New jacket and a Regency dress

Wotcher! Long time, no update! I did warn you...but we should be back to more regular updates around here soon. I'll try to get back into weekly posts, providing I've done something worth posting about!

I've just started volunteering with the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, and yesterday was their annual "skirmish" in front of the Tavern (blocking Kings Highway off and making drivers mad, it was great fun). There was never any actual fighting in Haddonfield during the Revolution, but the public does love that kind of thing - and the numbers of visitors were quite good! I'm new enough to not be confident in any of the little information I know about the site, so I sat outside and sewed a pair of mitts - something I am confident in. ;)

And I had a new jacket to wear. I made it a couple of weeks ago, having decided I really needed a specifically light-weight 18thc outfit for summer.

Of course it ended up not being disgustingly hot on Saturday...but I wore it anyway, because, hello, new jacket!

I also made a slightly obnoxious yellow petticoat of lightweight linen to wear with it, but I decided on my white petticoat that day instead, since it wasn't broiling.

The kerchief and apron are also new, since I was apparently on an 18thc-accessories-kick these past couple weeks! I really need an apron for a proper middling look, and...well, I didn't need another kerchief, but I couldn't resist that plaid remnant! I think there's enough for an apron out of that as well...I thought about making a pinball as well, but stopped the madness there, as I'm a perfectly serviceable pinball, myself! For now.

Very few in-progress shots of the jacket, as it was nearly a two-day project from mockup to finish. Just had the sleeves to hem on the third day! I just adapted my cream wool jacket pattern to get the swallow-tail from the infamous Costume Close-Up jacket, with a closed front. I did make the front-seam sleeves from the book, though; my go-to 18thc sleeve has a back seam, so, yay for something different!

After a day of sewing: most of a jacket! How satisfying.

As you can see, it's almost completely unlined; just the "tails" are lined in white linen. To be quite honest, I don't have any documentation for that, for a woman's jacket. Not that I looked very hard, I admit. I know there are accounts of unlined men's suits of linen for the summer heat in Virginia, and that was good enough for me. It's quite practical for a hot, humid summer to get rid of as many layers as possible, and while Williamsburg beats Philadelphia in the uncomfortable heat ratings, it still gets quite hot and nasty here in the summer!

I was practicing my Big Ugly Stitches on this jacket. Yes, really!

The fabric itself is a cheap Joann's quilting cotton - Samantha's made a gown out of the red colorway, so I promise you it's legit. ;) Hand sewn...did I need to say that? Just in case!

And a few shots on Mabel, since I only got those two pictures of it on me!

And now that I can pry myself away from the 18thc accessories (though I do want to finish those linen mitts if I decide to go to the battle of Monmouth in a couple weeks), I can go back to working on the 18-teens dress that I'd started before the 18thc snagged me!

The Tall Ships are coming to Philadelphia at the end of the month (I'm going on Sunday the 28th), and while ships with a whole range of dates will be there, I decided to dress for the repro of a War of 1812 ship. Partially because Regency is probably the coolest option for an end-of-June event...partially because I want to wear my Robert Land red silk boots! So the plan is for a Little White Dress, with a red linen spencer and a new bonnet.

The Little White Dress is of Swiss dot voile, and is well underway - though the tucks in the skirt have held me up something awful! Had to take the first one out as it was completely wonkus. I just finished them tonight. It's heavily inspired by a dress in Bradfield's Costume in Detail, though as usual I make up and change stuff where I want!

Due to tuck shenanigans I've gone completely off the rails with the lovely sane sewing schedule I made myself when I started the outfit! I think it'll be quite snazzy if I manage to pull it all together though, so here's hoping...