HSF #1: 1813 Evening Gown

January 13, 2013November 30, 2013 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 18 Comments

Historical Sew Fortnightly (HSF) Challenge #1 complete! It was actually completed a few days ago, which I am super pleased about. Even better is that it is for a Regency ball in February, and it is entirely complete a full month ahead of time! All the trim, all the closures, everything! All I have to do on the day of the ball is put it on. Wow! Usually when I wear a new dress to a ball I’m furiously sewing right up until the end and often all the trim doesn’t make it on (that’s what happened with my 1820s green dress back in December, remember?).

The facts:

Fabric: 4 yds red and black shot polyester

Pattern: The bodice front was draped, the back was adapted from my 1812 square neck Ikea gown, and the skirt is the same as the 1812 square neck Ikea gown, with the pattern originally from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion

Year: 1813

Notions: 3 yds metallic gold bobbin lace, hooks, and little brooch bits

How historically accurate?: The silhouette, cut, and style are accurate, as is the interior finishing (all flat felled and bound edges… it’s quite pretty!). The fabric is obviously not accurate and neither is the lace fiber content, though the style of it is. The closure is accurate. The little brooch bits are accurate in style, though not in materials.

Hours to complete: I’m so bad at estimating this. Let’s say 48 hours.

First worn: Hasn’t been worn yet! Its first wear will be in February 2013.

Total cost: Approximately $26

Now for other details!

Well, first, here’s a closeup of the bodice, so you can actually see the details and the little brooch bits. I’m super pleased with them, because I think they really finish off the bodice and add a little extra touch. I got them from New York and Company, actually. They were part of triple drop earrings, which I took apart. I kept the bottom drop and put them on clip backs (so now I have matching earrings for the dress!) which you can see in the picture below. And the best part is that one of the sections had a missing gem, so the cost of the earrings was refunded by NY&Co and so the total cost of the earrings is $0! Awesome! (It worked out perfectly, because I only used 5 sections of the triple drop earrings, so the damaged one wasn’t a problem.) Of course, the materials used in the earrings are not at all historically accurate, but I’m ok with that, for the cost (yay!) and the fact that they do have the right look.

And here’s the back. As you can see, it doesn’t quite fit Squishy in the back, but it shouldn’t have trouble fitting me. I love the drape of the fabric! Now that all the raw edges are enclosed and the polyester can’t fray everywhere, I am totally happy with the fabric choice (bargain!). The photos don’t really do justice to the fabulous gold lace at the hem.

Aren’t those gathers and folds lovely?!?

The dress is entirely hand finished and mostly hand sewn. Originally, I was going to make it all by machine, but then I had sewing parties and things that required hand sewing, and I just didn’t feel like lugging out the machine, so I wound up hand sewing a lot of it, which was quite satisfying. There’s one side back seam sewn my machine, I think the long skirt seams are sewn by machine (though I can’t remember, because I started this dress back in October or November), and the waistband was sewn by machine. Actually, it was so much easier to keep the width consistent using the machine than when sewing it by hand.

The only other information to share is my inspiration for the dress.

19562579602239981_TEw2UjIU_c — For her neckline and sleeves: Comtesse de Tournon by Ingres, 1812.

131378514099875826_v9iatcAj_c — Another neckline inspiration: L’Art de vivre au temps de Josephine.

1810-gold-mccord — For the overall silhouette and the trim style: 1810.

12-501052 — One more neckline inspiration and another similar dress built by Natalie Garbett. Here is her post about her 1812 gown with a v neck.

Clearly, I need a Kashmir shawl to complete the ensemble… I have a pashmina that sort of looks the part, so I’ll have to try that out at the ball. Stay tuned for more pictures of this dress in about a month!

January Stash Additions

January 8, 2013 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 3 Comments

This story starts as so many sewing related stories do: I went in “just to look.” In fact, we all went in “just to look.”

I’m sure you can guess what happened…

All three of us each came out with 2 or 3 lovely fabrics! We just couldn’t resist the bargain priced silks! My stash additions: 4 yards of apricot cotton, 6 yards of pink silk, and 2 yards of icy green silk. All truly stunning colors on their own, but together they just make me super happy!

