tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22130579433393251722024-03-06T22:33:47.614-05:00A Dedicated Follower of FashionAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-59746153731581242082024-01-14T01:05:00.000-05:002024-01-14T01:05:29.589-05:00Bustlin' in the 1880s<p> A relatively short post: 1880s foundations! I don't especially like making the undies, but I do like having the correct foundations for an outfit; it makes all the difference.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461521067_f1b36f9371_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461521067_f1b36f9371_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The bustle and petticoat are new(ish)...the combinations are at least five or six years old (I think from the Truly Victorian pattern), and the corset is from <a href="https://redthreaded.com/products/1880s-victorian-corset" target="_blank">Redthreaded</a>. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462576008_58c35ee44b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462576008_58c35ee44b_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The bustle in its original form is quite elderly; I made it in 2011 to go under one of my first Victorian dresses, a <a href="http://mandierw.blogspot.com/search/label/19thc%3A%20striped%201870s">striped cotton 1870s dress</a>! I used the pattern for the 1870s bustle in Norah Waugh's Corsets & Crinolines; it's more of a "lobster-tail" style, so very usable for the 1880s as well. I dug it out last year when I decided to do an 1880s outfit in 2024, and figured I could do "just a little bit" of refitting.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462436201_32e378b3f1_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462436201_32e378b3f1_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Well...it might have been easier to make a completely new one, actually, but I didn't want to waste the materials. In particular, it's boned with the buckram-encased hoop steel that isn't made any more, so I really didn't want to waste that! I pulled the inner pieces in tighter to make the tail protrude more, added in a scrap piece at the top to fill in the void that pulling in the back left (it doesn't match but whatever), resewed the top parts of the tail closer to the boning, added the black ruffle to the bottom of the tail, refit the side hip pieces, sewed the whole thing back on the waistband, and then added metal eyes so I could lace it for a closure rather than a hook & eye.</p><p>Easy peasy, right?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462436626_14c446a42c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462436626_14c446a42c_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>It's not quite up to my 2024 standards; if I were making it new I'd have tried to do a much better job of fitting those side hip pieces, in particular! But, ultimately...it's underwear, right? Wrinkly hip pieces aren't really going to matter!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461520377_cc08ef56cf_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461520377_cc08ef56cf_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The petticoat is a new make, and my first accomplished thing for 2024. (Started AND finished in 2024, yay me.) It's made from drapery silk, using <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tv261p-1885-four-gore-underskirt-paper-pattern/" target="_blank">TV261</a>. Well, using the front pieces, anyway; I had to lengthen the back to go over this bustle! It doesn't look that big with the petticoat, but the center back length is almost 7" longer than the center front, so needed a little extra room.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462577133_18042cb40e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462577133_18042cb40e_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The drapery silk was an excellent deal although isn't a color I'd especially want for a dress (ugly gold and bronze with a non-mirrored stripe. Bought specifically to become a late Victorian petticoat of some kind!). Being a drapery silk and relatively loosely-woven, I flat-felled all the seams on the petticoat, otherwise I'd be eternally shedding little bits of gold thread. Annoying, but I wanted a fancy swishy petticoat to go under my dinner dress, and drapery silk is a whole lot cheaper than a nice taffeta these days!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461520887_e976c3cb03_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53461520887_e976c3cb03_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>I didn't center or try to match the stripes; since they're not mirrored it would have been way more trouble than it was worth...and, again, undies. Not that noticeable anyway! Cut the stripe on the flounce running the opposite way because it seemed fun.</p><p>Final note is about the bustle and why I wanted to lace it for a fastening rather than a hook & eye. So it could do this!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462751089_e70dfe2727_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53462751089_e70dfe2727_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>There are hooks to be found on a few extant corsets (<a href="http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115832/corset-unknown/" target="_blank">like this one</a>); I've seen them described as holding petticoats in place and away from bulking up the waist but they can certainly do the same for a bustle! I don't care as much about bulk at the waist, but I did want to make sure the bustle stayed where I wanted it. </p><p>There's a difference in waist length between the two bustle eras; 1870s is shorter-waisted with the bustle starting up at that higher waist, while 1880s is longer-waisted, with the bustle more at the high hip and/or resting on the bum, depending on your proportions. Compare this <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938861141416/" target="_blank">1870s dress</a> with this <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/519321400795389311/" target="_blank">1880s dress</a>! Relatively subtle, but it's the little things, right? </p><p>With my particular shape, any skirt supports on a waistband want to creep up to the smallest part of my waist (naturally!), which on me is too high for fashionable 1880s. So - hooked in place it is! That prevents the small-of-the-waist sag that I get with skirt supports, as well, so it's a win-win. I just stitched one one of those <a href="https://www.joann.com/hook-and-eyes-white/12140414.html" target="_blank">big Dritz hooks</a> on, which I'm quite sure aren't as sturdy as the ones actually used in period, but I'll see how it holds up.<br /></p><p>(Also, a "relatively short" post for me is still apparently over 700 words...this is why I'll never be successful on Instagram, LOL!)<br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-24994981803531930432023-11-12T21:06:00.001-05:002023-11-12T21:06:10.553-05:00Welsh Costume<p> Or, Traditional Welsh Dress, if you prefer. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53317159903_68f9ac9212_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53317159903_68f9ac9212_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p>I actually made most of this outfit for a "Bonfire Night" themed party in 2022, but I didn't make the hat and I didn't bother making the sleeves because it ended up being 80F that weekend and didn't feel at all autumnal...and as such I didn't bother getting any nice pictures of it! <br /></p><p>I wore it on Halloween to sit out front and give out candy to trick or treaters (and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzFLicWAVK8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank">creep some of them out</a>), which felt much more appropriate weather for this outfit...in the 50s and then lower once the sun went down. Which in turn inspired me to finish it up properly - at least enough to take pictures and document its existence!</p><p>There's a lot of documenting ahead; if you're just here for the pictures you may want to step over to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mandie_rw/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> instead! I've posted and will keep posting some shots of the outfit there, too, with much less verbosity. Relatively speaking.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313175645_79c72d9152_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313175645_79c72d9152_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The "proper" hat I wanted to make still isn't done - hardly started, really, as all I got to last year was a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChVgwXbAgRx/">posterboard mockup</a>, and a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938858304705/" target="_blank">Tall Hat</a> is quite a commitment. Definitely more than I could realistically finish before all the autumn leaves are down for this year. Plus I wasn't thrilled with the velvet I bought to cover the hat, anyway. But the classic tall "Welsh hat" <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938857022119/" target="_blank">certainly isn't</a> the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938857024991/">only type/shape</a> of hat <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938857022111/">that was worn</a> with this kind of dress, and a wool felt top hat seemed a not-unreasonable compromise. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51894629959_3d461f5ecb_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="410" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51894629959_3d461f5ecb_o.jpg" width="256" /> </a> <br /></div><p></p><p>All that about hats notwithstanding, sleeves seemed very doable! I cut them out and halfway sewed them together last year before the party, then shoved them in a bag and promptly forgot about them, so that was a pleasant surprise from Past Me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53314792964_f70ea46610_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53314792964_f70ea46610_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> They're made of black and red shot silk taffeta, lined with cotton, and interlined in wool for warmth. I may make another lighter weight pair out of a yellow and red printed cotton at some point (inspired by the lady on the left <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938858355408/" target="_blank">in this print</a>), but one pair of sleeves is fine for now! I can only wear one set at a time...<br /></p><p>Side note: I'm hugely indebted to Michael Freeman's VAST wealth of information that can be found at <a href="https://welshhat.wordpress.com/">https://welshhat.wordpress.com/</a> - tons of primary sources, images, and explanation, all of which are free online to rando members of the public like me! If you're at all interested in Welsh costume this is an incredible resource with hours of reading! (If you're only mildly interested and want to know the basic parts of the outfit, I have a short list of references at the bottom, the first of which is an excellent basic primer as to the layers!) </p><p>A brief rundown of the rest of the layers and pieces as follows. Side note: since this style of dress and 18th century dress have quite a bit of style and construction overlap, there's some overlap in my outfit with my 18thc pieces as well. Very convenient for being able to reuse pieces!<br /></p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Base layer </h2><p>Early 19thc short-sleeved shift and my 1844 Corsets & Crinolines corset. I went with that corset as a bit of splitting the difference, since there's very little evidence of <i>what</i> Welsh women wore as support garments during the 1830s-40s, which is the first solid appearance of this style of dress. Indeed, there's some written evidence from the 18th/19thc that <a href="https://welshhat.wordpress.com/elements-of-welsh-costumes/stays/" target="_blank">at least some of them went stayless</a>, as the writers were very happy to note...but taking those sources with a grain of salt, plus intending this to be more "Sunday best" costume, plus the fact that in my experience it's much easier to fit these things over foundation garments...I think it's not completely out of the realm that at least somebody was wearing stays under their dress in Wales in the 1840s! Plus I don't want to look lumpy.<br /></p><p>Additional note: I wore my "Stratford" American Duchess shoes, which are 16thc style and not exactly what somebody would be wearing in Wales in the 1830s/40s, but one, I couldn't find my black 18thc shoes that I'd intended to wear; two, from what I can see in the prints, women seem to be mostly wearing the square-toed shoe style that was in style at the time (and my early Victorian style shoes aren't black!); three, the Stratfords at least fit the overall look, even if they aren't really correct!</p><p>Also, I chose to wear my fun striped cotton stockings although black wool would have been more strictly historical, as most of the prints show black stockings on the women. But I'm a big "fun stockings" fan. And at least these don't have frogs on them or anything.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313682467_2f3e9bc6f0_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313682467_2f3e9bc6f0_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Pais (petticoat)</h2><p>There are two! The under-petticoat is a deliciously fat, plush, yellow wool flannel that I got as a remnant from <a href="https://farmhousefabrics.com/" target="_blank">Farmhouse Fabrics</a> a few years ago. I was hoping to make a Regency spencer out of it, but it's a really <i>bad</i> shade of yellow to be that close to my face. But perfect for a petticoat! I had to piece in the last couple of inches at the top with some random scrap-bag linen to make it long enough, but I would have done that anyway, since pleating this wool into a waistband would make for one very fat waistband! I bound the hem in black twill tape rather than hemming it for the same reason...also it's a fun little decorative touch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52263379258_b161b8d449_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52263379258_b161b8d449_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>I don't think I saw any examples of yellow petticoats specifically, but yellow definitely makes an appearance in accessories (<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938858304689/" target="_blank">and even one gown</a>) in the prints I found, so I figured it fell into the "reasonable assumption" category.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53311841617_2a08528936_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53311841617_2a08528936_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /> Top petticoat is made of the same wool flannel as the gown, and is hand sewn apart from the side seams. I made it to fasten on the side (mostly because I forgot to split the back panel to do a back opening...), and the opposite side has a pocket slit, because pockets are incredibly useful things, so of course Welsh women used them as well! I didn't make new ones, because they're not any different in shape or function from my 18thc pockets, so I used those (which honestly I use for every era I can get away with! Separate pockets are awesome. Except when they wander away from the pocket slit and you can't find them). I bound the petticoat in the same black twill tape as the yellow petticoat, too.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313180665_923c3d11b7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313180665_923c3d11b7_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Gown</h2><p>I made my gown in the style worn in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. There are a few different gown styles depending on region, but this seems to be the most distinctive, with the most surviving examples. (<a href="https://welshhat.wordpress.com/elements-of-welsh-costumes/gowns-and-bedgowns/" target="_blank">Link to rundown of the different types of gowns</a>). It took several weeks of poking Ebay to find striped wool flannel that I considered acceptable for this gown, and I'd still have rather gotten a fabric with a more pronounced red stripe (this one is black, grey, and red), but this is the best I could find, and I think it's Not Bad, even if it's not a perfect match.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313010660_8afbd474c7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313010660_8afbd474c7_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p>I used the ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLY AMAZINGLY HELPFUL pictures of a <a href="https://welshhat.wordpress.com/elements-of-welsh-costumes/gowns-and-bedgowns/cardiganshire-and-carmarthenshire-bedgowns/the-deconstructed-gown/" target="_blank">deconstructed gown</a> on the Welsh Hat site to construct my own gown. I followed the construction/shape of the original pretty closely, although I adapted the measurements to fit me, of course, and also omitted the funky piecing because I had 7 yards of 60" fabric to work with.</p><p>Which is good because I mis-cut both the long back pieces and then the fronts too. Whooooops. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323569193_5a0da8ec58_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323569193_5a0da8ec58_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>A couple of in-progress pictures on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChEFr1PAdaz/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLOblHA0vM/">here.</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323600273_1e143b23ac_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323600273_1e143b23ac_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The gown is all hand-sewn; mostly for fun! I do legitimately enjoy hand sewing! Also, since it's essentially a slightly modified 18thc style, in some ways it's actually easier to hand sew if you're trying to use 18thc construction methods, rather than fussing with a machine.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313010485_03d21ab074_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313010485_03d21ab074_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The "tails" of the skirt can be worn up or down, but I prefer them up,
because why have a tail if you aren't going to show it off? My tails
are just pinned up, which seemed the simplest way to keep them where
you want them. (Extants don't seem to have any buttons, loops, or other evidence of how the tails stayed up, so pins are a logical solution.)<p></p><p>The gown pins closed as well, incidentally, for the same reason - from what I could gather, most of the extants have no fastenings on the center front opening, which tends to point to pins (ahahaha sorry, very punny). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53311664597_a8af8d4a0a_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53311664597_a8af8d4a0a_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The moire was another reasonably common sleeve trim on this style of gown, that I liked very much. The moire ribbon on my gown is a nice hefty black cotton-silk blend - old enough that it reads purple in bright sunlight! If you look at the other pictures it does look black...<br /></p><p> <br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Accessories</h2><p><b>Kerchief & Shawl:</b> The plaid kerchief I'm wearing tucked into the neck of my gown is made from a lightweight linen, and it's from my stable of already-existing 18thc neckerchiefs. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53312776873_257f8424f2_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53312776873_257f8424f2_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The deeper red small shawl that's pinned over top of the gown is a square wool shawl that I found on ebay. The larger white and plaid-border shawl is also an ebay find, and also wool! I bought a third shawl as well that didn't end up making an appearance in this photoshoot, because although it's a lovely soft fluffy mohair that's warmer than the white shawl, it's also vintage and sheds fibers like crazy! Like "my cat has been using this for a bed for a month" hairy. I wore it on Halloween when I sat outside and had to lint roll the whole outfit. Didn't seem worth it just for pictures. Especially when it wasn't actually cold!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53317281544_3a46b7ee65_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53317281544_3a46b7ee65_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p> </p><p><b>Apron:</b> More wool! It's Wales, everything is wool. I wanted a checked wool with a woven-in border like you can see on some of the later <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/Adysx3KPhdWu6Rh40bMf_Bs-aTbIPS3prBvDAd09_xHtRKjjRp73vl4/" target="_blank">19thc photos</a> of Welsh costume...which, no surprise, was a tall order. Ebay came through for me again, with a remnant of checked wool fabric that had a ridiculously wide selvedge! Those colored stripes at the bottom of the apron are just the selvedge...but I think it works well enough for effect, even if it's not exact. I like it, anyway - more fun than just a plain apron!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323816280_350c7eaf85_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323816280_350c7eaf85_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><b> Cap:</b> Just a Regency-style cap that I already had, and my best option for cap ruffles that would show under the hat. A designated cap for this outfit is also on the "eventually" list - one with either chin ties or lappets, as those seem to be common options, but again, this one works for now.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323819425_f5436c45fa_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323819425_f5436c45fa_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>And a few more pictures!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313642482_43249f7349_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313642482_43249f7349_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53314497706_4a6f38be29_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53314497706_4a6f38be29_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313187260_a5099dd1ca_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53313187260_a5099dd1ca_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323808375_7151458446_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53323808375_7151458446_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53316072062_4daaf6b12f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="519" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53316072062_4daaf6b12f_o.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Location: The park around <a href="https://www.smithvillemansion.org/" target="_blank">Smithville Mansion</a> in Eastampton, NJ. Very nice park, with lots of nice walking paths. Pictures helpfully taken by my better half because I'm not sure where my tripod went! (thanks, dear.)<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">References:</h2><div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Costume of Ceredigion or Cardiganshire, Wales or Cymru.</i> (Folk Costume & Embroidery): <a href="http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2011/12/costume-of-ceredigion-or-cardiganshire.html">http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2011/12/costume-of-ceredigion-or-cardiganshire.html</a></span></p></div><div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></p></div><div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Stovepipe Hats and Bedgowns: An Exploration of the Welsh National Costume.</i> (The Costume Society): <a href="https://costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/stovepipe-hats-and-bedgowns-an-exploration-of-the-welsh-national-costume">https://costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/stovepipe-hats-and-bedgowns-an-exploration-of-the-welsh-national-costume</a></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p> </p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Components of Welsh Costume.</i> (Welsh Costume / Gwisg Gymreig) <a href="https://welshhat.wordpress.com/elements-of-welsh-costumes/">https://welshhat.wordpress.com/elements-of-welsh-costumes/</a></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p> </p></div></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-69694163625719808862022-12-23T15:11:00.002-05:002022-12-23T15:12:53.053-05:001890s Petticoats: Fluffles<p> See, I do still sew! Not as often, or extensively (I got married and bought a house this year), but I still sew and even occasionally finish things. Heh. Not that often. Heh. Instagram is the place to be for second-generation costumers who are too lazy to do writeups much (it me. I mean me), but I'm still hanging on to the pictures-AND-words format. So there, steadily advancing social media trends.<br /></p><p>Regardless...I've got an opportunity to do some 1890s in January, and I wanted to see if I could bang out a new, mid-1890s dress over break. I haven't yet done any banging of outfits (ahem), but I did start and finish a couple of new petticoats! I have, uh, a lot of petticoats, but none that give a nice fashionable A-line for the mid-1890s. And fashionable was pretty wide mid-decade!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52582004834_58cdfd0a92_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52582004834_58cdfd0a92_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, I made two new petticoats over the past few weeks, and finished the Big Fluffer the other day. Warning: bad pictures taken at awkward angle ahead. I'm not sure where the camera tripod is and the husband is still learning to take costume pictures so he's not the best tripod. ;) Plus I'm on winter break and refuse to get pretty for the camera!<br /></p><p><span></span></p>First petticoat is relatively plain - made of cotton organdy with a single lightly-gathered flounce trimmed with some very stiff and scratchy lace. Bottom basic!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580166409_937d50c9a0_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580166409_937d50c9a0_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>I'm also wearing The Smallest Bum Pad - I think I originally made it for an 1860s hoop pad, but it works for everything from early 1790s to mid-1890s here. Anything I just want to hold out the back of a skirt a wee bit! I'm wearing it lower here, over my hips and on my actual bum, to keep bulk away from the waist. Not looking for a bustle effect here!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580166484_fcd00b60d7_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580166484_fcd00b60d7_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435017_b5a3b6accd_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435017_b5a3b6accd_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>If I wanted a less fashionable silhouette, I might stop here, or put one more plain petticoat on top of this one. It's reasonably A-line, and will hold a fairly lightweight skirt out well enough. However, we're not looking for "reasonable" here...