Finally, some 18th century!

Last week, I got something in the mail...
My American Duchess Kensingtons!
I would highly recommend them to any 18th century reenactor! They are very well made and comfortable. I would definitely buy from her again. She did mention some 1930's one coming up... ;-)

In other news, I am hopefully going to get some 18th century handsewing done this week. I have to work on some portable projects this week because I have several car rides in store. I'm hoping to make an apron from start to finish, and hopefully make some hair bows (I'll try to take pictures, because that would make a good tutorial). But anyway, I'll leave you with some pictures of my new Kensingtons.

Rebecca

2 finished 40's dresses:

So I was going to post sort of a dress diary on the teal 40's dress I was making, but the first week I was working on it, there were some unexpected things that led to me not feeling like it. By the time I felt like posting, the dress was almost done, so I decided to wait on it.  Well, it has now been done for several days, so I figured I would finally share the finished dress!

Here it is!

I love the way it turned out! The collar looks great, and the sleeves are perfect for dancing, because they have plenty of "give" and freedom of movement!

I am particularly proud of the sleeves, because I ended up drafting them to get them to look the way I wanted.  I was having trouble sewing the cuff on, but then I realized that the bottom of the machine comes off to make it where you can sew sleeves on it.  After I did that, it worked perfectly!

The darts turned out really well.

18 buttons in all!  This was the first time I was able to get the buttonhole function to work on my machine.

The skirt is roomy enough for dancing, but it's a really good fit for the 40's, because it's still narrow enough to be pre-New Look. 

I had to make a box pleat in the center back waist, but I like it because it adds to the shirtdress feel.

Here are some in-progress shots:

I added a lace hem facing for a luxurious touch, because to me the 40's and 50's mindset made a little bit of glamour accessible to every woman, while still being sensible.

And the hem facing sewn in (it's hard to see).

Both the hem facing and dress fabric date to the 70's, so they are vintage, just not quite as old as the dress style!

The entire dress was draped by me on my dress form.  This picture shows the left front side taking shape.  Once I had it how I wanted it, I trimmed around the edges, leaving a seam allowance, and cut a matching piece for the other side.  Believe it or not, this was the first time I had actually had to pattern match plaids.  I think it turned out pretty well!

Then I started to shape the collar.  The bottom half was in 3 pieces, and the top was 1 piece.

The back of the collar.

Sewing the collar on was the hardest part, it took a combination of machine and hand sewing, but it finally turned out looking very sharp!

While I was taking the pictures for this post, I realized that I has never officially posted the finished version of the dress I made for my sister back at the beginning of the year.  Well, it has been done for several months, and worn a few times, and here it is:

I ended up binding the edged with red bias tape, which brings out the color of the strawberries.

I had to cut the neckline a little lower than I was originally going to, because it was too small for a head to fit through!  That's kind of the purpose, isn't it?

The back looks very pretty, and I really like the way the dress turned out.  It has a very 40's character, between the print and the style, and I anticipate both it and the other dress being worn to many 40's events in the future!

Rebecca 

New "Pompadour" Historical Shoes!

American Duchess has come out with yet another style of period-correct historical shoes! They are called "Pompadours", accurate to the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

She is also selling the Kensingtons I posted about before in ivory.  So head on over to american-duchess.com and check it out!

Rebecca

A Summer of Sewing!

So, as I have just finished school for the year, I thought I would tell you about my summer sewing plans (In time order):

         1. A 40's/50's dance dress.

My ballroom dance class is doing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", and my boyfriend and I are the youngest couple, and we are also good at tricks, so the dress I wear has certain qualifications that it has to meet in order for me to dance in it (it can't fly up too much, but the skirt has to be loose enough for movement, etc.).  Right now I only have 1 40's dress (the one I made for my sister), but it has a tighter skirt so I can't do all of the tricks in it. Therefore, I will be making a new one, which has to be my first project because the recital is in June.  

My fabric:

I am going to make a late 40's/50's style shirtdress out of this, because I've always wanted one, it will be perfect for dancing, and it is a lovely 50's teal!


2: Finish the waistcoat.
(I am making this as a gift for my boyfriend, and I'm not going to post pictures until it's done)
I have this mostly done, all I need to do is put in the pockets and sew in the lining.


3: Finish my stays.
These have to be done before I can make any more 18th century gowns, jackets, etc., because they are the foundation for the rest of my clothes.


4: Make panniers.
I am going to make the kind that have two parts, like Leomomi's.  I'll need to make panniers because me next project is...


5: A Francaise/Sacque back gown (!)
I am so excited about this one!  I can't wait to start it, which I guess is good, because hopefully it'll help me get done with the other ones faster.


My fabric:



It's a cotton "chintz" fabric with about 5 colors, which would be more expensive than just 1 color because they would have to make 5 different blocks, 1 for each color.  It was a status symbol in the same way as silk was.  There are several  extant red print gowns, many of which are cotton print.  Therefore I feel comfortable with using this fabric. 
(UPDATE: this fabric is taking FOREVER to ship, so unfortunately it may have to be moved down the list a bit if it doesn't get here before I need it.)


My inspiration for the gown:



The Mint Museum
I like this, although it is probably silk, and I don't have enough fabric to make a matching petticoat.



MFA
This gown is closer to what I want.  It is a cotton print, with sleeve ruffles, and it has a non-matching petticoat (Mine will probably be red).  I also want to include the narrow tucker around the neckline.


6: A Quarter-back gown.


My fabric:



This is a really pretty 1-color block-print cotton, in the same fabric as the one above.  I'm going to make the gown out of this, but there is so much fabric I might be able to make more things.  (It would make a nice pet-en l'air).



The Historical New England collection


I want my dress to look exactly like this one, but in red print and as an open gown/polonaise.


7. A new "nice" apron and cap
I have some linen check material that I am going to make a more stylish cap and apron, for wearing with nicer gowns, like these.


8. A petticoat that will match both gowns.
(Probably red)


(The "If I have time and/or money" category)


9. A blue linen roundgown
This will be something I can wear to my site because it's more of a working-class type gown, but it will have trimming. It will be in this linen:

       

Sphinx, by fabrics-store.com

10. A new linen shift

11. A Costume Close-up jacket

In this material:

A grey linen-cotton material with a white stripe.

Well, I think that's about the most I'll be able to do in one summer, and hopefully I'll be able to get it all done. I'll try to do better and post some dress diaries as I go along.  These are some exciting projects!

Rebecca