing! I actually usually draft from direct measurements. Big busted, means starting from your bust measurement and learning to adjust the darts in the right place to round it out-otherwise the armscye comes out way too big. Draft to measure first- don't worry about the front armscye size, and then slash open bottom darts and in from armscye to close it up- its just a matter of rotating that piece around.

unwrittenmelody:
http://trulyvictorian.netfirms.com/ carries larger size patterns

There are several books Kristina Harris has a few- try 59 Turn of the Century Fashion Patterns. I had at one time figured out the "scale" that one needed to multiply the given numbers by to come up with the correct measurements in that particular book, but seem to have mislaid my "Cheat Sheet"

I have made a separate posting for a "how to" on the book lined ruffles, but I am having problems uploading photos at the moment- it keeps telling me they are too big despite having re sized them to the correct dimensions. It accepted the first one- so I will continue to try to figure out how to get them up.

Book lined pleating is a corruption of a victorian term for a type of stiff muslin basically you cut two lengths of the ruffle/pleating one of muslin the exact width you want the finished pleating to be, and the fashion fabric must be wider by 2 inches. The ruffle strips are sewn together along one long edge right sides together, and then the fashion fabric is basically "wrapped" back around the muslin. I will try to post some pics in my folder when I get back home with a better explanation- at the kid's house for the holidays!

The reason I learned to draft patterns is simply because I was hard to fit- narrow shoulders, large bust and small waist- Personally I would try my hand at drafting my own rather than trying to grade up- again when I get back to my sewing room I will look up a link or two that may help.

I love working with ribbons and I would love to win this book!

I "THINK" I have around 70-80 hours in it- the beading was done while watching tv in the evenings, and mostly because I HAD to get it done that fast- the motherboard in my sewing machine went out and was on backorder for a month, so it really cut me short on time. I keep a sloper on hand that I have already drafted in my size for that time period, so drafting a pattern doesn't take "excessively long" if I have to start from scratch(new sizing) it can add to the time. The perfect pleater REALLY helps on the pleating time too. I actually have some 1880's pleating aids- but the years have made them a bit rusty and I am wary of trying them out on silk.

Thank you so much for your kind words!, It did cost me a few late nights to finish it in time. I also made both of my daughters gowns for the same events of the same time period. What pleased me was how well it held up to the abuse of the crowded dance floor- the photos were taken AFTER the night of dancing, and it had been stepped on no less than 10 times. I can't emphasize enough how important details like the false hem and taking time to line the pleating help a piece like this hold up to actual wear. AND actually- we have a museum in our home and I just put it on one of my mannequins today- I usually have a mix of my antique pieces and the ones I have designed myself on display.