1880s Reproduction Blue Tissot Quiet Bustle Dress
Blue bustle dress made with Tissot's "Quiet" painting as the inspiration. Dress was worn to an exhibit of Tissot's paintings at the Legion of Honor in February 2020.
Polonaise
Original dress was silk. Using polyester cotton lining and synthetic lace for this one.
Pattern: Past Patterns 904 1880's Polonaise and Walking Skirt. Size 16 ish
Pattern was precut out at size 10 so tried drafting up to around 16. Adding 3/4” on the bodice side seams and then had to change some of them. Moved darts. Added 1/2” to shoulders and then took them back out. Added 1” on skirt side seams. Widened sleeves.
Basically my try at grading up was a bit of a mess. The lining fabric wasn't actually sheer and didn't work very well for the bodice. The fit on the bodice wasn't quite right and the seams ended up puckering a bit even though I finished the edges and trimmed most of them to 3/8".
I added more layers of ruffles around the backside instead of up the front. I loved how the skirt came out. I would probably change the fabric or back it if trying to make this, again.
Skirt
Completed: 1 February 2020