I just finished this dress for my mom to wear to PVR 2008 using the Period Impressions 1809 Day Wear Pattern.  The material is actually an Egyptian cotton sheet my mother found while thrift store shopping and she asked me to make her a fancy dress from it (to my surprise).  The pattern is the exact same as the cream gown, but with and additional 3/4" added to the bodice length.  Due to the heavy weight of the fabric, gathering the back was not possible and I had to hand pleat it (I hate pleating).  Much to my pleasure, I was able to stitch the decorative trim on using my sewing machine.