Profile

My name is Kat and I've been sewing since 1999. Aside from a few general lessons from someone I knew back in '99, I am self taught. This explains why I make up so many techniques and don't know as much as I could, but thanks to the help of LJ sewing friends, I'm learning more every day. Much of my sewing has a goth feel to it, and I don't proclaim to sew in a historically accurate way. Just in a way to please myself!

Anyway, I am mainly focused on the two bustle eras in the Victorian era, the first being about 1874 and the other about 1885. I also love 18th century, Regency, and Edwardian.

People always ask me, "How long did that take to make?" I never log my time, so it's hard to say. Recently, Heather of the pattern company Truly Victorian (I buy all her patterns, by the way) stated:

"The time required for a dress is directly proportional to how complicated the design is, then multiplied by your personal abilities.

So for me (editor's note: she is a master seamstress), I figure a plain skirt is 3 hours, and each ruffle adds 3 hours. Same with the overskirt, 3 hours plus 3 for every ruffle/trim. A plain bodice is 10 hours, and 2 hours for every trim. If anything needs hand stitching add 3-4 hours. I think my fastest dress was 11 hours (then decided to add a trim that added another 11 hours) and my most complicated dress is about 60-70 hours. The average dress is about 25-35 hours."