December Regency Project - 1790's Jacket

For Christmas, a friend gave me a copy of Fashion, A History from the 18th to the 20th Century from the Kyoto Costume Institute. I was totally overwhelmed with inspiration while thumbing through the pages (who wouldn't be?) and totally fell in love with some of the 1790's jackets I saw. Several were way too elaborate for me to want to attempt (at least in this season of my life) but I really liked this one:

Which you can see here, at the KCI Digital Archives.

Mine will be made in a silvery blue cotton print and I think I will wear it with my brown wool hobbit petticoat until I get some proper 18th c. style petticoats made.

Today I began the mock up. To start with I used the 1780's bodice pattern I draped last fall. I lengthened the back piece to include a peplum skirt and added a side seam to the bodice, so I could have a short peplum at the side as well. I added length to the front of the bodice to meet the length of the center front point. The original jacket has lacing that starts at waist length. Below the waist, the jacket flares open.

sorry for the poor quality of the photos. I was in a hurry and the lighting was very bad!

My first mock up attempt was pretty close. To be more like the original, I would have to raise the neckline some and reposition the tabs at the front/sides to be more at side center. . .but I think I will go with what I currently have. If I raise the neckline anymore I won't be able to breastfeed and I am not too concerned with identically recreating this exact style.

I need to tweak the fit of the sleeve above the elbow, but other than that, I think I am ready to cut into my fabric!

I hope to make progress on it over the weekend and maybe even finish it before the 1st!

I'll keep you updated.

Love,
Sarah