A Mid-Month Post

Hello there friends! It's been awhile since my last post. I wish I could say I was a busy little bee working on projects, and while it wouldn't strictly be a lie, its not precisely the truth either.

My Yellow challenge was put aside and will remain so for another short (I hope) while. My Partner in Crime and I agreed to make some frock coats for the musicians at the Regency Ball in 2 weeks, and neither of us are tailors, nor have gentlemen that we regularly sew for. So that's been a bit of a learning curve!

I've also been working on a commission I took on for the ball. The customer requested a muslin gown, and since I knew that the muslin sold in stores is not the same kind of muslin historical uses made of it, I was searching all over for muslin made in India. I was having a heck of a time, until I found a pair of references. The first on the glossary, that muslin gauze is the specific term to search for, and the second that muslin made in India is virtually unchanged in the last 200 years (but I have lost that reference! If your blog is one that refers to that, please let me know so I can credit you!). So when I searched for that, I found what I was looking for almost immediately! Huzzah!! Then of course it was a waiting game for it to make its way halfway across the world to me, which it did in rather good time. I bought 10 yards, and I couldn't believe how light and airy it is. This dress will weigh practically nothing!

Guido and Simon Meowell model the muslin.

Then, I've been going to belly dance practices 2x a week for the last few weeks. The studio I dance at is showcasing the choreographies learned in the past year at a festival this weekend. One of the dances I knew, one I did not. I mostly had to teach it to myself, which was extra fun because it also included finger cymbals! But the support I got from my teacher and the other students has been just fantastic. I will have to write a post on why I find dance so important to my life in the near future :)

I thought I wouldn't be able to go on this year's train excursion, because I didn't know when I'd be dancing at the festival. Then it turned out that I could! So tonight I made up a mini quasi-lobster bustle for my sister, or possibly for myself. I hate to say this, but we've had snow already this month (and it was MUCH worse in the southern part of the province! They got some 12-13", we only got a light dusting that melted as soon as it hit the ground). So this event, which we usually attend in August, will possibly be the coolest weather we've ever had for it. I'm quite looking forward to not melting out of my gown and actually wearing mosre accessories than I usually go with. But Ireally  do need a hat.

Finally, I made a Facebook page for my blog. I wanted to move my in-progress photos and the like away from my personal page. So if you want to see what I'm up to and are on facebook, please feel free to follow it!

We shall chat aain soon, my friends. I hope to have good pictures from the train trip and some ballgown pictures soon!

HSF '14: #16 Terminology: "Guimpe"

Friends, I have a confession. I feel like I cheated a bit with this challenge. There, I said it. I cheated.

This was another challenge where I had lots of ideas - I could make jumps, or work on some stays, or make something out of one of the many types of cloth listed in the glossary. Then I thought, but what about specific terms that aren't listed but are definitely historical terms, like bustles, or a habit shirt? But no - the challenge is quite clear that the item must come from the glossary. Hmm. What to do?

Guimpe caught my eye. From the glossary: A short blouse to be worn under a jumper, or a fill for a low cut dress. Similar to a dickey or chemisette. And then I looked it up on Google. From Wikipedia: From the early nineteenth century onwards, the term guimpe also described a form of short under-blouse or chemisette which was worn under a pinafore or low cut dress to fill in the neckline and, if sleeved, cover the arms. (Though if you look up the source linked with the quote, it's greatly paraphrased. The magic of Wikipedia...)

Further from Google, if you search guimpe in images, there are a few chemisette-like items listed as guimpes, and it seems to be a French term as the blogs that have these items are French. And while many are very sheer, a few are not, and that is good enough for me :D

I whipped this up EXTREMELY quickly. It was about 2pm on the same day I was leaving town for my sister's wedding. I was expecting my friend to arrive at 4, and my dad shortly after. That should be enough time to quickly make a chemisette, I thought, and still have time to shower. I put my fabric and pattern out and ripped and snipped and serged and stitched. Yep, it's 95% machine sewn and finished. I wanted it to be able to wear it with my new paisley dress for the pictures! I didn't hem the ruffle because I figured I could sew it in the car. I ended up leaving it ripped until I decided on the item I wanted to make for this challenge. I quite liked the fuzzy edges and the soft look it had in the light. Then it was just a matter of rolling the hem down (after giving the edge a "trim") and stitching. Et voila!

