Embroidery Giveaway – Holiday Dinner Dress
The holidays have me in a giving spirit, so I’m starting a monthly giveaway of embroidery designs. First up is this 1820s Holiday Dinner Dress, based on this example at the Met.
This design is meant to be used with Madeira Lana Wool Blend Embroidery Thread* or crewel wool threads for hand embroidery. The original gown is decorated with cherry red trim and poufs of silk gauze, with holly branches arranged along the hem of the gown. It’s a charming dress for winter celebrations.
Since the design is seasonal, it would also be perfect on holiday decorations, like stockings or pillows.
You can read more about Regency gowns with similar wool embroidery designs in this blog post. I find the contrast of delicate fabric and heavy wool threads to be surprisingly charming and vibrant. It’s a nice change from the endless parade of white-on-white gowns you often see during this period.
What do you think of this gown and the embroidery? Is it your dream dress for the holidays, or is it too themed for your tastes? Would you prefer to use it on something else, like home decor? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Enter below to win 1 copy of either the machine or hand embroidery design and PDF download of instructions. This giveaway is only open to those in the United States.
P.S. There is also a giveaway over here for this design on a holiday ornament.
December 2017 Embroidery Giveaway
Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase. These are marked with an * after the product name. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers, and I do not recommend products solely to get a commission.
I really love how delicate this is! I would wear it even today for a Christmas party. It’s the embroidery that makes it’s truly special. The white background really makes the other details shine.
I think it would be such a fun holiday dress, even in a modern or vintage style rather than Regency. Like maybe a 1950s circle skirt. 🙂
A beautiful design from a lovely dress! Would make a very festive gown or reticule!
A reticule would be a fun way to use this design without committing to making an entire dress for one season.
This is an OMG Dress! I am so excited that you reproduced the embroidery pattern so more of us can make this dream gown!
I would LOVE to see someone reproduce this gown. It’s so memorable and festive.
I love this dress and that you have created a version for embroidery by machine — you are such a great asset to the costuming community. Congratulations!
I forgot to say how I would use it — in my dream world I would re-make the original dress for me to wear every December. In the real world, maybe a modern blouse or dress.
I think the original would be fabulous to have waiting in the closet! But you’d probably get a lot more wear out of something modern, and it would definitely be quicker!
Oh, thank you! I think there is so much potential for machine embroidery when done well, and I’d love to see people use more of it in their costuming.
Oh this is the dress of my dreams….and would love to have this beautiful creation to wear for my December Birthday!! Dreams of days gone by and romantic recollections!!
Happy December birthday! And it would be such a fun birthday dress!
Awesome! I would love to make that dress someday.
I’d love to see your version!
I’m always impressed by the difference the type of thread used makes!
It can be pretty amazing! And a design like this is specially digitized for the thick threads, so it looks a bit strange in standard threads.
Stunning and impressive; congratulations on many levels! I am teaching my daughter this right now; she wants to learn about early fashion.
That’s wonderful! I loved historical fashion from an early age, and I feel lucky to have found a way to create beautiful things for others to use in their own fashions. Have fun with your daughter!