Wearables Amelia Peabody Emerson once again (1910 evening dress)

My friend suggested a general holiday theme for our online party which will be in December & I have been mulling over ideas. Today the thought popped into my head of making Amelia Peabody Emerson (my first bjd 10 yrs ago, a Dollinian) a new red dress & perhaps create a holiday scene for the Emersons.

Amelia is based on the character from the Elizabeth Peters mystery series. Because of her, I acquired a Nobility Doll as her spouse Emerson 8 yrs ago. And have been working on their attire & expedition scene ever since.
In the books, she often wears scarlet evening dresses . The first thing I made Amelia was a scarlet bustle gown about 8 years ago.


Because Emerson is an Egyptologist & Amelia enjoys joining in on the adventures of their work, I next made her expedition work clothes based on an 1890's bicycle dress pattern.


Over time, their son Ramses joined them along with his friends Nefret Forth and David Todros. Based on the ages of the "kids", time has shifted into the 1900s now... This summer I made Amelia a new skirt for visits to London that would work with her work jacket & restyled a wig to give her a more modern style.


While musing on what to make Amelia's winter holiday gown look like, I got to thinking of a 1910 evening dress I made last fall.




Not the right colors for Amelia...and perhaps a bit youthful in style for a lady now close to 50, as the character would be....But perhaps Nefret could wear this dress for the holiday party?...
This got me busy looking up info to remind me about the characters by this time in the book series, to make sure I have the time about right & adjust my recollections of the stories. Apparently a beaded black georgette dress is mentioned in the book "River in the Sky", which is set in the Middle East in 1910. While georgette is a sheer crepe like fabric, I am thinking that I have a couple of beaded fine net fabrics tucked away in my stash of "for doll clothes someday" fabrics. And, with a net or sheer beaded black, I could use a red underlayer to attain the scarlet holiday dress I was originally thinking of making. Hmm... With a high necked sheer layer and perhaps sheer sleeves, I might be close to Amelia's style.

Now for some historical image ideas to help with the concept...
This asymmetrical skirt is lovely...
Black beaded net dress, 1901; altered 1910-1914. | Moda de 1900, Ropa, Moda
Oooh.... isn't this lovely?!?
Art Nouveau Brown Cashmere Dress, ca. 1910 - www.antique-gown.com | Edwardian gowns, Art nouveau dress, Antique dress
1910 Antik Art Nouveau Braun Seide Abendessen Kleid antike | Dinner gowns, Edwardian dress, Antique dress

Although this may be more what I had in mind...
Art Nouveau Black Beaded Silk Evening Gown, ca. 1912 - www.antique-gown.com

Time to reread my copy of "A River in the Sky" and perhaps a few more of the books.
I'll spend some time hunting through my fabrics & googling for images to collect some more ideas before settling upon the final plan.
Anyone want to add other suggestions for our favorite crime magnet, independent and adventurous lady?

 

Lots of good info to consider here.
Edwardian Evening Dress History | Ballgowns, Dinner Dress

 

Thanks for cheering me on Celga! I've been a fan of historical dress styles for as long as I can remember and these sewing projects now are a dream come true for me. Plus they're a great way to better understand the styles, the evolution of fashions, and constantly remnind me how amazingly talented all those past designers & seamstresses/tailors were!!!!

I'm so glad you're joining the fun Teddy! You're always a welcome addition to the conversation while saving me from grave errors or confirming what I'm guessing. ;} The swoosh of that cashmere dress does make me think Amelia would lean towards that style over the straight hobble skirt of 1910.... Now, how Amelia jumped ahead in the que with this new idea when there's fabric & dress ideas stacked up from the past several years is another mystery. XD

The rule this year is to use what I have accumulated (which is plenty!!). This is one way the ongoing quarantine lifestyle is being useful. The other way is in giving me the time at last to actually make some of the many things I've been intending to work on in all the past too busy years. Challenge these days is finding the focus & energy to actually use all this time to make said things...that's where the project journal comes in handy. Admitting to wanting to get started, & then actually proceeding while fellow doll fans check in helps to keep me inspired.