My biggest lesson learned from this is PRESS YOUR FABRIC before you lay out or cut patterns! Even though I had this folded nicely in my fabric bin, the end I cut from was a little "crunchy", which I ignored because I was in a hurry. It ended up being quite crooked and one shoulder is a lot narrower than the other. I really love how this looks with the entire ensemble and I will definitely be making more :)

The Challenge: #16 Terminology
Fabric: 100% linen
Pattern: La Mode Bagatelle
Year: 1810s-ish
Notions: thread, a metre or so of cording
How historically accurate is it?: Rather debatable. Most of the guimpes a Google image search turned up were quite sheer. Thoroughly modern construction.
Hours to complete: 2
First worn: August 2
Total cost: $5, perhaps. The linen was about half a yard ($4), and the cording was perhaps $1.

Closes with a single pin.
Serged seam under the ruffle to leave a smooth edge at the neck.

HSF '14: #15 The Great Outdoors: A Regency Spencer

I really like having the challenges posted well in advance, allowing for planning. And procrastinating. And changing my mind because I procrastinated too long. (Have you noticed a theme yet?)

Initially, I wanted to make a riding habit. But I'm not yet confident in my 18th century sewing to have tackled a habit without a pattern. I finally did make a mock-up, but the fit was just awful. I need to spend a lot more time on it, but I don't have a ton of motivation to do so right now.

Lucky for me, sometimes inspiration strikes early and then sits. Case in point: this spencer. I was taken with the idea some months ago: I simply HAD to make a blue cotton velveteen spencer. I HAD to. I found the mockup I'd made ages ago (roughly 3 years ago) and the fit was still good, so out came the pattern and the blue velveteen. In quite short order, I had a jacket. I'm not totally sold on the pale lining (but it's growing on me! A lot!), but I'd already put the sleeves in. Maybe some decorative braiding some such will help perk it up. And of course, I had it finished to the point of closures and sleeve hemming, and tossed it aside in favour of something else. (Carefully. My cat is mostly grey but his fur is banded with white and black too. It clings to and shows up on EVERYTHING.)

I really need to stop doing that.

But then it worked out that since I couldn't finish the habit without rushing, and a spencer would be worn outside, especially with long sleeves... Ta da! It got finished :) It did take a bit longer than I was hoping it to. I came home Friday with the intent to finish it that night, but instead I washed and stored a whole bunch of veggies pulled from a friend's garden (we both came home with about 6 shopping bags of produce, and there's tons more to be harvested :D) and then the next day I woke up with a plague and spent the whole day pretty much sleeping. But today I feel much better, and finished it.

I also ended up hand-stitching the outside seams in place. It was pretty much impossible to photograph (I tried) but the layers wanted to bag out and wouldn't lay flat. Perhaps a good pressing would have done the trick, but I've never had luck with pressing velveteen, even with a towel underneath to protect the pile. I didn't always manage to keep the pale thread from showing on the outside, but hopefully the pile of the velveteen will keep it hidden :) It lays MUCH flatter now.

The Challenge: #15 The Great Outdoors
Fabric: dark blue cotton velveteen
Pattern: Sense and Sensibility Spencer Jacket
Year: 1810s?
Notions: 4 buttons, thread
How historically accurate is it?: In shape only, most likely. Cotton velveteen might be OK, but polyester lining and plastic buttons sure aren't ;)
Hours to complete: I didn't keep track. 6 or so.
First worn: Not yet (too hot!)
Total cost: The velveteen and buttons were gifted to me, and I used maybe 1/2 metre of the cream faux-silk that I got for $2/m... so about $1.

