Scroop Aidah Gown – Italian 1780’s gown in burnt orange silk

Pattern: Scroop Pattern’s Aidah pattern.

Materials: Silk drapery fabric from Fabric Guru, cotton muslin (lining), cotton thread, german plastic boning, 1″ cotton twill tape (for petticoat ties).

Breakdown of how I altered the pattern: I graded the bodice up to a size 54 from the largest size in the pattern, size 52. I used the Aidah’s long sleeve option, tabbed front (without cutaway design), pinned front closing option, and train length skirt. Because I’m “extra”, I added a few inches to the train length, which turned out to work well, considering how “chonky” my split rump padding was (I’m wearing the split rump I made from RedThreaded’s split rump pattern). I added 1″ of length to the bodice pieces to accommodate my long torso. I added about 1″ of length to the center back point to make it extra “pointy”, similar to the Scroop Angelica pattern pieces.

What I’m wearing underneath: A split rump (pattern used), short sleeved shift, 1780’s stays made from Redthreaded’s pattern, and matelasse under-petticoat.

Accessories: Crystal earrings (in “smoke topaz”) from Dames a la Mode, bergere hat (blank from Burnley and Trowbridge) that I trimmed with silk according to B&T’s hat trimming tutorial, a cap and kerchief I made from B&T’s sheer cotton mull, golden yellow cotton stockings (my favorite pair ever!) from Penny River, and a silk satin ribbon around my neck (also from B&T – can you tell I love them?). Shoes are slip-on mules that I nabbed on clearance from Fugawee. I made the mantle out of cotton swiss dot fabric, following Scroop’s “Marie Mantle” pattern. The sash/belt was made from some scrap silk in my stash, and the sash buckle is from Sign of the Gray Horse. My basket was handmade by my sweet Grammy specially for me, about 20 years ago.

Notes: Discount drapery fabric stores like Fabric Guru are great for finding good deals on silk. If you order from Fabric Guru, I recommend ordering a swatch first, as some colors don’t show up accurately online.