OMG I wish I could jump through this puter and help more personally than just to type!

OK...no zippers then? I guess you'll be laced from front only?

The eBay dress you linked to looks to have elastic around the entire neckline. That can work if you don't mind the bulk under the cincher. It depends on the style of the pattern you pick as to if it can be altered to have elastic around the neckline. If it's going to be a tailored bodice without a zipper than all the elastic on the planet still won't allow ease of entry. It looks as though the dress in the pic is in one piece and not tailored. Nothing fancy to make it a period dress, except the sleeves, till you add the cincher. The dress then looks gathered at the waist and under the breasts to look tailored.

As BIBI said, Simplicity patterns are the easiest to work with. Pattern pieces can be interchanged and altered if the pieces are similar or you know enough about patterns to add/remove the what-nots.

Where to by brocade? As I said, I work for an upholsterer now and we are a subcontractor of the Knoll company. Not all our work comes from Knoll, but the majority does. If the client doesn't supply their own textile (COM=customer's own material) than Knoll has standard textiles for certain types of furniture for the client to choose from. When we recieve an order we are also alotted a near precise amount of fabric to cut from according to if we have to railroad a pattern to match up the lines, or if it isn't necessary to match (plain textile) then it is cut as it rolls off the roll. At rare times we end up with a bit more than we can use and we save these ends in case we need a re-cut. If we never use it, it is eventually sold in a bulk lot...with not many similar patterns or colors. The only thing we usually ever have extra of is leather due to scars, bug bites, manure burns and other flaws, and so we get additional leather which we have to return to Knoll if not used. I have no clue where they get their brocade, but I do know that the costume company I used to work for purchased some of the bulk lots that I mentioned and we had to sort through it and find pieces that would fit our patterns. It was the luck of the draw.

Surger, overlock, merrow...all the same thing. It's a machine that can cut off fabric (but doesn't have to) as it locks a stitch around the edge to prevent it from fraying. Some have 3 threads and the more industrial ones can have up to six threads, which put in a back-up stitch just behind the overlocked stitch. If the seam is going to be pressed open and the fabric is lightweight, white, sheer or velvet, I don't recommend surging the edges. Instead, use pinking shears when cutting the pieces to prevent the fraying. It'll lay flatter and be less visible because the stitches won't be there to make an impression on the right side after it is pressed.

Best kind of thread to use? WOW...I'm an industrial babe and haven't sewn a home project since my days of exotic costumes. Even after that, at the costume shop I worked for we used industrial machines which require a heavier thread than a home machine. The threads I am used to these days would be much too heavy for your machine or dress. I'm not really sure what's out on the market anymore. It'd be best to ask a more home based seamstress about that one hun. Sorry I can't help there.

I can't wait to see your final selection. Not only can I help you proceed better when I know exactly what you are contending with...but I am still so damn nosey...er...I mean curious!

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