Regency Paisley Cotton Day Dress Bonus!!

My sister got married this past weekend at her now-husband's farm, and I had invited my friend with me to attend. Since I had just finished my day dress, and my friend had expressed interest in playing with her DSLR camera more to learn how to use it, I asked her to take some pictures of my dress. I quickly sewed up a chemisette (also from the La Mode Bagatelle pattern) to take with me. I didn't have a chance to hem the ruffle, though you can't really see it in these photos. I feel like my expressions are a bit odd in the photos, and you might notice my SUPER historically accurate chipped nails and flip flops (it was at least 30C and 60% humidity on all the days we were there. I sacrifice footwear when it's that hot. Please understand we spent 6 full months at or well below freezing last year! This kind of heat is just not what I'm used to!). But I hope you enjoy them anyway :)

Photo by EJ Harrison

HSF'14: #14 Paisley & Plaid: Regency Day Dress

There was a bit of excitement in my city this past week! While I am very positive I am not the only historical fashion enthusiast in town, I wasn't sure how to go about finding other people. I have a partner in crime who is quite happy to make dresses and wear them out with me, but we have a hard time getting together sometimes. I am not really interested in the focus groups, and I just don't have the energy to work up to creating a group myself (though I may still have to). Then, we found out that someone in our city is very passionate about Regency and is holding a ball in September! My partner in crime was THRILLED and has leapt into wardrobes with both feet. As it happened, I had a Regency gown planned for the Paisley & Plaid challenge, so I spent the night at her house where we had the unusual but enjoyable experience of making a pair of dresses from the same pattern. Within a 24 hour period, we both had dresses that were only in need of a few finishing touches, such as hems. I finished my dress the next day when I would normally be tempted to let it sit and then finish it right before I wanted to wear it. Sure does feel good to finish something, though!

I feel the need to tell you, lovely readers, that I have never liked paisley. I was probably in my early teens, and a lot of the linens I'd received from my grandparents (being hand-me-downs from the 70s, probably) had these horrible (I thought) paisley prints on them. E-yeuch! And even up until a few months ago, I hated paisley. What an awful motif, I thought. Well, while I'm still not a huge fan, when my mum's stash was available for picking and some paisleys in not-horrible-70s-prints came out, I knew I had a paisley challenge coming up, and I grabbed them for my own stash.

I'd wanted to try the La Mode Bagatelle pattern for some time. I liked that it was a complete wardrobe from the skin out, and was eager to see how it went together. My partner in crime was just finishing a bodiced petticoat as I arrived, and after a bit of pattern tracing, fabric choosing and washing, and supper, we cut our fabrics. I had to make a mock-up bodice, which I then used as the lining.

My partner in crime leapt into the construction with both feet, while I took the time to read the directions, sometimes several times over. I did not find them to be the clearest directions, so if you use this pattern and like to read directions, take the time to read them carefully. Despite that discrepancy in our working styles, we progressed at about the same rate.

We both felt that the band was a great idea, giving the bodice a bit more support to sit under the bust, rather than having the skirt start falling from the same place. We also felt that it was just a little too long, and cut ours shorter to better suit our tastes. I waited to gather my bodice until the false bib was in place, rather than gathering the layers individually. Before attaching the skirt, we added on our sleeves. I know she had to play with the size of the band to achieve the look she wanted, and I ended up taking mine in a bit well after the rest of the dress was completed (but before it was hemmed). After that, it was just attaching the skirt - she kept hers with a flat front and gathered in the back, I pleated mine starting at the edges of the false bib with most of the fullness concentrated at the back.

