Have you seen the Downton Abbey jewelry line at Macy’s? Some of the things are very modern (and ugly, I think), but some of them are quite charming and possibly even useful for historic costume purposes. There are necklaces, earrings, and brooches. Looks to me like the earrings and brooches are the best of the bunch for the most part. However, don’t be fooled by the pictures and do take a look at the measurements of things because the pictures make them look larger than they actually are!
I’ve been holding out on you. Big news, and I haven’t shared it yet! (Though I did rather give it away with the title of this post…)
So many of you dear readers feel like close friends, whether I’ve met you in person or not. And I know you’ll be very excited to hear about my engagement!
The question itself wasn’t a surprise (after eight years we’ve discussed these things in the open quite often), but he did manage to utterly surprise me by showing up at my parents house the weekend after Christmas (3,000 miles from where we live near Boston) after we’d determined that he wouldn’t be able to make it this year. It’s the first holiday he’s been able to come home, and it turned out that he’d decided on Thursday that week that he was going to come and showed up on Friday! He’d told my parents and they were super excited, not only because he was coming, but because he told them his extra little secret: that he was bringing a ring. But they didn’t breathe a word of it to me (and they assisted him in his surprise plan), and as I said, I was absolutely floored when he showed up in the living room!
The answer was also expected, though I did wait to give it for maybe a minute. Hee hee hee! I had to have my fun, too, and he knew the answer, despite me not saying the word. The ring is custom designed: a tanzanite with a diamond on either side set in white gold. I was almost a geology minor in college and I have always liked the idea of a colored gem stone that complements my normal clothing palette of mostly jewel tones. He was quite determined that I needed a modern style ring without a lot of (to him) fussy details, so this is a nice blend between our two styles. Awww…
It’s exciting, but I’m a bit daunted by the actual wedding planning part. There are so many details and so much research to do… and I really just want to skip to picking out color schemes and trying on dresses! Yes, yes, I absolutely have the skills to make my own dress… but do I have the patience to put up with myself? That is the question!
The first challenge of the Historical Sew Fortnightly (HSF) 2014 is Make Do And Mend. At the start of January, none of my in-progress projects qualified, unfortunately, and while I wanted to get started on the right foot for the HSF 2014 and not miss the challenge, I also didn’t want to make something just to make something. I don’t need more stuff with no purpose and it’s hard to stay motivated on a project if you’re doing it “just because.” So I racked my brain trying to think of what would work for the challenge and be useful, without taking too much time. I settled on the idea of turning a gifted partially finished linen man’s shirt into an 18th century shift suitable for the mid-to-late 18th century. That just happens to be the period my 18th century court gown will be from at some point this year. Useful! I made an 18th century shift a few years ago, but it’s actually late 18th century/Regency, with short sleeves, which really isn’t appropriate for the rest of the century. This new shift will sort of work for the entire century, though the sleeves aren’t really full enough to be entirely accurate for the first half.
All of the seams are flat felled. The neck is narrow hemmed. It’s pretty accurate, though I did have to add center front and center back seams, which is not usual for these garments. Those seams are due to the fact that the shift was super wide after I cut it out because I had to deal with the neck opening of the partially sewn shirt, and that was gathered into the neck, so was super full. There was just way more fabric than was needed, so I seamed it and kept the extra with the other scraps I had. I’m sure they’ll get used someday! It’s very nice, light linen.
The facts:
Fabric: Linen reused from a partially completed man’s 18th century shirt.
Pattern: I used Mara Riley’s 18th century shift draft to cut my pieces, though I had to make some adjustments given that I didn’t start with fabric yardage.
Year: Loosely 1750-1790.
Notions: Thread.
How historically accurate?: It’s 100% hand sewn using 18th century stitches and cut in the manner of an 18th century shift, so lots of points for that. I probably should loose a few points for using polyester thread. The only other odd thing is that I have seams up center front and center back, but they did piece a lot in the 18th century, so it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility, given that this challenge is Make Do and Mend. I give it 90%.
Hours to complete: 10-15 maybe? I didn’t really keep track.
First worn: By the hanger. I probably won’t wear this until I have more things to wear with it!
Total cost: Free!
Just a quick post to note that this blog recently hit 100 followers! Yay! I’m so pleased that you’re each reading and following my blog. I know there are some of you who also follow my blog via rss feed or some sort of other thing that doesn’t list itself on my side bar, and I don’t want to leave you out of my thanks. I appreciate each of you for your valuable insight, encouragement, and interest in my adventures. Thank you!
