Why I shouldn't carry my own credit card

So... I went fabric shopping yesterday.

Fabric stores in Edmonton are pretty limited.  The cheapest silk I can find is $45/m.  Ouch!  Thankfully we were in Calgary this weekend so I could take time to find a few things I can't get at home.

Since I've convinced my husband, B, to come with me to the Regency ball in May I figured I should maybe make him a costume.  I ordered all the patterns I need from Spencer's Mercantile in Hamilton, Ontario.  I lived 45 minutes away and never knew it existed!

Back to fabric - there's a odd little fabric store in Calgary called Reena's Fabric and Saris.  You'd never know from the outside, but it has a great selection at reasonable prices.  Plus, saris!  Great for making Regency dresses.

We found B's fabrics right away.  Nice cream satin for the breeches, green and gold damask for the vest, and a heavy wool suiting for the tailcoat.

Pretty!

Of course I spent more time figuring out my dress... I was thinking about making a crossover dress, but now I'm thinking I should make a gold gown with a red overdress.  Yes, I think yes.  Now that I've written here I'll stick to it.  Yes...

Sari with beads already attached!  Yay!

 New projects are exciting and all, but I still have to finish B's 1930s housecoat.  It's one of my projects for HSM Challenge #3 - Stashbusting so I have to get a move on.

~M

1818 Regency Ballgown

So, I got to go to a ball.  A real ball!  I didn't expect to get tickets, as it was sold out, but I did with a week to spare.  Thank goodness I had part of a pattern done.

I took a dozen or so dresses from fashion plates and extant examples and put them into this:

I look pretty good if I do say so myself.

1818-ish Ball gown
Challenge #2: Blue
Fabric: discount bin satin and drapery lace
Pattern: Self-draped based on fashion plates and extant examples. Bits and pieces of various dresses combined into one.
Year: 1818-ish
Notions: stash lace and organza flowers, thread
I'd say 50% accurate. Poly satin and lace pattern are way off; however I tend to wear slightly off fabrics anyway so for me it's 70% accurate.
Hours to complete: 10-ish. I was on a super tight deadline!
First worn: Feb 28th at a Regency ball.
Total cost: $60 CAD

I found the fabric in the discount bin (hurrah!), but didn't realize until I got home that it smelled like moth balls.  Now my entire sewing room and my ironing board cover smell like mothballs.  Because that's an easy smell to get rid of...

There's another ball in May 2015 which I'm planning to make a new dress for.  1. I want a mothball free gown and, 2. I really want a crossover gown.  I'm planning to use Sense and Sensibility's Elegant Lady's Closet.

I know the lace is a bit off for the period, but as you'll notice in my accuracy post I'm likely to wear something off anyway.  

Thoughts?  How do you represent yourself in historical sewing?  

Up next...
1930s men's housecoat.

Interpreting Myself in Times Past

One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is how to keep my sewing as a reflection of contemporary me.  We've all gone into a fabric store and bought something 'pretty' without a particular use that then sits in the stash waiting for a purpose because it never quite fits.  I have two lovely silks in my pile that I take out and pet every so often, then carefully place them back in their cubby until I think of something 'really good' to use them for.  As much as I love them, they don't fit for me.

When the Dreamstress wrote this week about Historical Accuracy, I knew I was on the right track.  I want my sewing to reflect not only who I am now, but who I think I would've been in each time period I work in.  At first I thought I would create a persona for each outfit or dress to focus my whole outfit towards a common goal, but that wasn't quite enough.

I've decided to make a list of things that represent not only my station in life (very important for historical sewing!), but also things that make me want to wear a garment.  So, here's the start:

1 - My family started a lower-middle class, then rose to upper-middle later on.  Being an only child helped (simple math, only so much to go around), but most 'special event' garments were paid for by my Grandparents or made by my mother.  Also plausible that about the time I'd be 'coming out' in society my family's resources would have allowed me to make a more favourable match than 5 years earlier.

2 - I like working.  I simply can't bear to be idle.  I imagine I'd be constantly embroidering or gardening (a.k.a. killing plants...).

3 - I'm a HUGE klutz.  No, seriously, I walk into a wall about once a week.  Any costume I make has to stand up to my particular brand of 'grace' and 'agility.'

4 - I like an element of fun in my clothing.  Whether it be a fun print, or a snappy colour, or simply a quirky accessory, I like things that are just slightly left of centre.

5 - I like to be comfy.  I'm comfortable in a suit though so take it as you will...  Clothing that fits properly and has the right amount of structure is more comfortable to me than leggings (hello muffin top!).

6 - I'm usually a few years off current fashion.  Whatevs, I'm cool with it.

With these in mind I've refocused my projects for the next few months.  For example, I'm making a complete Regency outfit for a ball in May.  I've been putting off adding the busk to my stays and couldn't figure out what I was afraid of.  Seriously, it's a paint stick, not a torture device!  But then I thought about the above, particularly 3 and 5, and realized to me it IS a torture device.  I'm going to pull the bloody thing out partway through the ball anyway, so why bother.

I'm keeping a fair bit of boning in my Regency stays simply because I can't imagine myself simply tossing out a) all that whalebone and b) going completely away from such a structured garment like 18th century stays.

Enough said. Now, back to the grind.

~M

Up next...
Regency Stays & Petticoat

1760s Stays. FINALLY.

I'm pleased to post my 1760s stays!  I'll spare you the photo of me in it with the excessive 1760s boob-age.

Not perfection by any means, but I'm quite pleased with myself.  I learned so much! Binding by hand was a bit more than my carpal tunnel could handle, hence the late entry.