</p><p>Enter: The Big Fluffer. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579437032_2e1ef6e3fa_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579437032_2e1ef6e3fa_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Big Fluffer, pre-ruffle. Still reasonably fluffy! Also, admire hanging shoe and pink fuzzy slippers. This is probably the truest to the actual color of the fabric, also.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The Big Fluffer is made of acetate taffeta, shot emerald green and black. I'm still a yuge fiber snob, but I didn't have any dress lengths of silk taffeta that I wanted to sacrifice for a petticoat! Found a 10-yard length of this stuff on ebay for $3.95/yard. Yes, that'll work! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580341055_d7a0cebdf4_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580341055_d7a0cebdf4_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p>It's good-quality enough for a dress, really, but I'm so used to working with natural fibers that I'm too hard on synthetics. I'm not nice enough with them! This thing has water spots and shiny marks all over it, not to mention the scars from ripping out stitching. I don't really bring the best and the brightest to my petticoat game anyway, and add in the acetate factor...just don't look too closely!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579434957_dc7553bb75_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579434957_dc7553bb75_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /> The ruffle is a two-parter: 17 yards in the bottom ruffle pleated into the 6.5 yard top ruffle, gathered to the petticoat itself.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435007_76012c0709_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435007_76012c0709_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />Fluffles in the dark...<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580167654_28418b6a8a_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52580167654_28418b6a8a_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p>Probably my favorite part of this whole thing is the 2 feet or so of different lace on the bottom flounce. Hey, I had a couple of lengths of random somewhat-crappy laces, but none of them were more than 15 yards... xD I did manage to remember to put that piece round the back, anyway. Hey, I've seen it on an original petticoat! Waste not, &c.<br /> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435042_ca309f9445_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52579435042_ca309f9445_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>Now I guess I have to make the dress to go over it... eh I suppose so! If I manage it, it'll be some version of this 1894 "Velveteen Costume With Cape" from Ageless Patterns. I have a length of dark blue-green Pendleton wool that I think should work, and I bought a vintage coat off ebay for the fur.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52581354012_a1d58e2967_o.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52581354012_a1d58e2967_o.gif" width="201" /></a></div><br /><p>It's currently in the early mockup stages - the pattern is a good 8" too big in the bust for me (don't tell me everyone was tiny Back Then!), plus all the rest of the usual fitting annoyances (adding an inch to the waist length, fussing with the back shoulders, &c. &c.), so it's currently at mockup 1.2 stage. And now it's cold and I don't wanna get undressed and put on a corset for fittings! Hmph.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-14463979843043623872021-08-06T13:07:00.000-05:002021-08-06T13:07:18.221-05:001790s Striped Open Robe<p>A finished UFO for our Costumers Getaway last month! (Unfinished object, for those not using that parlance. I find it amusing.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347408829_1143e41dd9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347408829_1143e41dd9_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>I had many grand plans for New Things this weekend - started a few, and finished precisely none of the ones I'd originally planned. Sewing motivation this year has been severely lacking. But! The week before the trip I realized I had this open robe, which has been languishing in a UFO bin since a canceled Georgian picnic in 2016 (!).</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Readers will be absolutely amazed to learn I can't find any of the few progress pictures I took of the robe when I made most of it in 2016 (!) - it was very close to finished, too. All that was left was to sew down the back half of the sleeves, and attach the CF band to close the bodice. But we had to cancel our picnic due to Bad Weather, and after that, my interest moved away from 1790s, so an event (and therefore a reason to finish this) never presented itself.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347402764_95ec7fd67d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347402764_95ec7fd67d_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>And then...this trip. All I had to do was pull it out, see if it fit, and sew a few seams.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346650446_909e6a6dc0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346650446_909e6a6dc0_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>You may have noticed my mention of sleeves, and thought, what sleeves? What sleeves, indeed. When I tried the robe on, I noticed that - not to put too fine a point on it - the sleeve fit sucked. There is picture proof that back in 2016 I WAS successfully making gowns with sleeves that fit, so I don't know what happened here, but the fit was decidedly awful. Not awful in a way that I could have just unpicked, refitted, and resewn, either - a case of not enough fabric at the front of the sleeve head, so ill-fitting and pulling the shoulder straps and just generally stupid. I bought a 10-yard length of the striped fabric originally, so it <i>would</i> have been possible to recut the sleeves, but...</p><p>Sleeveless robes are also totally acceptable! Also the path of least resistance. Who has time for new sleeves when you can just hack them off and sew up the armscyes and call it Good Enough?<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346660366_a3527dcc72_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346660366_a3527dcc72_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The Met has a couple of examples of striped open robes from the second half of the 1790s, for reference - <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/83888" target="_blank">a sleeved one here</a>, and a <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/82284" target="_blank">sleeveless one here</a>. My striped fabric is a silk-cotton blend that I believe came from ebay - it was an extremely good deal, which is why I ended up getting the aforementioned10 yards of it!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346877608_865b63e285_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346877608_865b63e285_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The robe is all hand sewn, from what I remember (which obviously isn't much). It's very basic construction - it gives a fancy effect over a round gown, but it doesn't have any interesting pleating or trim. All the visual interest comes from the stripes. I lined the bottom 12" or so of the train with plain cotton, for dragging-on-the-ground purposes; I'm not usually a person to add unnecessarily long trains on things, but I'm glad I did in this case! Looks very swanky.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347672810_281fb49581_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347672810_281fb49581_b.jpg" width="300" /></a> <br /></div><p> </p><p>I twisted up a small kerchief of swiss dot to wrap around my head, stuck some peacock feathers in it, and wore my <a href="https://www.damesalamode.com/collections/all/madeira-topaz" target="_blank">"Madeira topaz"</a> Dames a la Mode parure, since we were being fancy for dinner.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346660171_6c0bf3f3d6_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346660171_6c0bf3f3d6_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>*makes airplane noises*</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>And a few more pictures, because I enjoy them, and I think we were a very pretty group that evening!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51345939012_a792ec5820_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51345939012_a792ec5820_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346876783_50ef1d42ab_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346876783_50ef1d42ab_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346659081_1a2b211de0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346659081_1a2b211de0_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346889388_bcb8481f2d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346889388_bcb8481f2d_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>wheeeeee....</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-75435634672859904232021-07-31T15:52:00.000-05:002021-07-31T15:52:07.881-05:00Transitional Stays: c.1800<p>This project was started on a total whim, back in March (ahem), I got through about three-quarters of the way through, lost interest, and just came back to them this week, all inspired to finish them! (Thank you, getaway with costumer friends last weekend!) It wasn't for an event, so better late than never?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347263047_53259431b9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347263047_53259431b9_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>With almost no events this past year+ to inspire me, I had decided I wanted to make an outfit inspired by one in <i>Costume in Detail</i>, out of a print that would be working-class appropriate. I love dressing <i>up</i>, but I like dressing <i>down</i> as well - I think there's still a widespread misconception amongst The Public that working class women didn't wear stays/corsets and were all dressed in potato sacks, and that's just not true! Plus my favorite costumes are ones that feel like clothing to me, and middle/working class wear usually fits the bill for me, rather than my silks! (Which I enjoy as well, don't get me wrong.)<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017405_d7bc9b105f_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017405_d7bc9b105f_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I got as far as buying the fabric and sewing together the petticoat panels before stopping to consider that my lovely new Regency stays from a <a href="https://redthreaded.com/collections/make-your-own-corsets/products/regency-short-stays-pattern-individually-sized-paper-pattern" target="_blank">Redthreaded pattern</a> (...which I still haven't posted here. Er, someday? Maybe?) might be a titch fashion-forward for a turn-of-the-century working class outfit. Not <i>necessarily</i>, and the 1790s/ 1800s have an incredibly wide range of stay types (some of them are <a href="https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/corset-1987092" target="_blank">pretty wacky combinations</a> of conical 18thc and more "natural" early 19th, actually), but it's certainly not as if the clock hit midnight on January 1, 1800, and every woman ditched her more conical stays for the new version with bust gussets!</p><p>Plus...I actually like making stays, believe it or not, so I was more than happy to have an excuse to try out a new variation! (Later 19th-century corsets are a different story...) Not to mention the different types of boning mentioned in Patterns of Fashion 5. There are more options than just whalebone, especially for "provincial" stays; PoF mentions both bents and wood, for instance. I've used German plastic whalebone and plastic cable ties for stays (and an ill-fated experiment with cane), but I thought it might be fun to branch out a bit...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014530811_565a85b2a6_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014530811_565a85b2a6_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A bit...</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have a pretty decent assortment of books with patterns for stays dated to the 1790s; I decided to base this pair on one that's patterned in <i>Regency Women's Dress</i>, partly because they're pretty basic and just a shorter version of earlier stays (no tabs), and partly because it's one of the books I added to my collection during 2020, so it was a fun new resource for me! </p><p>My stays ended up being much more "inspired by" than truly based on that pair - this is a running theme with me. For a few reasons, but mainly because the original wearer was neither my shape nor my size! Rather than scale the pattern up and try to deal with that, I just pulled out my 1770s stays pattern pieces and redrew seam lines and futzed til I had something that looked similar.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017300_cc55117988_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017300_cc55117988_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Worked pretty well for fit, but it did mean that I ended up with stays that I think are longer at CF than that original. It's hard to be sure, because the stays aren't shown mounted, just a little line drawing, but they seem to be at mid-ribcage length, above the natural waist. Mine do reach the natural waist at CF. I very briefly contemplated unpicking the binding, cutting, and rebinding, but...that seemed like too much trouble, upon reflection! It won't really matter for the dress. Plus I'm long-waisted, so my "full length" stays can be a full 2" longer (at least!) before they hit my side hip. (It's interesting trying to balance proportions in eras that are meant to be slightly short-waisted but not full-on above the waist, like 1780s; if I cut to <i>my</i> waist the bodices look "off"!)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017295_eb74024205_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017295_eb74024205_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>I constructed my stays a bit differently than the original pair, as well. Those are two layers of linen, and it's boned with baleen (I believe). I had a scrap of herringbone-weave natural linen I wanted to use for the outside, but it was too lightweight to hold poky boning on its own, so I used the herringbone linen on the outside, and then two layers of midweight white linen to sandwich the boning. Used another white linen scrap for the shoulder straps, as there wasn't enough of the herringbone - it was a small scrap!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348735449_2de8c99b31_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348735449_2de8c99b31_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The channels for the boning are machine-sewn, and the rest of the sewing is done by hand. I really enjoy hand sewing, but I've never yet been inspired to 100% hand sew a pair of stays. Someday I'd like to make a really nice mid-century all-hand-sewn pair out of silk brocade...but that's not this pair! Machine sewn channels with the rest done by hand is my usual M.O. </p><p>A few shots from the first fitting - pretty good, considering the unorthodox "drafting", lol. This is where I had left them from March to this past Monday...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51037419788_331905e893_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51037419788_331905e893_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038147626_b096decc9a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038147626_b096decc9a_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038147616_0f964577b4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038147616_0f964577b4_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>I bound the stays fully with strips of chamois leather; the original used leather on the bottom edge and in the armscye (the linen layers are just turned towards each other on the rest of the top edge), but I've used chamois on other stays and liked it, plus binding the whole thing was just easier! Minus the shoulder straps - those were sewn separately and stitched on after the stays were otherwise complete. Rather than stitch the leather strip and turn it over the edge to get that nice narrow edge (<a href="http://koshka-the-cat.blogspot.com/2015/08/binding-18th-century-stays-abbreivated.html">as seen here in Katherine's tutorial</a>), I just sewed the binding over the edge in one go. Clunkier-looking, but easier - doable in one pass of stitching rather than two...and I want them to look a little clunkier, as a not-professionally-made pair of working-class stays probably would have! The original pair aren't particularly finely made, either.<br /></p><p>FYI it's SO MUCH EASIER to bind stays without tabs...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017395_7186844958_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017395_7186844958_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Final notable difference: boning! As I mentioned, the original pair seems to be boned with whalebone. I wanted to use some of that experimental material, though, so I chose the reed. Mostly because it didn't need any prep, just cut and shove into channels!</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014626392_460550dc55_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014626392_460550dc55_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is Pip. Pip is Helping.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>It's pretty poky, which reinforced my decision to bind with chamois. I suppose one could try filing the ends down, but with five reeds per channel it didn't seem like an effective use of my time when I could just bind with leather and be done.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014626382_c7f07e2edd_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51014626382_c7f07e2edd_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pokepokepoke.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>I haven't worn them around much - just an afternoon and evening after I bound them - and right now as I write this post! - so it remains to be seen how the reeds hold up to wear. Much less likely to break than in stays with tabs, but I suspect I can still break them if I bend too extremely in a few certain directions - side back, most likely. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348220308_5d64debf29_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="606" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348220308_5d64debf29_b.jpg" width="303" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Three layers of linen and reed in half-boned stays is also softer than a whalebone substitute - in side profile you can see how that front curve isn't completely smooth, there's a small "bubble" at the bust. This will likely get more pronounced with wear. And that's entirely ok with me! 1790s move towards that softer bustline anyway, plus the whole "working wear" thing.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347262947_229f0f71ae_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51347262947_229f0f71ae_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Illustrated by a helpful wiggly line.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>(I plan to see how all these materials react to wear in similar cut of stays...but that's a <i>very</i> long-term plan!)</p><p>They're very comfortable so far, unsurprisingly. A few layers of linen and a handful of reeds that end above the belly pooch isn't terribly constricting. Also...yes, I can raise my arms above my head! ;)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017475_ff07605df5_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51349017475_ff07605df5_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Next up: the outfit to go over this. As shown below, my 1790s petticoat fits over it just fine, so full steam ahead, while I'm still inspired to sew! (Famous last words...)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348989549_5540008db1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51348989549_5540008db1_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-88058300829774303892021-05-28T11:19:00.002-05:002021-05-28T11:19:46.605-05:00A Regency Picnic and a Morning Dress<p> (Morning, not <i>mourning.</i>)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196757873_b4f0d4399d_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196757873_b4f0d4399d_h.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><br /><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>It's been <i>so</i> long since events, and since making new things and therefore updating ye olde blogge...how do I do this? Let's give it a shot!<p></p><p>The occasion: Playing dress-up and being able to see friends without masks! Cause enough for celebration, I think. Our region's case numbers have been on a steady decline and the tri-state area is lifting restrictions, plus our little group of friends is all vaccinated. So we felt pretty good about having a dress-up event <i>finally</i>, especially out-of-doors. For a variety of reasons we all agreed that Regency seemed like a great idea when we were planning for it - so Regency it was!</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51195758692_939dc69959_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51195758692_939dc69959_h.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3/5 of the party</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>And this is the first outfit I've managed to start and finish in a reasonable amount of time in over a year, so...that's nice too.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196682103_a82f4557cf_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196682103_a82f4557cf_h.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Practically perfect in every way! ;)</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>It ended up being just a very small group of us - five people - set up on the lawn at Valley Forge National Park, near the Washington's Headquarters house, last Saturday. The weather was somewhat perverse and insisted on being 91 degrees (oof), but relented a bit and gave us cloud cover and low humidity. So, although we were definitely warm, it was by no means unbearable...in fact we ended up staying for about six hours, just chatting and taking pictures and eating our Wawa picnics. (This was by no means an Accurate Interpretation kind of day!)</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246959_a339b87a5c_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246959_a339b87a5c_h.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Although nylon picnic baskets and cotton candy grapes ARE very accurate to the Regency.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><b>The Making of...on Instagram</b><br />I had completely different plans for a new Regency dress when we decided we were doing this era for a picnic (and yes, I needed a new dress because we haven't done this era for...at least four years if not more? and in the interim I've made new stays that put my bust at a totally different point and therefore most of the old dresses don't fit any more!). I had a few lengths of fabric that would work for a variety of Regency outfits, but then...I was poking around the cotton section of <a href="http://Fabric.com">Fabric.com</a> looking for fabric for someone else...and this one said, hello, please buy me, you need me...and I said, well, okay, you <i>are</i> on clearance! </p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COBh5whA2ss/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">First bodice progress pics, and a closeup of the print.</a><br /></p><p>And you're going to get a bunch of links to Instagram in lieu of progress pictures here, because I'm compromising between the Old Ways and the New. Also I'm too lazy to rewrite everything I already put in IG, so there you go. </p><p>I was mainly inspired by <a href="http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110101/gown/gown-unknown/" rel="nofollow">this dress in the V&A</a>, c.1810, although I didn't try to copy every little detail. I thought the style would translate nicely to my stripe, I wanted a high-necked and long-sleeved morning dress (hello, sun cover), and I'm a big fan of front-closing dresses! </p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CODfIEWg-ki/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">More bodice construction progress </a><br /></p><p>I draped and fitted the bodice and sleeves patterns myself; I sort of started with an old Regency bodice pattern of mine, but it had to be fairly heavily refitted due to the aforementioned new stays. (I should make a post on those stays too. Um, someday...) The sleeve head ended up a bit more voluminous than I wanted, but I only noticed while looking through the pictures post-event, so it shall stay.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COEvUl7AS8v/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">More bodice (post sewing day with the girls!), and a closeup of the neck ruffle. </a><br /></p><p>As usual for Regency dresses when I have the time, it's all hand-sewn, with a combination of earlier 18thc construction techniques and more mid-19thc approaches. Which makes sense for this kind of era!</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COUKv1UgF6M/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Skirt pleats and a bit of how the drop-front works, if that's unfamiliar to you. </a><br /></p><p>The sleeves are pieced, because the pattern piece for them is rather excessively long (to get that fashionable scrunch!), and I only bought 5 yards of 44" fabric, because I hate having three-quarters of a yard or whatever left over, and I can't possibly get <i>rid</i> of it, but what can I do with that small of a piece...etc. etc. Plus I hadn't 100% settled on my dress design when I bought the fabric - always a bit of a dangerous thing! I'd really rather piece than have that stupid bit of fabric leftover, anyway. SO, yeah, then you get things like this. Not very noticeable til I point it out, really.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COl_2cmg66C/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Sleeve piecing evidence! </a><br /></p><p>The bodice is lined in linen, and the sleeves are partially lined in linen - I've seen that partial-lining on a small handful of originals (including my inspiration dress), and it always seemed like a good idea for a warm-weather dress! By this point, many gowns are lined in cotton rather than linen, but I'm a big fan of linen and I always have a ton of linen scraps hanging out, so linen lining it is.