Bridgerton-inspired Cotton Silk nightgown
Searching for your perfect summer nightgown? Look no further. Fabric Collection guest sewist, Amisha, succumbed to the Netflix Bridgeton craze taking inspiration from the character Daphne for her dreamy Cotton Silk voile nightgown. “I’ve always loved French and vintage styled nightgowns, so naturally, I was enamoured when I saw the one that Daphne was wearing – I HAD to have it.”
If you’re Bridgerton-obsessed, then read on about Amisha’s sewing journey for her Regency-era inspired nightgown with a twist.
I set out on recreating Daphne’s nightgown, studying both the details of the dress she wore and researching historic sewing patterns from the Regency era. Daphne’s gown is actually a wrap dress - wrap dresses seem to gape on me, so I decided to make a faux wrap instead. I couldn’t find a pattern that emulated the exact look of Daphne’s, so I self-drafted the pattern instead. Using my bodice sloper, I created a self-lined empire-waisted bodice, oversized so I could pull it easily on over my head. The gathered skirt was made from two rectangles, the width of the fabric. To complete the look, I made a little belt of the same fabric to mimic the tie-wrap seen in Daphne’s version.
In my experience wearing nightgowns, my favourite ones I own and wear the most are made of gorgeous sheer, soft natural fabrics - these just breathe so well throughout the hot (and often muggy) Australian summers and help you get a really good nights sleep. I saw that Fabric Collection based in Brisbane was selling a GORGEOUS array of silk cotton voile in so many lovely colours. I thought this material would be PERFECT for my nightgown - and it was! The fabric is luxuriously soft, with a wonderful drape and has a lovely slight iridescent sheen that comes from the silk content. I used a micro-tex needle in my machine, and it sewed wonderfully. The fabric also manages to press REALLY well but still has this amazing fluidity and drape. It’s honestly magical! The other thing I loved about the fabric was that the hand remained the same even after washing! I pre-treat all the fabrics I use in the same manner I would want to wash the garment after wearing. As a nightgown, I would want to wash it in my machine after wearing. So, I washed the fabric on the “Handwash” setting on my washing machine with some gentle silk detergent. It came out looking just as beautiful as it did before washing!
I’m so thrilled with this nightgown, and it’s probably one of my proudest makes yet! I can just picture another one made with baby blue silk cotton voile!
Inspire your own Bridgerton-worthy summer nightgown before season 2 release in April 2022, so you can be wearing your Cotton Silk nighty while binge-watching another scandalous season of Bridgerton! Click here to view our full Cotton Silk collection.
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