Downton Abbey Sewing: Season 3, Episodes 2 and 3

The episodes of Downton Abbey from the last two weeks have some amazing costumes!  SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't yet seen these episodes then you might not want to read this post.

This dress that Mary wears is one of my favourites:

I love the lace overlay, the sash belt and the beautiful sleeves.

As an aside, don't you just love her bedroom?  Look at the bed frame and matching vanity.  This is probably pretty close to my dream bedroom:

I found a very similar 1920's dress pattern, available from CynicalGirl's Etsy store:

I imagine it would be fairly easy to reconstruct the flutter sleeves from Mary's dress using the long sleeve drape from this pattern.

My second favourite outfit has to be Cora's embroidered black dress:

I really love the assymetrical neckline, which shows off the lovely embroidery so well!  The closest pattern I could find is this gem from Adele Bee Ann Patterns Etsy shop:

I think this neckline would look fabulous with some embroidery (sans long neck tie).

The best costume of the show?  Hands down it has to be Edith's wedding dress.  It's a very simple dress with a slight scoop neckline and a train that starts at the shoulders.

I can't believe how much this 1960's pattern matches Edith's wedding gown!!  This is available at RetroMonkey's Etsy shop:

I think it would look exactly like Edith's dress if it was made in a soft silk as opposed to the much stiffer satin fabrics of the 1960's.  I'm pretty chuffed to have found an almost exact pattern match!

There's also a pattern that can be used for the veil (available here).  I think view 'c' is a pretty close match for the shape of the veil:

What did you think of Edith's wedding gown?  Did you like it better than Mary's wedding dress?  What was your favourite costume from the last two episodes?

Downton Abbey Sewing: Episode 1

Season 3 of Downton Abbey aired in the U.S. yesterday.  I never finished showing all the costumes from Season 3 last year so I thought it would be a great idea to revisit the episodes from Season 3 (and rewatch them myself) but to highlight not just the costumes but to feature closely matching vintage patterns!

Here are a few of the outfits from last night's show...

Cora's Taupe Dress:

We see pointy collars such as this one three times in this episode including on Cora's taupe dress.  We also see it on Mrs Crawley's burgundy dress and on the Dowager Countess's velvet dress.

Butterick 5978 features a similar design that includes a belted version:

Pattern available at: The Blue Gardenia

Lady Edith's Blouse:

We've seen this blouse before in seasons 1 and 2 and a similar version worn by Lady Mary.  Lucky for us, Steph at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World has designed this very blouse into a pattern called 'Sisters of Edwardia'.

Sisters of Edwardia blouse available for purchase here

Lady Mary's Black Dinner Gown:

I love this scoop neck, floor length dinner gown worn by Lady Mary.  Butterick 5622 fits the bill quite nicely in version c with view a's hemline:

Reproduction pattern from Past Patterns, available for purchase here

Lady Mary's Walking Suit:

Alas, I could not find a pattern to match the beautiful jacket from the walking suit but found what would probably be a similar skirt and attached camisole:

Image from the Vintage Pattern Wiki

Lady Mary's Bow Dress

Lastly, one of my favourite outfits from the episode is Lady Mary's bow dress.  We only see it very briefly in one scene but I just love it so...

I was super excited to come across Butterick 1700.  While the bow in Lady Mary's dress is made with beading, I think Butterick 1700 provides a similar neckline and bow effect:

Available at CynicalGirl's Etsy Shop

Which is your favourite?  What did you think of the episode?

Downton Abbey Costumes Episode 3

I'm a bit behind on my Downton Abbey Series 3 posts! Here are some stills from episode 3...

You may recall seeing this dress worn by Lady Grantham in episode 2.  In fact, Clio asked for a better shot and we get that in this episode (hooray!).  It's a great design and you can just see a bit of the back in the mirror.

Several of you were asking me for my thoughts on the third series as I've been a bit mum on plot lines as to avoid spoiling it for my U.S. readers who won't get to view the series until January.  What I can say is that I am very happy with this season.  The plot is really exciting and I am LOVING the costumes.  There is some really good character development and it seems less soap opera-ish than season 2 (hello distant relative from Canada who was on the Titanic....).  Don't get me wrong, it's still plenty dramatic this season but harkens back to the jaw-dropping plots of season 1.  It's also great to see the characters maturing, new alliances and new enemies forming and definitely some tear-jerking moments.

The costumes from this episode are spectacular!  I love, love, love them all...here are my favourites:

Ok, this one might be my favourite!  Check out the detailed embroidery on that collar.  Love the asymmetrical matching hat:

I love that Lady Edith's colour is orange.  She looks so stunning in those shades.  Can I also just say how much I am enjoying the new waved bobs!

What about you?  Which of the costumes is your favourite?

[Photo Credits]

Downton Abbey Costumes Episode 2

I don't know about you, but I'm itching to see more Downton Abbey costumes close-up.  Season 3's Episode 2 does not disappoint.  There seemed to be more formal dinners in this episode which means more amazing gowns.  I got the scans this week from Downton OnLine as I forgot to take my own screenshots.

This episode is memorable for the hats and headpieces, the amazing dressing gowns, the introduction of the most vibrant shade of plum (Lady Mary's dress and also her coat), seeing Lady Edith in a colour besides peach (hello green dress!) and the amazing coats (Lady Mary's is my favourite followed closely by Lady Grantham).  Enjoy!

Which outfit is your favourite?