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COowDGHAr2q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Sleeve lining and Oh Look, Almost a Finished Dress.</a></p><p>And that's it, really! It's not anything new or crazy construction or sewing-wise...but sometimes that's a nice project to have. Everything I make doesn't have to be furthering a new skill or a big challenge; this is supposed to be a <i>fun</i> hobby, right? </p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246654_c0a20ea9b1_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246654_c0a20ea9b1_h.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One might say fun was had.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Accessories & Other Bits</b><br />Chemisette is also new but unexciting. Hardly visible in most of the pics, but it's one of those little things that really completes an outfit! I'd miss it if it wasn't there. Made of cotton lawn and also hand sewn.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246249_caa028f476_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197246249_caa028f476_h.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Shoes are <a href="https://www.americanduchess.com/" target="_blank">American Duchess</a> - they were called "Nankeen", I believe; style's a good few years old and they aren't currently offered. Very cute, very comfortable, but I really need to put the little rubber non-slip thingies on the leather soles. I think that every time I wear them...this time it was almost wiping out on the public restroom floor while a very confused kid judged me silently.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196469046_511ab054dc_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196469046_511ab054dc_h.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scandalous knees. <i>Oh</i> my.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Bonnet was a treat for my birthday this past February (to me, from me. Well, I know what I like!), from <a href="https://www.timelytresses.com/" target="_blank">Timely Tresses</a>, and worth every penny. It's absolutely charming. As you probably know, 95% of the time I make my own hats, and I'm not too bad at it if I do say so myself...but sometimes it's nice to pay a professional, you know?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51208944353_9f2d2bb4c8_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="593" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51208944353_9f2d2bb4c8_h.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Hellooooo, anybody home??"</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: left;">And a few more pictures for your consumption, because let's have at least a few non-silly pictures, right? I <i>am </i>capable of it!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197339114_daeb4c13df_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197339114_daeb4c13df_h.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51195798042_d0aa52de74_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51195798042_d0aa52de74_h.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197573470_0001a01cf0_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="579" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197573470_0001a01cf0_h.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196745363_d2231673d3_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="595" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51196745363_d2231673d3_h.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197573315_5c1d9d8be7_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="590" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51197573315_5c1d9d8be7_h.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-73260767356604506962021-02-24T23:04:00.002-05:002021-02-24T23:04:58.223-05:00A Turn-of-the-Century Hat<p>It's a hat.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214506_d565f2cc13_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="639" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214506_d565f2cc13_b.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>It's a lot of hat.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214481_4be291fcc1_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="610" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214481_4be291fcc1_b.jpg" width="488" /></a> <br /></div><p>It's also a lot of hat that is really dark in a bright snow setting. Oops. Well, they're very artistic, even if you can't see as much detail as should be in a proper costume post?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963504198_4866cd852a_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="616" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963504198_4866cd852a_b.jpg" width="493" /></a></div><p>The Hat was originally intended to be part of a new turn-of-the-century outfit for a Winter Stroll with my local costume peeps, but that fell through - we've had a ton of inclement weather lately, as has much of the country. I honestly really enjoy snow, but I don't really enjoy driving in it, especially when it's not plowed - and ice is right out. (And last winter we had exactly zero appreciable snow accumulation...)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315042_3c7df11c31_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="621" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315042_3c7df11c31_b.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><br /><p>So I figured I might as well get out to a local park and get <i>some</i> pretty costume-snow-pictures while it was there and I had time! It was still pretty cold - just above freezing, with a bit of a wind, as you can see in pictures! I was perfectly happy tromping around the park for the better part of two hours, though. You wouldn't think a silly little gauze veil would do much for warmth, but it's in fact fairly insulating! My ears weren't <i>warm</i>, but they didn't get cold til the very end of the tromp. Not to mention the fur-lined collar that goes right up to the bottom of my ears...those collars are <i>fab</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963504523_06ecfdae2b_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="800" height="486" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963504523_06ecfdae2b_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p> I'm inflating...WHOOSH.<br /></p><p>The hat's the only new thing - the rest of it is my old ice-skating outfit that I made four? years ago for My Birthday Excursion (hence the rather short skirt. Great length for snow tromping! Hardly got wet at all). Veil is even older than that...one year I decided I wanted a bonnet veil for Gettysburg (2015?), and so went to the trouble of hemming a big rectangle of silk gauze (absolute misery, gauze is horrible stuff to sew). It's definitely come in useful on occasions since!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315002_8b77de87cf_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315002_8b77de87cf_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I used the Lynn McMasters "La Belle Epoque" hat pattern, which can be found <a href="https://outofaportrait.com/home/pattern-orders/early-20th-century/" target="_blank">on this page</a>. I used view C, with a slightly higher crown, and ignored most of the construction directions, as per usual...there's a ton of ways to make and cover buckram forms, and I've found a way that works well for me. As long as the pattern pieces fit together, that's all I need!</p><p>It's a doubled layer of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKNkA6lgFzJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">heavyweight buckram</a> with a wired brim - fairly standard for most of my hats. I've found that single-layer buckram hats tend to warp on me, especially when they get up to this size. Could also just be that my natural environment of the mid-Atlantic East Coast has a natural propensity to humidity and hat-warping... your mileage may vary! <br /></p><p>I used <a href="https://www.silkbaron.com/category_s/1886.htm" target="_blank">SilkBaron's</a> "Poisonwood" taffeta to cover and trim the hat - as always, their silk's a joy to work with. (Not a shill, just a perpetually happy customer!) The feathers (natural rooster tail) were in the millinery drawer so they could be from a handful of websites - likely from <a href="https://featherplace.com/feather-types/rooster/coque-tails.html" target="_blank">FeatherPlace</a> or <a href="https://www.continentalfeathers.com/feather-type/rooster-feathers/rooster-tail-feathers/natural-bronze-rooster-tails/" target="_blank">Continental Feathers</a>, though, as they're my go-to for feathery things.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315492_d83e11c835_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="627" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964315492_d83e11c835_b.jpg" width="501" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The front-bow-puff-things on the hat are solidly attached, but they got a bit flattened in head-on wind...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50978141161_f723ac45cc_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="665" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50978141161_f723ac45cc_b.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><p></p><p>This silhouette is just...a LOT OF HAT. It's surprisingly well-anchored for the size and tilt...<br /></p><p>Potentially less-exciting but more-visible-detail shots from when I first finished the hat and plonked it on my head are in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CK76hfjgVjD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">this IG post</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213211_0671f6f51a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="630" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213211_0671f6f51a_b.jpg" width="504" /></a></div><p></p><p>Feathers standing straight up like I've stuck my finger in a light socket...ZAP!<br /></p><p>I've gotten worse and worse at documenting in-progress photos, because I'm quite sure that 98% of people only care about the finished product and not the ugly messy construction part...but I did take a few construction pics for Instagram - they can be seen <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKF6rmMA9_w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">here (part 1)</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKNkA6lgFzJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">here (part 2)</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214401_67f3a587c9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964214401_67f3a587c9_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Behind the scenes: Using the car window as a mirror to pin the veil on in a, shall we say, stiff breeze!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963503043_2b2cb1064a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50963503043_2b2cb1064a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Looks cold out there! I do love the muted winter light - even if it's bad for hat pics.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964312832_916fde67ed_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964312832_916fde67ed_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Poor stupid Pip was absolutely terrified of me in a nondescript wool flannel skirt, for reasons unfathomable. The hat wasn't even involved! He attacks the inside of my 1860s cage crinoline with impunity, but is afraid of an A-line skirt? Okay, furry potato.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964314277_4b0c1057c3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964314277_4b0c1057c3_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Look at that TAIL. I cannot handle it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213636_a1e8eef9a4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213636_a1e8eef9a4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Trompin'. One can tromp in the 1890s, believe it or not! Corset notwithstanding.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964314317_031791dc3b_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964314317_031791dc3b_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Okay...a little bit of mud on the facing! But really not bad at all, I've gotten much muddier on other occasions, and this is an old skirt.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213021_429a9c6ed5_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50964213021_429a9c6ed5_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Still a lot of hat.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-67254562873460215702020-10-30T19:53:00.001-05:002020-10-30T19:53:12.032-05:00New Sleeves and a Poe Picnic<p> A couple of weeks ago, the extended version of the Usual Suspects got together for a Poe-themed picnic/outing at Valley Forge; Washington Memorial Chapel is an early-20thc church with really pretty "Gothic" architecture with little cloisters on one side, so, perfect for a Poe-esque setting! It was the first costume outing we've had since March, and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Gorgeous fall weather, and it's a VERY large park so despite the lots of people who had the same idea we did (spending the afternoon out-of-doors, not dressing in funny clothes), there was plenty of space for everyone to maintain a reasonable distance and not have too many dog-walkers in the background of our photos!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694831_73f59e1eb3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="800" height="437" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694831_73f59e1eb3_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: all watermarked pictures are courtesy of our friend Meredith/Molly Picture Studio. She's a professional!</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499087148_6c77fb8139_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499087148_6c77fb8139_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694666_01dc5455dc_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="510" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694666_01dc5455dc_b.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><p>I originally wanted to make a new mid-1840s dress, <a href="https://flic.kr/p/2jFD6ZH" target="_blank">from Patterns of Fashion 1</a>, out of some appropriately-dark-and-spooky plum-colored silk taffeta...but I spend a lot of time working these days, so by mid-September realized that a new dress was not likely to happen! Ok, so I don't have any other strictly 1840s dresses, but I have a couple of late 1830s dresses that won't stick out too badly - and I've been intending to make long sleeves for my 1838-40 "Christmas" ballgown ever since I realized I had enough red silk left over from making the dress!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46771978405_528b0b8482_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46771978405_528b0b8482_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reminder as to what that looks like. Also that I talk with my hands.</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Decided that the red silk was a better Poe option than the cream poplin, and tootled off to Pinterest accordingly to make sure long detachable sleeves in this period weren't just a figment of my imagination.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547830767_f77c62c183_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="591" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547830767_f77c62c183_b.jpg" width="296" /></a></div> In fact they are not! Excellent. Olive green dress <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/82142" target="_blank">from the Met here</a>, and a dress from FIT (<a href="http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/media/view/Objects/38073/48983;jsessionid=82C951328A9282B5A2511BAB1FB4537A?t%3Astate%3Aflow=23018fa0-9a5e-4662-bfbf-885dc08b1e27" target="_blank">long </a>and <a href="http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/media/view/Objects/38073/48984;jsessionid=82C951328A9282B5A2511BAB1FB4537A?t%3Astate%3Aflow=23018fa0-9a5e-4662-bfbf-885dc08b1e27" target="_blank">short sleeves</a>). <p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cue wall o'text speculative documentation...</span></p><p>Those are the only two I've got evidence of, but my pet theory is that they were much more common during the post-big-sleeve-collapse years (late 30s into mid 40s) than the number of surviving examples would suggest. Considering the cost of fabric, why not make your evening dress wearable for day as well? Plus the sleeve styles of the period especially lend themselves to detachable lower sleeves: the upper arm still has some kind of embellishment or frou-frou left over from the demise of the big sleeve (they got strapped down on the upper arm before they vanished entirely) paired with an increasingly slim sleeve as you go through the 40s. I would venture a guess that some of the surviving "ball gown" examples in museums had lower sleeves that they were parted from at some point in their almost-200-year history! Very easy to lose a pair of lower sleeves if they aren't attached...And I would even go so far as to guess that there are a few long-sleeved, low-necked dresses of that particular sleeve style that are actually two-parters that remained stitched together (although that's a longer shot)! Check out <a href="https://pin.it/7C9EVOj" target="_blank">this excellent Pinterest board</a> with a survey of extant dresses from the era to see what I mean.</p><p>Anywho, whether they were really common or not, they existed, so I was good to go. I had about 3/4 yd. total left over, counting scraps, from making the ballgown, which I figured was plenty. I waffled between elbow puffs or plain straight lower sleeve - I already have the cream poplin which has elbow puffs, but more embellishment will better hide the fact that they're detachable sleeves, plus puffs are just more fun...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547692841_8e3bdc7e2f_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547692841_8e3bdc7e2f_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> Clearly I decided to go with puffs!<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547828942_8bc7f6b7ff_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547828942_8bc7f6b7ff_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Construction was my usual non-scientific method...I fitted a mockup of the plain sleeve and cut the lining pieces from the mockup, then cut out the "gauntlets" to fit the lining, then pleated up a rectangle of fabric and sewed it down into the upper part of the sleeve, covering it in a piped strip, so that when it was tacked in, it would look like the puff was held down by two piped bands.<p></p><p>Ye olde process pictures...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949248_f109e0f4d0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949248_f109e0f4d0_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Plain sleevies</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50391640321_e72aae098b_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50391640321_e72aae098b_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With the top "band"</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949483_e63a017b92_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949483_e63a017b92_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fancy lampshade or disembodied skirt?</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949478_ac9225e762_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50390949478_ac9225e762_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I actually went through THREE sleeve puffs, because this is the Three Bears, apparently (first was too big, second was too small, but the third was Just Right! Or, close enough because I was tired of fussing wiv puffs...); this is the too-big version without the lower band</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>And then they just get tacked right into the lining of the short sleeve! Work of 30 seconds to take out. Maybe a little longer to tack the lace back into the short sleeves...but not much.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694706_dc5068cf79_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="534" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694706_dc5068cf79_b.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is probably where you can see best that that top "band" holding down the elbow puff isn't actually a band at all, but it'd be pretty convincing if you didn't know, right?</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> To make the whole thing extra day-wear-y, I took off the lace from the neckline and wore a chemisette - I've seen 1840s photos with low open necklines on obvious daywear, but this was for an outdoor October event, so chemisette seemed the better option! I also put a new black ribbon on my net cap, and added ribbons to a pair of flats that I bought several years ago that had stupid elastic heels and therefore would never stay on (can report that adding ribbons helped immensely). I wore a black velvet ribbon around my neck, pinned it into place (which, btw, kept stabbing me in the collarbone area all day) and added one of my antique brooches to finish it off.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499094108_955ed68be9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499094108_955ed68be9_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>I also got a bee in my bonnet (o ho ho) to make new bonnets, so I made one for me and one for my bestie - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/SewLoud/videos" target="_blank">Robin of SewLoud</a>. Both are from <a href="https://www.timelytresses.com/store/c24/1838-1853.html">Timely Tresses</a> patterns - mine is the Lydia Alma and hers is the Lavinia Ruth - mine in brown velveteen and hers in changeable navy/green silk taffeta.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499090833_23fc4eeea9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50499090833_23fc4eeea9_b.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50546960038_c0038900db_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="800" height="195" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50546960038_c0038900db_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I like my bonnet perfectly well but hers came out my favorite by far!</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>It was a great day with beautiful fall weather and a lot of fun just wandering around the park and taking silly pictures!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50549112396_57ae5041f5_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50549112396_57ae5041f5_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Insert obligatory movie reference that is now...23 years old oh my god]</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547828957_5caac9bfe5_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547828957_5caac9bfe5_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694241_eed2363663_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547694241_eed2363663_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Dramatical</i> flops after running up and down hills</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547829742_2909606868_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547829742_2909606868_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wheeeeee *pant pant pant*</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547830447_13bd0dc2e0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="800" height="276" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547830447_13bd0dc2e0_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In defense of skirt hoiking, it was pretty squishy and I was in flats...</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50546962383_f8c0d01019_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="711" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50546962383_f8c0d01019_b.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pensive or being stabbed by pins? (Pins)</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547831122_9e4e5f50d2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="545" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50547831122_9e4e5f50d2_b.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Inflicting some POE-try on my friends (tee heeeeee)</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50549176816_fbf274eef9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50549176816_fbf274eef9_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Slightly more atmospheric with a filter...woooOOOOooo...Goffic...</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-75466345667818300552020-09-01T22:35:00.002-05:002020-09-01T22:35:31.594-05:001961 Flamingo Dress - B6318<p> A post in 2020?! Be still, my beating heart.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287510123_05ce3c4c6d_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="395" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287510123_05ce3c4c6d_3k.jpg" width="296" /></a></div> <p></p><p>(Like many people, I've been finding it hard to be productively creative this year! I've started a ton of sewing projects, but finished very few, and even less that's worth blogging about. This was a very simple dress, but it is also a Done Dress, so it gets a blog post.)</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183526_e04d1e054d_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="410" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183526_e04d1e054d_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div> It's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CER04KHgRoA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">Butterick 6318</a>, from their Retro collection, natch. Couldn't tell you if it's still in print at the moment, especially since the overarching company switched all their patterns over to the cloying "somethingdelightful.com" (are you in fact serious)...but it's a nice easy pattern, and I recommend! I in fact picked it because it only had like four pieces, ahem.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287509983_3c8f4ff51f_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="410" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287509983_3c8f4ff51f_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div> Side note: make a mockup or at least take measurements of the bodice pieces if fit matters at all to you...the pattern tissue claimed it would make up at a 37" bust, which would have been almost 5" of ease over my bust measurements. Which, even for this style, was WAY more ease than I wanted, but when I dutifully cut out the pieces and thread-basted them together, they fit just fine, so...I don't think ya made up to 37" there, bud. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287509923_fa73d0d6f3_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="600" height="409" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287509923_fa73d0d6f3_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>I decided to make the construction more difficult on myself by picking a fabric that HAD to have all the seams finished, or it would have probably shredded during the first wearing, to say nothing of a wash! It's a fun, summery cotton sateen with a border print of flamingos, from Ye Olde Joann's umpteen years ago. It has all the nice qualities of cotton and all the evil qualities of a satin weave.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183691_dd0c0c8f50_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183691_dd0c0c8f50_c.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand sewing evidence! The sash is actually top-stitched down rather than put in the side seams because I forgot the sash was a Thing til after I'd oh-so-nicely flat felled the bodice seams with teensy-tiny stitches...at the end of the day it really doesn't matter though! I can do some very nice little unobtrusive top stitching if I do say so.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfQCzJgCr-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">the bodice seams are flat-felled by hand</a>, as is the one skirt seam (benefit of a border print!), I didn't trim the darts, and the waist seam is covered in twill tape and tacked to the seam allowance. I do like to nicely finish my vintage dresses, it makes them more durable - but this one didn't really give me a choice! I also ignored the neck facing (facings are stupid, I have discovered), and just finished both the sleeves and neckline with white cotton strips of bias.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183751_3eb1487b9e_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="410" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183751_3eb1487b9e_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><p>You may also notice in that IG post that the sash "tails" aren't the flamingo border all the way to the end! I had about a yard over the recommended yardage for the dress - but the flamingo border was only on one selvedge, so I just ran out of lines of flamingos...and the tails of the sash was really the only place I could compromise on that! It's fine; noticeable but only if you know what you're looking for. Otherwise it's a busy enough print that I'm not fussed about it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183651_c4086f6858_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="410" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288183651_c4086f6858_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div> I also faced the ends of the sash tails, to about where I figured they'd end up knotting. Quandary: completely lining the sash would result in a bulkier sash than I wanted with this fabric, but it's a very obviously one-sided print that I really didn't want to show off the wrong side of! Solution: face the 12" or so of tails that will show both sides.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288336052_3fc135cf8b_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="603" height="409" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288336052_3fc135cf8b_c.jpg" width="309" /></a></div> And I wore this for a nice Tea On The Lawn this past weekend...when I got to see my local peeps in person for the first time in six months! We got takeout afternoon tea from a new-ish <a href="https://janesteahouse.com/" target="_blank">local tea house </a>(will definitely order again; they had EXCELLENT food), and plopped on my front lawn to enjoy the unseasonably-gorgeous weather, undoubtedly to the amusement of many passers-by.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287510913_dce3b55e34_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50287510913_dce3b55e34_c.jpg" width="512" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288336602_ddf45e66d3_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="410" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50288336602_ddf45e66d3_c.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br /> Robin of <a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">SewLoud</a> made a new skirt. She will never post about it so I'm including it here for her. ;)<br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-91516742116497028512019-12-16T15:23:00.000-05:002019-12-16T15:24:55.578-05:001860s in New Castle...aka I think that looks familiarWhy yes, that <i>would</i> be my rational dress bodice with a long skirt. I did mention I wanted to make the outfit as versatile as possible in the last post, I think!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Like many places that have cute little historic-y towns in The Great Suburbia of the Northeast, we have a nice selection of Christmas-themed events to crash in the Philly area. My favorite is still the one in New Castle, Delaware, because the setting is so perfect for a "Dickens Christmas"! Pretty places rank high in my book.<br />
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Of course, this time, the forecast was for rain all day, which <i>might</i> have slightly dampened (ho ho ho) the enthusiasm of potential attendees, including in our own little group: we just ended up being <a href="https://youtu.be/7Y5GUsBHKhs" target="_blank">Robin</a>, Mr Dedicated, and Yours Truly. Usually for An 1860s Christmas Thing I like to wear my cand-stripe-plaid taffeta dress, but considering the wet, plus this was an outfit I hadn't worn yet, I decided to wear this outfit. It felt a little drab for Christmas to be honest, but oh well. Win some, lose some.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He looks like he'd run if we let go of his arms. I promise that isn't true. Probably.</td></tr>
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We actually lucked out, considering the weather. It was one mass of fog the further south we drove, and by the time we went over the Delaware Memorial I was like, what bridge? And that's not really a tiny bridge...<br />
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It was <i>mizzling</i> when we got there, and for a while afterward, but it didn't get quite into full-on rain. And the weather cleared later in the afternoon; by sunset you could even see the sky! It got chilly and quite windy, and I sternly told Mr Dedicated that if he lost his hat out on the very windy pier, he needn't expect another one. It was stuck on pretty well though. Happily.<br />
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Plenty of puddles, though, even post-rain...through which I dragged my skirt. I deliberately made this skirt a couple inches longer than I usually make my 1860s skirts, because sometimes they come out on the borderline of too short. Well...this is too long!<br />
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If it were going to be kept as an indoor skirt it would probably be alright (it's juuust brushing the ground-length), but I have very very few costumes that are indoor-only, and a plaid wool 1860s skirt that goes with a jaunty little bodice is not going to be one of those items! So before I wear it again I need to hack off the hem guard and re-bind it. Trimming off the hem binding will probably make it an acceptable length.<br />
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Being that it was only the three of us and the two things we chose to do (choir concert, lunch) took about four times as long as anticipated, we didn't actually do very much! No house tours or anything. Still, I really like New Castle, and next year we might go to the ball on Friday and stay overnight in town, as it's not a Gettysburg year so it's more manageable.<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-11555231570540318202019-12-03T14:16:00.000-05:002019-12-03T14:16:56.075-05:00Gettysburg 2019: Rational DressAka, Twowsers! Wimmins in Pants! Scandal! Hussies! Etc. etc.<br />
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The short version is that most of The Usual Suspects agreed to wear trousers with me this year at Gettysburg as one of our day outfits, on the day we explored the park a bit. (A bit. There's a lot of park.) And it we had a great good time!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The long version is, well, long! I've actually been planning a rational dress outfit since 2015. Which, for us, is now three Gettysburgs ago. In 2015 I didn't get much past the planning phase, in 2017 I got it all about half done, and in 2019 I finally finished it all.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooray! It's about time.</td></tr>
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My original plan was to make a Rational Dress so we could take a horseback tour of the battlefield in costume. That didn't ever work out; this year when we finally all had our outfits made, one company didn't get back to us at all, one company was wishy-washy until the week-of when we got a negative, and one was a flat-out nope, despite our pleas of BUT I WANT TO GIVE YOU MY MONEYS. We're thinking we might take our show on the road to a local stable and just go out for a trail ride sometime in the spring.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Explorin'. Don't fall into the crevasse, please; that'll put a damper on the expedition.</td></tr>
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Regardless of stables that didn't want our money, I was determined to at least go out and explore the battlefield a bit, even if it was unguided (it was. None of us are Military History People so all we can tell you about Gettysburg is the stuff that the signs in the park told us). After all, twowsers are so very nice for exploring!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice and I happily climbed on all of the rocks within reach.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And now, we interrupt this blog post to bring you some "Actual Research"...</span><br />
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There is in fact not a lot of research out there on rational dress, at least that's readily accessible online. Even my referring to what I made as "rational dress" is probably debatable: you also see references to "reform dress" and of course "Bloomer costume." I saw enough consistency to feel comfortable making the distinction between slimmer-cut trousers that look like men's, that you tend to see more during the 1860s, and the voluminous, gathered trousers of the 1850s - the latter was definitely referred to as "Bloomer" costume, but I'm just calling the later slimmer trousers "rational dress" for convenience. That's my modern shorthand, and I can't say with any certainty if that's accurate to the mid-19thc, or whether those outfits were so uncommon in most areas that there wouldn't have been consistency in what they were called.<br />
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I'm not going to do a full writeup here of everything I was able to find on rational dress; I'm going to lean on Robin of SewLoud for that (she hasn't done her rational dress post yet but I will link it when she does). I will direct readers to this (rather old) <a href="http://dressreform.tripod.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, if they want to do some basic reading on the dress reform movement. I will also say that, since it was such a niche costume, there is an enormous amount of variation in photos, and that if you're making it purely for fun, just about anything goes. As an interpreter, you would want to pay much more attention to your persona's location/background/reason for wearing reform dress/etc. (The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Community" target="_blank">Oneida community</a> is <i>fascinating</i>, imo. Your silverware was made by free love! Well...sort of.)<br />
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But you really do get outfits that run the gamut in photographs, from fairly shapeless but practical looking tunic and trousers, to bodice that wouldn't look out of place with a fashionable outfit, except that it's paired with a short skirt and trousers. And then illustrations and caricatures are a whole 'nother animal!<br />
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I will say that, from our collection of <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/sewloud/rational-dress-1850s-60s-women-in-trousers/" target="_blank">Pinterest images</a>, a solid majority if certainly not all do still seem to be wearing corsets. Modern persons who still equate corsets with Oppressed Women might think that women who ditched the long skirts would also throw off their corsets...not necessarily! (They're really not oppressive. I promise.) The four of us that did rational dress this year all chose to fit our rational dress over corsets.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And now, back to your regular programming.</span><br />
Since it was so long in the making, the exact design of this outfit has gone through a bit of evolution. Originally I wanted to get some hunter green wool and make a much more "riding habit inspired" look, but eventually decided to use some checked wool suiting that I had in the stash.<br />
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Funny story with the fabric: I originally bought 4.75 yards of it from Joann's, and then later found the exact same fabric on Fashion Fabrics Club, and bought 2 more yards of it so I could make both the rational dress version with trousers, and long skirt to go over a hoop. And...yes, I should probably have bought one more yard! But I did manage to make trousers, short skirt, long skirt, and bodice out of 6.75 yards, with some piecing in the sleeves.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting the plaids lined up was fun. "Fun."</td></tr>
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I didn't base my outfit on any one particular image (although the photos of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Edwards_Walker" target="_blank">Dr Mary Edwards Walker</a> were highly inspirational, just by virtue of her awesomeness), but I was and still am amused by how incredibly well-dressed the manly ladies of caricatures tended to be. Are they supposed to be a deterrent? I think they're fabulous! I especially liked the lady at the center of this picture, dressed in the windowpane plaid. The photos of women in rational dress tend to be more in solid-colored outfits, so I happily took Ms Smoking In Windowpane With A Doggo as my primary inspiration. She's about 10 years off my outfit, but let's not pick nits, shall we?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Women's Emancipation," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, August, 1851</td></tr>
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For the trousers, I used <a href="https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4745" target="_blank">McCall's 4745</a> - "Civil War Coat and Trousers" pattern. I'm sure there are more historically accurate patterns, but it does what it says on the label! I cut the smallest size, for the hip, and then tapered the waist in, and they actually fit pretty well. Considering they're man-pants.<br />
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A side note: I also chose to wear my rational dress over all of my usual mid-19thc undergarments; that is, chemise, drawers, and corset, and made sure to fit the trousers over all that! Since we haven't come across any specific account of "And today I decided to get dressed in my trousers, over this precise underwear" (shockingly, right?), that's entirely conjecture on my part, but it worked just fine. I ended up with a slightly stuffed bum, but once the drawer legs worked themselves down into the trousers it wasn't uncomfortable. Of course we can't know how women chose to deal with the underwear question when dealing with trousers, but I'd venture an educated guess that at least some of them might have just continued wearing what they were used to, and just adding the trousers on top of that. Again, rational dress was a bit of a free-for-all; do what you want!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49119797027/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="20191123_094609"><img alt="20191123_094609" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49119797027_a45f333657_c.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"My pant legs are stuffed! It's great!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"WHAT." "Oh nothing, this is definitely not going to end up on the blog, nope."</td></tr>
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Both of the skirts are very simple, just rectangular panels pleated up to a waistband; it's just that one is considerably shorter and less full than the other! I haven't yet had a chance to wear the "normal" skirt yet, but I'll post it when I do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the train go by.</td></tr>
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The bodice had a bit of a saga. I cut a mockup back in 2017, didn't like it, and bought an <a href="https://www.agelesspatterns.com/1863_jackets.htm" target="_blank">Ageless Patterns bodice and jacket combo</a>, mocked up the vest all nice and proper, that I think would have come out really nicely if I hadn't somehow managed to make the vest 2" too small all around, with two weeks to go til Gettysburg. I discovered this when it was <a href="https://flic.kr/p/2hBYZpo" target="_blank">almost done</a>, of course. I could probably have taken it almost completely apart and fixed it, but since it was lacking in vertical as well as horizontal, I took it as a loss and went back to the drawing board. Literally! All the way back to my 2011 first 1860s basque bodice pattern, rather than fussing with the AP one, which was further off from my measurements. It left a lot to be desired, but I fixed it up and refitted it pretty decently.<br />
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It did end up a titch on the small side (see: all those horizontal bodice wrinkles in the front!), but, oh well. I should have done more fine-tuning in the fit of the side-seam in the mockup rather than just yoinking in the darts (which is what I did), but see aforementioned two weeks to Gettysburg, and I wanted this <i>done</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good job, Past Me.</td></tr>
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The whole thing is made in the usual manner for my mid-19thc costume: machine sewn main seams, with hand finishings. I made the facings out of pink silk rather than the self-fabric that I normally would use, as I was running so short on fabric! 3/4 of the sleeve pieces are pieced together, as are the side-back bodice pieces - if you look very closely you can see which ones I did a better job of matching than some others...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O hello.</td></tr>
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The chemisette (linen-cotton blend) is made like a little man's shirt-front, with tucks and buttons, but it's shaped like a normal chemisette, rather than being shirt and sleeves, so I can switch out the undersleeves if I so desire. For Gettysburg I whipped up a pair of wool flannel undersleeves, but I can easily switch those out for my regular linen sleeves. Very basic, just tubes gathered to cuffs and basted in!<br />
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The tie is just a long strip of fabric with shaped ends - and it is super incredibly fussy to make a nice bow, wow! I may consider a stock collar for the next wearing, sheesh. Manly Neckwear does enforce good posture, though...I can tell you that much! Slouch and you get choked.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Blerg blarg hack...I'M BEING STRANGLED", after leaning down to go under that rock.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cheers, gennlemen."</td></tr>
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The hat's just a cheapie Amazon wool felt hat that I slightly reshaped, pulled out the weird crappy kinky wire from the brim and replaced it with millinery wire, and added some ribbon. And left an iron-shaped steam mark on the underside of the brim, ahem. It's kept on by an elastic that goes under the hairnet round the back of the head and a pin stuck through the front. I promise it does not just perch there nicely with magic!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A stiff breeze! Being attacked by bonnet ties. MY OWN BONNET TIES, mind you.</td></tr>
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Other things: the temperature that morning hovered around the mid-30s to about 40 (F), and I was entirely comfortable in my outfit and a wool muffler. The flannel undersleeves, silk undershirt worn underneath my chemise (knit undershirts for warmth are period!), rabbit-fur-lined gloves, wool stockings, and exercise (!!) did help! Layers! Natural fibers! Modern or historical, they are your friends. It was a great outfit for being outdoors in mildly chilly weather. Below freezing and I'd probably have wanted a coat of some kind, but wool really is a lovely fiber! Highly recommend.<br />
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Footwear: Ebay. I tend to have great good luck on ebay in my size for reasonably period-adjacent-footwear, and these were another score. They're not perfect of course, but they're comfortable and supportive (they're actually paddock boots), with a low heel and unobtrusive toe, durable leather, and good for tromping!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49125032056/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gettysburg 19"><img alt="Gettysburg 19" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49125032056_2eb730b38c_c.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These boots are made for...well, you get the idea.</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>After dinner, we popped by the <a href="https://www.victorianphotostudio.com/default.html" target="_blank">Victorian Photography Studio</a> to get a couple of tintypes taken; Robin got a group one, and I got one of me and her (that I still haven't scanned yet, because oops).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closest to the actual tintype pose.</td></tr>
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Silly faces...who, us??<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Whut?"</td></tr>
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Does give a few shots without outerwear on though!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had decided that since our heads were being clamped in a tintype, we must be dead, you see. Isn't that how the Victorians did it? (No. No, it's not. Go ask Dave of VPS about all those "postmortem" photos and see how well he takes it.) </td></tr>
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And now, an overabundance of pictures, because honestly I'm tickled with how jaunty and adventurous we all look!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49125031001/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gettysburg 19"><img alt="Gettysburg 19" height="212" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49125031001_709ec2aaac_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures are serious business.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49123308346/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gburg19"><img alt="Gburg19" height="240" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49123308346_b5bfbd60fa_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello! I can't believe you went all the way down there!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49124537103/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gettysburg 19"><img alt="Gettysburg 19" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49124537103_e5b5c1e9f9_c.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can I climb on this rock? Bet I can.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again, Serious Business.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello down there!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49123312781/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gburg19"><img alt="Gburg19" height="240" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49123312781_b6cd4df9f1_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I'm here, on a rock, in twowsers..</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This part of the park was in fact swarming with Boy Scouts, who kept getting in our pictures.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/156584486@N05/49124534313/in/album-72157711935555207/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gettysburg 19"><img alt="Gettysburg 19" height="425" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49124534313_821b556fd0_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard to tell the scale of Little Round Top in these pictures if you've never been there, but this one gives you an idea. It may only be "Little", but it's still a decent-sized hill! And large boulders.</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script> <script async="" defer="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-26459850550720190042019-12-02T19:24:00.000-05:002019-12-02T19:24:53.561-05:00Gettysburg 2019: Tartan re-trimOur group decided to attend the Friday night ball at the Gettysburg Hotel this year - and the theme for the evening was "tartan." Of course not everybody dresses in regards to the theme on any given evening, but it's encouraged, and I think it's fun to do if I can!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I did (and still do) have plans to make a new taffeta ballgown - the satin monster is lovely to look at but it's very heavy to dance in, and this year is the first time it hasn't ripped somewhere. About a month out from this Gettysburg though, I realized the new ballgown probably wasn't going to happen...so I bought a yard of tartan silk from <a href="https://www.silkbaron.com/product_p/707.htm" target="_blank">Silk Baron</a> so I could give a nod to the theme (dupioni, but with all the plaids you can't see the slubs unless you're looking!), and called it Good Enough.<br />
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I made streamers for the shoulders, a bow for the front, a simple sash, and bows for the headdress from the tartan silk - lots of hemming! Most of the tartan strips are hand-hemmed; some (the sash, I think) are, ahem, not.<br />
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The front bow includes dark blue velvet ribbon as well as the tartan, to give it some depth, and because I decided it looked too wimpy with just the tartan.<br />
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The sash is just a bottom-basic hemmed-strip-of-fabric sash, and is pinned to keep it in place.<br />
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I'm really the most pleased with the headdress; I thought it came out very nicely. Plus I really appreciated having a net to contain my hair while dancing!<br />