The beaded fabric in the stash wasn't quite what I'd remembered...one big piece is metallic silver on black. That will have to wait for a 1930's fantasy dress another day. The other piece is more like small sequins on net which I think will add the right sparkle at least. The search turned up a few black sheer options along with several different dark red fabrics in velvet, silk satin, taffeta and a favorite damask scrap in red & black. By the light of day, I've sorted back through the fabrics and this is the current fabric selection.

Hopefully the red taffeta fabric won't be too crisp for the skirt while it will be be a good base to support the sheer black "beaded" over skirt.

Don't let the black lace "collar" confuse you. That may drop down the back, depending on how the design evolves as I test different combinations of lace and fabric on Amelia next. I've just begun rereading "A River In the Sky" and already Amelia has mentioned wearing a crimson walking suit as it is Emerson's favorite color. Hopefully he'll approve the red damask & taffeta I've chosen. And I absolutely can not get distracted with making her a walking suit (at least until this dress is finished!!) {Although I do have the titanic suit pattern & have never yet used it...} ;}


Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion" books have been some of my favorite historical costume books since the beginning of time & long before I discovered bjds. She provides patterns made from actual dresses which it is possible to print out close to doll size and provide a great jumping off point for how to proceed. "Patterns of Fashion 2" was the source of the 1910 pattern I used for the dark green & blue dress. In the same book, there is the pattern for this dress from 1901 which has the swooshing skirt...

Having a pattern & some idea of the construction will be a huge help in actually getting Amelia's dress built. I'll look for more dress or fashion plate images to settle on the bodice design. But at least I've got fabrics, trims & a pattern to start with.

For as long as I've been involved with BJDs, I've been warned about dressing dolls in red & black, that the fabric dyes can stain the resin. I'll try to keep this in mind as I begin on the inner layers of Amelia's dress.
I bought a nice light weight silk several years ago specifically for doll lingerie. I used it for the inner bodice on the 1910 dress as it is strong while not adding bulk. And its neutral peach color won't be a staining concern.


In one special box in the stash, are accumulated antique fabrics. Almost 40 years ago I was given the remnants of a couple of Edwardian era dresses which were crumbling away. Never one to toss anything lovely if it might still be useful...lace & silk pieces have been waiting for a good use ever since!
I'm going to carefully wash this lace collar to see if the yellowing of age & grime lightens before deciding if it might be useful for an ivory upper bodice & collar on her dress.


And perhaps this will be the project to finally tempt me to cut a slip for Amelia from this gorgeous silk & lace under dress...


The under dress is also a good source of construction information. While being such a drapey soft fabric, it provided the support for a sheer overdress and has all sorts of seams for fitting the dress to the body.


Plus this wide gros grain belt at the raised waist. Deceptively well structured fluid styles in the Art Nouveau era...


Now I must finish the stack of sewing which I was already working on when this brainstorm caught my imagination. Hopefully I'll get that finished soon so I can begin. But first I will wash the lace collar and the slip so that they can dry as it is a sunny dry day here.
Next step, undress Amelia, make the under bodice & slip, perhaps cut out & baste her skirt together, so then I can begin draping the lace trims, "beaded" net and damask to decide on how her dress will actually look.

 

Greetings Frillseeker! I'll try to keep it entertaining here.
Yes, as you deduced, the party is my friends generously including me as their cyber guest. Although this year all their meetings have been shifted to an online format... Having an imaginative friend coming up with themes to challenge my creativity any month of the year that I can find time has been great fun for almost as long as I've owned a bjd. In fact my friend with the good ideas first introduced me to bjds & then sold me Amelia.

The only progress today was getting the antique under dress & lace collar washed & dried. My fabric preservation professor would have shook her head at my technique...but I rinsed the pieces gently in the sink, rinsed them out repeatedly, soaked the collar for a bit in a bleach water rinse & laid them out flat on towels to dry. The fabric was surprisingly sturdy with the only wear & deterioration being in the bodice section. The silk pressed nicely & I can't wait to turn part of it into Amelia's petticoat. I spent a bit of time rescuing one nice strip of lace from the bodice & unpicking the bodice & skirt seams from the waist band. Once again I was astounded at the quality & strength of sewing thread from 110 years ago. It looks like the dress may have been altered for a shorter woman as the bodice was folded over in a deep tuck behind the waist band with some of the finished seams not being flattened in the rush but with the designers label tacked in place afterwards.(only of interest to the mystery loving seamstresses I suspect) The waist band allowed for a 22" waist which, when worn over a corset, means the wearer was quite thin as well as petite!!
Still have to finish my other work before starting this creative sewing. So see you in a day or two.

