The First Francaise Project - an 18th Century Sewing Experiment

This project is about the DEconstruction of the first Robe a la Franciase I ever sewed. My goal is to free up the large about of silk yardage trapped in this gown I'll never wear again and turn it into a brand new dress! Why? Most importantly, I'm hoping to make people think about historical re-use. This practice was common in the eighteenth century and is a good lesson for modern historical costumers. It's recycling...and in the end you get a bunch of "free" fabric and a new dress! This video is Part 1 of the project, where I introduce you to the original gown, dismantle it, and begin turning it into a new outfit. Please let me know if you have any questions about this in the comments and I will be happy to answer them! NOTE: I am aware the ratio of this video isn't great for YouTube, however I filmed these videos with the intention of using them on Instagram and only realized after the fact that I wanted to share them here. I promise I'll fix this in future videos! In this video, I reference the American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking, which is available here: https://tinyurl.com/y6mfmhpe (this is an affiliate link) For more background and context on historical re-making, see Modern Mantua Maker's excellent project on this: https://themodernmantuamaker.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/1-nightgown-new-made-a-practical-investigation-of-eighteenth-century-clothing-alteration-part-1/ For real-time updates on this project, see my Instagram: https://www.instagra