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For the base, it's just a cheap nylon hairnet (but very fine and catches on everything! so I imagine it's actually a good substitute for silk lol), sewn to a 2" brown velvet ribbon that's folded in half, and a piece of millinery wire stitched in. There were two nets in the package so I may make another base and leave it plain for everyday. Maybe...<br />
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On top of the base I knife pleated more of the dark blue velvet ribbon, stitched two lines of narrow berry-red on top of that, put the tartan bows at the ears, and then stuck flowers in there til it looked right!<br />
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Mr Dedicated-Follower-of-Fashion also made an appearance at the ball - it was his first, and happily I think he didn't hate it. He, sadly, did not get anything new. He got to rewear his "Prince Albert" outfit from the Young Victoria
dinner this spring, since I put a lot of work into that embroidered
satin vest and you're going to wear it til it doesn't fit any more, sir. Plus unless you actually Know Your Stuff, 1840 and 1860s menswear isn't <i>that</i> dissimilar.<br />
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I have enough of the tartan left to make him a new dog collar (aka stock collar) and had plans for that, but ran out of time. Alas. He was sad not to get anything new...deep down I think he's a dandy at heart. ;) <br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-37414521501722391292019-11-29T15:15:00.003-05:002019-11-29T15:15:50.637-05:00Gettysburg 2019: The Horrible Chartreuse DressLast weekend was Remembrance Day in Gettysburg, PA; my little group and I like to go out every other year for it. I've been going since 2011 so I'm pretty well stocked on 1860s cold-weather clothes, even considering the learning curve and improvement of sewing skills!<br />
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That said, I still like the planning and sewing of outfits just as much as wearing them, so I did make a couple of new items: a "rational dress" and a new silk "dinner dress", plus retrimmed the old satin ballgown for the tartan-themed ball we attended on Friday night. I'll do separate posts on all of those, otherwise I think it will get too long. And I especially want to do the rational dress justice!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Pip looooves crinolines. They are best toy.</td></tr>
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So, up today: the Horrible Chartreuse Dress. Why have I called it such a mean name? Well, I'm one of those fair people who doesn't look great in most shades of yellow, and that very much includes yellow-greens. BUT, a good few years ago I saw a silk taffeta in one of those excellent <a href="https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/" target="_blank">Fabricmart</a> sales that was this wonderfully awful shade of chartreuse, and it was such an 1860s color ("let's play with all these new dyes we have!") and such a good deal I couldn't pass it up.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Of course, this was back in the days when whoever was listing silks for sale on their website was just a tiny bit casual in calling fabrics by their correct names, and listing everything that wasn't a very limp and drapey silk as "taffeta." Guys. Shantung, <i>for instance</i>, isn't taffeta. It's softer and has slubs. So...the taffeta showed up and it was, shocker, not taffeta. I grumbled a bit, but kept it because I really did want an 1860s chartreuse dress Someday. (Also I think they got quite a few gentle emails from people who did not appreciate everything being called taffeta that wasn't, as I haven't known them to do that since.) Regardless, I really like the color (for 1860s, mind you, not so much in my everyday wardrobe), and the color varies based on the light and the camera, shifting from more green to almost gold. It's fun!<br />
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Fast-forward a few years (four? five? who knows), and I decided I wanted something specially to wear to dinner on Saturday night in Gettysburg. And, an additional side-note here: if you look for "dinner bodice/dress" images of 1860s dresses, you're going to find very little for 1860s. Fashion hadn't yet evolved into a highly specific outfit for every single possible occasion, like you'll find later in the century. Most of the ladies in my group who made new dresses, chose to make some variation on a low square neck, but it's honestly more because we associate that with later-dated dinner dresses than because it really has codified that much in the 1860s. (And of course that's all an ideal anyway, as changing dresses five times a day isn't really something your average woman can afford...)<br />
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Anyway. I chose <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938848205781/" target="_blank">this dress</a> as inspiration (you may recognize it from Patterns of Fashion as well), as in my mind it was a good compromise between looking a little fancier for a nice dinner but still wearable for a day bodice. (Although I also had started a high-necked coat-sleeve bodice out of the silk for last Remembrance Day, and have plenty to make a ball bodice as well, should I want one later!)<br />
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I have almost no construction pictures, as is usual these days, alas; nothing unusual here though. It's flat-lined in cotton broadcloth, with the main sewing done by machine and the finishings done by hand.<br />
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A couple of fun things: I managed to make the bodice overlap with the wrong side on top, and only realized after I'd trimmed the excess off to make that irreversible. And I'd already put the hooks and bars on by then. Would have had to take off and recut the fronts. Nope. Not happening! I also forgot to bring the piping with me to the sewing day where I had planned to make and attach the sleeves. Ha ha ha, guess the armscye isn't gonna get piped, then!<br />
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By far the worst of the "fun things", though, was the fact that the bodice came out FAR too big in the bust, despite the mockup fitting just fine. Gotta love when bodices do that! Super fun. It went in the naughty pile for a while after that, and I worked on other things...but eventually I realized I could take a huge ugly vertical tuck in the fronts and hide it under the trim by taking little tiny top stitches by hand, and no one would ever notice! Actually I almost forgot about that while doing this writeup and have had to come back and add it in...so I suppose it was effective?<br />
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The loopy black trim is a mostly-poly clearance trim from Joann's - again, bought years ago and stashed, because I saw it and instantly said OOO 1860s! Typical Joann's quality, too...it's missing the inner loop here and there. Thankfully there aren't any missing loops in really obvious places, like the CF...<br />
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The pleated black netting is rayon netting that I zig-zagged the edges on the <i>machine</i>. I know...the <i>horror.</i> But I did <i>not</i> have time to do all of those hems by hand; it still took a couple of hours to stick 'em through the machine! Ugh.<br />
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I managed to <i>not</i> take advantage of the really lovely 19thc house/B&B we stayed in for photo backdrops that evening, so went outside earlier this week to take rather bad full length photos of the thing. Not much to document other than there is a skirt, it does exist...<br />
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I did and do plan to do horizontal rows of the loopy trim on the skirt, it was just not getting done for the initial wearing. Which turned out to be an alright thing, as the skirt ended up getting very rained on that night! Not to mention it was under a dinner table during most of the time it was worn, anyway.<br />
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I did face the hem (more cotton broadcloth), and bound it in black cotton twill tape. Wool braid's really more correct but I haven't yet been able to convince myself to pay that much for something that's going to just scrape the ground! It would hold up better than cotton, of course, but these dresses generally get worn about once every two years, so...durability's not my biggest concern either.<br />
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The undersleeves are just big tubes of black silk organza, gathered down to lace cuffs, and tacked into the armscyes. Easily interchangeable for regular undersleeves if wanted.<br />
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So there will someday be an accompanying coat-sleeved bodice and maybe even a ballgown bodice, although those will probably come around in 2021 at the earliest! Up next I think will be the satin ballgown retrim, since that's an easy writeup...Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-13201629275837174872019-08-25T23:36:00.001-05:002019-08-30T00:30:15.698-05:00An Experiment: 1900 Corset In Net<span style="font-size: x-small;">First of all, my usual disclaimer any time I make anything corset-adjacent: I can usually make an adequate corset for my own use, but I would never claim that I'm Doing It Right, or make pretty corsets! I have adequate skills to make a corset that fits okay most of the time (*cough*), but a really well-fitted, professional-looking is beyond my skills. And I'm okay with that! I make a mean hat, I don't have to have mad skillz in every area of costuming! Til I can afford to buy <a href="https://redthreaded.com/collections/redthreaded-atelier" target="_blank">custom Redthreaded corsets</a> for all my foundations, though, I'm stuck making my own corsets.</span><br />
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All that said...while this corset does have some pretty obvious issues that make it somewhat embarrassing to post publicly (yes, really!), I'm overall very pleased with how it came out. If I <i>liked</i> making corsets, this would be a great working mockup to see exactly what I ought to improve for the next version, which would be a vast improvement over this one. As it is...I doubt I'll make version 2.0 any time soon, at least until this one dies.<br />
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Now, the obvious questions: why on earth would I decide to make a net corset? Don't corsets need to be made of strong fabric?<br />
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Well, to the first question, I say: ever spent any time on the East Coast of the US generally, and the Philly area specifically, during the summer? 95% humidity that makes it feel like it's 10 degrees hotter than the actual temperature is in no way uncommon! We lucked out with the weather we actually got. I'd seen a pattern for a <a href="https://www.agelesspatterns.com/1900_corsets.htm" target="_blank">net corset from Ageless Patterns</a> while browsing the site, and filed it away for future reference, and so for this event, decided, hey, why not? Worth a shot!<br />
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I did a very moderate amount of <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/wood242424/summer-corsets/" target="_blank">Pinterest-based research</a> on mesh/net/"ventilated"/etc. corsets before diving in, and from a casual survey, I made the following generalizations:<br />
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- Seem to date from approximately 1870 through the 19-teens, though there seem to be more examples from the later half of that date range, at least that were easily findable on Pinterest.<br />
- While they are obviously far less common than your "normal" type of corset, there seem to be enough surviving examples and adverts for them that this wouldn't have been a total luxury available to very few people. Is that a bit of an inference? Sure. But as someone who tends to prefer to make costume that doesn't represent the outliers on the spectrum, I felt justified in not considering a net corset a total outlier. (And on the other hand, not too many people seem to have reproduced them, and sometimes I like to make things not everyone and their dog has made yet!)<br />
- It's difficult to tell exactly what the net or mesh fabric of these corsets was like, just from photos. Sure, museum listings say "cotton". Yes, very helpful, thank you. What was the hand like, how stiff was it? That kind of thing.<br />
- While my pattern doesn't show a waist tape, it's a very very small minority there. I believe all the extants on that Pinterest board have waist tapes...which makes sense when you think about it! Even a pretty sturdy mesh is probably going to want some reinforcement there. (Pay attention; we will revisit this plot point later.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These pictures were from the first try-on of the completed corset; the ones taken over a black shirt and leggings are so you can see a little more detail than you get from white on white on white...</td></tr>
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All the pattern says is, "<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">This corset, made in ecru net, can also be made in
tulle, in thick muslin or in all other openwork cloth." </span>Well okay then! I chose to use cotton net that I had on hand already. It's the stuff from <a href="https://www.dharmatrading.com/fabric/cotton/cotton-net-fabric-48.html?lnav=default.html" target="_blank">Dharma Trading</a>, and it's not the finest nor best quality net out there, but if you look at the price of most other cotton bobbinette, you'll understand why I decided to experiment with the stuff I already had on hand! (I've used it for millinery, mitts, and other accessory-type things.) While most of the extants seemed to be made of slightly heftier mesh, bobbinette was used for <a href="https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2017/10/09/an-inside-look-at-vintage-dior-strapless-gowns-from-the-1950s" target="_blank">boned foundations in the 1950s</a>, so while a bit of a stretch, it wasn't completely out of left field in terms of stability.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's a hole next to the bone at the back hip.</td></tr>
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I wouldn't necessarily recommend this particular fabric, though, as I can tell it's not going to hold up indefinitely. A few of the threads have "popped" from wearing it to the event and for a few hours once I'd finished it, pre-event. That said, it doesn't show signs of imminent disintegration! If this were something I needed for actual daily use, it would be another story, but as it is, I think it will do for light use, which is all it will get from me. A better-quality bobbinette might hold up better. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another hole next to the bone on the outside of the lacing holes. Which, yes, are hand sewn eyelets. Hardly correct for a 1900 corset, but I only had relatively big, clunky metal eyelets on hand, and I was trying to avoid buying anything else for this corset, and hand sewn eyelets are free...</td></tr>
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I used plastic whalebone for boning, twill tape for casings and waist tape, and silk ribbon for binding, covering the boning casings, and the straps. It was very fussy sewing the silk ribbon binding on - wifty net plus thin wifty silk = hand sewing. I'm sure a professional could manage to get that combination to behave under a machine, but that's beyond my abilities.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Definitely the work of a professional, here.</td></tr>
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Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room - the fit at the waist!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cringe.</td></tr>
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Yikes. I tend to like a larger lacing gap, as I always find that corsets stretch just a little bit over time, especially once I've sweat in them a lot (yes, ew). Plus this is net, and despite using it with the pattern pieces going the non-stretchy way...there's still a little bit of give. So, naturally, make the measurements a little smaller, right? Except that once you put a waist tape in...it's really <i>not</i> going to stretch. I AM GENIUS. So, there's a 6" gap at the waist. That's not ideal. Don't go for a 6" gap. If I ever planned to wear this corset under a really fitted dress I might have a problem with the fit of the back, but as it is, it's still wearable! I can tell that after more wear, the bones will completely warp out because of the stress pulling them into this shape: ( ) You can already see them bowing out a bit in the picture below. Again, this was definitely a learning experience so I'm not upset. It's not ideal, but it's not a loss as long as I can wear it, which I can. I did experience some discomfort at the waist by the end of the day, but not nearly as much as you'd think from that fit. And I spent close to 8 hours in it, so not too bad.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I mentioned this was an experiment, right?</td></tr>
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A sidebar about the pattern I used...I, personally, like Ageless Patterns. I like the variety on offer, and I like that they're taken from period patterns. They ARE, however, pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum from a line like Truly Victorian, where you can make something straight out of the pattern envelope and have it be presentable. With AP, even if you happen to be the measurements of the original (and I am not a 38 bust/26 waist...), you're going to have to do some adjustment. So I really only recommend AP to advanced sewers, or people who are willing to muddle around til they figure something out!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That has always been my approach to sewing, in case you couldn't tell. Bumblebee doesn't know it can't fly sort of thing.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I appear to have lost the picture I took of my pattern pieces laid over top of the originals, but it was very amusing! A couple inches shorter, a good few inches narrower (although as we can see...a little <i>too</i> narrow!), and I didn't bother using the bust cup pieces at all, as they were just triangles. Apart from the tweaks I would make for version 2.0, I actually really like the shape this pattern gives. It's right at the "we're almost to the S-bend style but not QUITE" shape.<br />
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The important question of But Is It More Comfortable Than A Regular Corset In the Heat? wasn't really answered to my total satisfaction on this first wearing. It <i>was</i> comfortable, but as the heat index topped out at the mid-80s, it's not quite a fair comparison to <i>really</i> hot events in regular corsets! Still...common sense says yes. Much more airflow, anyway.<br />
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And another sidebar: yes, I don't have much in the way of assets to contain, but I think anyone of any size could successfully make a summer corset. You might want to use a different pattern or a more substantial material (<a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">SewLoud</a> used cotton crinoline for hers; I'm not sure she's going to post about it but she did make one!), but I firmly believe it's doable! The original bust measurement was 6" bigger than mine, after all.<br />
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And finally, I took a few pictures of All The Ridiculous Things You Can Still Do In A Corset! Provided, of course, you can do them <i>before</i> you put the corset on... My friends could tell you about my proclivity for running up and down hills while in costume, just to prove I still can, and these silly pictures are along those lines.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touch your toes! Or...try to touch your toes, anyway. Ahem.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grab your foot and try not to fall over!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grab your foot and yoink, part 2. Ridiculous expression and fuzzy socks optional.</td></tr>
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I'm poking fun, but there are still plenty of people out there who are horrified by the idea of corsets and regard them as oppressive torture devices. They're really not, I promise! Is tight-lacing still a thing, and will doing so limit your physical activity? Yes, of course. Not my cuppa tea, but I've got nothing against the people who want to do it! As an historical costumer who likes to represent a fairly average mode of dress, though, I don't lace tightly because I don't need to. This particular corset gives me about a 2" waist reduction, and I've never laced down tighter than that. I don't have a lot of squish in the waist, it's just not how I'm built; in fact, most of my corsets give an inch or less in waist reduction. Corsets are more about giving the right silhouette under your garments, and about support (depending on the era, your petticoats and skirts may well give you bruises at your waist from the weight if you don't wear a corset!). This has been your PSA for "wear your corset (provided you're physically able to)" today, thank you for listening.<br />
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So, all in all, while this corset wasn't my best work, it was definitely successful as the test piece it was. Net corsets are doable, wearable, and quite comfortable!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With one more "please don't hurt yourself doing that" for good measure! It's actually a very satisfying stretch though.</td></tr>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-48389589115095436952019-08-24T21:26:00.001-05:002019-08-24T21:26:22.073-05:00New Turn-of-the-Century UndiesAs mentioned in the lavender plaid post, I figured I'd break this down separately, as it would be too long as one very big post I think! Here we have a What To Wear Underneath Your Turn-of-the-Century-Outfit Post: in my case, shoes, stockings, chemise, drawers, corset, corset cover, and petticoat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A reminder of the silhouette we're going for here. I don't make gorgeous underthings like some costumers do (and I say that with nothing but admiration...and okay a good bit of envy!), so you'll have to deal with ugly dress-dummy pictures from me.</td></tr>
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Yes, it sounds like a lot if this isn't what you do on the weekends and aren't familiar with it, but with all natural fibers it's really not bad. Of course you sweat, but it's not like wearing a load of nasty polyester that doesn't breathe! Plus I firmly subscribe to the "if you're spending a day in the sun it's better to cover up" line of thinking. And at a certain temperature, "we're all hot...bet you're hot too" is our answer to inquiring minds who want to know!<br />
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<a name='more'></a> I had a petticoat and combinations for the period already, but since this was an event planned for outdoors, in the Philadelphia area, in August...I wanted to keep everything as lightweight as possible. The aforementioned petticoat and combies were made to wear outdoors in February, so they were a little bit on the warmer side...<br /><br />
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I made my chemise and drawers from linen, because I've been costuming long enough now that I've found firsthand how much better linen wears than cotton. Like, it really is worth the higher cost of the linen fabric if you plan to keep wearing your costume bits intermittently for a decade (which is the kind of wear mine get). I'm still perfectly happy to make petticoats from cotton, but body linens? Linen. (And yes, this is one instance where I completely disregard what they did in the period - at some point during the 19thc there's a switch to mostly cotton for chemises &tc...but I don't care. Linen for me, thank you.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modeled by Mabel, as the linen is about 4oz and somewhat transparent. Mabel doesn't mind being indecent. She's a hussy. Also please pardon the stay straps poking out...Mabel doesn't like to take off her stays unless she really has to.</td></tr>
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I used a chemise pattern from <i>Fashions of the Gilded Age, Vol. 1</i> by Frances Grimble...which, you may notice, is not turn-of-the-century, strictly speaking. But <i>The Voice of Fashion</i>, which is the actual turn-of-the-century book, only has one chemise pattern and I didn't like it, so Gilded Age it was! Not a huge difference in chemises, really...<br />
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It's trimmed with VERY cheap cotton lace. Kind of ugly, but it works well enough. And I got enough of it to trim the chemise and drawers for about $10. I'm happy to pay for nice lace when it's visible...but this isn't visible. I wouldn't even bother trimming it, except that if you go by period adverts it must have been illegal to have untrimmed underwear, LOL. (It's ALL TRIMMED or embellished or has insertion or...all of the above.)<br />
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I did use the 1901 drawers patterns from <i>Voice of Fashion</i>, and actually scaled them up properly, with the little rulers and everything. It's like connect-the-dots...it's fun! Ish. They're entertainingly dumpy sans trim:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sad pants.</td></tr>
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Definitely improved with some Cheap Lace and a little ruffle.<br />
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Well, the hem lace is cheapo; the insertion is English from an ebay lot. Cheap in price but much less so in quality!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, split drawers. The split's less obvious when I wear them, but Mabel and I are built a little bit differently in that regard.</td></tr>
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Next layer is the corset, of course, which is going to get yet another post of its own, being made of cotton net and therefore somewhat unusual! It was something of an experiment, plus I still have to get photos of it on me...there are <i>plenty</i> of flaws that I will try to be honest about, but I do want to go into some detail, For Science. Now if I can just find time to put it on and get pictures!<br />