 

You know how sometimes one thing leads to another...and then another...?!?!? XD
Hopefully the journal helps to keep me on track but be warned, I do ramble at times... ;}

I still have my work task to complete but took a break to look for my patterns this morning. Happily my plan of putting them in plastic sleeves in a three ring binder in historical order last year worked wonders! Challenge now is keeping myself from darting off on side projects for the Emersons...so many possibilities...so little time...so much fabric!!!!
Locating the 1910 evening dress I made 2 years ago was a bit more challenging but I now have it along with the pattern. I'll be able to try the dress on Amelia for sizing & perhaps use some parts of the pattern which is also from Janet Arnold's book.. And it will help me figure out how much to enlarge the pattern images from the Janet Arnold book for the dress I plan to use.


At the same time, I couldn't resist the temptation to locate some wool to make walking suits for Amelia & Nefret...this Titanic walking suit pattern has been waiting here for ages...


And a nice shade of pale blue cotton/silk sateen for Nefret so I can make a different under dress so she can wear a spring walking dress I made years ago...


But we can hope the journal will help remind me to finish the first bright idea of the evening dress before deciding how to adapt the older evening dress to fit Nefret, and all that before walking suits or spring dresses!!

In other ways that doll stuff evolves, I purchased some doll wigs styled for antique dolls last week for another bjd family. It was a frustrating lesson in sizes not fitting as I expected & long boxed curls having a mind of their own. (Monique wigs have spoiled me with the predictable quality & fit of their wigs so its always a surprise when other companies dont) In the end I figured out how to put most of the wigs to use & restyled a couple of them to work better for me. There was one golden blonde wig with too many curls under a lovely braided coronet. After twisting most of the excess curls into a knot at the back of the wig, I tried it on my Dream of Doll Shall. The style almost worked but the fit of the wig just wasn't right on her. And she is the only blonde here... except for Nefret...who has insisted on wearing only one mohair wig since we found it...
While distracted with all these sewing ideas this morning, I slipped the new wig onto Nefret. It fits! Just barely...may require a bit of velcro...and the tendrils around her face need to learn to frame her face rather than making a corkscrew halo of wackiness...but I think Ramses is smitten as she will look so ladylike when dressed for the winter party.


Nefret gets her hair done...

The bun at the nape of her neck reminds me of how my great grandmother wore her hair in a photo from 1910 at a similar age.


Her usual style


"Ramses, Nefret asked if you'd care for some tea..."

 

Mandagore, I should have been wearing that tshirt last night while wetting & resetting the mad ringlets on one of the Macchonna kids. Much happier with that wig now that I see it can be what I'd hoped for. Which means there's great hope for tackling the curls around Nefrets face. I'm hoping so as this new wig on her really sets off her Aoi Tuki face unexpectedly well & is making me very happy (an important thing in these days!!) Welcome to my cluttered attempt at keeping this project on it's topic! XD
We can only hope, Teddy, that I can keep this project in order. ;} Nefrets is indeed very happy to have hair options.

I will try to keep better track of what % I set the printer to when printing the patterns. I'm remembering approximately 133% but will keep you posted. The tricky thing with the Arnold patterns is that her patterns are based on the actual garments so even when you get some of the measurements adjusted to work other parts will be off since it seems few of the women of the past had the equal measurements of a bjd. ;0
I have better luck getting waist, bust or shoulder seam measurements proportionally adjusted then figure out on the doll how much length to add to the bodice, skirt or sleeve. If I try starting with the lengths adjusted to work the body of the garment is way to loose!! For me, having some solid lines & images as a starting point are needed to get my brain going although I then proceed to adapt & rethink the dress as the fabric & doll begin adding their opinions.

