The ‘Bridgerton’ Lady Danbury Pelisse – Done!

I love a quick and fairly simple make. Last time I constructed the bodice of this 1815 Regency pelisse inspired by Lady Danbury’s in Bridgerton.

Now it’s time for the skirts and sleeves. I altered the skirt for center front opening instead of overlapping to the side. I also opted to assemble the long seams by hand with mantua-makers seams, which enclose the raw edges. I did this for three reasons – one is because the thread in my serger is white and I didn’t want it to show if/when the skirts of the pelisse glamourous trail back in the breeze. The second reason is for easy pickins’ in case of needing to alter the bodice, which would also mean letting the skirt out a bit. And the third reason is because there is quite a lot of fabric in the skirt which can be remade in the future. Hand stitches are far easier to pick out than machine and don’t destroy the silk.

With the skirt panels assembled, I pleated the back. There are a lot of options for the backs of Regency garments – tight gathers between the side back seams, knife pleats, box pleats. I opted to stick with the pattern’s pleat marks – a deep inverted box pleat at center back and two large knife pleats on the side. Very simple.

The hem also went in by hand. The bottom edges of the skirt are curved. To turn up a deep hem facing, this requires either gathering the top edge or making little tucks to take up the excess. I did gathers, and they somewhat show through on the outside when pressing the skirt, so I’ll need to be careful on those areas when ironing.

Now the sleeves. Er, I actually have zero photos of putting them on. Oops.

A couple hooks on the waistband and the thing was done. Time for the photo shoot. Ingrid was absolutely perfect in this ensemble. I paired the pelisse with a shirt-style chemisette and my generic early 19th century bonnet, which looked fantastic with it. I also picked up a faux fur tippet and cuffs, ready-made from Mill End, and they added such a lovely little winter feel. Ingrid wore the new Emma boots in black, though some day when I wear this I will choose Keckley in green/black because…Christmas!