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

Hmmm...

So, I have several projects that I have finished/am currently working on that I could post pictures of, but they are gifts, and I don't want the recipients to see them, so I have a lack of current project pictures to post.

However, I am currently working on a project for my art class about how art styles of particular periods influenced fashion.  I'll give a bit more detail once I am finished, but right now I'll leave you with some pictures I am going to use.

Baroque

The Hall of Mirrors from the Palace of Versailles, France.

Rococo 

I want to make a gown like the one on the right!

One of the hallmarks of Rococo furniture and architecture are S and C-scrolls, and this gown shows how that translated to fashion.

Neoclassical

This chair from the V & A is a very good example of the simplicity of Greek and Roman designs that were revived in this time period.

For a time, dresses lost their elaborate trimmings to echo the simplicity of the style.

Art Nouveau 

Art Nouveau style is characterized by natural, scrolling forms like vines.  Some of the architecture looks as if it was carved with water from a piece of stone (like a riverbed or stalactite). 

An Art Nouveau ring.

Art Deco 

A French airfare poster.

An elevator door.  Art Deco used a lot of solid geometric forms in beautiful designs and patterns.

An Art Deco ring.  I love this one!

A dancing adventure

So, I was going to do something yesterday as a remembrance for the centennial of the Titanic sinking, but that didn't work out. So instead, two friends and I went to a contra dance at a small town that I had heard about. We were afraid there wouldn't be anyone there to dance with, but thankfully that wasn't the case. It was a lot of fun, and we had no trouble learning the dances, because the three of us all do English country dance together, and the moves were pretty much the same.

One of the really cool things about it was that it took place in a building that used to be a train depot, and was over a hundred years old. It was interesting to think of all of the people who had walked on that same floor. They also had live music, and I told my friends that it reminded me of a dance you would have after a barn raising or a quilting bee or something.

Rebecca

Reenacting?

As of late, I have been experiencing a sort of disillusionment with 18th century reenacting. The primary site I go to is no longer offering the same reenacting opportunities, and I'm not sure where exactly to go from here. You see, reenacting is easier when you have a family that all goes to events together, but mine doesn't do that. I am, effectively, a reenacting orphan; the only member of my family who reenacts. I have a few "adoptive families" I stay with at events, but it's not the same.

However, the main thing I've realized I don't like about the reenacting I've been doing, which is site-centered, is that it limits my growth in my knowledge of historic fashion. For instance, my site encourages the use of shortgowns and petticoats to the exclusion of all else, like roundgowns, etc. which are also accurate and under-represented. If I stay with place-centered reenacting, I will never make a sacque, or a quilted silk petticoat, or anything similar to these that would further advance my skill and variety as a historical seamstress, because they were not things people in my area would have had.

So after some thought, I have decided to stop limiting my 18th C sewing projects to the styles and materials that would have been available in my area and my time period. I am branching out into a different sort of reenacting, which I think of as time-centered reenacting. No longer will I only portray a woman on the frontier, but my opportunities are opened up to being a gentry woman, etc. The key of what I am saying here is that I am no longer bound by place. I can make a silk sacque, or anything else a wealthy woman from Williamsburg might have had if I wish.

This does not mean that I am going to stop going to my site or reenacting there altogether, or that I will wear a silk sacque to a place where my persona is poor. It does mean, however, that I am now open to do some projects I would previously not have done. I am excited about my new opportunities, and this change of attitude is rather refreshing.

Rebecca

(Note: This is not to discourage anyone who is solely a site-centered reenactor, I am just expressing my views as someone who enjoys sewing fashions from different social levels and now has the freedom to do just that with 18th century!)