Today I got Amelia out of her Victorian jacket, blouse & skirt. No simple thing as those lovely close fitting lower sleeves require removing her hands!!!! So she is standing about with Volks head puller hooks at the ends of her arms. I know There is a pair of Elfdoll wrist joints around here somewhere just for these sorts of sewing projects...& I remember seeing them this summer....
The blue & green Edwardian dress fits Amelia really well! So those adjusted pattern pieces will be useful at least for the inner bodice & working out the size of the other pattern.
Nefrets hasn't tried it on yet as I was called away by other house chores. Next I need to find both ladies better evening slippers before adjusting any hems or making any plans for skirt lengths.

The Peabody books are indeed like excellent chocolate. Richly entertaining but best enjoyed in limited servings. ;}
I'm now wondering if I missed the release of "The Painted Queen"...it seems to have been released about the time I was last enjoying the later Emerson saga and will proceed smoothly in time for this particular project. So whether I've read it before, or not, it's now on my reading list.

 

PS, Mandagore, your cranioplasty project was an excellent example of remaining on task, providing quick, clear information & completing the job. Bravo!
(I'll try to not be the opposite version of a project journal here)

 

Scraping the house today. When the weather keeps me in, I'll proceed to red fog berserker seamstress mode.
Every thing is ready & waiting. ;D

 

Turns out house painting projects delayed me far longer than expected!
Today, at last, I found my way back to the sewing table. For some reason my brain has been in a fog this week...which doesn't help the calculation process!?!?
I've just finished reprinting the pattern by making 220% enlargements with my printer. I've sorted out the patterns & set them with the planned fabrics. Tomorrow I'll do some size comparisons with Amelia to see if any of the pieces need additional seam widths or lengthened then hopefully begin cutting & sewing at last!!
So much for my original plan of leisurely getting her dress made before the second Sunday in December. XD

 

It's true, time is relative. Especially these days!
I just had high hopes for having the Emerson's heading to dinner and an evening out at Shepherds for the upcoming holiday party which is this Sunday... But if I don't make it, she will still get a dress sometime this winter. ;}
And happy unbirthday to you!

 

First things first, Amelia received a new petticoat today.
Hopefully it won't be too full for the dress...I made it from a portion of an Edwardian silk & lace dress lining that has been in my stash for many years.


It still needs to be pressed, but simply cutting and sewing this was enough for my brain today.

Nefret has put on the other 1912 gown, it works fabulously on her. Ramses is having a hard time not staring... and Emerson is wishing Amelia would hurry and get ready...

 

Thanks Teddy. I'm happy to finally have a good enough reason to cut into that lovely lace & silk, and it sewed up really smoothly!
Today's sewing had me scratching my head & feeling like my fingers were too large for the task!!
Second step, the inner lining of the dress bodice. Followed by the first layer of the dress bodice.
220% gave me a better size of pattern to make alterations to as I made a paper towel mock up and figured out what to add and where. Adding 1/4" seams most everywhere seemed to help.




Tomorrow I need to work on her skirt before fitting a velveteen waist sash to the bodice.
And deal with the accumulating hand work....

After that there's "just" the matter of adding the jacket to the bodice...

 

Thank you Gamine. I felt badly for saying I'd start this project & then disappearing. And having you & Teddy to cheer me on means Amelia stands a better chance of actually getting her dress finished before the New Year. ;D
Yes Teddy, adding seam allowances but also adjusting for a less corseted waist & less buxom bust had me searching my brain for old school pattern fitting lessons. ;}

 

Hello saraquill! The original underdress had wide satin ribbon woven through slits in the lace and then a satin bow where the ribbon overlapped. I tried the miniature version without the ribbon, but it didn't look right. So I wove some of the wide ribbon back through the lace after finishing the back seam and then tacked one of the smaller ribbon bows in place. The bow needs steamed, so yes, it does look like a rosette so far, but is a big soft satin bow .

Working with these historic dress patterns always leaves me in greater awe of the designers and seamstresses of the past!
Fitting the inner bodice and bodice, finishing its edges and trimming the neckline took up my attention for several days!!! By yesterday afternoon, the neckline was finished with an edging of soft net topped with a lace trim...I kept trying to remind myself this is the under layer, but getting to decorate got the better of me.


Today I still had to make a minor adjustment to the silk underbodice, to keep it from peeking out along the front neckline. Finally settled upon a better way to bind the armholes with more of the soft net. And finished adding hooks and eyes...too much hand sewing!!! They say the devil is in the details...and if so, he was working overtime on this bodice!

