Pattern Suggestions
Depending on how accurate you want your costume to be and your level of experience, this outfit can either be super easy, or incredibly hard. But I think if someone who makes as many mistakes as I do can pull it off, so can you.
The Dressing Gown
Here are a few pattern suggestions you could possibly use for dressing gown itself:
Truly Victorian 432: 1882 Tea Gown
#1945: Negligee or Bed Jacket: Circa 1932-1933
Those are the only decent patterns so far. I'm still searching other pattern companies for possibilites. There is no solid pattern made exactly like the movie version, so unless you draft your own, you'll always have to do some alterations. Below is a tutorial for how I drafted my dressing gown.
The Corset
Pattern Suggestions:
Laughing Moon: Underwear Pattern
Past Patterns: 1840s - 1889s Corset
Remember, neither pattern is perfect, or will go seamlessly without having to make a mock-up or any adjustments. I highly suggest a mock-up for a corset, as it should fit perfectly to avoid any discomfort. I am not a corset expert, so I will lead you to this site which as some good information for making a corset and also drafting the pattern yourself. The best advice I can give you: Patience! Also, try not to overlook anything, especially if it's deemed important because the consequences may show up in the end. For my corset, I had to supplement a busk for these odd hook closures that didn't work well. Just be sure that you check out what you're buying and do plenty of research on areas your not sure of. There are also many places where you can ask for help.
The Chemise
This is pretty self explanatory, and unless you plan on someone seeing it without the corset (I won't ask), it is relative easy to make a simple one that will serve its purpose. Below is a guide to how I drafted mine.
If I wrote this up correctly, your garment should look like this in the end:
Of course, this is just for a basic, quick and easy chemise. If you want it too look exactly like the actual chemise, then you're on your own for that one. But this guide should give you a pretty good idea. I STRONGLY suggest that you do this on scrap fabric first, sew it together, and see how it works. You may need a bigger width for non-stretchy fabrics.
Another note: I usually use a piece of fabric and fold it in half so I have a "folded edge" but you don't neccessarily need a folded edge to draft this. Just follow the instructions the same even if you just lay two pieces of fabric on top of each other. Make sure they're the same, though, so there aren't any surprises!
WAIT! Just a little note: I do not guarantee that this will work out perfectly. This is how I drafted mine. I am not to blame for this that go wrong. You should have done the mock-up in the first place. :)
1. Take the neccessary amount of fabric and fold it in half. It is up to you to decide how much you need. I won't risk it and give you any set denomination.
2. Lay the fabric in front of you, the folded edge facing away.
3. Time to start measuring! Get out a piece of paper and a pen, as well as that measuring tape. Try to avoid rulers.
4. Measure the length from the base of your neck (where it meets the shoulders) down to where the garment needs to end. As an example, if you want it to go all the way down to the floor, measure from your neck down to the floor. If you want it to go down to your hips, measure from your neck to your hips. Simple enough.
5. Take that measurement, and starting from the center of the fold, measure the length. Put a little dot to mark it off.
6. Taking a straight edge long enough, on the dot, draw a line parallel to the folded edge from end to end. Your piece of fabric should look like this:
Note: The white piece is obviously the fabric, and the grey edges represent the surface the pattern is being drafted on.
7. Next, Measure from the center of your collar bone, out to your shoulder where the end of the chemise should be. Using this measurement, measure along the fold starting from the center. Mark this off, and repeat on the other side. Then, draw from the end of each mark down to the parallel line on the bottom.
8. Now you have your basic shape. It's time to do the neckline and the sleeves. Whether you want a V-shaped neckline or a scooped neckline, the instructions don't vary much. It is mostly measuring, marking, and connecting the dots however you wish.
First, measure from your collar bone down to the lowest point of where you want the neckline to be in the center of your torso. I'll leave it up to you to decide how low you want it. Just as a guide, you may want to draw a line to mark off the center of the chemise from the center of the folded edge to the center of the bottom edge. Now, using the measurement, measure down from the center of the folded edge and mark it off. Now, depending on how thick you want the shoulder strap to be, measure about 1 inch to 2 inches from the end of the chemise (at the top) in wards towards the center. This is the top of your sleeve. You should have something that looks roughly like this:
Using your measuring tape, measure from the top of your shoulder to just below your underarm. This measurment will be your armhole, so be sure to leave some allowance. On both sides, measure from the top edge down along the side and mark it off. Now, from the midpoint of the line you just made, measure about an inch inwards parallel to the folded edge. (Is anyone else annoyed that my geometry information is actually being useful?!) Connect the three armhole marks. You should have something like this:
For the neckline shown in the example: Measure from the middle of your collar bone to the side where you want the "Corner" of the neckline to be. Mark it off on both sides. These are the basic measurements you need. Then connect the neckline dots. You should have something like diagram 1.
For a "scooped" circular neckline: Follow the same procedures, except when you connect the dots, make them more curved and smooth. You should end up with something similar to diagram 2.
I know, it's not the best example, but it should help you and give the general idea.
9. Cut out your pattern! The shoulder seams should already be there because you did it on a folded edge, so all you have to do is sew the sides together! Voila! I pray that I wrote this up correctly, and that it all went well for you!
If you're completely new to pattern drafting like me, try this a couple times until you finally get the gist of how you should cut the fabric, etc. I think basic experience on this will help you out when you have to do alterations elsewhere.