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After the corset comes the corset cover and petticoat. This manner of dressing is not the be-all-and-end-all, by the way. This is just how I chose to do it for this outfit! You'll also see combinations and princess petticoats as well as waist petticoats, chemises, drawers, and corset covers - it's all according to individual preference.<br />
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My corset cover is...a nightgown from Amazon. Yes, really. If you're not too picky about it all being nicely finished in a period-correct way, you can find a pretty nice selection of Edwardian-ish underwear pieces in the grandma nightgown section!<br />
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I made sure to find one that had buttons in the front so I wouldn't even have to put those in - just cut it off at the waist, fit it a little more closely at the side seams, take a hunk out of the CB because it was still too roomy, and gather it in a little more at the waist. Being nightgowns, they tend to be generous with the fit. If I wanted it for a chemise though, it would have been perfect as-is.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonus: I never would have had the patience to do a million actual pintucks on a corset cover.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fit around the neck and shoulders isn't perfect but...it's a corset cover. I am fine with this.</td></tr>
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And, of course, petticoat! As I mentioned, I have a perfectly functional late-90s petticoat that I made to wear under my skating skirt a couple of birthdays ago...but I wanted something a little lighter weight for the dog days of summer. Originally I was thinking organdy, as organdy is very nice and light, and has a nice body for its weight. And then I decided I'd rather have an outfit than a new petticoat, as I ended up working a lot of hours in the lead-up to this event, and just didn't have time to make one.<br />
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Ebay to the rescue! Did you know that you can find a turn-of-the-century petticoat with very little trouble on there? The right combination of shape (straighter 'teens ones seem to be more common), size, and price can be a little trickier, but I got mine for $30, with shipping.<br />
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An aside: your mileage may vary as to whether you want to wear an antique. This particular petticoat is in worn but sturdy shape - I wasn't afraid I'd tear it with a day of normal wear, but it isn't in such pristine shape that I feel guilty about desecrating it, as it's got a few small holes, darns, and rust spots (that mostly came out after a soak in an Orvus bath). It's certainly not museum-collection quality, and it's got no provenance to make it interesting to anybody in a more local museum-type setting. So...I guess I'd rather it get some more wear as a petticoat than be cut up into somebody's craft project?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Besides, I couldn't buy the lace alone for the price of the whole thing, if I were recreating it with new supplies!</td></tr>
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A few details: The petticoat is cotton, with a cotton eyelet flounce, and the hem underneath is also trimmed with a narrow lace. The panels are gored - flat at the front, and gathered at the CB; the seams are flat-felled. The waistband is heavily darned, especially at the CF where it would have gotten some wear from a busk. And I actually had to take the waistband in a titch - only a little bit, so I sewed two big ugly tucks rather than replace the whole waistband. Much easier. I also had to replace the closure; the original was a snap that no longer stayed snapped (unhelpful), so I just replaced that with a hook and eye.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It does not fasten on Mabel. Mabel is a pudge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the worst of the holes in the petticoat. I'll darn them (badly) before I wear it again, but they didn't compromise the structural integrity or anything.</td></tr>
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And I also let out a tuck to make it longer - it was clearly a tuck to shorten the thing, not a decorative tuck, as it was done slightly unevenly, and with the tucked fabric inside the petticoat, folded down behind the flounce. Could have been done later in the petticoat's life (this shape would also have worked under those fuller mid-late teens skirts that were fashionable briefly, especially at its shorter mid-calf length), or, as I like to imagine, the original seamstress finished the whole petticoat, discovered she'd made it just 2" too long, and rather than taking off the waistband she just tucked the whole thing up and called it good enough!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the horizontal fold/stitch lines above the flounce - that's the tuck I picked out. Or, rather, snipped out, with little tiny stork scissors, because the stitches were so tiny that I was afraid the ripper would make a hole! It took about 2 hours total...</td></tr>
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And related to "good enough" is my favorite detail of the whole thing:<br />
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This is the hem of the petticoat, underneath the flounce: the corners of two gores are pieced in, and there is a 4" piece of mismatched lace, I assume because the maker ran out of the first lace 4" from the end! A woman after my own heart. Sewing sister from 120 years before this time, I salute you!<br />
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(For every apparently perfect museum piece, there is a petticoat with a piece of different lace in the hem. Another reminder to stop beating ourselves up when our clothes aren't 100% perfect...theirs weren't, either.)Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-21938994568419223872019-08-20T23:07:00.001-05:002019-08-25T00:02:40.785-05:001898 Lavender Plaid OutfitEarlier this summer, my <a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">partner-in-crime</a> and I decided we ought to do "something Edwardian." Why? Well, she's going on a big costume trip next summer, for which she will need a week's worth of Edwardian clothes, and wanted to start sewing for it now (because that's a lot to sew!).<br />
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Me, I'm not invited, but I'm happy to play along, provided I could branch slightly out of her strict 1901-05 timeframe. I love the transitional 1898-1900 styles, and prefer them to what came before or after, not being a giant sleeve or a droopy kind of girl (this may sound familiar...it applies to both 1830s/40s and 1890s/1900s!). <br />
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<a name='more'></a>We decided to have a public event with a loose "Edwardian" theme, so as to be as accommodating as possible while still looking somewhat cohesive. We chose Longwood Gardens for our setting, as while not <i>strictly</i> Edwardian it's a really lovely place, and they don't mind people showing up in funny clothes, provided they don't make nuisances of themselves! And we had some new people show up, along with Alice's sister and family from over-the-pond (they were visiting already, they didn't just come from England for a Longwood Gardens trip to make Auntie Alice happy; that was just a bonus!).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everybody is a fan of childers in costume; the accent is just an adorable bonus.</td></tr>
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And if you follow Taylor of Dames a la Mode anywhere, you'll already have seen what a perfect day we had - low humidity and the temps topped out in the low 80s - which is amazing for August around here, let alone for a costume event! I'm still amazed by our luck...usually it rains.<br />
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Two group pics, as we had people coming and going, and I don't think we could have taken a picture with <i>everybody</i> at once.<br />
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It was a great day, and thank you to everyone who showed up and was polite to all the people who asked if we were going to sing! (??? No.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To be fair...the three of us do look like we're ready to burst into song LOL. I came across three matching plaid wools on Fashion Fabrics Club, probably close to a decade ago now, and squirreled it away for just this purpose. It makes me happy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oldey timey people were always serious, right? Totally.</td></tr>
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So...my outfit. Yes it's wool, yes it's lightweight, yes it's very comfortable! I took the easy way out this time and used Truly Victorian patterns for both the jacket and the skirt. 1898 Eton jacket and 1898 walking skirt pattern, whatever numbers they are. I have an out-of-print Butterick pattern that I've used for my past c1900 skirts, but I lost a piece out of it and haven't found it yet...so I figured I'd cut my losses and just buy the TV one!<br />
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I did later rediscover the Ageless Patterns 1898 suit that I'd bought a few years ago...and the skirt was within a few inches of the TV pattern when I laid them out on top of each other. Ooops. Oh well. Options? And I took I think exactly zero pictures of the construction of this outfit because I was so pressed for time! Also oops. Sorry, adoring fans.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*hides behind umbrella stick in shame*</td></tr>
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Skirt is fully lined with a lightweight linen-cotton blend (I was trying to use the stash as much as possible), faced with muslin, and interfaced with a band of cotton crinoline. A word to the wise: cut your hem facing pieces from the actual skirt itself...not from the hem facing pattern pieces. The hem of the actual skirt may have stretched. Cough cough.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took me at least 3 hours to pin the crinoline facing pieces in, rip out most of all the seams attaching them together, repin, wudge into place, fill in the gaps that were too big to leave unfilled, and tack it all in. It was...Not Fun.</td></tr>
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The pattern doesn't call for a pocket at CB, but I am a firm believer in "all skirts should have pockets if they possibly can", so I put a butt-pocket in this skirt too. I've put them in all my turn-of-the-century skirts; you can still get away with them while there's still some fulness gathered or pleated down at the CB, not so much when they totally slim down by 1902 or so. Only drawback of a butt pocket is that it does drag your waistband down a titch if you put anything heavier in it than a hankie...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can deal with it though! See my <a href="http://mandierw.blogspot.com/2017/02/late-1890s-separates.html" target="_blank">skating outfit post</a> for a somewhat more detailed description of butt pockets, if you're new to them. They're very funny.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Livin' dangerously. *hums circus theme*</td></tr>
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Jacket: Easier than figuring it out myself, but I wasn't in love with the pattern. The sleeve head was ridiculously gigantic (like I know I've got little chicken arms but come on. I took probably 2" off the sleeve head all the way round), the collar never did lie flat the way I wanted it to, and I stupidly followed the directions rather than doing the collar and front facing in one the way I would have been inclined - which means if you fold the collar all the way down the inside lining shows. Stupid.<br />
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Jacket body is lined with the same brown linen-cotton blend as the skirt, and the sleeves are lined in cotton lawn because I ran out of the brown fabric!<br />
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Guimpe aka the sleeveless blouse aka the little turtleneck thingie that's not a full shirtwaist because why add another layer on my arms?: made from cotton lawn and insertion, and totally made up by me, as I couldn't find my shirtwaist pattern. No mockups or anything, I was living dangerously. I didn't slope the shoulders enough so they bunch up weirdly and make me look like I've got a padded 1980s thing going on - but as this is never going to be worn without a jacket or something over it, I'll probably never bother to actually fix it!<br />
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The undies are all new, including the net corset, so they'll get their own posts, respectively...when I get the chance!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneak peek of the net corset. Yup, as in cotton net.</td></tr>
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Regarding accessories...<br />
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I made the belt the morning of the event. I just had a sneaking suspicion that this type of outfit looks better with something at the waist, so I got up an hour early to make sure I'd have time for said belt! It's just silk taffeta interlined with drill and lined with cotton. Any wider/longer of a point and I'd want to bone it to keep from crumpling, but at these dimensions it held up fine.<br />
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Gloves, parasol, and shoes were all acquired online somewhere during the past 15 years of costuming, probably ebay if I know myself. (I find a <i>lot</i> of my costume shoes on ebay; being a size 7 has its perks! They're never as nice as, say, American Duchess shoes, but I can't afford a $200 pair of shoes to go with every outfit)<br />
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And, of course, the hat! Which I am, as they say, dead chuffed with. It started life as the best Goodwill score ever - I was straw hat hunting for me and Robin, and descended upon this one with glee. "It's got PURPLE in it! My wool has PURPLE in it!" It was just your <a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48575293971_8fbb8de09e_o.jpg" target="_blank">plain old straw hat</a>, but I soaked it and <a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48575444947_485c2d7802_o.jpg" target="_blank">bent the brim up</a> (I knew we had a large collection of scented candles for a reason....)<br />
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I covered the underside of the brim with a scrap of cream silk shantung (partly to look pretty but more because the straw's a pretty rough weave and it kept snagging on <i>everything</i>), and piled a bunch of ostrich drabs (since despite knowing plumes really are more correct and nicer...plumes are a leeetle out of budget here), ribbons, and a giant rose.<br />
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Stick it on at a jaunty angle, and voila! As I said, dead chuffed.<br />
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Up next: 1860s! It's Remembrance Day weekend for my little group again this year, and while I have a very decent amount of clothing in my 1860s wardrobe, it could use some sprucing up. But before that, of course, I want to post about the undies for this outfit before I forget...<br />
<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-25274249480691416262019-06-25T12:37:00.002-05:002019-06-25T12:37:45.962-05:00Beginnings of 16thc Flemish I promise to do a slightly thorough post about all the research I didn't do on this outfit once it's actually finished; as it is, this is a soft opening, if you will! A friend pitched an SCA event to the Usual Suspects a couple of weeks ago, and, while the vast majority of my costume interest for the last decade has been 1760 and later...this event was in a local park, and free! So hey, why not? I have actually always wanted to make a Flemish workingwoman's dress circa 1550-80s, way back in the mists of 2005 when I started costuming because I was in my high school's madrigal choir and lived on the <a href="http://www.elizabethancostume.net/" target="_blank">Elizabethan Costuming Page</a>! I never actually got around to making it before I developed more interest in other eras, and found local friends who were also interested in other eras...but it was always on my "someday, when I have a reason" list. Well, here's a reason!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Now, I was very much aware that I probably wouldn't have time before the SCA event to complete the entire outfit (and I was right). But since it would be nice to have something in the closet to pull out for a Ren Faire visit or something, I decided to go for it anyway, and finish whatever wasn't completed later.<br />
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For those of you who didn't have a "16thc phase" in your costuming, this is an example of a Flemish workingwoman's dress:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For more examples, see <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/magdalenamoren/16th-century-flemishdutch/" target="_blank">this Pinterest board</a>, which I found invaluable while I was researching!</td></tr>
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There are many small variations, but the broad look is pretty consistent: it's the laced gown that gives this type of outfit its distinctive look. Of course, the gown is what I decided to make last and thus ran out of time for! But the way I decided to make my layers, the gown on top was the least necessary for having an actually wearable outfit, so I was fine with that at the outset.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrinkly (sitting on the ground all day does wonders for linen) and refusing to show up right side up...a good combination. Why did I upgrade to a smartphone from a dumb camera? The camera didn't misbehave...</td></tr>
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I chose to make a kirtle to go underneath the laced gown, along with the white partlet and pin-on sleeves for its first wearing. (I already had the square-neck, long sleeve linen smock from my Tudor outfit, happily.) I also chose to make it all out of linen, partly because this outfit will 9 times out of 10 be worn in muggy Philadelphia summer weather, but more because while wool would be more correct, and I actually have nothing against wearing lightweight wool in the summer (yes, really! tropical weight wool is lovely), finding wool in the weight, color, <i>and</i> price point I wanted was impossible! So, linen it was. Midweight for the kirtle and gown, and lightweight for the gown lining and separate sleeves. Kirtle bodice is interlined in cotton duck, and lined with scrap-bin linen; skirt is not lined.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not overly accurate color palette for outfit. From top L, going clockwise: kirtle, gown, gown lining, pin-on sleeves.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remain un-fussed about gaps at back of skirts where lacing ends. This is why we wear layers, right kids?</td></tr>
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Construction-wise, I did as much machine sewing as I could while still following my personal preference of "no machine sewing visible on the outside". I wanted to make a kirtle without boning and see what kind of support I could get - apart from the boning next to the eyelets, the bodice is only pad-stitched to the interlining, both to help it hold its shape and to keep the linen from creeping! I ended up constructing it a bit like 18thc stays - I constructed the bodice and put the eyelets in, and then stitched the lining in over that. It gave a little bit of wiggle room in terms of fit.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note lines of stitching. Pre-lining, which is made of different colors, amusingly, because scrap bin.</td></tr>
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Although not quite as much as I needed! I made the bodice of the kirtle probably 3/4" longer than it really needed to be, but shortening it would have meant cutting off the eyelets, which would have been...hard. And I'm long-waisted anyway, so it's really not so long that it's unwearable. A few wrinkles would go away if I shortened it...but like I said, too much work. When I make the gown that goes over top I'll make sure to trim off a bit from the pattern...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello gaposis</td></tr>
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The bodice is also just a touch too big - it really needs about a half inch taken out of either CF or CB, but, again, as that doesn't make it unwearable and fixing that would be more work that the problem merits...it's staying like this. I actually had even more gaposis at the neckline before I took a big ugly tuck at the inside corner of the shoulder strap. That didn't entirely fix it, but made it slightly more manageable. Plus I never actually plan on wearing it without the partlet over top, so it's not a big deal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note little triangle of pins: this is the wedge I pinched out. And topstitched down, because whatever, it's going to be underneath various garments all the time!</td></tr>
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White partlet is very simple, just a rectangle with a split front and a neck circle cut out, with a rectangular collar and straight strip of linen gathered up for a ruff. I made the mockup too short in the front, so I lengthened it in the linen and now it's a bit too long! I just want it maybe half an inch shorter. That's what a first wearing is for, right?<br />
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It just pins shut in the front and pins under the arms - which, yes, I can do myself. That was another reason I wanted the partlet to be on the longer side - too hard to pin ends that juuuust reach under your arm!<br />
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And headwear? I made both a veil and coif, but decided to just wear the coif for the day. It's a simple one-piece coif, made of linen, what more can I say? I didn't practice arranging the veil and the coif before day-of, and it turns out that, while starched linen will happily hold its shape in that C-curve that many of the veils/hoods of the time show, I made my veil a little too wide to stay in place nicely and frame the face. Every way I pinned it looked dorky. Another thing to work on for next time!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First wearings, amirite?</td></tr>
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Adrienne, the aforementioned SCA friend, offered to make me one of those ear-wire thingies (yes, I know it's actually an <a href="https://dutchrenaissanceclothing.com/2016/08/recreating-flemish-caps-veils-oorijzer/" target="_blank">oorijzer</a>), which she gave to me at the event. I decided not to seriously fuss with it at the event, partially because of the aforementioned slightly too-wide veil, partly because I'd have had to take my coif off and rearrange my hair to put the ear-iron on properly, and partly because I need a real mirror to mess with all this, not just my little compact that I brought to make sure I didn't have streaks of sunscreen on my face! But it was very kind of her to give me, and I will probably make use of it next time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is totally not the order in which you dress your hair with this thing.</td></tr>
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Pin-on sleeves are lightweight linen, unlined. I could have taken them off if it'd gotten hotter, but we were fortunate to have low humidity <i>and</i> be in a wonderfully shady place, so I was totally fine with long sleeves. I didn't quite pin them on evenly plus they're a little bit larger than they need to be, so there's a little bit of extra sleeve head sticking out the back. Which looks silly, but, again...mostly covered up with regular wear!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did say <i>mostly.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who doesn't love a good armpit breeze?</td></tr>
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And the nice thing about this outfit is that I can wear it in a pretty wide range of seasons - probably not dead of winter, but in the mid-Atlantic I'll be easily able to take it into late fall if need be, by adding a black wool partlet on top of the white, and switching out the unlined linen sleeves with lined wool ones. Not that I anticipate needing to...but I like having the options.<br />
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So, I sound rather nitpicky about this outfit, but I'm actually very pleased with it. It's comfy to wear, it breathes, it's versatile, and I can happily go tromping through the woods in it! (Hashtag not deterred by muddy paths.) My "nitpicks" are more to remind myself what I want to fix on it/add for its next wearing, since this was something of a dress rehearsal. Dress rehearsals are always good!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Someone's eyes may have been closed in that last picture!" YES THANK YOU PHONE.</td></tr>
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And after this: a rather dissimilar era! Foray into the turn of the century!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-52822343855245185752019-04-24T23:03:00.000-05:002019-04-24T23:03:42.043-05:00Young Victoria Dinner1830s, everywhere, all the time! Except for on me, because I don't care for the big sleeves and ridiculous hair. (On me, specifically. I enjoy seeing it on everyone else! It just makes me feel infantile.) Hosted by Robin of SewLoud - I chipped by coordinating a picnic the afternoon-of, and by sticking candles into candelabras. It was a splendid event at the Joseph Ambler inn (they were very good to us), and we only mystified a couple of dozen wedding guests (the venue is big on weddings, unsurprisingly).<br />
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<i>And</i> this event debuted Mr. Dedicated Follower of Fashion in costume! <a href="https://mandierw.blogspot.com/2019/04/early-victorian-boy-clothes-sewing-part.html" target="_blank">This other post</a> goes into detail about what I made for him (and what I ran out of time to make, and bought instead....). I will say that boy clothes are pretty different from dressmaking...!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Two whole outfits of course meant that I had almost no time to sew for myself; certainly no time for a new dress. I did sneak in some new accessories for myself though: a new bonnet (as my other late '30s is <i>so</i> very christmas-y!), a new, lighter-weight chemisette, and a day cap.<br />
