August flapper

I didn't think I would be sewing anything big until I move, but when the urge to sew comes on, it comes on very strong.

 And this is probably the last photo shoot I'll ever have in my house.... sad sad sad.

An old family friend gifted me her lovely vintage silk sari as a graduation present, and I thought for several days about what kind of dress I would make out of it, and how.  I had settled, reluctantly, on a regency dress, despite disliking most regency/sari remakes, when I stumbled upon Festive Attyre's free 1920s dress pattern.  Bam!  Quick, easy, good opportunity to use the fabric's natural placement.

Era:  Mid to late 20s, judging by waistline.

Fabric: Lovely silk sari, washed silk taffeta lining, 1000000 different kinds of thread.

Time: Less than 10 hours.  Hollaaaaa!

Pattern: Festive Attyre

Verdict:  Very unflattering (the style, not the make) but comfortable and quick, and it gives a good shape for the period.  Next time I'll make the bodice a bit more fitting (I did this without any muslin because I like to live life on the edge.)  Still not a big fan of the color, but I wanted to use the fabric for its sentimental value.  Would make again!

I am a discredit to my community.

Actually, girls in my community in the 1920s were known for being such vamps that a law was passed that allowed the police to arrest their parents for their daughter's indescretions.

Anyway, I'm going to Highland this weekend as my last event and then I'm flying to VA next week.  I will probably be taking a sewing break for a month or so depending on my schedule.

A small bergere hat

I've always been vaguely dissatisfied with the wide straw hat that I bought at colonial Williamsburg, so I decided to take my critiques of it and make a hat of my own just how I liked it, with the straw braid I wanted to make into a leghorn hat for 1860s.

The brim is so small because I was lazy and didn't want to work on this hat anymore.  The decorations and ties are both vintage rayon ribbon that looks and feels like silk.  The hat is all hand sewn using cotton and silk thread, and it took about a week and a half working on and off.  I really enjoyed working with straw, even though it does take a long time.

Also, note that the ruffly cap is for sale.  Buy please? (a steal at $35)

And I have been redoing several old dresses and making new petticoats:

 Which hopefully explains my recent silence.

A new poofy cap

I'm hoping, at this point, that by rite of the sheer volume of my wardrobe I could get an internship at he Margaret Hunter shop in Williamsburg.  And what does every aspiring seamstress need?

A dormeuse cap!

Complete with terrible tee shirt, messy 30 second hair and feverishly red cheeks

The pained grin/grimace

I found a 1 yard x 54" remnant of silk organdy at Vogue and I snatched it up, then used my basic pattern, with a slightly larger caul and a wider back piece (about 2" wider, to get more puff.)  The ruffle is selvedge edge, and the quilling (bloop bloops is definitely the technical term) is half selvedge and half hemmed.  The whole thing is hand sewn, as usual.

Just the facts:

Era: probably later 1770s

Materials: Silk organdy, linen thread, cotton twill tape

Time: About three days = 6 or 7 hours

Pattern:  Kannik's Corner

Verdict:  I really love this cap, and I like seeing how my
work has improved.  The fabric is a lot stiffer and a lot less brilliant white than I thought it would be, but by hair is dark and the stiffness means it holds a fold well, which is nice for roll-hemming.  I also just like the idea of wearing a silk cap - it feels so luxurious.

Look how sheer the fabric is!

 My teeny rolled hem

 Constructed the period correct way - all one layer.

And speaking of luxury, my cheap bottom-of-the-barrel beige jubilee linen/cotton blend came in the mail, so at least I'll have one more underpetticoat/work skirt.  More stuff to work on while sick.

A marginal improvement?

So!  I have finally almost finished my new pair of handsewn stays.  I know, it's been a while, although I do have several excuses (involving work, an amazing Wauconda, and an unexplained illness) as to why the binding is wonky and the lining very much not applied.  But I'll save those for later.

On to the trainwreck!

 

My first two pairs of stays were noticeably much, much too large.  And I'm not one to measure twice before I cut once (or measure at all, really) so I did some considerable pattern alteration and made the natural assumption that it was going to stretch with wear.  (Which it hopefully will, because...)

 You could drive a semi through the back gap.  I blame this mostly on my hip-to-waist ratio.

