A Look at the Beginning Part 3

The final part of this costume took rather longer to make. I knew exactly what I wanted: the Shinrone gown. At the time I was putting this costume together, information about the Shinrone gown had just hit the internet. There were a lot of hazy details, a handful of tutorials, no patterns and fewer pictures. Still, having just made a leine by hand, I thought I ought to make the proper dress.

Since this was going to be along term project, I went through several permutations of overdress for my costume. My first overdress was this kelly green number that I purchased ready-made. (I may still have it packed away somewhere.) The dress was made out of cotton broadcloth and used plastic rods instead of metal boning in the bodice. Not featherweight plastic boning. They were those plastic dowels one might use in the garden. They certainly kept their shape but they weren't exactly... comfortable.

Having determined that particular overdress would not wear very well for any long period of time, I invested in a very nice bodice and skirt combination. I learned a great deal from this bodice and the woman who made it. In fact, I spent several years working for her selling her clothing at the Texas Renaissance Festival and Scarborough Faire outside of Dallas. It was at that time I discovered the joys--yes joys--of spring steel boning. (Once you have worn plastic dowels for bones, spring steel is a revelation.) I discovered, too, that a properly fitted bodice or corset would not be an uncomfortable garment and would provide all day wear.

Once I had seen, worn and sold well made bodices, I began to experiment with making my own to wear. An Elizabethan-style Renn faire bodice was certainly much more straightforward to make than a reconstructed Shinrone gown, but making them was good practice for tackling the more challenging project. Indeed, I made quite a few bodices before I sat down with my deep navy plaid wool to make my version of the Shinrone gown.


With a little holiday break before me once again, and with a little more confidence and knowledge of the sewing machine, I started the final piece of the costume. My reconstruction, ultimately, looked only slightly similar to the actual Shinrone gown, but I was happy with the final look. In the original gown, rather than bones, fabric strips, sewn down at an angle under the bust, provided the support and shape. I went with bones in part because I knew they would work and in larger part because at the time, the descriptions I read on the internet were vague enough to leave me utterly confused on the construction front. (I am more of a visual learner, especially when it comes to garment construction.) For added strength and support, I added a lining made out of cotton duck. Once I was done with the lining and the light boning in the front, I found the bodice quite snug and flattering.


My intention was to pleat the skirt into the bottom of the bodice and then tack the lining closed over the raw pleated edges. Ah well, the road to a completed costume is often paved with good intentions. I discovered that I had made the bodice rather shorter than I intended and that pleating the skirt into the bottom edge as I had been planning would make things a) rather short even for my stature and b) give a fairly strange waistline. To improve things a bit, I added a waistband--something not even remotely hinted at in my research into the Shinrone gown--and pleated the skirt onto the waistband. I then attached the waistband to the bodice and completed the inside by hand tacking the lining over the sewing line at the top of the waistband. Everything was looking rather nice and neat on the inside at this point. I then folded up a simple 1 inch hem and hand stitched that in place.

The garment was nearly done, and I was eager to wear it. However, in the intervening time, I had made some new friends who were rather more informed and interested in period construction techniques than I. My plan--oh silly plans!--was to set in grommets as I had done with all of my bodices at this point. These friends convinced me that for such a dress to go with such a shift, I ought to do my lacing holes by hand. So I proceeded to hand stitch each lacing hole. It was rather tedious, but they have lasted over the years and through quite a few wearings. At long last the costume was complete. I was very pleased to wear it and to brag a little about its construction.

Many other costumes I have been happy to pass on to someone else when I outgrew them in taste or when I changed size, but this costume continues to be one I love very much. Even though the dress shows signs of moth attack--I'll get you moths and your little dog too!-- I shall likely foist it off on my grandchildren someday.

~La Cucitrice