Edwardian Wedding Dress: so much lace

Thanks for reading along!
This is the point in the project where I diverged from a typical timeline to a long term project.  With a typical project, all that would be left to wrap up here would be to attach the bodice to the skirt, apply the closures, and stitch the facings in place. Instead, it was time to slow down progress and work on some fine details. This also meant it was time to drape my sewing area, since the dress would be on my mannequin for some time and I wanted to reduce its contact with dust and other bits on the floor. From here out, my mannequin was on floor cloth and draped in a king size sheet whenever I wasn't working on it.

Before I could begin plotting the bead design, I needed to place the lace appliques. I had an overall design in mind; the scalloped lace would go around the the neckline, along the skirt edge and train, then back up to the waist.  The scrolls would be placed out from the scalloped edge starting at the train and tapering up the skirt. The remaining appliques would fill in any gaps.

I like to work from the edges in, so my first step was to pin the scallops along the edges of the bodice and skirt. Once those were in place, I played with the other lace pieces until I got a design that I liked on the right side of the train then mimicked it on the left. This design went up the side of the skirt front and back as well, tapering out where the skirt overlaps at the skirt right.

skirt with edge in place ready to be stitched

edge lace on bodice and skirt,
with swirls accenting the waistline

train with lace appliques in place

I draped the main dress at this point and turned my attention to the underskirt. One of the things I loved about the inspiration gown was the tulle underskirt peeking out where the overskirt overlaps at the right side. To recreate that look, I purchased five yards of ivory tulle.  I cut the tulle in half and sewed it to the skirt lining in five layers starting twelve inches down from the waist.  To keep the line of the skirt, the tulle was sewn flat to the front of the lining and pleated to the back. I then sewed the peacock drop lace to the top layer of tulle in an asymmetrical line as on the original.

The lining back on the mannequin, I turned my focus to beading. That, of course, will be covered in my next post.