FWAP – Fabric With A Plan

Figuring what to make out of what fabric is another one of those things that is hard to explain.  Sometimes I just know what I want to make as soon as I see a piece of fabric.  Other times I buy the fabric with one or more ideas in mind, and it changes over time.  It might end up making something totally different out of it than what I planned, especially if a new event comes over the horizon and I need to make something I was not originally planning to make. 

So I have – as part of my sewing Kanban process – a FWAP list.  I have had these two large pieces of silk for some years now and have waffled back and forth over the exact type of 18th century gowns to make out of them.  The main question being, robe a la francaise (sack gown) or robe a la anglaise (fitted back).  I know in both cases I wants stomacher gowns as I do not have a silk stomacher gown right now.  The two fabrics are:

And

So how does one decide?  Well first I thought: maximum flexibility.  I bought both of these fabrics on Ebay at a steep discount, but the pink stripe lisere was FAR more expensive.  So I want as much flexibility with that as possible.  So first lets think about how many different things it will match.

A single 18th century gown can be paired with a different petticoat and different accessories to create many different looks.  A stomacher gown can also have multiple stomachers, and will still fit you if you gain or lose weight as the fix it more flexible.  Planning ahead for this can save you a lot of money.  Instead of making an entire new outfit, just make a new petticoat or stomacher!

The pink in this silk is VERY hard to match.  I bought numerous swatches over the four or five years it has been in my stash and of all of them, nothing matched except for this one 5 yard piece of silk satin ribbon.  It matches a few different greens due to the variation in colors in the floral stripe.  I found a nice piece of trim that looks similar to period fly trim on Etsy:

Here it is with a couple different colors of green ribbon from the stash:

But honestly I like the lighter green in the first picture better.  It also goes well with this piece of quilted green silk, which would give it a silk petticoat for a different look:

It will also work with my existing green silk petticoat:

And someday, something new and blue.

So really this fabric has a lot of options for different petticoats and stomachers to give it great flexibility.  It could have a stomacher with decreasing size bows out of either ribbon (or both) in addition to a self fabric one, and a compere stomacher (buttoning up the front).  So I have decided to make it as a robe a la anglaise as this style is also more flexible, and depending on what skirt supports I wear with it and what accessories I can make this gown work for any time from about 1750 – 1780’s.  But the primary target will be 1760’s.  I have a little less than 12 yards of it so that should be plenty for the gown trimmed out with box pleated trim and a petticoat with a wide box pleated ruffle around the bottom.  Something like this:

And this:

So now looking at the burgundy silk – I have 15 yards of it and it was far less expensive.  So there is enough to make a very fancy sack gown that fits over wider panners.  It also looks great with gold trim, and could also be worn with the same green quilted silk petticoat, ironically enough.  But it looks its best with gold trim:

So something like this:

And this:

I should also clarify it took me a while to make these decisions.  It is better not to rush, to take time and lay the fabric out with various trims and other fabrics, and order swatches from the internet for additional fabrics and trims that might work.  As a general rule, don’t cut into expensive fabric until you have sat with the decision for some time and feel at peace with your choice.

I will make up the pink lisere first as I have had it a long time and want to finally wear it!