T.A.R.D.I.S. Robe a L'Anglaise

Concept

The T.A.R.D.I.S. celebrating her first perfect flight (which is to 18th Century France in my headcanon).

Materials

• Fashion Fabric: Dark blue cotton sateen

• Lining: Light-weight linen

• Ruffles: Police Public Call Box satin ribbon

• Stomacher decoration: Police Public Call Box front door cotton print

Resources

• The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking by Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox 

Construction

• The Mantua Stitch: I adored this stitch because it was fun to use and it looks flawless from the outside

• Whip stitch gathering: I used this method for creating the 18th century ruffles per The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking

• Self-fitting techniques: These included taping paper pattern pieces and marking them against the body along with lots of trial and error.

I started by putting together the lining of the bodice and then, once that was fitted to my body, cutting the fashion fabric to match. It took a little bit of finessing but in the end, it matched up pretty well.

Difficulties

• Self-fitting is hard: I don't own a dress form and my SO was only available for some of the time so most of the fitting was accomplished through trial and error along with marking paper pattern pieces long before actual fabric was cut out. Being able to pin the mockup to the stays was very helpful though.

• Weight fluctuation: My weight fluctuated significantly throughout the long fitting and sewing process so the dress fit differently at each wearing. This makes creating a fitted garment very tricky.

• Sleevils (sleeves): 'Nuff said.

The part that took the most time was getting the shoulder straps just right. I adjusted, tried it on, re-adjusted, tried it on, forgot what shoulder straps were supposed to look like or do, and then went with the original lines I'd made up on the mockup and it was fine. That whole process was also interweaved with as much procrastination as I could get away with so it took about 6 months. But in the end, I did it!