Corded Petticoat: Complete

 

So here it is and I'm not completely pleased with the outcome. But lets be honest, who is ever completely satisfied? In the end I technically finished it twice. After going with the outline I found the petti was considerably wider than I had anticipated. So I took the waistband off and cut out around 15 in. Hmmm thinking that might have been too much.

But I did that because I didn't want it to :
1) Cave in on it's self or
2) get caught up in my legs when walking.

I did 37 lines of cording in all. The entire process of sewing in the cord was super easy but extremely boring.  This for sure is a project that I wouldn't mind revisiting in the future to make improvements to.

But after walking around it in for a few minutes it doesn't seem so bad. I'll have to wait and see how it holds up under a few more layers.

Corded Petticoat

Right well I'm heading into unknown territory to tackle the corded petticoat. I have no sewing directions except for an outline, I don't really see the point of waiting a week to get a book that tells me how to do this. So basically I know where I want to go, I'm just not sure how I'll get there.

I ran across this type of yarn a few times while checking out what other people had used. Its basically used for making dish cloths and its most likely 1/8 of an inch. I also nabbed 3 yards of 45 inch wide muslin and cut that into 2, 48 inch wide pieces. Which was stupid really I could have saved myself the seam by just hacking off a few inches from one end.

And so I turned up 2 inches at the bottom and inserted the yarn, using my zipper foot to sew as close as I could.

 I sewed in the yarn in rows until I ran out of turned up fabric. Thus creating the corded hem.

I haven't really figured out a plan of attack for how far apart and how many lines I'll add. But from what I have seen and read the cords should end below your hips. I may also shorten up the width to try and keep the amount of fabric at my waist down.

Europe 1830 - 35. Interesting how the piece is shown with the stays over the petticoat. Correct or incorrect?

 While trolling I came across this corded petticoat in the LACMA image gallery. There are some really great pieces to see and the zoom feature is fantastic and it also offers multiple views of the items. I was able to count individual threads in a closeup photo of an apron with embroidery. 

I found another one also being dated 1830's - unknown in my KCI fashion book and its shown here in their digital gallery. I counted the cording lines and I believe there were 62. Once again a great zoom feature.

Laughing Moon Mercantile: #100 Ladies Victorian Underwear Completed

I've finished the Corset, chemise and open drawers from this pattern a few days ago. Already I'm not liking the fit of the chemise and wishing I had gone down a size in the corset. But hindsight is 20/20 and if I didn't make mistakes like this I'd have to change the name of the blog. So here we are...

I decided to not include the other pics I have of the chemise and drawers. Lets just say I want to keep things PG. The chemise for some reason rubs in the yoke area and really irritates my skin. I'm unsure if its the fabric choice or because I have sensitive skin. Either way I thought it was a pain in the butt to make and I like my other regency chemise a lot better.

The corset on the other hand is extremely comfortable to wear. I can sit, stand, and bend over all in comfort. My only hesitation about it is that I could swear that I can feel things in my abdomen shift back into their natural place after I take it off. Little creepy...

Laughing Moon Corset: Back from the drawing board

I went back and re-cut the muslin for this corset with a smaller bust gusset and it turned out pretty good. I also padded my dress form more appropriately to more accurately represent the fluff. ;)

  There will need to be some trimming done at the end before they are bound otherwise they might just be about an inch too long.

I have to make sure to keep that two inch lacing gap it calls for. I'm currently trying to lessen my fluffiness and would like to keep this corset and not have to cannibalize it to make a smaller one.

I sewed all day yesterday...well it felt like all day...and I only ended up completing the busk insertion and preparing the back for grommet placement. I was so worked up about not making any huge mistakes. I did end up having to re-cut some fabric for one half of the front piece. Before starting I skipped over to Joanne's for some better fabric for the outside layer and snagged some twill on sale, the back layer in cotton duck.

Laughing Moon Mercantile: #100 Ladies Victorian Underwear

Here is the Dore Straight Seam corset and the Silverado Bust Gore corset from Laughing Moon Mercantile. For this project I'll be using the Silverado style. The particular pattern was bequeathed to me by my mom she never did have the opportunity to make this so I'm giving it a go. Here is my mock up on the dress form.

Please do excuse the pink sports bra, I wanted to add a little in the bust department. But anyway I'll say right off the bat that the pattern was fairly easy to understand and it went together very quickly. But after I tried it on I've realized that I for sure didn't need a size D bust gore and the overall pattern size may just be too big.

I moseyed on over to the Great Pattern Review  to check out what others had thought of the pattern. I did read a few comments that said the pattern did run slightly large. Also that if you intend to tight lace at all with the corset it would be best to add the optional hip gores as well, otherwise it tends to just squish things all over. I don't intend to tight lace but I do want to achieve a period correct shape. Hmm certainly food for thought. I'll be remaking the mock up with a smaller (size B or C) bust gore and using a smaller seam allowance to see if i can't remedy this.

My lovely Mother also gave me the busk and metal boning (Squee for actual metal boning!) she had purchased along with various other patterns and fabric. I'm sure those will eventually end up on the blog at some point.

Included in the pattern is a chemise and open drawers. Id like to see if I can take these on as hand sewing projects. To gently ease myself into that realm without blowing my mind completely.

Tricky Tricky

So recently I reordered Janet Arnolds Patterns of Fashion from the library to be able to trace some accurate patterns to enhance the authenticity of my costuming and it is literally doing my head in. I haven't the fainest clue where to start and being none too bright in the math department I'm just plain stuck. I figure here are my options for enlarging the patterns:

• Buy an overhead projector (costly).
• Spend hours staring at my computer using Photoshop Elements to possibly enlarge them (lots of ink and paper lost).
• Or trace them by hand and hope that I get it right (time consuming and hit or miss).

I've done a small amount of perusal around the web and found one possibly helpful blog tutorial for the computer method but alas it isn't for Photoshop Elements. I went and purchased a cardboard version of a quilt cutting mat and am going to Joann's today in search of a s-curve ruler to draw all the lovely curves. If anyone has suggestions, instructions, or actual directions please do let me know.

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I've been on sort of a library book binge, requesting as many book on historical fashion as I can. Luckily the San Diego County Library is connected to the universities here and I've gotten some great books such as:

• V&A Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in detail
• Patterns of Fashion 1: English Womens Dresses & Their Construction 1660-1860
• Fitting & Proper : 18th century clothing from the collection of the Chester County Historical Society
• British Textiles : 1700 to the Present
• Textiles in America, 1650-1870 
• Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh  

There are wonderful patterns, information and pictures contained within all of these books which make for excellent morning coffee time perusal.

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 :)

More Misc Costume Jewelry

 Just a few items that were donated to my little collection from my Nana, God rest her soul.

It's the Heart of the Ocean! LOL She had two of these ;)

My new favorites.

A large broach.

These are just a few of the items she left behind. She really really had a thing for costume jewelry.