This is my second entry for the January Historical Sew Monthly Challenge.  At least one was finished on time...  

Details!

What the item is: 1760s Stays

The Challenge: #1 Foundations

Fabric: 100% cotton. Toile fashion layer, canvas inside, broadcloth lining.

Pattern: Butterick 4254

Year: 1760s-ish

Notions: Cotton thread, cotton embroidery floss, plastic cable ties.

How historically accurate is it?  Maybe 60%?  The toile pattern is a little off, but I love it.  Mostly machine sewn except the binding and lacing holes.

Hours to complete: 30+ It feels like forever, but it was so worth it!

First worn: Just for a photo.

Total cost: Maybe $25 CAD

Things I learned:

- How to sew eyelets.  Definitely something new and something to continue to grow my skills in.

- How to fit a corset.  I wouldn't say I'm the best at it, but I followed a great tutorial on how to use cardboard to fit stays before cutting everything.  

Things to change:

- The straps are too short and quite difficult to put on properly.  

- It's hard to see, but there's one too many tabs in the front.  A note for next time.

Up next...  Regency stays!

1760s stays part 2

Two posts in one weekend!  Whoa!  Perhaps I'm a tad excited to share my progress on my stays...?

I've put all the pieces together AND sewn all the channels.  WOO!  But seriously, just let that sink in... Sounds quick and easy, yes?

Since I'm sewing the mostly by machine, I attached all the pieces together first.  I'm using two layers of cotton canvas for the inside, cotton toile sateen for the outside, and cotton broadcloth for the lining.  I marked my channels on the good side of one of the canvas pieces.

Don't mind the minty toes!

Before sewing ANY channels, I carefully stitched all the seams together.  I was petrified things would shift and I'd be so discouraged I wouldn't finish them.  I'm not saying that's happened before or anything... It was surprisingly easy to sew all the channels.  Time consuming though.  Even by machine it took me almost two hours.  I hope I'm not the only crazy person that super enjoys sewing channels...

Behold!

Don't you just LOVE toile??

Hard to see in this one.  Bloody iPhone.

Tonight's project: making yards and yards of bias.  Fingers crossed I have enough left to line the inside with.  I have plain white, but who wants that!  And also sewing hand bound lacing holes.  Hrmph!

~M

Stay the Course

As promised, an update on my 1760s-ish stays.

To check the fit of the finished stays, I found this most interesting blog describing the use of cardboard as a replacement.  See Slightly Obsessed for more details.  So great!  I'll spare you the photos of me half-laced into cardboard and duct tape.

I made a few adjustments to the front tab.  You'll notice it's just a little nub now whereas it was was a full tab before.

I'm using Butterick 4254, which is made for modern seamstresses and not historically accurate ones.  Since I'm machine sewing my channels and am therefore already cheating, I feel justified.

I'm using a lovely piece of cotton with a sage floral pattern.  It was ear-marked for another project, but that's just the way things go sometimes.  I've searched high and low for linen for the inside of the stays, but no luck.  Edmonton simply does not sell linen canvas.  I was lucky enough to find all cotton fabric so it is at least accurate fabric if not my first choice.

Here's my progress so far:

I've pieced it together and marked my button holes.  Just marking the casings tonight so I can fully assemble tomorrow.  Hopefully.

In other news... Meet Judy:

Judy came home with me from College one day after the school replaced all the mannequins and sold off the old ones to students.  I believe I paid $125 for her.  Originally she would have cost upwards of $2000!  Even through my moves across the country I've toted Judy with me.  I was close-ish to Judy's size when I purchased her; however, she needed some adjustments now.

I read a few different ways to recover a mannequin, but since I need every inch to be pinnable, I decided that a muslin cover padded to my size was the way to go.  I started by making a princess seam tunic that was exactly my size.  I used a zipper in the back to check the fit, then removed it before starting to fluff.

Then I started padding.  I used 100% natural cotton quilt batting left over from the 'year of the baby' in which I made 8 quilts.  I simply cut it to the shape needed and tacked it in place.  I even sacrificed a bra in the name of appropriately placed boobage.

Then, just tacked the cover closed.  It was actually quite simple.  I highly recommend this process!  It's semi-permanent, pin-friendly, and allows for any weight changes quite easily.  

The new improved Judy!

Cheers all!

~M

Prepping for 2015

Historical Sew Fortnightly Monthly 2015 challenges announced!  Woo!

See the challenges here:
http://thedreamstress.com/2014/12/the-historical-sew-monthly-2015-the-challenges/

I've planned out my year and am posting is here to keep me accountable.  I'm sure I'll waffle and maybe even change a few things, but at least it's in writing to make sure I participate.  I've only done one sort-of challenge SO 2015 will be my year of hardcore historical sewing.

2015 as follows:
January - Foundations - 1760s stays, mid-18th century shift

February - Colour Challenge Blue - blue pocket hoops

March - Stashbusting - Colourful striped polonaise.  The fabric is ridiculous and I love it.  It's not natural, but whatevs.  I've promised my husband I'd work on his 1932 smoking jacket.  The polonaise can wait :(

April - War & Peace - 1930s dress

May - Practicality - Regency apron

June - Out of your Comfort Zone - Regency corset (Hrmph!)

July - Accessorize - late 18th century hat

August - Heirlooms & Heritage - Traditional Welsh Costume

September - Colour Challenge: Brown - Regency dress

October - Sewing Secrets - I could be clever and say it's a secret, but really, I just haven't decided yet.

November - Silver Screen - Jacket worn by Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 mini-series 'Pride and Prejudice'.  THIS.  Swoon.

December - Re-do - Probably foundations, but I'll wait and see which one I screw up before deciding ;)

~M