Pink is my signature color.
Really.
Pink is my favorite color. So I should have been more excited about this challenge; however, since I have decided not to make another dress until after I have made stays I was limited in what I could do.
And, frankly, I wasn’t feeling inspired. I have so much I’m planning for other challenges that will fit what I need for events that I didn’t have energy to infuse into this.
For this challenge, the “historical” is more figurative.
The Challenge: #3: Pink
Fabric: Velvet jacket (see before images below).
Pattern: None; loosely based on images of Spencers
Year: 1800-1820ish
Notions: Thread
How historically accurate is it? Not very.
Hours to complete: ~10
First worn: Not yet.
Total cost: $0; upcycled jacket and thread from stash
I am going to a ball next month and while I have a plan for my dress/outfit, I could use a Spencer for before the dancing begins. I figured I’d make something I could use for the ball and my book club’s events until I’m prepared to make a real Spencer. (My skills are not there yet.)
I had this jacket that my sister bought for me secondhand years ago. I always loved the color, the puffy sleeves, and the idea of the peplum, but the jacket fit oddly at best. The back was huge and had an oddly long dangly bit over the butt, and when the back was “fitted” using the corset ties the jacket just barely fit. It needed to be upcycled, so this was my chance to renew it into something I might wear.
I decided to keep the sleeves as they were because I liked the poof and because I didn’t think anything could be done to improve them. I undid the back and sewed it into a more Regency-esque shape. I cut off the bottom–too much, it turns out–and had to add a bit to it. I could not put in the drawstring enclosure I wanted because the fabric is very fiddly and because I didn’t have enough straight (uncurved) fabric for that. I did get to add a little peplum to the back, which I like. I reused the fabric-covered buttons on the front, and will use a tie around those a la the mustard-colored Spencer Lizzy wears in P&P 1995.