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<b>Cap:</b> made of white cotton net, trimmed in blonde lace, and blue silk satin ribbon. I used the Miller's Millinery 1840-60s flat cap pattern (view A). Which is entirely something I could have figured out for myself, but I'm at the point in my sewing life where I'm willing to pay someone else who already figured it out! Plus I wanted the 1860s version for Gettysburg this year anyway, so...worth it to me. The flat caps juuuuuust seem to be coming in at the tail end of the 30s, from what I can tell. So my cap is maybe slightly more fashion-forward than my dress and bonnet...but I wanted a doiley on my head rather than a shaped cap, so. <br />
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<b>Bonnet</b>: Made from a heavily-adapted version of the Lynn McMasters 1830s bonnet, that at this point I think is fair to just call my own pattern! If there's any other bonnet pattern out there that covers those few years where the bonnet is transitioning from the big silly poke style to the coal scuttle of the early 40s...I haven't found it, so I had to make my own. I very specifically wanted a more subdued brim, with the three-piece construction (brim, crown, tip) but with a shape that foreshadows that "scoop" shape.<br />
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Still not perfect, of course...but I quite like it! Very pleased. It's a buckram wired form, covered in silk taffeta from Silk Baron, and various paper flower-things from a few seasons ago at Joann's. (And fake blueberries.)<br />
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<b>Chemisette</b>: It's a chemisette? Used the same pattern as the last one I made, just made it a couple inches longer, as the old one has a tendency to creep up over the top of the corset, which was v. annoying. Made of Dharma Trading cotton lawn, and trimmed with lace from Farmhouse Fabrics.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shocking behavior! This picture amuses me greatly.</td></tr>
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Mr. Dedicated Follower of Fashion and I were recruited to be the token royal couple, mainly because we're the younger of the two couples that were at the dinner, and because Mr. DFoF does in fact bear a passing resemblance to Albert once he has the correct facial hair! Also because we're an appropriately schmoopy couple. (Spent a not-inconsiderable time at the picnic reading Tennyson to each other while sitting on the picnic blanket. Awww.)<br />
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And being generally revolting to the company at large.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mind your ginger ale can...oh wait, too late. Too busy gazing into each others' eyes, etc.</td></tr>
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Not for all that long, though. I promise we really aren't <i>that</i> horrible to be around most of the time!<br />
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Picnic was casual, and really just an excuse to wear day dresses, lounge around, play cards, and read! We just picked up Wegmans catering (highly recommended) and sat on one of the patios for most of the time, as it was <i>very </i>wet. I did insist on exploring the vicinity of the drainage ditch (as seen in previous pictures, it was a <i>picturesque</i> drainage ditch!), and let me tell you my hem will never be the same. Also ended up extremely squishy-footed. Good thing I didn't wear my nice shoes...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*squish squish sploosh* "Yep, that was a puddle, can confirm."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ooooh this bridge is <i>filthy</i>...welp now I'm covered in dirt marks. OH WELL"</td></tr>
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And you can already see in that picture how wet my hem is...<br />
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Not the best day for a picnic, really! Of course the next day was lovely, and it even cleared up nicely in the evening. Which was good, for pre-dinner photo ops! I had zero new things for dinner so I didn't bother to get many posed pictures, and I was <i>almost</i> jealous of everyone else's big sleeves and hair! Almost. ;)<br />
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Also it was maybe a tiny bit windy...<br />
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I do love this dress! It's one of my favorite colors, and the style is very much to my taste. Quite happy to have re-worn it!<br />
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The dramatic wind gusts didn't hurt, either. Silk taffeta in wind go WHOOSH!<br />
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Everyone looked phenomenal, and I was thrilled to bits to be a part of it! Our hostess worked her magic on the dining room (it's in an early 19thc farmhouse, it just needed a wee bit of help!), and it went from this...<br />
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...to this...<br />
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...to this!<br />
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And this!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think we're a rather good-looking company, wouldn't you say?<br />
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In addition to the dining room, we also had access to a couple of sitting rooms on the ground floor, where we had our appetizers and socialized before dinner proper.<br />
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The food was delicious (I couldn't finish my dinner, which was very sad. But there's just less room in a corset!) and the atmosphere was perfect.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And tell me this doesn't look like you've walked into a ghostly party... "Welcome. Join us...forever." etc etc</td></tr>
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And it was a beautiful night for a midnight stroll!<br />
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Well...midnight is a decided exaggeration; I didn't make it anywhere near midnight! Many of the ladies stayed up playing cards, but I wasn't one of them. A good dinner and a day in costume puts me to sleep pretty quickly.<br />
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But it was a wonderful event, which we hope to repeat in some form next year. The Inn was very welcoming to us, and they make it <i>very</i> easy to have an event there. So I think we will!<br />
<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-56596333547791779562019-04-24T14:49:00.000-05:002019-04-24T14:49:18.529-05:00Early Victorian Boy Clothes: The Sewing PartI had Very Grand Plans to make his entire wardrobe (two whole outfits!)...and then a combination of "running out of time" and "boy clothes are stupid boring" and "my pathetic attempts at tailoring are disheartening" led to just buying a good chunk of it. Still, I think he ended up looking rather nice!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing like a gaggle of ladies to keep a chap awake in the afternoon...</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>Made by Yours Truly: Shirt, underpants, standing collar, stock collar, striped cravat, pink day vest, embroidered evening vest, and blue wool frock coat.<br />
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Purchased: Suspenders (not shown - Amazon), both checked and black trousers (Historical Emporium), top hat (Amazon), tailcoat (bought on ebay, very slightly tweaked by me).<br />
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Shoes, socks, sideburns and mustache: provided by Mr Dedicated Follower of Fashion.<br />
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I gave up on construction photos about halfway through making all of this, so this mightn't be the most exciting explanatory blog post; my apologies. I'll do what I can!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"SOMEONE SAVE ME; I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT I WAS GETTING MYSELF INTO"</td></tr>
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<b>Linens</b>: I used the <a href="https://www.patterns.bplaced.net/schnitte/schnitt_detail.php?itemnr=34" target="_blank">Black Snail 1830-60 Shirt Pattern</a> for the shirt and collar. I actually bought most of her range of early Victorian men's patterns - shirt, trousers, vest, and tailcoat - when she was having a sale back in December (I think). And despite not having used them for everything, the instructions and background information contained in the patterns were very helpful, so I don't regret buying them at all! <br />
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I used a lightweight linen-cotton blend for the shirt, and as with pretty much all the rest of this outfit, did a mixture of machine sewn and hand finished. In this particular instance, the main seams are machine sewn and hand-felled, and anything visible is done by hand (the buttonholes are truly terrible, by the way).<br />
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I ended up having to piece the tucked front; well strictly speaking I didn't HAVE to, but if I didn't piece it I'd have had to cut into a whole 'nother length of linen, which just seemed wasteful. Piecing is still period! Plus it's down at the bottom and you can't see it with the vest over it anyway. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Let's try on your shirt and collar!" "Great..."</td></tr>
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The drawers are funny, just by virtue of their being drawers! Up til I was planning this outfit, I'd never really stopped to consider men's underpants, circa 1840. (I mean...not many people have, I'd think.) But there are underpants, and some extants are still out there! And, shockingly, they look just like pants, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/wood242424/early-victorian-menswear/shirtsunderweartc/" target="_blank">made out of linen or cotton</a>, that go...under your pants. Whoda thunk. This was all set into motion by my thinking about how trousers didn't seem to be lined at the time, and wouldn't that possibly make for itchy legs (especially considering my modern options for wool), so did I want to line the trousers, but the pattern doesn't call for lining, so let's figure out the period option! Drawers, duh!<br />
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Mr Dedicated Follower of Fashion will not be modeling his drawers for you, as they're made of a mid-to-lightweight linen and are somewhat see-though...plus I went for the bargain-basement option and didn't bother with a fly, so they gap. Which is fine for wearing and is mostly filled in with the shirt-tail...but we're not putting that on the internet. He wants to stay somewhat respectable! ;)<br />
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I started with the Black Snail trouser pattern (fitted leg version), and just took out all the extra stuff and put the basic leg pieces on a plain waistband. They ended up a hair tight in the calves, but I let them out as much as I could in the outside seam, and told him he wasn't going to be running any marathons anyway. Of course they stretched after a day of wearing anyway, including in the waist...where they are now about 3" too big, entertainingly. No great fuss, just move the buttons over, but, ahhh, linen.<br />
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<b>Vests</b>: From the Black Snail pattern. Mix of machine and hand sewn; everything visible is hand done.<br />
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Day vest is made of pink wool-cotton twill, evening is cream silk satin. Backs/linings are linen. (The pattern calls for cotton, and I believe that is more common by this point...but I have a ton of linen remnants hanging around, not so much the polished cotton, so...linen.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piles of backs and linings; those I assembly-lined.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of the day vest has a buckle; the evening one is cut just a bit shorter and doesn't have the straps/buckle.</td></tr>
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I had the <i>worst</i> time with the welt pockets. I started with the day vest, natch, and those pockets are pure awfulness. On the evening vest, I was quickly running out of time, so they're not actually pockets! Which worked nicely. Means he has nowhere to put his pocket watch, but...he hasn't got a pocket watch at the moment, so we'll survive with no vest pockets for now!<br />
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On the other hand, I am very pleased with the embroidery on the satin vest! I have a minor quibble with the placement on the bottom edge - I should have moved it all up at least a half-inch; as is, it looks somewhat stumpified, with too much empty space under the pocket - but other than that I think it gives a very nice effect.<br />
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As mentioned, it's silk satin, and is embroidered with silk floss, using stem stitch, satin stitch, and French knots. (So many French knots.) I'm not an embroiderer, per se, but I figured those were basic enough stitches that I wouldn't screw them up too badly! There are a bunch of white/ivory/cream vests out there from this approximate time period, and I based my design primarily on these <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938845104508/" target="_blank">1850s</a> and <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/Acgg9Kk1zKrTLLl1_4BNeDZkIji0sQMK4S6rBK2eDOX1DZABoHgezSs/" target="_blank">1840s</a> vests, respectively. I wasn't interested in trying to exactly copy any one vest (see: limited embroidery skillz), just an approximation.<br />
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And I didn't keep track of my hours...I never do that, but I'd solidly stick it in the "yes, it did take a fair amount of hours but not a <i>crazy</i> amount" category! Not like a<a href="http://koshka-the-cat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Katherine C-G</a> dress or anything. ;) And having made this vest (and, ahem, a pair of not-quite-finished suspenders!), I have discovered I <i>do</i> quite like having an embroidery project around for some handwork to pick up, so you may see more of it around here.<br />
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(Oh, and the button forms are pennies. With tiny balls of fiberfill glued to the top so they look domed rather than flat. And then covered in silk. Yes, really. The Dritz forms are absolute rubbish anymore, and refuse to hold! So...pennies.) <br />
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<b>Frock Coat</b>: Is not awful. Is certainly not <i>great</i>, but for a dressmaker who doesn't know what she's doing...it's wearable. I used the Wingeo 1830s-50s frock coat pattern, in tandem with the instructions for the Black Snail tailcoat, because the Wingeo instructions are...somewhat light on the "instructions" part. Definitely not for beginners. I would only recommend if you're an experienced seamstress and/or are familiar with 19thc menswear already! It did, however, mostly fit; the only major fit adjustment was to bring up the armscye a solid couple of inches ("what is this, an 1860s bodice pattern with a dropped shoulder seam?"). Also I adapted the Black Snail interfacing instructions for a lazy seamstress (me: no building up padding or twill-taping edges of interfacing here) rather than following Wingeo, which I decided to ignore once I got to the "iron-on interfacing" part. Hahahaha NOPE. That stuff and I do not get along, esp. in period costumes. Newp.<br />
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So, all in all, I'm not totally embarrassed by his frock coat! Unless somebody who actually does tailoring looks at it closely. (Please don't.)<br />
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(Also, button forms are quarters and dimes on this one.)<br />
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<b>Tailcoat</b>: A cheapo Ebay find (yay satin lapels...blergh), decidedly not perfect, but about a third of the price of the next-best "Victorian" tailcoat, which wasn't perfect anyway. I chopped off a couple of inches from the fronts (they were lower-waisted with the "points") and moved the actual "tail" part back a few inches. If I'm feeling industrious before he wears it again, I may go in and nip in the side-back seams for a better fit, as all the coats of the period that I've seen are <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938844816467/" target="_blank">much less loosely-fitted</a>. But I'll have to unpick the lining to do that, so that was more of a commitment than I wanted to make for this first wearing, and therefore left well enough alone!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that non-curve at the back. Will fix. Sometime.</td></tr>
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Mr Dedicated Follower of Fashion was what is often referred to as a "good sport" this weekend; this is very much not in his wheelhouse! But he didn't mind it too much, I think, and now that he's got some clothes, Mr. <a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/2019/04/22/a-white-1830s-gown/" target="_blank">SewLoud</a> won't always be the token male at our fancy events! At least...the early Victorian ones. I do a lot of different time periods, you know...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, the humanity...</td></tr>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-90588553375977443382019-01-25T15:48:00.001-05:002019-01-25T15:48:28.429-05:00Cardinal CloakBecause if your favorite American Girl doll in the '90s was Felicity, you've always wanted a cardinal cloak! Guilty as charged.<br />
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Back story of this cloak and the reason for finishing it at just this time: the Museum of the American Revolution in Philly has "after-hours" events occasionally, and this particular one was a "Winter's Ball", with dancing, and with Samantha of <a href="https://couturecourtesan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Couture Courtesan</a> there as well, to chat about the historical "Hamilton" dress she'd made. (She's an incredibly talented seamstress with impeccable taste, and I'm still impressed that she'll acknowledge she knows the likes of Yours Truly! Have I also mentioned she's a lovely person?) It was on a somewhat random Tuesday evening, but the Usual Suspects and I were all able to make it.<br />
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As for the cloak itself...well, I was originally planning to wear a new dress - an almost-finished 1780s silk stripe that's been in the UFO bin for far too long! But then the weather forecast inclined me to think about my outerwear instead. (COLD, if you wanted to know. High of 29F that day, which at least was better than the 15 it had been the couple of days previously?) My standard 18thc cloak, besides being rather ugly and old, is not particularly thick wool. However...I had a half-finished short cloak of red wool melton in the UFO bin. Yes please!<br />
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It's your bog-standard half-circle 18thc cloak, that I would have made longer if I'd had more fabric! The melton was gifted to me, and it was long enough ago that I don't at all remember how many yards there were; all I know is that I had to piece a bit to get that half circle and a big hood. Wanted an oversized hood to specifically be able to wear this with Fashionably Big Hair!<br />
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I lined the hood with the same red silk the ties are made of for a bit of extra insulation, and the cloak fastens with a hook and bar underneath the ties. (I have learned the hard way not to depend on ties only to fasten my cloak...hooks are much more dependable!) Other than that, there's not much to say about this garment...does what it says on the label!<br />
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Apart from the Cold Feet situation, just add in a kerchief (bit drafty there!) and I'd be happy outside for a much longer amount of time than I spent walking from the parking garage to the museum, even in that thin printed cotton gown. My mitts are silk, my muff is fur, and I've got four petticoats on besides the visible top one! Inner to outer: wool-cotton blend, linen, linen, silk with a quilted border, and then the printed cotton. That's one more than I usually wear with this particular outfit, and two more than I wear with a middling-class 18thc outfit. Seriously, don't skimp on your petticoats, people...and love natural fibers!<br />
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(This has been your Petticoat PSA for the season; thank you for your attention and please petticoat wisely.)<br />
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A few more pictures for your consumption...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"George Washington's butt was here; I take this VERY SERIOUSLY." (Not really, it's a repro of his chair...I imagine I wouldn't be allowed back if I sat in the real one...) Alternately entitled, "My Best Lady Catherine de Bouuuuuuurgh In Her Youth Face."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very nice faux horses!</td></tr>
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Other than finishing that long-neglected striped 1780s dress mentioned earlier (poor thing), I think the next sewing on the docket is going to be for a "Young Victoria" event that the Usual Suspects are doing in April. Most of the other ladies are doing 1830s and the ridiculous sleeves that go along with it - while I can't wait to see it, I really don't care for those giant sleeves on my own self, so I'm going transitional, 1837-40.<br />
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I'd like to make a new day dress and bonnet if I have time, but I'm focusing first on Mr. Dedicated Follower of Fashion, who I've been with long enough now that I feel secure investing time and money into an outfit for! Two outfits, actually, as it's a day and evening event. (Or one outfit, when I run out of time for two.) I bought the patterns for everything from <a href="https://www.patterns.bplaced.net/index.php" target="_blank">Black Snail Patterns</a>, as I like the look of them, and that they give you the historical methods and you can adapt to modern methods if you want. As with my own costumes, I like to know what's correct first, even if I decide I want to deviate later.<br />
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Also...boy clothes are weird. <i>Trousers</i>, man. It's a brave new world!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-54248387730462474702019-01-14T22:41:00.001-05:002019-01-14T22:41:54.939-05:00Black & Ivory Natural Form Dinner Dress<h3>
Part the First: Introductions</h3>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(In three parts, because this got long, and if you don't care about construction trials and travails, you can scroll down more quickly!)</span> Happy 2019! And happy I'm-done-school! This should hopefully mean more sewing and maybe even posting. *crowd ooohs and ahhhhs*<br />
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I finished this dress for our Belvidere Victorian Days event this past September. I've posted about it in the past, I think; a friend of ours does an 1882 British campaign in Egypt setup, so we've been doing Natural Form to coordinate for the past few years. And this past year, we decided to have a formal mess after-hours...so naturally we all needed dinner dresses!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>And, while we had a spiffing good time, a generic, dimly lit hotel and an after-dark dinner do not make for good costume pictures! I've wanted to get halfway decent shots of this dress since September, so when a "Victorian fancy dress" themed party came up, I decided to pin silver foil paper stars on the dress and maybe get some pictures this time! Otherwise I'd have to do my traditional park-photoshoot, and it's pretty cold outside right now...<br />
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The party itself was absolutely lovely: well-attended, well-supplied with tasty treats (CHEESE EVERYWHERE), and I must thank <a href="https://themodernmantuamaker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">our hostess</a> for providing such a wonderful space for a costume party! There were also tintypes to be had - <a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/the-alphabet-dress/" target="_blank">SewLoud</a> insisted I take one with her, and I'm quite sure she regrets it as that is one unflattering photograph of me...it's in the link to her blog, I'm far too vain to post it here!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both Alice and I wore our Belvidere dinner dresses and stuck stars on them; I love how we're counterpoints of the same theme!</td></tr>
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<h3>
Part The Second: Construction and All That </h3>
The design of the dress isn't too closely based on any one plate or print - just a lot of leafing through both volumes of <i>Fashions of the Gilded Age</i>. I love the "Late Victorian interpretation of 18thc influence" kind of look, so that sort of feel was my main inspiration. I bought the striped fabric in an excellent sale from <a href="https://www.fabricguru.com/" target="_blank">Fabric Guru</a> once our group had decided a fancy dinner was probably-almost-definitely something we were doing! It was a 4-yard piece, so I knew I'd have to fill in with some other fabric. And I had a length of soft black taffeta in the Stash, so, match made in heaven, no?<br />
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(Pardon the pun..I couldn't resist.)<br />
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<i>Materials</i>: Black/ivory silk satin/taffeta stripe, black silk taffeta, ivory shantung (pleated flounce). Bodice lining and underskirt base are plain white cotton, and bodice is boned with artificial whalebone. Black around the neck and cuffs is English cotton lace; the dust ruffle is somewhat icky nylon/poly stuff that's lived in the Stash for years but I couldn't throw out because it was a ton of lace, I might use that! Finally found a use for it, as I don't care how much it gets dragged on the ground...!<br />
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<i>Construction</i>: This dress has a somewhat drawn-out history - I started it in 2017, and finished it in August of this past year, due to Unforeseen Circumstances regarding the event. So I've lost some construction pics, and forgotten a lot of what I did! But I'll see what I can recap.<br />
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The underskirt started life as the TV 1878 underskirt pattern, but I took even more out of the width of the back panels, as I wanted that very slim 1880-82 skirt. The base underskirt is cotton, with the ivory pleated flounce stitched on top of that, and the striped swagged skirt made up separately, but sewn into the same waistband. I was very careful not to make the underskirt too long, and as such managed to make it a bit too short...I may consider fudging the length with another little tier of lace at the hem or something at a later date.<br />
