For this third dress I am going for something a lot less shaped– the main inspirations are a floral print nightgown I had in similar colours as a child, the slightly millitary flavour of 1820s dress, and late 16th century “nightgowns”– the extremely fancy robe kind, not the sleeping kind.

It will have a yoke or a false yoke, and three probably-nonfunctional buttons on that yoke. The yoke will be piped in very fine piping in a matching bright yellow. The bodice will extend down in the same shape to my underbust, because I will be wearing a belt over this and belts over yoked and then straight gathered or pleated dresses Do Not Work. The sleeves will be somewhat full, and gathered into cuffs. These will also have buttons and piping. The buttons will probably be circles covered in the bright yellow, embroidered in the pinks and blues if I have time and can fit the cotton a broder and perle within my remaining annual craft budget (I do not like stranded cotton, but do want them washable).

The skirt will be straight panels, gathered and pleated into the bodice. The bottom eighteen inches or so might be open at the front seam– have not determined that at this point but I think it could make for a nice effect. There will probably be an extension to the skirt at the bottom, again piped, to coordinate with the yoke and the cuffs. Alternatively, this may be faked with rouleaux trim like the yoke. The whole thing will be unlined, but perhaps the bottom will be faced in the yellow cotton.

The provisional materials list is thus as follows:

• 4 metres of print
• 1 metre of yellow cotton
• Dark green cotton thread– not buying black over this
• Yellow sewing thread
• Pink or blue sewing thread
• Cord for piping
• Seven circle button forms, small
• Cotton a broder or perle in green, blue, and pink. Perhaps also orange.

My cut list is:

• Bodice front, print
• Bodice back, print
• Two large skirt panels, print
• One narrower skirt panel, print
• Sleeves, print
• Cuffs, print
• Collar, print
• Facing, yellow cotton
• Bias for piping and rouleaux trim, yellow cotton
• Button covers, yellow cotton

The step list is:

1. Make (and embroider) buttons
2. Make buttonholes in bodice and cuffs
3. Decorative stitching on collar, bodice opening, and cuffs
4. Baste bodice
5. Baste sleeves
6. Baste skirt
7. Stitch sleeves, bodice, and skirt
8. Attatch skirt facing
9. Baste trim on skirt facing
10. Stitch skirt facing finish and rouleaux trim, by hand
11. Do rouleaux trim on bodice, if that is not actually a piped yoke seam
12. Baste sleeves and skirt to bodice, with piping
13. Stitch sleeves and skirt to bodice
14. Finish seams