The Great Pattern Review
Victoria Louise Patterns
***Note: Victoria Louise Patterns is no longer in business.
#P001 - Basic Level 1850's-1860's Corded Petticoat
Barbara Smith - Not Recommended
The pattern in this envelope does not make a reproduction of the garment pictured on the front, a photo of an original corded petticoat. While this is not unusual in commercial patterns, the pattern package (and the website selling this pattern) states: "This corded petticoat pattern has been taken from an original in the designer's collection." The pattern and instructions create a petticoat with a hem circumference of 144 to 180 inches - far too wide for the cords to maintain the necessary hooped shape. The cords will fold in on themselves, despite all starching attempts, creating very deep valleys, which will drag your upper petticoats and skirts with them. The petticoat in the photograph is no where near that big around. The pattern also calls for half as much cording as is shown in the photo of the original garment (I can count 17 rows in the photo, there are 8 drawn on the pattern), making this reproduction garment far less stiff than the original it is based on. My finished petticoat, cut from the 4 panels recommended in the instructions (144 inches around), was far too wide to hold its shape, and created very unpleasant valleys in the front of my skirt (please see attached photo for an example of this). The person who drew this pattern has clearly never studied an original and does not understand the physics of putting one together. There were numerous errors and typos in the instructions as well, leading me to believe that the owner of Victoria Louise never proof-read this pattern nor road-tested it to ensure that it would accurately replicate the original garment it was supposedly based on. Since making this pattern, I have done more research and discovered several internet sites offering free corded petticoat instructions. A quick search will yield abundant and free information.
#P1997008 - Basic 1860s Bodice with Bishop Sleeves
Loren Dearborn
This was pretty straight forward. This was a little large on my towards this back. Be sure to make muslin or check fit as you go along to ensure a good fit. Pictured below with her "Late 1850s Gored Skirt" review.
#P1997009 - Late 1850s Gored Skirt
Loren Dearborn - Recommended
This went together well and was pretty simple. Lots of cartridge pleats. I attached this to Victoria Lousie's basic bodice and made it into a dress. Marilee Orr is wearing the skirt and bodice Loren made in the photo to the right.
#P1997027 - Robe a' la Francaise
Sharon R. Moore - Recommended, though not for the beginner sewer.
You will note a lot of negative facets in my review, but overall the results of the dress were great. The pattern itself was very crude--shaky lines not made with a ruler in some cases, messy handwriting to identify the pieces, and the pleats on the skirt were not uniform. The instructions were not always completely accurate, and you must do some interpretation of the best course of action, but an experienced sewer will know what to do. For example, the instructions never make mention of how to attach the stomacher to the gown, other than to sew it in (in which case you couldn't get into the gown!) So I opted to make hooks and eyes along the edge of the stomacher so I could attach it to the gown after I got into the dress. Note: I highly recommend that you DO bone the stomacher. This is an optional step, but I can only imagine the sloppy results of an unboned stomacher. I added other details to the dress that are not in the instructions, such as rouching and trims. Again, though you see many negative comments above, this was hardly a frustrating pattern. I got through it without pulling out hair, which is more than I can say for many independent patternmakers! A really good thing is that the creator of the pattern is available to you to call or e-mail to ask questions and make suggestions on the pattern as you go along, which I took advantage of once or twice.