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There are various tapes and ties sewn into the underskirt; I've found that I like the combination of ties sewn to a bit of elastic best in most instances. Better for walking! I tied the topmost tape a little too tight on the night of the fancy dress party - if you look at pictures from the side-front you can see the outline of my lower belly at my low hip, which is a result of that tie! Oops. Good thing the poochy tummy look is very Victorian. ;) There's also a very small bumpad sewn to short tapes, which are sewn into the waistband - this keeps said bumpad from getting lost, keeps just that little bit of fluff intact, and also allows me to keep that desired volume lower down at the hips, rather than at the waist. Which is always where I find it wants to go when I tie it on separately!<br />
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The hip draperies and train are sewn onto a second waistband. Side note: Asymmetrical draperies were all the rage, there are a ton of them in the 1880s...I just couldn't bring myself to do something asymmetrical. I really really like symmetry! So mirrored hip draperies it was. These, I just scaled up from a pattern in <i>FotGA</i> (which page? is a fact lost to the mists of time); same with the train.<br />
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Train is lined with a couple of different cotton remnants - I would rather have used black than ivory, but I already had ivory, so ivory it was! This made for fun later on, when I realized the weight of the dust ruffle pulled the lining out from under the silk just the slightest bit, but it showed pretty obviously because it was ivory! I went back and ran another row of tacking stitches inside the seam allowance before I wore it again, which seems to have fixed that problem.<br />
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Dust ruffle is a bit...casually...attached at the inner corners, as it's not shaped to the skirt at all, just a long rectangular strip of cotton with lace attached! Didn't really want to bother with something I was just going to drag around in the mud...<br />
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I put a loop and tie to hold the train and underskirt together - without it, I found that the train pulled away too much when I walked, and looked very silly! The upper tie in this pic keeps the edges of the side draperies where they ought to be. Yes, there are very many tapes and ties in natural form to keep everything in place!<br />
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I used a pattern from Fashions of the Gilded Age for my first bodice mockup - one of the fun ones where you figure out which ruler to use for your measurements, and draw a bunch of dots, and then play connect the dots. It took a while but it was actually fun (yes, I have an odd definition of fun)! It had...some interesting issues when I actually tried it on, though. The main one was that, despite adding an inch to the bottom edge and 3" in the middle, at the waistline, the damn thing was at least 2" too short, and too short in weird places. I know I'm long-waisted, but I am <i>not</i> that freakishly proportioned! So I decided my time was worth more than that, and borrowed a TV natural form bodice pattern from a friend!<br />
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And there our story pauses, because it was at this point in construction in 2017 that we found out Belvidere was canceled that year! And I have trouble finishing an outfit when I don't have an event for it - especially when there WAS an event that was very rudely whisked away! Happily, they revived it for 2018, and we renewed our plans for dinner, and dinner dresses.<br />
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And I used the TV pattern, and had to do very few adjustments from the day bodice pattern, happily. The main one was, shockingly, cutting down a whole lot of neckline, and hacking off the sleeves at the elbow. There are plenty of long sleeved dinner dresses, but considering this was made to be worn at an event that has reached over 100F in the past...I wanted as much airflow as I could get!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Immediately post-dart fitting, and I cut the neckline down more after this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also shaped the back "tails" a bit more.</td></tr>
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I considered sheer sleeves, actually, but didn't like some net that I pinned in to see the effect, when it really came down to it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note fraying black satin; we will revisit this theme in a moment.</td></tr>
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And I even covered all the bodice seams nicely with twill tape before tacking the boning in! The buttons are just ye olde plastic Joann's, but they work. The thing actually closes with hooks and bars, because I did not want to play games with buttonholes and moderately-deep V-pointed dinner bodices, thankyouverymuch. I initially put on a different, wider black lace, but I would have had to figure out a support system to make it stand up the way I wanted, so took that off, and decided to sew together some rows of insertion for my neck/cuff ruffles instead.<br />
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And then the week before Belvidere, as I was fussing with neckline lace, I noticed something odd: I could see ivory in the middle of the center back seam, in the middle of that black stripe. Because the full half-inch seam allowance I left had frayed right through, that's why.<br />
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Reader, I swore.<br />
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I put the whole thing down, none too gently, raged to my friends online, reviewed my options...and glue penned it. Yes, on the outside. Short of taking the whole bodice apart, recutting the back pieces, re-sewing them, and painting <i>those</i> satin edges of seam allowance with glue so they didn't fray...I couldn't have done much else to stop it. So there is a lovely shiny broken line of glue-pen down my center-back seam. With another wearing or two, it'll probably have to be an entire <i>un</i>broken line of glue, at least down to the waist. And no, it isn't too small or under undue strain...it's just evil fabric! Kick me if I ever say I'm making a satin anything ever again, alright?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo's a bit blurry, but it's the only one where you can sort of see it - if you look above the star on the CB (which is covering another pull), you can see the line of white...that's where the satin threads have all unraveled enough that the ivory weft threads are showing.</td></tr>
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Win some, lose some?<br />
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<h3>
Part the Third: More Pretty Pictures</h3>
At Belvidere I wore the dress with red paper roses on the swags and the bodice, which I liked very much. The pictures are a bit dim but here's a few.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note creeping train lining.</td></tr>
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Apart from the obvious CB-seam-problem, there are a few little nit-picky things I don't love about this dress, but I am overall quite happy with it! I feel very pretty in it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scandalous!</td></tr>
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And, although I know this post is already<i> quite</i> long enough thank you, I wore my pink and feathery Natural Form coat again, for the first time in 4 years (so glad I made that coat and never wore it because the weather turned too warm!), and I simply had to get a few pictures of it in the snow!<br />
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Never mind the parking garage in the background...snow!<br />
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As a quick recap for the coat, because who remembers things from 2015? not me... Coat is made of pink and white herringbone weave wool flannel (not correct for a woman's coat c1880 afaik, but it was pretty and very very cheap), interlined with cotton flannel, and lined in shocking pink silk. And trimmed in 5" strung turkey marabou, which is more than a little ridiculous-looking! But very warm and fuzzy...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whee! Onward to moar sewing!</td></tr>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-84220111070587662632018-08-07T12:27:00.001-05:002018-08-07T12:27:54.274-05:00Great War event - 1916 skirtI haven't been sewing much this summer, but I did manage to scrape together a new skirt and hat to do a Great War event with the Usual Suspects in Ringwood, NJ this past weekend.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>It was a nice (if small) event, and Ringwood Manor and its grounds turned out to be excellent for photos! We brought a picnic lunch (and ate far too many scones with clotted cream and various curds - yes, that is how we do), took a tour of the manor, and tried not to melt in the heat! It was only about 50% humidity and there was a lot of shade, but it was still in the mid-90s, so by about 4pm we were all pretty well wilted, and ready for a parking-lot strip and drive home in air conditioning!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Usual Suspects. Very melted by the end of the day, which this was.</td></tr>
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Originally I wanted to make some pretty, frothy summer whites, like <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361413938841498019/" target="_blank">this dress</a>, but two weeks out from the event I hadn't found my motivation for doing so, and it was unlikely to show up at that point! So I decided to be more practical, and just make a new skirt to wear with my blue blouse that I wore with my 1914 suit. They're different tones of blue, which maybe wouldn't have been my first choice but...it still works? Well enough?<br />
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I took my inspiration from this dress (bottom, second from left); I thought it would be simple to make, look nice with the materials I had on hand, and look fine as just the skirt! Someday I might make the top half, if I have the inclination and can squeak it out of the leftover fabric, but that wasn't happening for this weekend.<br />
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I told myself this had to be from the stash, since this was a small event and the likelihood of doing another Great War event is pretty slim! Which was harder than you would think, looking at my fabric stash...but I have a lot of wool and silk, neither of which I wanted to use for a dead-of-summer outdoor event! After a lot of digging, I found some scraps leftover from my blue linen turque, and managed to eke a skirt out of them with some piecing!<br />
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I don't think you can see in any of the photos, but one of the back panels has two horizontal seams, and the other has three! I was determined to use this linen...<br />
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The construction is very straightforward: tucks hand-sewn in the front of the skirt, and the rest of it pleated up to the waistband. I did end up buying the buttons, as there are 7 on each side plus I wanted to make sure I had the same ones in case I make the top half of the dress someday...that's just more buttons of one type than I have stashed! Not a big button-stasher. The white cotton lace was what I bought months ago when I was still planning to make a summer whites dress; it's English lace from ebay.<br />
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The hat was inspired by the lady in the center of this plate. I already had a plain straw hat (from an antique store that had bins of $5 hats, yes please!) that I just cut down the crown a couple inches, tricked out in velvet ribbons and clearance floral from the craft store, and called it Good Enough!<br />
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I mean to have it tilted a bit further forward, but I did my hair a little too low, so it naturally settled there (and made me look like I had no hair at a certain angle...nice).<br />
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I also made the belt with silk taffeta and a vintage buckle from my ebay bag o'buckles. I did <i>not</i> make my purse; that was compliments of my lovely friend Adrienne (she of the plaid dress), and I don't think we got any nice pictures of it, whoops. It's fabulous though! Shoes are ebay'd - just old 80s/90s faux-Edwardian-style but they're cheap and easily findable! At least in my size... The heel caps completely disintegrated over the course of the day but that comes with the territory! That's replaceable, anyway.<br />
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And I'll mention my undies because they amuse me: I made combinations from the <a href="http://wearinghistory.clothing/circa-1917-combination-underwear-chemise-pattern/" target="_blank">Wearing History pattern</a> that are hilarious because the crotch flap really is at your knees. I intended to make a corset cover as well but...didn't. Maybe next time! Also wore my teens corset (from Corsets & Crinolines) and...the hoop petticoat that goes over my short fancy-dress 1860s hoop. Yes, really. LOL. It's not perfect but it was definitely my best option!<br />
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Despite the heat, we had lots of fun swanning around the grounds and taking overly dramatic photos by gates and pillars and sphinxes and things! As you do.<br />
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Columns! So dramatic!<br />
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Egyptian sphinxes! French sphinxes!<br />
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Sphinxes for EVERYBODY!<br />
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Also gates.<br />
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Big gates, little gates, doesn't matter. If you don't want your gates, this family will TAKE 'EM!<br />
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Same goes for columns, urns...you name it, we got it!<br />
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Hellooooo down there! Oh look, it's a real well...<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-13679136171739732352018-05-13T22:22:00.000-05:002018-05-13T22:22:18.402-05:00Georgian picnic at Strawberry MansionOr, why we're the <a href="https://sewloud.wordpress.com/2018/05/13/copper-1790s-open-robe/" target="_blank">knockoff Koach bag of "Georgian Picnics."</a> Also, long time no post! I've been in school. Well, I'm still in school, which is why this is not a "look at this new thing I made!" post, just an "I wore this old thing to an event" post. And I am going to be in school for the rest of 2018, so don't expect much! I actually got very close to finishing a UFO 1790s open robe for this...just not quite close enough.<br />
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But I wore my couple-year-old 1790s round gown that's only had one outing, and wore it with different accessories...so it was almost like a new dress anyway!<br />
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With my blue and white striped sash, a kerchief, and a blue ribbon in my hair? Totally new outfit!<br />
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I love 1790s, even if it's not the most...flattering...to the modern eye. (No, nobody's pregnant, even if we look it!) I tend to like transitional styles, and 1790s is definitely transitional; I think the evolution from "standard" 18thc to high-waisted Regency is fascinating, and if you look at 1790s you can see it go. Some of those styles are pretty wacky! I didn't wear a wig this time, which was good for being less hot (I try not to wear wigs at outdoor events around here during the warm months!), but less good because it was really high humidity and my front hair got decidedly wilted as the day went on! Ah well.<br />
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We picnicked at <a href="http://www.historicstrawberrymansion.org/" target="_blank">Historic Strawberry Mansion</a> in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia; they were really lovely and welcoming! We'd planned to picnic on their nice azalea-bordered lawn, but since it was a bit squishy (thank you, rain) they were kind enough to let us set up shop on their patio instead.<br />
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We didn't have a huge turn-out (naturally, being a knockoff of the real Georgian Picnic!), but the company was delightful, and the food was great. We lucked out and didn't get any more of the predicted rain til after nightfall, so we stayed a good five hours there - we got a nice tour of the house, but most of the time was just snacking, walking around the lawn, and chatting! Thoroughly enjoyable day, and a big thank you to all our friends who showed up, and to Strawberry Mansion for letting a group of weirdos park themselves on their lawn all afternoon! ;)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our smart married couple, chaperoning all the young ladies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They needed to be chaperoned!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An excellent gathering of friends and food</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even got some brief glimmers of sunshine!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The music room in one of the 1825 additions to the house was STUNNING</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lawn was perfect for playing graces! Well, maybe we'll remember the sticks and hoop next time... ;)</td></tr>
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-11321282176109515502017-12-29T18:19:00.001-05:002017-12-29T18:19:59.091-05:00Vintage Post: What's Black & White & Red All Over?Plaid, that's what! Worn twice, even.<br />
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(No, this isn't the failed-tea dress; that is currently still in the naughty pile. This plaid was much better behaved!)<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I've made the <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-pattern-8250-misses-vintage-1950s-skirt-and-bolero/S8250.html" target="_blank">Simplicity 8250</a> skirt before, out of plain-weave navy blue wool blend, so I knew I liked it, and something easy that I knew I like was just what I needed for this project, after the other frustrating plaid dress. Plaid does like to throw you curve balls, though, and I found I couldn't quite match up some of the seams...because the fabric wasn't woven evenly. For instance, no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I steamed and stretched the fabric, I could <i>not </i>manage to cut out the pocket pieces so the plaids matched exactly.<br />
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It's an apparel-weight cotton flannel that I bought very-on-sale from work the end of last season, and it's a good thing I only paid $3-something/yd for it! Good old Joann's. *shakes fist* Oy vey.<br />
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I was working with far less fabric than the pattern called for - my usual method is to pick out a piece of fabric from the stash and then see if the pattern will fit on it, not the other way round! Plus I was feeling very casual about plaid-matching for this project anyway, so I only matched plaids going one way, not both. I.e. the CF plaids line up horizontally but not vertically, and at the side seams, the horizontal red lines match up, but nothing else does.<br />
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(Basically...I know it isn't best practice, I just don't care!)<br />
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The bolero in the pattern, you may have noticed, has one thing my version does not. Namely, sleeves. After I'd cut out all the skirt pieces, I had a little bit of fabric left. Far too much to throw away, but really not enough to make anything else out of - pencil skirts are my go-to for remnants, but this wasn't even enough for that. Well...what if I took the sleeves off the bolero in the pattern? Yes, they're batwing-type sleeves, cut in one with the body of the bolero, but I can fudge that, right?<br />
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Mostly. The shoulders do wrinkle some at the front, which I could probably fix with some padding...but it's a one-layer cotton flannel bolero, I seriously doubt I'm that motivated. Astoundingly, I did manage to match the front and back plaids at the side seams. The facings, on the other hand, are all kinds of whacked-out, but they're facings, so who cares? (Minus the collar facings, which do in fact match, since it would be really obvious and terrible if they didn't.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back center appears to have gotten scudged over upon wearing. It is in fact even when the bolero's <i>not</i> on me...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Better here!</td></tr>
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It's been a very cold week here in the Philly area, so this outfit's first wearing involved wool tights and <a href="https://www.american-duchess.com/" target="_blank">American Duchess</a> carriage boots! Much as I love those boots, I think this outfit looks smarter with coordinating shoes and seamed stockings...but as I was going to be outside all day, that didn't seem to be the practical option.<br />
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I wore it again today, to a much more indoors sort of day, so on its second wearing I deployed some red <a href="https://us.whatkatiedid.com/collections/retro-seamed-stockings" target="_blank">WKD</a> red-seamed stockings, black heels, and a slightly fluffier petticoat.<br />
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And next time I could switch up the shoes and stockings, and go with red shoes, black contrast stockings! I think I <i>might</i> like black and white and red things...<br />
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And you can see a bit of the hem facing there...usually I make my own or use a ribbon, but here used the Wright's premade stuff, as I was pressed for time, and it's a semi-circular skirt so straight-grain ribbon wouldn't work very well. Nasty stiff poly-cotton facing! Which works for a skirt like this, but keep that stiffness in mind if you want a softer drape on a skirt...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Other than that? The skirt is all nicely finished (seams not on the selvedge are hand-felled), and the bolero is not (at some point I'll go back and bind the seams, but I wanted to wear it more than I wanted to have the seams bound this week!).Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213057943339325172.post-74759461753447506862017-12-20T15:45:00.003-05:002017-12-20T15:45:36.538-05:00Quick-Post: Vintage Not-TeaI've been wanting to have a vintage tea in the city for a couple of years now, and holiday season sounded perfect for it! Well, it ended up being somewhat less than perfect; couldn't get a reservation anyplace I wanted, several people bailed due to snow, and the dress I was making turned out <i>horribly</i> at the try-on point.<br />
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(I'm still poking away at that dress, and intend to either make a "yes, I don't hate this dress" or "do not under any circumstances buy this pattern" post soon. It's a red and green plaid so I should finish it while it's still seasonably wearable!)<br />
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<a name='more'></a>So - the event itself was somewhat less fun than anticipated, and I did a very last-minute scramble to finish a novelty print cotton skirt I bought the fabric for last year. But I do enjoy the skirt! I've worn it a few times since the event, and gotten compliments every time. It's just so ridiculous!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes...walruses in hats and earmuffs. And fishies in tiny, tiny earmuffs.</td></tr>
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I won't pretend it's a remotely vintage-inspired print, but I have a weakness for novelty print skirts, and thus care not at all!<br />
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Not-quite-complete group shot...in the dark, while in line for the Dickens Christmas Experience at Macy's. If you've never seen, and you're in Philly...it's an experience, for sure. (Don't go if you're terrified of A Small World at Disney World, or don't like very very hyped up employees haranguing you to start singing christmas carols while waiting in line. We responded by quietly singing "The Sound of Silence" when he was a safe distance away.)<br />
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Winter walruses are considerably less elegant than my original dress plans, but...I like them anyway, and at least they weren't injured by getting covered in snow! It snowed pretty much all day with no letup; not much accumulation but didn't make for a very fun walk around the city. Glad I had what's essentially a giant wool blanket to wear! (Best thrift store find ever, y/y?)<br />
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A third of the lights on the Christmas tree may have been out (oops)...but the Wanamaker building/Macy's is a hundred years old and still very impressive!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On my vintage-style dumb phone. ;)</td></tr>
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The skirt itself doesn't really require much explanation; it's just 3 widths of 44" fabric gathered into a straight waistband. Stupid simple!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pay no attention to the chewed-up heels...these are old shoes!</td></tr>
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I often make my plain cotton skirts 2 widths rather than 3, but I knew I wanted to wear this over my <a href="https://www.malcomodes.biz/" target="_blank">Malco Modes</a> Samantha petticoat, and a 90" skirt won't fit over that! 3 panels definitely allows for a bit more "oomph." Hat and purse are from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NonchalanceVintage" target="_blank">Nonchalance Vintage</a> on etsy (fabulous and accommodating seller! Highly recommend), and stockings are from <a href="https://www.secretsinlace.com/" target="_blank">Secrets in Lace</a>. (Fully-fashioned stockings are <i>such</i> an indulgence, but I love how they feel, and I've been nothing but happy with how all my pairs have held up so far.) Everything else was already on hand, old, and I have no idea where it came from. ;)<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10519725112405250558noreply@blogger.com1