The Countess Howe Gown Project (ca. 1764) A journey back in time ~ PART 4

If you've been following this project, I'm happy to say that I can finally declare it complete!  

A short recap: after three tries at getting the right combination of featherweight fabric, proper colour (whiteness), transparency and drape, I finally received the four metres of angelic silk voile I'd purchased from a supplier in Ontario to make my apron and fichu (neckerchief) for my re-creation of Lady Mary Howe's gown in the portrait by Gainsborough.  And the two pieces are done! 

The fichu was simple enough: I hand-hemmed all the edges and then pinned and slip-stitched a lace edging all around, trying to mimic what I could see of Lady Howe's fichu in the portrait.  What I liked about this extremely sheer silk was that the pretty ruching on the stomacher could still just be seen under it, a very nice effect!

The apron took a little more time and thought.  This silk voile was so sheer and so delicate that I feared that an attempt to hand-embroider it (which would require stretching it in an embroidery hoop) would prove beyond even my reasonably good embroidering skills.  So I looked for an alternative, and found it in a length of very old vintage lace with floral motifs delicate enough and of the right size to enable me to hand-appliqué them onto the sheer fabric.  This ended up being more fun than I'd expected.  I'm reasonably happy with the result. 

To read on, please click "Read More", below right

To complete the apron, I added a very narrow organza ribbon (in one of my rare exceptions, I used a synthetic ribbon) on each side long enough to go around my back at the waist and tie in front.  

Apron almost completed -- just one last motif pinned on and ready to hand-sew in place.

At last, after waiting several weeks for that perfect day of weather, not too hot, not too cold, sunny but low wind, I finally got to wear the entire ensemble.  So, here finally are some pictures from that day, taken as I strolled around on the grounds of the ca. 1750 Fort Anne in our town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.   (To see more about this locale and its history, visit the town website: https://annapolisroyal.com -- be sure to see the two video intros at the bottom of the main page). 

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And last but not least, I had to give the side-by-side with Gainsborough's portrait one more try.  Although I'm much older than Lady Howe was when this painting was done, and my gown is more orchid pink than peach pink, all in all I'm satisfied with the result -- right down to the golden-buckled black shoes -- and happy to have taken this journey back in time!