I Made an 1890s Ball Gown Using Victorian Sewing Methods

Previous videos in this series:

BOOKS REFERENCED

MATERIALS USED
Velvet - New York Elegant Fabrics, NYC
Silk taffeta - New York Elegant Fabrics, NYC
White chiffon - New York Elegant Fabrics, NYC
Hooks and eyes - Steinlauf & Stoller, NYC
Silk thread for stitching - Steinlauf & Stoller, NYC
Buttonhole silk thread - John Lewis, London

Machine is a hand-turned Singer machine manufactured in 1891.

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Filming equipment:
Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro.

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Music:
‘Secrets of the Earth’ by Lama House
‘Progressive Progress’ by Howard Harper-Barnes
‘Who We Are’ by Gavin Luke
‘Winter Solstice’ by Gavin Luke
‘The Pendulum Clock’ by Francis Wells
‘Impressions of You’ by Gavin Luke
‘Silent Approval’ by Howard Harper-Barnes
‘Secret Agent’ by Spectacles Wallet and Watch
‘I’ll Be Watching’ by Charles Holme
‘Counting the Days’ by Cody High
‘Meet Me in Montmartre’ by The Fly Guy Five

[bernadettebanner]

Hi All! Sorry for the delay in getting the captions back on this--it's a long one, so they're still in progress, but should be in by end of today if you require captioning.
ALSO apparently it is now a thing that YouTube INSISTS on automatically stuffing 12 midroll ads into every video which MAKES ME RAGEY. I've unticked the midroll ads box that keeps somehow re-ticking itself despite opting out of this new system entirely, so if you see any midroll ads in this (or any of my other videos) please let me know--I work way too hard on editing a nice calming story into my videos to have that constantly interrupted by ads. 😑
EDIT TO ADD: as much as I hate midroll ads, I canNOT condone the use of ad blockers on YouTube (especially). If ads are not getting through to you, *creators are not getting paid* . I used to be an ad block user myself but whitelisted YouTube when I found this out, before turning it off altogether, as I realise now how important advertising is in bringing us good online content to be accessed for free. That being said, it's up to creators and online distributors to be reasonable about advertising-- to let it exist in a way that pays the bills but does not interfere with enjoyment of the content (as I personally believe mid-roll ads do to my videos). But I leave pre- and post-roll ads on for a reason--because I *do* need to make a living if I'm to continue devoting my full time to creating complex videos regularly. This video alone took over 35 hours to edit--and that's not including the month and a half I spent sewing (and shooting) the dressmaking process. I'm paid only per thousand *monetised* views, and according to my analytics I'm receiving compensation for a bit under 2/3 of the views the video actually gets. Some of these are intentional--YouTube doesn't serve ads to viewers who have been watching a lot of content (because that would be annoying)--but the majority of this is due to users viewing with ad blockers.
Thankfully I'm doing just fine with ad revenue, despite adblock users and without midrolls--but *not every creator is so lucky* . I know ads suck, but...so does paying for 9028359074 subscription services to view all the paywalled content on the internet.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk :)

[luciana.]

The internet has taught me two things about the Victorian era: Men were doing medicine completely wrong, and women were doing sewing completely right (pockets as a must-have in every outfit?? genius)

[AveryTalksAboutStuff]

"It is a sin to not put a pockets in your skirt." Say it again for the people in the back!

[memyself]

Me: "Nice Victorian gown!"

Bernadette: "Thanks, it has pockets!"

[febblepebble]

I burst out laughing when His Lordship just came nyooming across the paper in the timelapse

[LoveMyNessie]

Cesario is a very observant supervisor. No funny business on his watch. XD

[marybethrodgers]

“It doesn’t have to be super painstakingly done” she says, as she hand stitches with more accuracy than I can ever dream of.

[poetdrowned]

"If, indeed, the world is a thing again by next May."
Me, first watching this: LOL, yeah.
Me, rewatching this now: *nervous and slightly hysterical LOL*

[valkyriesardo]

There is an ironing solution for velvet. My mother purchased an ironing pad designed for that specific purpose, the "Dritz Needle Board". The pad is a rectangle about 6x12 inches. The entire surface is covered with very short and thin upright metal pins spaced very close together. You lay the velvet face down on the pins and press lightly with a steam iron. Mom used to make theater costumes and sometimes from a deep pile velvet. She was a stickler for pressing as she sewed and I never saw a press mark on her velvets.

[pikarino]

I love that His Lordship gets to run around and just put his little feets wherever he wants

[golden]

Bernadette's here to really confuse fashion historians 200 years from now

[Stenorfly]

Bernadette procrastinating : "I'll do my pocket so that I don't have to focus on the whole gown immediatly"

Me procrastinating : "I'll wash my dishes next week end. And I'll work on my personnal projects when I'll really want to"

[ms.w]

can we take a moment to appreciate that not only is Bernadette amazingly talentend, but she also looks absolutely stunning in that gown!

[FebbieG]

My husband has supplied me with a Dad Joke that necessitates a share:

How do you cut down a tree with a needle?
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.
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.
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By using a felling stitch.

[avat]

me: has no idea what Bernadette is talking about half the time since I know nothing about sewing and historical dress
Also me: continues to watch her videos religiously

[mutedmorality]

I’m currently listening to a multitude of these videos as I am sewing a corset by candle light as to minimize the lighting in my family’s house. I’m also sipping tea and starting to question my mental age. Regardless, considering how stressful this pandemic has been for me, I find this highly therapeutic and am thankful for such quality content to be available online.

[bloodthirstybunnies]

I watch these videos to make tiny historically accurate clothes for my dolls out of my old clothes since I don't have the wardrobe space, time, or money to make them for myself. Needless to say, I think i did pretty good with this one. (made from my old leggings)

[robosuit]

"We are living in times of plague in ye merry 2020, and access to such novelties of other humans is not exactly an option." That hit hard

[rinthekat]

“Excuse me, there have been some tiny feet’s walking upon mine silk”

[reneeconnors]

I love that she says she procrastinates yet finishes this beautiful gown.
Me: Thirty years later wondering when I am going to finish my junior high home ec project.