The Countess Howe Gown Project (ca. 1764) A journey back in time ~ PART 4

If you've been following this project, I'm happy to say that I can finally declare it complete!  

A short recap: after three tries at getting the right combination of featherweight fabric, proper colour (whiteness), transparency and drape, I finally received the four metres of angelic silk voile I'd purchased from a supplier in Ontario to make my apron and fichu (neckerchief) for my re-creation of Lady Mary Howe's gown in the portrait by Gainsborough.  And the two pieces are done! 

The fichu was simple enough: I hand-hemmed all the edges and then pinned and slip-stitched a lace edging all around, trying to mimic what I could see of Lady Howe's fichu in the portrait.  What I liked about this extremely sheer silk was that the pretty ruching on the stomacher could still just be seen under it, a very nice effect!

The apron took a little more time and thought.  This silk voile was so sheer and so delicate that I feared that an attempt to hand-embroider it (which would require stretching it in an embroidery hoop) would prove beyond even my reasonably good embroidering skills.  So I looked for an alternative, and found it in a length of very old vintage lace with floral motifs delicate enough and of the right size to enable me to hand-appliqué them onto the sheer fabric.  This ended up being more fun than I'd expected.  I'm reasonably happy with the result. 

To read on, please click "Read More", below right

Read More