We've got the biggest balls of them all!

On May 21st the Guthrie Theater is hosting a Costumed Ball Dance Party and I need to be there.  So I have 21 days to get my butt moving and make a ball gown.  I've decided to make a gown to match the masque my brother gave me from Italy.  This will definitely be my biggest costume undertaking thus far, but luckily I was recently introduced to the Minnesota Society of Costumers.  MNSOC is full of people excited to help out a fellow costumer, which is good, because I need a lot of help.  My costume can be broken into two parts - the dress and the undergarments.

Undergarments:
I've already started working on a corset.  I have the fabric cut and the channels for the boning sewn, now I just have to wait for further instruction.  I'm making the corset using the Elizabethan Corset Generator.  Although my dress is not Elizabethan, this is probably the best and most comfortable corset to use.

I also need to make a chemise and drawers, but those are easy so I'm saving them for the end.

Dress:
The main part of the dress is a brown satin/taffeta with small fleur de lis all over.  The front is a gold fabric with flowers.  For the inside of the sleeves I have a ivory cotton with light brown music notes and lines - to match the masque.  Since it is a party, I wanted the dress to be more fun than formal and that is why I added the music notes.  I've bought the outer fabric and just need to buy the lining.  It should be known that cutting out fabric is my least favorite part of costuming and usually the main speed-bump.

It should be interesting to see how this dress comes together.  It could either be a great success or an enormous disaster - but I'm sure it will not fall anywhere in between.