What will I use them for, you ask? What a practical question! Well, the cotton for an 18th century under petticoat (a garment that will probably never be seen, so I picked a fun color that is vaguely plausible for that period), the icy green silk for 18th century accessories (hat, muff cover, and maybe mitts, with some leftover to do something else with as well…), and the pink for… something. Perhaps an 18th century something, maybe a sacque? Perhaps a 19th century something, maybe a bustled gown? I got enough to make something and have enough for self fabric trim, I think (it was all that was left on the bolt…). I’ll have to wait to be specifically inspired, but in the meantime I am generally inspired by the color. It’s a great grown-up shade of pink! Whee!

I also bought some silk ribbon that is a stash addition. The champagne ribbon on the top is the ribbon I plan to use to decorate my Kensingtons. Of course, while looking for that I got totally distracted and overwhelmed by other beautiful ribbons as well… not surprising, really, considering how lovely they are!

I justified their purchase by proposing a use for each of them. Blue: to trim my soon to be made Waverly Mineral Felicite 1780s jacket. Purple (they called it silver/grape, which is a cute name): to trim future Regency bonnets and an 18th century cap. Dark pinkish/red: I couldn’t resist the color! One day I plan to make the Costume Close-up laced front jacket, and I think this would be lovely for that, perhaps with some plain purple wool that is in my stash. Champagne: to trim my Kensingtons. Gold spool: to trim an 18th century hat, perhaps with my icy green silk? We’ll see about that. Persimmon spool (it’s not quite so bright in person): I couldn’t resist the color! I love it! I do plan to use it to bind some 18th century pockets in the near future (it will make me super happy to know that color is on my pockets, even if no one else sees them!). I have 10 yards of it… so I’m sure it will get used for other things as well!

Oh, Making Decisions is Hard!

January 3, 2013March 25, 2018 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

As I mentioned in my look back at 2012 post, one of early 2013’s projects will be to paint and decorate my recently purchased American Duchess Kensingtons.

This link contains an affiliate code, which provides a small benefit to my shoe fund. This does not affect my impressions and reviews of this product.

Kensingtons, yay! And the buckles came in that cute little bag. Love it!

When I first thought of buying Kensingtons, I was set on painting them yellow, either a lightish shade of yellow or medium yellow, like the images below.

19562579602677726_cFeJQDSV_c — 1775-1785. Colonial Williamsburg.

19562579602677731_yrV0rrlH_c — Mid-18th Century. Bata Shoe Museum. (Those buckles are so pretty!)

But then I started looking at fashion plates… Some of them had very cute yellow shoes, but there were also some that had pink shoes that caught my eye. I love pink things… so I started thinking about painting the shoes pink.

First, fashion plates with cute pink shoes from the 1770s and 1780s.

274015958548037863_VRkBS78G_c — PINK shoes. 1778.

19562579602929854_TvBA2Lfq_c — PINK shoes. Gallerie des Modes, 1778.

19562579601416378_ktNfy7WF_c — PINK shoes. 1778-1787.

19562579602930012_OUpEbC0c_c — PINK shoes. Magasin des Modes, June 1787.

19562579602930042_g7qnuQAd_c — PINK shoes. Magasin des Modes, March 1789.

Second, fashion plates with cute yellow shoes from the 1770s and 1780s.

19562579601572668_6j0WfNjA_c — YELLOW shoes. c. 1776.

19562579601572669_vhYl8jIp_c — YELLOW shoes. c. 1776.

19562579602929883_drhS3AdH_c — YELLOW shoes. Gallerie des Modes, 1779.

19562579602930017_AZLYCCiV_c — YELLOW shoes. Magasin des Modes, April 1787.

Then I went back to looking at extant shoes and thought “perhaps two-tone shoes?” Either yellow with pink accents or pink with yellow accents… perhaps like the ones below? Here’s a fashion plate showing two-tone shoes, and there are more extant examples a little farther down in the post.

Digital Capture — Two-tone pink shoes. The Dress of the Year 1775 by Ann Frankland Lewis.

