Some years ago, I sewed an 1850s morning dress. The dress is completely sewn by hand: It took me 53 hours and 45 minutes to sew the dress with all those ruffles! 😀 It’s my first entirely hand-sewn dress.
What Is A Victorian Morning Dress?
In the Victorian era, morning dresses or day dresses were worn at home to do the housework. A Victorian woman could receive visitors in her morning dress but she usually changed before going out. For shopping and visiting, she wore a plain walking dress, an elaborate visiting dress, or a carriage dress if she was wealthy.
Striped Cotton Fabric
For my dress, I used sturdy cotton fabric with woven stripes in taupe and white. The small, white stripes are woven with a thicker yarn, so the fabric has a ribbed surface. For the whole dress, I needed about 6 meter fabric and about 100 meter cotton and linen sewing thread. Yes, I measured that too! 😀
Unboned Bodice With Pagoda Sleeves
The bodice and the skirt of my dress are separate. Mid-Victorian dresses usually consisted of a bodice and separate skirt. I made the bodice pointed in front because dresses with a pointed bodice were fashionable in the 1840s and 1850s. The dress has princess seams at the back, and sloped shoulder seams which are characteristic for Victorian dresses.
The bodice closes with hook and eyes at the center front. And the bodice is unboned. Some Victorian dresses had a boned bodice and some didn’t. Because this is a working dress, I left the bodice unboned. Under the bodice I wear the bodice of my 1850s sheer white muslin dress.
Related: 1850s Sheer White Muslin Dress
My Victorian cotton dress has pagoda sleeves with ruffles. Pagoda sleeves were very fashionable in the 1850s. Pagoda sleeves can be worn with or without engageantes (false undersleeves). Here I wear the dress without undersleeves because it was a hot summer day.
Ruffled Skirt
Victorian cotton morning dresses were usually plain, without ruffles or embroidery, so they could be easily washed and ironed. But my dress was the muslin for a mid-Victorian white silk ballgown. Because it took so long to sew this dress by hand, I haven’t made the ballgown yet. Maybe one shouldn’t sew a muslin by hand?! 😉
I made the foundation skirt, where the ruffles are attached, of the same striped cotton fabric. The skirt is slightly longer at the back than in the front. Then I gathered long strips of cotton fabric and attached them to the foundation skirt. The width of the three ruffles are: 450cm (top ruffle), 480cm (middle ruffle) and 520cm (bottom ruffle).
Antique Victorian Cotton Dress Inspirations
My inspiration for my dress were the following antique Victorian cotton dresses with ruffled pagoda sleeves and ruffled skirt: pretty ca. 1848 sand-colored pinstriped cotton dress, 1860s gray cotton dress, and 1855 printed blue cotton dress.
With all the ruffles and the fabric needed to make the dress, my Victorian cotton dress would’ve been the morning dress of a wealthy Victorian woman!
Victorian Underwear & Accessories
Undern the dress I wear: my Victorian chemise, drawers, calico petticoats, my Victorian corset, my Victorian tucked petticoat, my Victorian ruffled petticoat, white cotton lace knit stockings, and black leather boots.
And because an 1850s lady covered her hair in the morning, I wear my DIY Victorian Carrickmacross lace day cap.
This is sew beautiful! I love it!
Thank you! 😀
What a beautiful dress! I am very impressed that it was hand sewn! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thanks Marci!
What an elegant work of art!!
Thanks Ila!
This is Beautiful, Lina! I love it! I could wear things like this every day. I must have an old spirit. Popping over from Sherry’s Home Sweet Home party. I would LOVE it if you would come and share it with me and my readers at my party, What to do Weekends! It’s LIVE now. Incredibly talented. I wish I could sew this well. I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to leave you my party link. (http://www.shoestringeleganceblog.com/2017/11/what-to-do-weekends-252.html#more)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Theresa! 🙂 And thanks for the invitation to your party!
It’s just beautiful! Hand sewing is one of my favorite things to do.
Thanks Susan!
I can’t even imagine wearing a dress like this to do housework in, but your dress is lovely, of course. Taking “only” 53 hrs & 45 mins” to sew it sounds pretty quick to me! Now my question is…wherever do you go to wear dresses like this? Are there balls or contests or something? Just wondering….
Thanks Florence! Yes, there are balls, historical reenactments, living history etc.
I was just talking to someone today about all the clothes we would have to wear in the great victorian era. Love all the lace and bows thanks for sharing
Thank you Angie!
What a pretty dress with the ruffles. Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Thanks Sherry!
Wow! No, I don’t think I’d sew a muslin by hand! I’d never have managed this – it would have become one of my “unfinished symphonies” that I eventually, a decade or two later, hand off to someone else! You are amazing.
Thanks Jean! 😀
Wow. That is so stunning. It made me think of my great aunts, all of whom were seamstresses (although not quite so long ago). The patience to do all that handsewing.
Thank you Ginny!
Wow. I am amazed at your work. I have never learned to sew, but am so impressed with ladies that do. I also love reading about fashion history, and that the women wore these to do daily chores, boy that would be tough! looks amazing as all the ruffle detail looks very time consuming.
thanks for linking
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Thanks for stopping by, Jessica!
What talent and patience. Way to go! Visiting from Blogger Spotlight, where my post “Tips to Boost Gratitude” appears.
Thanks Nancy!
It is gorgeous! I can’t believe you sewed it all by hand!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thank you Jann!
This dress is stunning- your eye for detail and sewing skills are incredible
Thanks Amber!
This is so beautiful. Thanks so much for joining the To Grandma’s House We Go link party!
Thank you Sheri!
You sewed the dress by hand????!!! I can’t even imagine doing that. You are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing at our Party in Your PJs.
Haha! 😀 Thanks for your lovely comment, Nina!
How deep are the ruffles on the day dress. You have the width. Thank You for that. Anxious. To copy it for a petticoat with 3 organdy flounced just like your day dress
The ruffles are 29cm deep. My day dress is also based on a dress in Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion 1 – 1660-1860.