I took my dress home with only closures, hemming, and finishing the false bib to finish. It was a very productive day! We got through an entire season of Doctor Who as we sewed. And I probably could have pushed a bit harder and had it finished the same day I took it home, but in the end, I worked on it slowly and finished it the day after. Which is still good, I usually wait much longer to finish a dress! I really can't wait to wear this out somewhere :)

What the item is: Regency Cotton Day Dress
The Challenge: #14 Paisley & Plaid
Fabric: 4m of cotton paisley print (60" wide).
Pattern: La Mode Bagatelle false bib-front round gown with long sleeves
Year: 1810s?
Notions: thread, ribbon, self-covered buttons
How historically accurate is it? Probably not very. Fabric content, sure, pattern, maybe. Mostly machine sewn, with hand-finishing on the hems.
Hours to complete: A season of Doctor Who, including patterning.
First worn: Not yet, but hopefully soon!
Total cost: The fabric was from my mum's stash (so free to me), a bit of ribbon and broadcloth from my partner in crime's stash, three button bases left over from my last Regency dress that I got on sale... I'm just gonna call this one free :D (Oh, I will need to buy a bit of tape for the band facing, so it'll be around $1)

And a preview of it being worn! (Apologies for the bathroom selfie and cropping out my laundry-day hair. I broke my full length mirror a few weeks ago. Epic sad-face!)

In the Mail

Friends, I'm sorry I haven't been posting. I promise I've been sewing, sometimes. If I was half this busy last year, it's no wonder I didn't get anything done and was frantically sewing before the con. I sometimes forget that summer is festival season, and I had the unparalleled delight of seeing Wicked again (if you have a chance to see Laurel Harris in this role, take it! Jump on it like it's running away! She is my favourite Elphaba so far and her rendition of Defying Gravity brought me to tears!). I've been camping and belly dancing and eating my way through the city the last several weeks. Next weekend my sister is getting married and I'm busy sewing up my costume for the con the week after. Phew!

I've got many little projects on the go, and nothing really to show for it. And tonight, I've discovered that the gnomes have hidden the broadcloth I need for a lining that was in my hand not more than four days ago. So, instead I thought I'd show you a couple of items I got in the mail :)

Back in March, Asa of Fashion Through History held a giveaway to celebrate her 100th follower. If you are not reading her blog, you should be! She is so very talented! I entered on a lark, and much to my surprise and delight I was chosen as the winner. The prize was a pair of hand-sewn 18th century mitts in an accent colour of my choice. I received them a few weeks later, but have only just now gotten around to posting about it. At the time, Asa expressed the hope that they would still be useful to me since it was springtime, and as it happened, winter lasted another month past it! I still haven't had a chance to wear them, but I am very much looking forward to doing so in the fall. Thank you so much Asa!

The delightful envelope that appeared in my mailbox.

So pretty!

Worn for photos.

Top folded down.

Underside.

Close-up of stitching.

Next up, I have been admiring American Duchess shoes for some time, and just never seemed to have all the ducks in a row whenever I decided that this was the day I was going to order. And not to put too fine a point on it, while footwear is one thing I am willing to spend money on because I can't make it myself, I was still reluctant to spend close to $200 on a pair of shoes that are, to some part of my mind, costume shoes. Still, I kept an eye on the page in hopes of a sale, and finally decided in June that at the next opportunity, I would buy a pair of shoes.

Luckily for me, I was able to jump in on the Bastille Day sale just a couple of weeks ago. The shoes shipped the same day, and I received them just 6 business days later, a bit of a feat from Nevada to somewhat-northern Canada! Good job postal service :)

And, WOW. I'd heard nothing but good things about these shoes, and I am absolutely delighted that they live up to their reputation! For some reason I had pictured the leather being stiff and thick, more like the Victorian-esque granny boots I bought in Virginia City, and it's not. It's soft and supple. I was a little concerned about the width, as I usually have to buy wide-width shoes, but it's not a problem at all. I could probably even go down a half-size as they're a bit roomy in the toe. There is a bit of tightness when I wore modern socks, but it was not over where my foot is wide, but rather over the top of the arch. And it's not even an uncomfortable feeling, just more of a sensation. I also had some misgivings about the heel height, as I have a pair of modern shoes that are slightly higher and are uncomfortably tall after an hour or so, but they are barely taller than the lifts I have to wear in my regular shoes. Really, I can't say enough good things about these shoes! Being as I got them in a sale, I also got some buckles, and wish I had invested in some silk stockings too! And much to my surprise, I found a couple extra goodies in the box too.

