Forward into the 1770s!

So here we go. Severe lack of sewing desire for the faire stuff has led to a venturing out back into the 1770s. As mentioned previously; Lover, Friendy, and I are going American Revolution reenacting. I being me and recently in the possession of Patterns of Fashion has led to much plotting.

The new printer led to a stay pattern that might actually work. Yay!

And I found fabric to use:

It's a lovely silver blue I found on Fabrics-Store. They also have a lovely linen canvas. It's also not softened! Yay! I have round reed to use for boning. I bought a pound and have since made two Elizabethan Stays from it with plenty left over. It's about 1/8" which means two pieces for each 1/4" channel. I intend to bind the stays with the binding from Burnley and Trowbridge. Which Lover has offered to help me with. My hands have never been particularly strong. 

Okay. I bragged about my plots and now I'm supposed to go work on the Celts so they can be photographed for the Plaid and Paisley challenge. Which is probably what I should have been doing from the beginning. 

Cheers!

Merlina

How I Will Lose My Mind

Arrr! And welcome to more Pirate Insanity! Last year 'twas Once Upon a Time pirates, this year 'tis rather more insane than last! To begin we decided to go to faire (New York Renaissance Faire) as pirates, specifically Captain Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Mary Reed. Pretty easy when you think about it. I am to be Anne Bonny. That doesn't change we (Lover and I) just decided we needed to go to the Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton VA too.

Now here's where the insanity strikes. There is a grand ball Friday night of the event. Ergo one must be dressed appropriately.......and what better reason for a robe a la francaise! (I know, I'm nuts.) Originally I thought I'd finally make the curtain along dress, but calculated out I'd need four panels, rough $100! I don't exactly have $100 lying around to spare. If I did there would be shoes. So Stash Shopping it is. Stash then grants this:

Actually 5 yards of this. The tag still stuck on it read that it was an Upholstery/Slipcover fabric and original retail was $4.79 a yard. The tag was written by a typewriter so this fabric has been around for awhile. It has a nice shine to it and a heavy-ish hand. The edge claims it was made for Concord Fabrics by Joan Kessler. A quick Google search turns up several similar fabrics. All are polished cotton from the 1980s. So it works. plus the print is almost identical from this example found in Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Strand Hokeboer:

Pg 231

I feel pretty happy with myself. I know cotton isn't fully period but so far one of the biggest pieces I've ever made has cost me absolutely nothing! Which is always an awesome feeling.

I intend to use these two patterns from Norah Waugh's The Cut of Women's Clothes as inspiration along with Katherine's tutorial from The Fashionable Past (link goes to the start of the tutorial. With the fabric amount I have, I feel the second is better for conservation of fabric, but I love the cuffs on the first. 

Now if only I could have stays that actually fit and no fear of hoops........

More on Lover's clothes later!

Cheers,

Merlina

How Merlina Makes Pockets

How Merlina Makes Pockets

Pockets are simple. At least how I make them. I do not present this as the most historically accurate way to make pockets. This is the way I do it. Are there better ways to do this? Yes. Is it wrong to do it this way? No, at least not for me. 

 

Mine are pretty plain, I embroider fairly well I simply don't have the patience. I however applaud those who do. This was an excersise in use of stash fabric and practice with my hand sewing. Plus I like colorful underthings. Who wants white all the time?

 

And now, making a pocket or two.

 

I start with a piece of paper taped to my waist. Reach my fingers done to the edge and mark the fartest they reach. Then fold the paper in half and connect the dots for a kind of tear drop shape. Cut out and we get this:

Pocket Pattern

My hand to show shape

 

Next you cut out four of these from your choice fabric. If you want two pockets, cut two pieces if you want one. I personally prefer two. To me, there are days when one is just not enough. Mine are made from the remains of the blue medium weight linen I used for my blue hood. It's a little wrinkled, but alas linen is known to do that.

 

Four pieces of blue linen for pockets

 

Now we sew the pockets together along the tear drop shape. I did mine by hand with waxed undyed linen thread. Once I stitched down the first row of stitches, I clipped the seam allowance, and turned the pocket inside out then pinned and sewed again. Making a kind of french seam. My intention was to turn that inside again. But I thought it looked cool, so it remains.