Another thing, I’ve noticed that many of the extant shoes I see are cloth, not leather. Well, the Kensingtons are leather, so that’s what I’ve got to work with (and I like it in a way, because the shoes will be much more durable). So then I started thinking about what I need to do to capture the 18th century in leather shoes that already have the right 18th century shape. I took a close look at the details in these next photos and analyzed what I saw.

11540542764788394_bZ4HTkIV_c — Light blue satin shoes with silver braid. c. 1770. The Charleston Museum. STUNNING!

19562579602698433_JUXVWNDE_c — Silk. 1770s. Met.

19562579602698458_UwyGiIcl_c — Silk and leather. 1770-1789. Met.

199706564696595060_J9Y7ByPi_c — Silk and leather. c. 1775-1785. Shoe Icons.

19562579602698437_ckDGMif0_c — Silk. 1780s. Met.

If that isn’t enough examples, you can see more on my pinterest board: Shoes: 1770-1789. The details that strike me are: the binding around the ankle opening and latchets (often in a contrasting color) and the 3D quality of the trim and fabric of the shoes… the decorations are not simply painted on, but sewn on. That’s hard with leather, but glue is a good alternative to stitching.

I’ve seen other styles of painted and decorated historic shoes on my costuming friends. And at American Duchess, Lauren has done multiple posts and tutorials about 18th century shoes that she has painted and decorated.

blue n white shoe nov 11 (3 of 4) — Two-tone painted and bound Devonshires, from American Duchess.

pretty pink princess shoes (11 of 13) — Two-tone painted and bound Devonshires, from American Duchess.

What materials to use for decorations? Lauren used what looks like cotton bias tape, and on later Regency shoes narrow grosgrain which comes in a wide variety of colors. But the extant shoes look like they are bound with silk, so that’s what I’m going to aim for.

“What will I wear these shoes with?” is an important question I asked myself. “Well, everything I own from the 18th century until I buy another pair of 18th century shoes,” I answered. In the works right now are a taupey-brown silk petticoat, blue wool petticoat, Waverly mineral felicite jacket, and creamy quilted petticoat (you can see most of these fabrics in this previous post). In the future, I’m inspired by a purple and yellow color combination, as well as green and pinkish/red (these colors all in the fashion plates above!).

I’ve been ruminating over this decision for months so I make a choice I’m really happy with. I had all these options to think about: pink, yellow, both… It was tough. But I finally made a decision to go simple: yellow with champagne silk binding and champagne heels (saving pink for later, or removable ribbons, or other accessories). The latchets might also get pained champagne, I’m undecided on that point. Do you have thoughts about that? (More opinions is always better in these situations, you know!) I’ve got the paint from my Astorias, so that was easy… and the silk ribbon has been ordered! More to come soon!

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Join The Historical Sew Fortnightly!

December 30, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

Maybe you haven’t heard yet, but Leimomi, of The Dreamstress, is hosting the Historical Sew Fortnightly in 2013. It’s a historic clothing themed sew along, and you should join! “One year, a challenge every fortnight, and at the end of it, 26 fabulous historical garments.”

You don’t have to commit to participating in every challenge, only those that you have the time and interest for. You can interpret each challenge in your own way and at your own level, as long as it is historic. For the purposes of the Historic Sew Fortnightly (HSF), Leimomi is defining “historic” as anything pre-1938.

I’m going to selectively participate in the challenges I’m able to. It will be a fun way to connect to other historic costumers from around the world (literally!), gain inspiration and knowledge, and see pretty things! (And we all like pretty things!) You can read detailed information about how it works and how to participate here.

The first challenge: #0 (the bonus challenge): Starting Simple – due 31 December. Finish a project, make a very simple garment, or something you have made before. (I’m on a no-sew vacation until the New Year, so I won’t be joining in this one. I needed a break after my furious costuming in 2012!) But there’s still time for you to join in the bonus challenge (barely!). Come, join us!

Summary of 2012: Looking Forward to 2013

December 26, 2012March 25, 2018 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

Well, it’s that time of year again. Yes, the end of 2012 is here (and as I suspected, we successfully avoided world’s end…). When I look back on last year, 2011, and this year, 2012, I immediately think “WOW! I make a lot of things!”

