Recreating a dress from 1897

At the beginning of 2025, I had the wonderful privilege of examining a beautifully preserved dress made by my great-great-grandmother Alice for her college graduation. I immediately fell deeply in love with its intricate details and timeless elegance, which inspired me to study and carefully recreate the piece. This thoughtful and meticulous process will undoubtedly take several months, but I am hopeful that by the end I will have gained valuable knowledge about dressmaking techniques from the 1890s, as well as uncover charming little stories about my family that are hidden within the delicate stitches of the fabric.

Video Playlist
an antique blouse and matching skirt laid out on a sewing board. The skirt and blouse are yellowed with age are quite wrinkled

Tutorials

For this unique project, I wanted to share how to make each piece of the Alice Dress. As of September 2025, I only have the skirt tutorial finished, but hopefully I’ll get the bodice tutorial ready before winter.

  • The bodice tutorial should be ready by December, 2025.

  • The skirt is by far the simplest piece of this lovely dress. You can follow the written tutorial here, and watch the video here.