Once the bodice was settled, I got to start on the underskirt. Irridescent taffeta in Emerson's favorite color. Figuring out how much to add to the patterns went a bit better today as I'd just made Amelia a skirt this summer and could use that pattern for comparison for part of the fit about the waist and hips. Rather than making up proper patterns, I laid the copied pattern pieces on the fabric, added the necessary length and a bit to the waist and hips and the skirt shapes looked like this:
Center front:


side:


back:


After the bodice, the skirt went together fairly smoothly. Except when I discovered that the front was 3/4" longer than the side...and trimming that off the front left the skirt a tad short in the front....fortunately, this gave me an excuse to use a stiff piece of 1" wide lace trim I've kept avoiding in my trim box. And I didn't have to bother with hand stitching a hem in the taffeta!! Over that I added a wide soft lace flounce to replicate the flounce on the original dress. And then the detail demons drove me to decide to whip stitch a beaded trim onto the flounce, because its for Amelia...


So, by this evening there's been more progress towards finishing her dress at last!


Soon, I'll figure out the bolero. And once it is finished she'll finally have her hands back on!
But first there's the overskirt to cut out and trim... and the velveteen waist sash to make which will cover that confusion at her waistline...

This evening it was dawning on me that Amelia has been my doll since November of 2009, which is now 11 years ago!

She has put up with me while I figured out how to sew and play with BJDs since those first wacky days.
And this is why I have to get her dress just right.

 

Thanks Teddy! It was an interesting sewing day today...
Best news is, the skirt is nearly finished. Waist band and hook & eye even sewn in place!
Along the way, I decided to "fluff" up the hem which introduced a fabric for the ruffle I had rejected early in the project.
Could have sworn I measure & double measure, to make sure I'd added enough adjustments to the pattern. But in the end, Amelia doesn't have all the fitted darts at the waist as the extra fullness had vanished??? Fortunately, the overskirt still floats over the taffeta skirt just fine. Whew!
Next step tomorrow is the waist sash. In case the velveteen is too bulky, I've pulled out a black taffetta lining fabric to test. One way or the other she will get a sash. And then only her bolero remains. I worked on that pattern today as well. Just waiting to see how the decoration details distract once I begin putting it together...

Speaking of distractions, I have the dress all sparkly & elegant.


But now I am thinking hard about adding this crimson trim to give it a more festive twist. If I do, it will be similarly trimmed on the bolero.


I'll leave it pinned on for now and let it percolate while I work on the other pieces.
Of course it is evening and the lighting is bad...

 

You're too kind Gamine! After postponing this project for several months it has finally been time to get her dress done. ;}
Plus my grandcats have just arrived for a holiday visit so I wanted to get as much done as possible before battening down the sewing gear for catageddon. ;D

The black beaded dress Amelia wore in the 1911 season, ended up only being mentioned as being just too depressing to enjoy. So I'm definitely ramping up the crimson which she enjoys. I'll get it figured out as I see what works on the bolero.
And the doll meetup theme for February is Sweethearts & sweet tarts for my zoom meet with friends. So now I'm aiming to have Amelia & Emerson ready for the new deadline.

 

It's true Teddy. I'm skating that fine line between plenty & too much as I finish decorating. But so far I'm thinking Amelia may appreciate jazzing it up a bit...provide I can tack on the soutache with out hurting myself.
But I'll think on it while working on the dash next. And the grandcats have arrived which means currently my sewing room has become an unpacking staging area. XD

 

Well, the project continues to chug along.
After a couple of distracted days, today I got started on the bolero!
Good thing to remember (especially when cutting out small things): don't get in a hurry when cutting sheer fabric...and stop and recut if the lining doesn't seem to match the other part!
The second time I cut out the lining, I pinned the heck out of the shape, and then sewed the neckline edges before cutting the fabric.


The bolero looked like a fancy vest when I got it sewn together & added the trim. Then I remembered to make the collar...so it will need to be tacked along the neckline rather than stitched into the lining as I thought I was going to do....
I've decided I do like the red braid trim that is still pinned to the skirt. So once I get that stitched in place, I will add it to the bolero & collar as well.


