I finally made my first robe a la francaise! I was supposed to have made this for costume college last year but you know how that goes. GBACG had a Bal de Carnivale event this year which became my new deadline. I pulled out my half finished corset and got cracking.
I actually had a lot of trouble following the JP Ryan pattern so I ended up taking copious photos and writing up notes for myself for the next time I make one of these. Because… yes, I already have fabric for another one. =D If anyone else is going to be using this pattern, feel free to check out my notes… they might help!
I did manage to get a wearable dress by the event although there were a few almost all-nighters in there. (I’m getting way too old for that btw. LOL) The only thing missing for the Bal was the trim which Judy and I finished later for a lovely photoshoot at Gamble Gardens.
Judy and I picked up this quilting fabric 2 years ago. It was a case of “Oh my how pretty!” so we bought a couple yards each. And then we stared at it for a few days and then went, “Wouldn’t this make amazing francaise…?!” and went back and bought an entire bolt each. =D I will state for the record that I would not use quilting fabric again for a francaise. It’s just too narrow a width of fabric which complicates things. The fabric really did look nice though!
The photos from the event are mostly from cell phones so apologies for the quality.
Judy’s feathers eating my head.
I was looking through my photos after and noticed that I ended up with a lot of photos of Judy’s boobs. LOL <3
Judy’s solution for how to eat dinner neatly. =D
The lovely Katherine in a stunning dress as always!
And a couple shots of everyone watching the entertainment.
So, as you can see, the front of our francaises were quite plain. I ran out of time to make my trim and in a gesture of solidarity, Judy didn’t finish hers either. We finished the trim for a photoshoot a month later with Doris and I love how it all looked when we were done! It really made the dress feel finished.
These photos were shot at Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto. It’s a tiny garden that’s a wonderfully versatile location for something so small. We had a lot of fun!