As soon as I am able, I will definitely be buying another pair of shoes!

Squee!

More squee!!

The buckles are surprisingly large. I couldn't figure out a way to show them on the latchets without actually putting them on.

The free gifts that I found underneath the shoes :)

HSF '14: #12: Shape and Support: Spanish Farthingale

Oh, dear friends, you have no idea how happy I am to post this :D Are you ready for another saga of procrastination? Let's back up a few years...

2008: I wanted to make an Elizabethan outfit. I got... partway. I was, of course, sewing under a deadline, and then, with a few weeks before the event, my dear friend Mew called me about a travel opportunity that I could NOT pass up. I spent the entire time happily planning our trip instead of sewing, and did not even come close to finishing it. (Then our trip didn't happen, and it sucked big time, but that's not a tale for this blog.)

2011: I had quit my job and and spent roughly 6 weeks unemployed. I'd decided that if I wasn't working, I should be sewing. I sewed a lot that winter! Then, mid-late February, I was working on an another Elizabethan outfit, more "casual" than the one I'd started, and I distinctly remember trying to cut bias strips on my mum's freezer while I stayed with her for a day since she was recovering from surgery. I wanted to do a continuous strip and couldn't get them to line up, so I gave up. Both pieces languished.

2014: I've been wanting to get this thing done forever. I have Plans. Then I got "talked" into a group cosplay, where the character I was told to cosplay has a distinctly Elizabethan silhouette. And #12 was coming up. Perfect opportunity, or PERFECT opportunity?

Well, like all my plans, and all of my projects that sit for a long time, the pieces got separated. I couldn't find either one. I was seriously considering just starting over, but then I wanted to use the Simplicity underthings pattern, which I KNOW I have, but it's gone AWOL. I also have the Margo Anderson pattern, but I didn't want to dig it out and trace it off... (Can you see a theme?). But then, while digging in a box for the potential pattern, I found the original base. No sign (still) of the fabric I was making the bias strips out of, but no matter. The base was the important part.

For some reason, when I'd started this, I had the Margo Anderson pattern available. I have NO IDEA what possessed me to try and draft my own, especially when I was reading Margo's instructions and it was based on the same pattern I was using anyway. Sigh. I do like to complicate my own projects... So I made myself some new bias tape, figured out where I would potentially need a hem, so that I could turn up the bottom and apply the bias tape, all before closing up the side seam. Initially I'd left only one side open, and in the end, I opened up the other side seam to apply the waistband more like 18th century petticoats. It just seems more practical than a fixed waistband.

And then... it sat for a few more weeks. I finished applying the bias tape around the same time the challenge was "due", and then I just needed to get my butt to a hardware store so I could pick out my chosen hooping material: flexible plumbing tubing.

I got two rolls of tubing (50ft total) and some copper connecters, and then sat down to put the tubing in the channels. The tubing was great, flexible and easily cut with scissors. It took no time at all to insert it. I still have to close up the channels, but I couldn't resist throwing all the layers onto my mannequin!

Farthingale with Simplicity bumroll...

Taffeta petticoat...

Underskirt/forepart...

Overskirt!

It looks so awesome! I'm so happy!

The Challenge: #12: Shape and Support
Fabric: poly-cotton broadcloth (pretty sure)
Pattern: sort-of drafted by me, based on Alcega's diagrams
Year: 1580s...?
Notions: Thread, self-made bias tape, plumbing tubing, copper connectors
How historically accurate is it? In shape only.
Hours to complete: 4-5? Not including making the bias tape.
First worn: Not yet.
Total cost: $21 CDN, all for the tubing and connectors. Fabrics were all given to me :)

Side view