Review: Simplicity Patterns' New Elizabethan Gown
By Margo Anderson
I recently bought the new Simplicity "Shakespeare In Love" pattern. (#0679 OR 8881) I was very surprised to find that my final review of it is that it's FABULOUS!!! As commercial patterns go, that is. It still needs some work to make it reasonably authentic, but it is far better than any other pattern available. It can be seen on Simplicity's website .
First, the negatives: The fabric choices recommended are very
limited, and innapropriate for the period, such as silk shantung,
which would of course be too slubbed. They have the bodice made
in a fabric matching the forepart, where it should match the
overskirt and sleeve caps. Both of these
problems relate to the pattern being a copy of the movie costume,
of course.
The bodice is cut with too much curve at the front, and the neckline is too high. Both are easily fixable, as is the extremely long, curved center front point, which is period but quite late. Making it shorter and less pronounced would work best for most bodies and would bring the gown into a wider time period.
The good news is that this pattern is an absolutely top notch tutorial in making an elaborate costume using traditional high level theatrical technique. Often, home sewing technique gets applied to costumes, making them more difficult to sew and less attractive looking. This is the first commercial pattern I've ever seen that treats the subject the way it should be done.
Here's some examples:
The bum roll is mounted on a shaped hip yoke, which will keep it from sliding out of place and give more support to the heavy skirts.
The farthingale is the accurate shape. The wasitband teaches the method of sandwiching the upper edge between two pieces of grosgrain ribbon to make a flat, sturdy band.
The underskirt is made of taffeta, to allow the overskirt to move freely. The forepart is of brocade, and instructions are given for highlighting the pattern with a metallic paint pen and gluing on pearls.
The overskirt is cartridge pleated onto the same waistband as the underskirt, eliminating bulk. That's not a period practice, but it is practical.
The bodice has a double layer of muslin flatlining, with channels stitched for boning. The entire front is solidly boned. This technique results in a virtual built in corset. (They recommend featherboning or Rigeline. My past experience tells me feather boning is a terrible choice, Rigeline might work. I would probably use flat steel boning, in which case I would use drill or duck rather than muslin.
The bodice edges are finished with piping, and the piping seam allowances are turned to the inside and slipstitched down to finish the edges so that no turning is neccesary. It fastens up the back with hooks and eyes, although lacing could also be used.
The sleeves are the correct shape, but I would change the construction, making the false puff at the upper arm into a cap sleeve, and using the straight sleeve pattern to make a detachable sleeve tied into the armscye. The sleeve has a self gusset built in at the underarm to give it extra ease of movement.
The partlet is cut to fit closely into the neck edge, bound with twill tape, and has snaps to hold it in. For authenticity and ease of construction, I'd probably cut it as a simple rectangle several inches larger than the neckline and hold it in with pins, if necessary.
The neck and wrist ruffs are cartridge pleated. I don't believe this was as common a method as many would have us think, but I won't quibble about its use here. They are made out of picot-edged ribbon, so that the picot loops on the edge can be used to count the pleats while cartridge pleating them.
One thing the pattern lacks is a hat. The "Shakespeare In Love" dress was worn with a diadem/wreath of golden leaves, but the pattern shows it with a gold headband, not an adequate substitute.
the pattern comes in sizes 6-20, but it's been my experience that Simplicity patterns run large, so it may be useable up to size 22-24.
I am making the pattern up to fit my dress form, taking pictures of the work in progress and posting them, with descriptions of changes and alterations I've made. Click on this link to follow my progress.
