Curtain-Along Dress #2: 1790s

Last year, I joined Festive Attyre’s “Curtain-Along” sewing event, when I fell in love with the Waverly “Felicite” curtains from Lowes, and made my favorite dress ever, the 1780 Indienne Robe a l’Anglaise.

Oodles of other amazing costumers have used the curtains as well, and with seeing everyone else’s projects, I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about the black colorway of this fabric – it’s so striking!  (And if I’m honest, I’ll probably make something out of the red ones in the future too).  So while Mr. C was selecting his new barbeque at Lowes this past weekend, I took the opportunity to snatch up a couple panels of curtains, with the idea of this dress dancing through my mind:

The gown is from the Museum of London.  You won’t find it on their site – this photo came from an image directory on the University of Vermont’s website.  No date, but it’s round about 1790s/1800s.  I adore the low, scooped next, the simple sleeves, and…of course…the fabric.

The original fabric has a dark teal ground, and a smaller chintz print than the black curtains I’ll be working with, but I’m hoping to achieve the overall effect.  Thanks to several comments on Facebook, I know this dress is a bib-front, and the decoration at the neckline is cording.  I am thinking of messing around with my Robe Royaliste pattern, to raise the waistline, or perhaps just draping a new pattern altogether.  Wish me luck!