 

Pocket sewn up

 

I am aware that this isn't period. I simply wanted to do it this way. And I like french seams, they're pretty. :) I do this for both of the pockets.

 

Then we cut a slit down the center to allow one to access said pocket. I bound the slit with self fabric bias tape.

 

 

Pocket with finished slit

 

 

We shall repeat this on the other pocket so there are two. Then stitch them onto a tape or more self fabric bias tape. In this case a piece of yellow linen from my yellow Marian gown, which still isn't finished (damned sleevils). I place my pockets at my sides over my hips. All my petticoats have the same placed slit to access them.

 

Et, voila! Finished pockets!

Aren't they all bright and cheerful?

 

Perfect for my cell and ID, and money for the next historical adventure! And possibly some cleverly historical pocket trappings. What historical lady doesn't want a letter from her beloved? Or a little token to show off?

 

Next up on the sewing run is a recycled fabric red petticoat. The color is actually accurate, but that's for another post. And so much better than boring white. I'm not knocking white, but really who doesn't want a red petticoat? Sounds fun to me.

 

Cheers,

Merlina

For the Love of Pockets

For those of us who venture forth into the past from our humble modern beginnings are forever tasked with hiding the common place items we use in modern life. Things like cell phones, keys, ID, cash and credit cards among numerous others. Now certainly we have the option of a purse. Reticules were very popular in the Regency Era and after. Pouches hanging from belts can also work. Which is all fine and dandy but I have tried both, and find neither to my liking. Which brings us to an Eighteenth Century necessity, the pocket.

Pockets found via Pinterest, claim to belong to the Bath Museum

 

These clever little pockets are on a tape and tie around one's waist beneath one's skirts. They vary in size and can hold quite a lot of things. Perfect to hide away the cell phone and other 21st century necessities. 

 

Now what follows is my opinon, just me theorizing. So don't jump down my throat. I have little to back up my thoughts besides theory.

 

Pockets to me are one of the most useful pieces of historical fashion. I have worn them under dresses dating from the Tudor era all the way up to the 1860s (exception being the Regency). They hide out easily under the layers of skirts and skirt supports. As far as I know there is no evidence to back this, but I don't think something this useful just suddenly appeared in the 1700s. Although I believe the idea of a pouch on a belt under one's outer skirt is mentioned in The Tudor Tailor.

 

If my theory is true, which greater minds then mine may already know, the question ranks what happened to all the pockets? The same thing that happened to all the other extant clothes. Only the fancy pockets survive. But if the majority of the world worked and used pockets, I think the pockets would have been plain, and used until they could no longer be repaired. So that's my theory, if anyone asks.

 

Now on to the good stuff.

 

I have had a pair of plain machine sewn white pockets for ages. They were of a heavier fabric, maybe a cotton, maybe a blend with bright teal bias tape to finish the slits. I do know there is a picture of them, I don't know where it is.

 

Unfortunately, my pockets became a victim of the ferious black cat. (He's really not that ferious, rather adorable) They were scratched up and taken to parts unknown. Therefore I now need new pockets. Which I will show you how to make in my next post!



Arrrr! And other 18th Century Things

Wow! It's January 2013! So weird getting used to that. Anyway, I am back, having successfully survived the holidays. (There were a couple questionable points there but alas...) Which means we shall be attempting to blog more often. I made that one of my New Year's Resolutions. Hehe. Well clearly I'm not off to a good start.

To begin we have more pictures of the Colonial Dress. It has since been finished, I just don't have finished pictures. Since these were taken, the trim has been stitched down and hooks/eyes have been added to the center front, I find I dislike pins for closure.

This shows the pinned box pleated self trim and the ribbon down the center. I know it's probably not completely historically accurate, deal with it or unpick the trim and do it yourself. ;) 

Larger picture of the dress, Showing the sleeve and the other petticoat. 

Full shot of the dress.  

Sleeve Ruffle Thingy. Double layered, pleated to the sleeve with the same ribbon as the neckline. 

