The VVitch meets Simplicity 1771

This pattern features a dress with ruffles at the bust, sleeves, an apron, cape, and a scarf pattern. It is a fun collection for the casual costumer (not necessarily historically accurate, but hey, that's okay). The yardage is listed separately for the bodice, lining, skirt, and sleeves. This made it trickier to determine the yardage needed, so I ended up with way too much. I would estimate most sizes could make this (sans sleeves and ruffles) with 4 1/4-4 1/2 yards of fabric.

Pictured is a separate blouse I made myself out of cotton voile. I self-lined the bodice rather than covering the seams with ruffles and bias tape. The straps appear thinner than the photos. Perhaps the ruffles and sleeves take less seam allowance than lining the bodice? This worked in my favor because I was planning on narrowing the straps. To ensure the thin straps did not stretch out, I added seam allowance on the edges and made the shoulder strap a separate shoulder piece along the grainline. This adds a touch of historical accuracy.

The pattern says the hem seam allowance is 2 inches, however I needed 2.5 inches to make sure it didn't drag...and it still looks much longer than the package photos. For reference, I am 5'5".

It states no waist measurement, though I would estimate bust 34.5 is for a 26/27 inch waist.

I took 1 5/8 inches off the top for a few reasons:

1) The VVitch has a lower-cut bodice

2) This bodice wrinkled and was very loose at the very top. This might be because the added ruffles have bulk, requiring more room. Whatever the cause, cutting it down helped eliminate it.

Rather than stitching criss-crossing trim, I made loops out of the fabric by cutting a 2 inch wide strip approximately one yard in length on the bias. I folded it in half and stitched it length-wise closed with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. I then trimmed it down to about 1/4 inch and turned it inside out. Many say self-fabric loops should not have the allowance cut down to keep its fullness, however this was a heavier weight linen/cotton blend. Embarrassingly, I spent maybe an hour trying to turn it inside-out before caving and giving it a snip.

For anyone wanting to recreate the look exactly, this pattern would likely do the trick. It features a ruffle along the neckline, wide sleeves, and a simple, hooded cape. Sarah Stephens pulls off dirt makeup better than myself, so I skipped that part.