2013 flew by. Really, it’s hard to believe it is 2014 already… As I did in 2011, and 2012, here is the year 2013 in review and a look at the upcoming year 2014.
Completed projects in 2013:
Whew! And that’s only the list of things I made for fun and for myself (no work or commissions included in that list!). As I look forward to 2014, here’s what my confirmed sewing list is looking like:
February: Late Regency evening turban
March: new Annabelle hair wreath
April: 1814 pelisse and hat, 1811 evening gown
June: Georgina evening bodice
December: 1830s or maybe 1840s evening gown
At some point: 18th century court gown and grand panniers
There are lots of other things that may or may not be started or finished, including (but absolutely not limited to) and in no particular order: an Anne Adams pattern 1930s-does-modern dress, an 1885 summer dress and hat, an 1860s corset, an 1820s bonnet, painting and decorating my Kensingtons, adding a giant bow to my 1928 evening dress, an 18th century hand quilted petticoat, more Regency reticules, and a whole host of other possibilities.
Looking at what I thought I would complete in 2013, I think I did a pretty good job of sticking to my plans. Some of the things that were on my to do list are on the 2013 to do list again because I didn’t start them, or I started them but didn’t finish them. And as usual, there are some things that have been dropped off of my list entirely because I decided I didn’t need them or I used the fabrics for some other project.
To recap other things, this blog was awarded three different blog awards in 2013!
2013 was also the first year of The Historical Sew Fortnightly hosted by The Dreamstress. My goal was to complete as many challenges as I could without making things just for the sake of making things. Out of 27 challenges, I completed 21 of them. There was a stretch of time over the summer where the projects I needed/wanted to sew didn’t line up with challenge themes or the things that I hoped to finish didn’t get done… Some of those things are still on my UFO pile, even at this point in the year! And there were a few other challenges throughout the year that just didn’t fit with anything I had planned or had the time and materials to build. 21 out of 27 is pretty good, though, considering I made lots of other things that didn’t qualify for the HSF.
And how many events did I attend? 22 total, I think. This breaks down as 10 balls, 4 performances (I feel like I must have done more than this, but I can’t think of what they were), and 7 other events including picnics, archery, kite flying, roller skating, etc. Multi-day extravaganzas include a Regency Intensive Dance Weekend and an 1860s Dance Weekend.
Here’s looking forward to 2014. Blessings!
I am very excited to share that I am finally done sewing the trim on my 1822 Walking Dress and 1824 Ball Gown. I actually finished sewing the trim on both garments about two months ago. Yay me, for being ready for a ball a full month ahead of time!
The walking dress has a previous post from when I completed sewing the trim. The ball gown has previous posts about being worn partially trimmed last year and about sewing on the hem appliques. Here is the link to the category that shows all the posts related to this ensemble.
I wore both garments this year at Fezziwig’s Ball, hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, just as I did last year. Last year, however, I didn’t have enough time to trim them like I wanted to and I didn’t really have time to look into proper hair styles either. So this year, in addition to adding trim, I also decided to try out a different hair style that would be much more early 1820s.
I looked at lots of fashion plates and noted what elements made the styles look 1820s. This is the look, from 1823 (also pictured a little farther down). The style required a new hair wreath, so that was the only last minute sewing for this year’s event. I did the same style as the fashion plated: crossed braids on top of my head and little curls around my hair line. When you have long hair and no bangs like me it’s quite a challenge to get curls around the hair line. I managed to make the little curls happen, but I still want to improve my methods. The hair wreath was essential for hiding my long hair and only showing the curly ends. It is made of wired millinery flowers sewn to a length of millinery wire. The front bits are small flower sprays and the back is velvet leaves.
I was amused throughout the night that people kept commenting on how much they liked the sleeve appliques on my green dress. I didn’t realize they were so exciting, but I do think they balance out the skirt nicely. By the end of the night my curls were looking a bit crazed… but it was fun, and I do enjoy wearing these garments and the style of the 1820s, in general. Oh, and I was able to wear my refreshing apron, too, though we were too busy refilling refreshments to take pictures. So yay for completion! It’s nice to get these things off the sewing list to make room for other fancily trimmed things!
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 