This was the mock-up of an extant gown I planned to replicate by hand (and later did). A mock-up is a tester used to check the fit. I happened to have many yards of silk dupioni laying around and decided to use it for my mock-up and to sew it by hand as well. Well, it came out nice enough that this is a bonus gown not really fit to be called a mock-up. 🙂

The original, which is the green one on the right, is in the Greene Collection at the Genesee Country Village & Museum. Known information is that the skirt has three panels with slight gathering on the front and pleating in the back. The sleeves and bodice top each have two tucks. The wonderful pointed cap sleeves have what would have been white silk ribbon bows. The sleeves are long enough that they would have to be pushed up on the arms to use the hands. I’m not sure what’s going on on the bottom, if that’s trim or discoloration, but I made tucks, and closed this gown with buttons. Buttons weren’t common, but I used them anyway. The VanDyke points around the neckline have been used a lot on old quilts. It’s the same technique, and it’s lovely. I’ve matched these details in this blue silk mock-up/replica. It was a lot of fun to wear!

More photos are in this Facebook album.