But before adding the collar, I need to sew the sleeves in place! So the final thing I did today was start on the sleeves.



And they will need a bit of red trim as well before sewing the seams and getting them ready to fit into the armholes...
looks like I'll be working on hand sewing for the next day or two. :}

 

Thank you shadow_takatori!
It has been an interesting sewing adventure so far.

 

Thank you Teddy! Fingers crossed I don't blunder in the home stretch. >\\\<

 

Good thing about starting a journal is that it keeps me from giving up in frustration. ;}
Today was a lot of hand stitching, when I could get myself to sit down & do it... XD
The waist sash got tacked to the bodice & got hooks & eyes.
The rest of the day was dedicated to adding the red braid to the skirt. It would have been a great sewing circle project Teddy.
I didn't dare cut the trim until it was stitched down all the way, as the ends quickly fray plus I didn't want to cut it short. Now the rest of the trim is available to add to the sleeves & the bolero. Remembering to work in sequence is definitely a good brain exercise. Good golly Teddy, little did I realize (once again) what a task I'd decided to tackle!!
I'm reading a Molly Murphy Mystery, set in 1901 New York City. Molly stopped in to get measured for a new suit and paid an extra .50¢ for it to be finished in 2 days....as I said, my appreciation of seamstress skills grows by leaps & bounds as I work on projects like this!!!

 

The inside of the bodice:


And the outside:


Now to finish the bolero so she can finally dress and join Emerson!

 

I'll have to add Her Spyness to my reading list. The Murphy books are an interesting setting & time but definitely wear on my patience after a couple...but having read books 1&3, months later I've started book 2 & am enjoying most of it. The handy spare children as props when needed are still a bone of contention. ;/

Family holiday fun today. Perhaps I will get back to sewing tomorrow...

 

Tacking soutache braid to net has been my chore for a while.
Haven't taken a photo of the skirt yet. But here are the bolero pieces, collar, vest & sleeves using up all the rest of the reel of red trim.
The sleeves of the original had rows of ribbon tacked to the net sleeves. After some thought, I opted for three rows of trim to give that striped look while leaving the upper arms showing the sequined net.






Next step will be sewing the seams on the sleeves before handstitching them to the armholes. Followed by adding the collar along the neckline, plus a last bit of beaded trim, because this dress has taken on a trimming life of its own!!!

 

Mostly I try not to cut threads if possible & also collect the beads & sequins that fall in case I need to re-attach them. ;D
With the bead strand trim, I sew through beads when possible to secure them to the dress & catch the trim when the beads are too small for my needle to pass through. Fortunately this sequin covered net isn't shedding sequins & is sewing up nicely. The wide beaded trim was nicely stable and I cut it as little as possible. Actually, the woven soutache trim gave me more trouble as I kept sewing rather than stopping to find the fray check for the ends...

 

Happy to say Amelia's dress is finished at last!








Cheers, everyone!

 

Thanks Teddy!
I'm really happy with how it worked out.
Thanks for your patient support, this took way longer than expected as I was too easily distracted this year. ;D

 

Thanks so much ChilmarkGryphon!
Totally agree, getting proportions right is a huge challenge. In fact I'd saved the beaded trim for years, planning to use it on something else but it finished the net skirt so nicely & then was almost unbelievable how well it worked for trimming out the jacket that I'm now glad I thought to consider it. ;D
This is why I first wanted a bjd, because they looked perfect for modeling historical clothes, & now I still love my SDs, as they are just big enough to be fun to sew for plus all the great people I meet in the hobby.

 

Papilonete, thank you so much! Of all the historical dresses I've made, this one is now my favorite.

 

Thanks Robyn! Amelia's still smiling back on the doll shelf & it makes me happy every time I see her.
But when they head back out to the dig she'll have to change clothes.... ;}

 

@Gaiagrrrl , thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed my post.
I've always loved historic costuming & as soon as I saw an SD bjd I knew I wanted to sew for them! Then I learned each body has its own challenges for fitting... And the historic reference patterns can add more challenges to the process...but it's a puzzle I (mostly) enjoy solving. Good luck with your future projects & I hope you'll post them here on DoA!
Here's another recent historic sewing project to learn from : /threads/aut...-update-2023-jun1.836174/page-2#post-13115649