Out of all of the Titanic costumes I’ve written about, this one represents the greatest departure from the original gown. The colour, embellishments, and cut of the skirts are all drastically different from the original, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to flounce about in.
I started with the ‘ol standby Simplicity pattern. I only made one major change, though I could have (and should have) made several. The first thing I did was switch the order of the bodices. The sheer one needed to be underneath the solid one. In the original, the over bodice is made entirely of beads. I wasn’t quite up for that, so I made mine out of crepe back satin and decorated it with fabric paint swirls and sequins.
Rough, but adaptable, versions of the Jump and Swim dresses.
The swap is pretty easy to make. But, you do have to remember that the solid over bodice will be divided down the centre to create a vest; so you’ll need to add extra fabric for the seam allowance so it still fits. Also! Please, please, create an extra under-bodice out of an opaque skin coloured fabric (the under bodice for the swim dress would work well). I neglected to do this and it makes wearing this gown a bit of a liability/wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.
A sketch of the original gown. The flowers didn't make it to the final.
Next up are the skirts. The original has a solid underskirt with three netting overskirts in three different lengths; full, about 8″ shorter, and then a shaped over-skirt. The two longer overskirts have beaded circles and beaded fringe at the hems. I did the fabric paint/sequins thing again.
The biggest change you’ll want to make with the skirts is making way, way less of them. You’ll still want the same number of skirts, but you won’t want nearly as much fabric in them. The pattern instructs you to distribute the gathering around the front, and as you can see, even the svelte pattern model is sporting a bit of a maternity look thanks to that. So, measure you underbust circumference (where the skirt will sit on your body), and make the skirts that measurement plus five or ten inches. And put all of the gathers at the back of the dress.
See all the gathers at the back? That's what happens when you don't slim out the pattern pieces.
So, as you can see, I didn’t do that, and there is far too much fabric in those skirts to be convincing as an Edwardian gown. This looks far more Renaissance/Ever After than Titanic.
Well, there you have it. My (highly inaccurate) take on the Jump Dress. I’m sure I’ll give it another go sometime in the future!
I love all your costumes that you write about. i also can`t afford other peoples costume adaptations so like making them myself. I prefer that anyway because you can make them how you want. I wanted to try out some costuming classes but their isn`t many for young people. How much does your costumes cost you to make? Have you seen Lady Marion`s costumes from the bbc version of Robin Hood? I think you would really suit some of her dresses.
It’s funny how it seems like paying someone else to make your costumes is very expensive… and then once you start making your own you think they don’t charge enough 😛 People frequently ask me to make costumes for them and when I tell them it’d be mucho expensive because it would take me 40+ hours (plus materials) they are generally surprised, but understanding.
The cost per costume varies a lot. I always watch for fabric sales and try not to pay more than $10–$15/meter of fabric. I also order embellishments like rhinestones off of eBay, where they are far more affordable. Thankfully the eras I like (Edwardian, Regency) don’t require lots of fabric, so if I wanted to do a simple Regency day dress I could probably pull it off for ~$50 (I think my Titanic Dinner Dress was about $150), but if I wanted to make a giant hoop skirt dress from the Victorian era, you’d been looking at at least 16m of fabric instead of 3 or 4m, so things get pricey very fast.
I haven’t seen any episodes of Robin Hood, but I just went and looked it up and those costumes are beautiful! Another thing to add to the list… 😛
Also, I wouldn’t worry about costuming classes. I took a sewing class at school in grade 7, but all they really taught you was basic seams and pressing. You can probably learn all of that from YouTube. Start with a few basic projects, like a throw pillow and a pencil case, and then try something simple like a gathered skirt, and go from there!
Hey, just for next time if you plan to make it again, i’m certain the original dress had darts all around the skirt, maybe if you do darts the maternity look wont be a problem
I’m certain you’re correct, along with fitted side seams. I think I made this when I was about 15 and hadn’t quite learned my lesson about blindly following film inspired Simplicity patterns 😛
Hi Marie! I love this dress and would love to make one myself. I’ve never made a dress before and I’m worried that this would be too complex and ambitious for me to try. Was it a very difficult dress to make? It looks beautiful! 🙂
Hey Mollie! I’d definitely start with something a bit more simple than this; perhaps a summer dress made with less expensive/slippery/tricky to work with fabrics 🙂 I made this dress as probably my 30th+ dress after a good 7+ years of sewing, and while you might not need that much practice, you should get some so you don’t waste all these pretty fabrics 🙂
Thanks Marie! I think beginning to sew will be my summer project this year – in a few years hopefully I will have a go at this beautiful dress! Thanks so much for your advice 🙂
Happy sewing! 🙂