 Despite the lack of lining, the odd binding and the omnipresent, inescapable bosom crush, I really do like this pair of stays.  It takes about half an hour to lace up in all but it looks very neat and it does give me a nice figure without making me look like a prepubescent lad like my old pair.

Teeny tiny stitches!

Just the facts:

Era: 1770s, presumably

Pattern: J P Ryan's strapless stays, heavily altered

Fabric:  Wool gaberdine outer layer, linen interlining, linen thread treated with beeswax, cotton twill binding (though I want to replace it with doe or kid leather at some point) wooden reeding and a few pieces of flat steel for the back and poly satin ribbon (the cotton tape broke....)

Time:  About three weeks, on and off

Cost:  None!  All from the stash.

Thoughts:   One of the seams is ripping at the bottom because I tried to pull it in over my hips.  That's really all I have to say.  If anybody notices that I am wearing it too high or too low please tell me - I'll wear it a bit and see if it molds to my body and if the gap is still that large I'm going to split it and put in two small panels to help even it out.  But!  Comfortable, and it fits much better.

What I was Watching: Stepford Wives, two seasons of The West Wing, Hannibal, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, listening to WTNV

Edit:  This is the same shirt I wore when I took pictures of my old pair!  I'm not even going to Dartmouth (it is a really comfy shirt though.)

A simple slat bonnet

Sorry about the radio silence!  I've been traveling on vacation, preparing the house for sale and working on my stays without the benefit of long school hours to bore me into working on them.  Also, reading and researching.

But I do want to keep myself unburnt at Wauconda this weekend, so I shipped up a slat bonnet from the SA pattern (it literally took less than two hours) with the blue-and-white-ticking-that-will-not-die and the cut up cover of a sketch pad.  It's my own little fortress of solitude, and it's awful comfortable.

Hopefully the stays will be done within a week or so, but I'm not betting on it...  I've got such bad summer sewing dysphoria.

There's more to being a female reenactor than cooking...

Thanks to the ever-giant Tim for the photos (and also... the entire kit...)

... and that's all I have to say.

Well, not entirely.  I finished a shortgown for this event as well as completely redoing my chemise sleeves.

Photo credit to Rory J. S.

Photo credit to Tammy B

Now, to finish a whole new pair of hand-sewn stays.  At least I can have some pleasant daydreams about shooting frenchman with a malfunctioning musket (which, I might add, is absolutely terrifying if the first time you use it is on the field of battle.)

An evening of risque stockings

Or, de-staching slowly and responsibly.

I found some leftover silk from my blue regency ballgown while reorganizing and decided to make myself a new corset, since my current one is getting a lot of use so I can't really consider it my 'fancy' one anymore.

 I realized too late that my chemise (which should be replaced soon) was inside out.  The more you know...

 I'm definitely not the sort who usually puts a lot of time and effort into undergarments (as far as I'm concerned, nobody's going to see them, so why bother?) but I had a lot of time and white thread on my hands because of summer break, as well as a few older corsets that I cannibalized for boning, so I went with it.

Just the Details:

Period: 1855-1860

Pattern:  Loosely based on Kay Gnagey's Simplicity pattern, but I altered it considerably.

Materials:  Silk taffeta, cotton coutil, cotton twill tape, spiral boning

Time:  About four days (the quilting took forever.)

Final Verdict:  I love this corset!  I'm so happy I put the time into making it pretty!  The only change to my old one that I made was to make it two layers and to lengthen the pattern by about 3/4".  It worked out really well, and it's a lot more comfortable than my other one, even though it's a bit tight around the bust.  However, it wasn't until I was almost done that I realized... I forgot to take the tuck out on the front!  I will probably go back and put a bone there or something to keep it from wrinkling at the waist (see below.)  I am also, as I learned, an abysmal top-stitcher, so you can't look too closely at the seams because they're not all in straight lines.

 I tried to do one of the 'risque victorian boudoir daguerreotype' poses, but the car in the background ruins the affect.

 I also want to go back and do a lot more flossing like on the originals.  c;

I've also been finishing up my camp impression for my Revwar event this weekend.  Let's hope that I remember to bring the camera this time!