Miniature Nightgown: Final (Almost) Reveal

The nightgown for my Princess and the Pea diorama is done! But what a journey it has been. For the first time, I truly understand just how much work handmade miniatures take, which is why I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes steps that went into making this miniature garment.

Switching from a chemise to a shift put me on the path to success, but it still took two more full mock-ups, plus two variations on the sleeve before I finally had what I was looking for.

While version five already looked much better than previous attempts, I tweaked the pattern again, turning it into a single pattern piece to eliminate some seams. Version six looked so good that I was ready to cut into the secondhand handkerchiefs I’d bought specifically for this nightgown.

That’s when I realized my mistake. All along, I had planned to use the hems on the handkerchief as the cuffs and hem of the nightgown. The edges of my clever single-piece pattern wouldn’t line up with the handkerchief hems. So I cut the pattern back into pieces and made version seven. I was so excited by how the nightgown-from-a-handkerchief was looking that I added embellishments.

I’d been working all afternoon and it was dark when I made version seven. I was also tired, so it’s not surprising that I was ready to use glue after one look at the tiny beads and lace I wanted to add. I even came up with a clever way to make a collar using the handkerchief’s hem. I was so pleased with how it looked that I went to bed thinking that I was done.

The next morning, I noticed the globs of glue on the cuff and under the beads. Fortunately, I was ready to tweak the pattern again — the sleeves were too wide at the cuff — and to put in the time hand-sewing the lace, ribbon, and beads. It took two test sleeves to get the look I wanted, plus most of the day fiddling with needle and thread.

It was worth it. My final nightgown still isn’t perfect, but it gives off the fancy fairy-tale vibe I was hoping for. I’m planning on draping it over a bed-side table or possibly hanging it up. This means the final step — using a stiffener to add folds to the garment — will have to wait until the rest of the room is ready.

This tiny garment took nine mock-ups and two full days to make. That’s a lot of work for a nightgown four inches long. I’m relieved that I can’t do the draping yet. As I did with the pattern, I’ll need to experiment with materials to figure out how to get the fabric to drape properly. I don’t want to ruin this nightgown in the final step.