Regency Drop-front gown

I always do drawstring regency gowns so I decided it was time to try something else.  This time I did a drop front gown, also known as an apron front gown. I used a striped cotton (which actually had some stretch to it, which didn't turn out to be a bad thing) from the stash that I either bought in Dallas or LA. And it took me a weekend. (Mostly because I didn't make a muslin of anything since I was working from a pattern I knew fit me.)

I used the back pieces of my standard regency pattern, and the front cross over pieces (the ones that get pinned in front to keep the structure of the drawstring gown), and my standard regency long sleeve, and just winged the bid.  The skirt is just two rectangles of fabric.

I ended up having to put a tuck in the front apron skirt panel to avoid gapping.  I also should have made this skirt panel wider. Oh well, next time.  And in the back, I did box pleats as a change from gathers. It actually looks nice on, not sure it looks as good on the dress form. 

For reference I used these pages, plus some in progress pics from my friend Gloria's dresses.

http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/drop_front.html

http://hungarican.blogspot.com/2010/04/benefits-of-bib-front-and-happy-friday.html

Over all this dress was more fiddly than the drawstring and I'm not sure I like it as much? But it was fun to try!

Bad mirror shot of gown being worn with chemisette.