Musing over new designs

Hello!  I hope everyone is preparing for a lovely holiday.  I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving!  I've been busily working on finalizing the first of my e-patterns, getting extra details about the original and it's construction and tweaking the pattern.  During my breaks (ha!) I have been musing over ideas for new dresses for Victoria.  Every dress I've made her so far has gathered fronts, and then I saw this plate.  I think she'd look adorable in a dress like this!  It's more fitted, a little more grown up.  (Not that I'm anywhere close to ready for her to grow up!)  I love the little cross-over detail on the front and the over skirt, and the ruching.  Plus it's different than most of the little girl dress patterns out there.

I'm thinking that's a chemisette along the top, but perhaps it's a chemise.  But I don't know.  Chemises usually go further down the shoulders.  Hm.

And I've also been working on Victoria's paletot which I started last...March?  I started with a sacque coat diagram from 1858 as I mentioned in this post, but I'm rethinking the back of it.  Since it started life as a sacque with only side seems and a center back seam to add the fullness in the skirt, I'm thinking of adding in a side back piece so that the fullness can be accommodated there while allowing the center back to be cut on the straight grain and possibly on the fold, like ladies' clothes are done.  The extra seams, also, might provide some help in shaping.

I've already done 3 mockups, but methinks I'm going to have to do more.  I really want to get this right because I want it to be one of my patterns.

Until next time, my friends,

xoxoxo Amy