Pemberly Pre-Sale!!!

 If you can please order a pair and support American Duchess!!!

The "Pemberley" Regency shoes are closely based on extant footwear from the 1790s through 1810.  The smooth, dyable, hand-sewn leather upper is designed to be lovely enough for formal occasions, and durable enough for walking in the countryside.  Particular attention was paid to the point of the toe, as well as the other hallmarks of Regency historical footwear, with the main goals being both historical accuracy and all-day comfort.

Jane Eyre 2011

This particular version stole my heart. The combination of actors in this film was what did it for me. And so it has inspired me to go down the road of early Victorian clothing. 

This pattern is from Truly Victorian, I purchased it this morning and I've been thinking to myself I really know zilch about this era. Please excuse me if anyone out there who reads this is a super big fan of the later Victorian fashion but I've always held a small amount of disdain for it. So I'm setting out with the intent to stay as early as possible without getting too close to the *shiver*

Romantic Era....ugh.

 Here are some of the costumes from the film.

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And a little inspiration from my own family for when I move further into the Victorian Era.

Arabella Deville (Mother)

Bellise Deville (Daughter)

Round Gown Fitting

 Some time back I had seen the post Setting 18th Century Sleeves the 18th Century Way by Lauren Reeser from American Duchess So today when I came to the part of attaching my sleeves to my bodice I decided to do things the real way for once. To my amazement it's really very easy. I modified the procedure just slightly by starting with my shoulder strap attached to the front. My pattern happens to have you do this anyway but a comment left by a reader on the aforementioned post states that this is how it was done anyway.

 I'm sorry to say I don't have any detail shots of the actual procedure. But here you can see I used three pleats in order to get all of the fabric to fit, keeping the majority of the fullness to the back. After I had already gotten everything attached I started having an issue with the neckline. By attaching the shoulder strap in this fashion I was able to take it apart and remove about an inch of fabric from the shoulder fixing the neckline.

 Overall the underarm in my sleeves have never been more comfortable and I was saved from having to rip the whole thing apart. So kudos to the Duchess for another super helpful tutorial.

Round Gown

I'm using the Rocking Horse Farm pattern set. This dress was also going to be worn for the costumed Colonial dinner.

 Here is the original mauve fabric. Blah.

My super high tech dye bath. I didn't want to ruin my sink, tub or washing machine so I got a bucket at the hardware store. I dyed the fabric twice using 2 bottles of Rit dark brown dye. Spending thirty minutes a piece stirring the wicked brew.

It looks a drab brown here but in reality came out a purple brown.

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Additional items I plan to include are:

• Cloak (long or short? Wool or Wool/Felt Blend)
• Apron (Linen)
• Mitts 
• Cap (Linen)
• Straw Hat

Dabbling

 While I haven't posted in some time I have been keeping busy with a few projects. Finishing up the robe a l'anglaise (as I'm loosely naming it) and starting in on some clothes for my husband. I'll say right off the bat that I'm using a pattern that it is made to be a simple to sew Halloween costume rather than a for reenactments.....obviously :) Now with that said I figured this would be a good place to start rather than jumping right into the deep end and wasting my money or time.

Butterick pattern B3072

The motivation behind this entire project was a Colonial themed dinner that is costume required at Riley Farms in Oak Glen, CA. Unfortunately my husband will be having surgery four days prior to the dinner and so for the second year in a row we won't be able to attend.

George Lord Vernon 1767 by Thomas Gainsborough

 While searching for inspiration for the project I came across this portrait. I like the colors and had this partially in mind when I purchased my fabric.

 The black will be for the breeches & the green will be his coat, both are bottom weight fabrics.  I had some rust colored cotton hanging around to test out the vest, for the shirt I used muslin.

This sleeves of this shirt are one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Can you say Popeye arms? When I have the opportunity I'll remake this and take a few inches out of the width. I omitted ruffles from the sleeves and the neck of the shirt. Ruffles at the sleeve if I'm not mistaken denote that the person didn't work with their hands. The persona I've got in my mind for this is a merchant.

To be able to adjust some of the extra fabric out of the back of the vest I made some tabs I'll sew on. I added grommets and then covered them with embroidery floss.

And last but not least I finished my robe a l'anglaise project.

 Self fabric buttons, ruffled trim ,red velvet ribbon and daphne ruffle at the sleeve.

 Happy Sewing :)