Now with a completed dress, with hems and closures (big deal for me), there is one less thing to do on the list. And I can take pictures with the cat! (Once cap and neck kerchief are finished). Although that kind of back-fired because in trying on this dress, I learned I need new stays.....doesn't that always happen?

Anyways! In an effort to accomplish many things, and not be sewing right before upcoming events, things have been started early. And those things that have been started early are Top Secret Projects, yes with capital letters. I can show you some pictures but cannot tell you what they are.

This is my corset, I have since fixed the binding on it so the fashion fabric lays flat. The corset is four layers; lining, interlining, interlining, fashion fabric. The "boning" is 1/2'' cable ties sandwiched in the interlining layers. I used my corset block pattern, same as I did for my Marian costume, just the full length version. 

This last picture is this gorgeous tooled faux leather. I found it on Ebay and it will be a key part of my costume. Soon. 

Lastly we have the first part of lover's Top Secret Project costume. It still requires buttons, and its proper collar. The fabric was horrid to stitch. 

Feel free to guess. I ain't saying a word!

Cheers!

Merlina

It's a Dress! Or Finally Finished

Semester ends! Yay! And I catch the sewing bug. But with money tied up in Christmas Gifts, I must dive into the UPB or Unfinished Project Box. We all have one, they're usually that box tucked away in the sewing room of things no one wants to see, where a couple tweaks and maybe an hour and there'd be a finished project.

Anyways....

This is my first colonial dress. I made the stays, shift and pockets a few years back. As with the small bumroll and the three petticoats underneath. (Said petticoats and bumroll are used for everything requiring petticoats.) There are pictures of the underthings, somewhere. And I know I need new stays. The ones I'm wearing are from when I first started sewing and not really comfortable. (had yet to learn of tabs. OMG! I love tabs.) Pretty much they're boring white with blue thread. I'm debating new ones with an actual pattern and possible that goregous curtain fabric......

So here is the dress (excuse the cell phone):

It is a very pretty quilter's cotton I found in Joann's. The pattern looks very colonial to me, but I cannot swear to accuracy. I'm a costumer not a historian, Jim! (Sorry, couldn't resist). The back is quartered and the front fastens down the front with pins, which are currently pulling because I'm not laced right. (My assistant was over the river, literally) The pattern is a combination of the Simplicty pirate gown and historical stuff I found/looked at online. I drafted it from the information myself! I doubt it's together historically acurate but alas. Partially machine partially by hand.

You can see the pattern of the fabric well here and how full I got my skirts. Plus the shape provided by the stays.

The yellow skirt is not the right one for this gown. I made a very full, teal petticoat that looks gorgeous under the gown and adds even more fullness. But it and I are not on speaking terms (long story.) So I am using possibly the first skirt I made. It too is of quilter's cotton and has a matching blouse and corset to go with it. (technically it belongs to the Padme outfit...)

The neck-kerchief is not the right one. I have one somewhere but I don't know where. So its a muslin square. And a little bit of self fabric trim is not on yet. I ran out of fabric. But there are sleeve flounces that had to be removed to adjust the sleeves. Hey! There's a hem and a closure, to me that means finished!

Happy New Year!
Merlina

Festive Attyre: A Curtain Along

I am so not a stranger to curtain based sewing. Might have something to do with that dress out of Gone With the Wind, it's one of my favorites. My first historically accurate (okay as close as possibly) attire was made from curtains. As well as my sister's Elizabeth Swan gold gown. So when I saw this on Festive Attyre, I just had to! (Squeels with glee)


You can learn more about it here: http://www.festiveattyre.com/2012/09/the-curtain-along-is-go.html

But I'm so in. I saw the curtains in Lowe's the other day and they just screamed "Make me into a gown!". I wanted to check on the accuracy but now I see this, clearly I'm good. Plus I need attire for my dream trip to Colonial Williamsburg for Under the Redcoat. Running around in colonial dress for a couple days? Heaven! Added bonus, I get to make a vest (not the term, blanking too late to thing) oh wait! Waist coat for Lover out of the black version.

Here is the white curtain:

This pic is from the Amazon listing.

Now I just need this week's check and Yay!

Cheers

Merlina