Regency Drop Front Day Dress

In between finishing up the last little bits of my swim costume and the new boater hat, I finally got around to starting my new Regency dress. Hoorah, since I've only been wanting to do this project since last year.

My last Regency dress buttoned up the back and the difference with this one is it has an apron or drop front. While it might not seem like a huge difference, it is for me because this will make it easier for adjustment in Lack of Cleavage department.

Unfamiliar with how the pattern even went together, I did a mockup of the bodice area to see how it would fit. Lucky me, everything fit well the first time around and the only thing I will have to actually adjust is the muslin lining that ties across the front of the bust area.

I took the top portion and angled it in a little bit, then took in the entire side in about 3/8" of an inch to allow room for tying the front.

Since everything fit so well, I got started on the bodice right away after making my adjustments. This year I discovered that pinking sheers are an awesome thing. When asked to trim the seam allowances, I used these shears to help keep the fabric from raveling.

After attaching the lining and outer fashion fabric layer together, the pattern said everything could be top stitched together. I didn't like that, given how the mockup looked with the machine stitching. Instead, I opted to hand sew this portion.

The hand stitching was a definite improvement over the machine stitching since you can barely see the thread that was used.

As weird as it may seem, I'm now off to decide which dress style to make. I have limited fabric (another story) so if there isn't enough for one dress style, then I will have to select a different one.