First, let’s look at what I made in 2012:

The re-made 1819 dress, with ruffles! — In February: re-made 1819 dress

In April: 1912 tea gown and mushroom hat

7165821895_acaf5b6049_b — In June: ivory painted Astorias

In August: 1812 square neck gown (hand sewn)

In September: 1812 underdress, chemise, and stays

In September: re-made 1780s robe a la anglaise

In December: 1820s petticoat (hand sewn)

In December: 1822 walking dress, muff, and tippet

And this list doesn’t even include things I was paid to do! Thus, work (full time), and side jobs (a few weeks a year), and commissions (I think I did just two this year…) are extra icing on the cake in terms of things I completed.

Onward! Plans for 2013:

The beginning of these plans were outlined in my 9 month sewing plan post…

19562579601416376_G0UHlNeM_c — Probably in January: 1780s petticoat with ruffle

64035625921781582_DpGhwh4L_c — Probably in January: 18th century (I think could be worn for 1780s) jacket

347_cmag-1954-37-7-afr1-cr — Probably in January: 18th century basic pockets

kensington-18th-century-leather-shoes-white-2-340x340 — Probably in January: painted Kensingtons… yellow or pink, my inner debate is coming soon!

19562579602248921_5vDVzZq9_c — In February: 1812 ball gown (this silhouette and trim feel, but with different trim and a different neckline)

315_1864_FashionPlateAA — In March: 1864 ball gown (like the one on the left)

19562579602282248_TWnkFLiO_b — In April: under dress for 1812 square neck curtain gown (not just like this, but it will be blue and hopefully have a similar feel)

428193877040576318_5BY3DeMW_c — In April: a Regency reticule (perhaps not like this one, but regardless, this one is so cute!)

19562579601895545_kCBsdcnb_c — In April: 1814 pelisse and hat

19562579601624928_JvBHEbOy_b — In April: 1815-1818 dress

Volare Digital Capture — Possibly in April: 1815-1818 bonnet to go with the new dress (these are pretty much all super cute…)

Plus, leftovers from 2012:

Finish the 1820s petticoat
Finish the 1820s bonnet
Finish trimming the 1822 walking dress
Finish trimming the 1824 ball gown
Make a 1800-1820 chemisette

Then there is a category of things with amorphous “to be finished” dates:

31243791134585757_Hyh6NUm0_c — Sometime: 18th century quilted petticoat (perhaps not this exact pattern, but I am drawn to it…)

18th century wool cloak
new ballroom competition dress

I think that in April I’ll probably be playing the “AH! Catch up on all the stuff I set out to do but didn’t actually finish!” game. Beyond that my project list is anyone’s guess. I’ve got plenty of ideas floating around (of course!), including 1790s, 1800s, 1860s day wear, 1870s, 1880s, 1900s… Right now I’ve got lots of wool things on the brain because it’s winter time, but I’m not sure that I want to work on wool things in the summer, so we’ll see what happens.

If I look at last year’s “to do” list I can say that I accomplished a hefty portion of my list. The other portion got dropped along the way: either discarded entirely or put in the unfinished pile. The dropped half include:

1900 blouse (half finished before August, then put in the UFO pile)
1780s embroidered pockets (dropped for now)
Quilting 1820s/30s corset (dropped)
1860s child’s corset (dropped)

I did have a “blog first” award last year! In fact, I was actually awarded The Versatile Blogger Award by a few different people in the last few months of the year. Thanks everyone!

Overall, I have pictures from 29 different historically clothed events in the year 2012 (that’s about 2.5 events per month)! Jeepers! Granted, some of these are intense weekends or weeks, like Dress U, Newport Vintage Dance Week, and the Guerriere Weekend, where lots of events are bunched into a short period of time.. but still! The events fit into these basic categories: 9 balls, 8 vintage dance performances, 3 picnics, and 9 other events (like teas and strolls). Whee! All of these things were SO MUCH FUN! I love, love, love this part of life!

And finally, this year finishes up just over 2 years on the blog! I’ve met a lot of wonderful and inspiring people along the way. In fact, this year I have made a significant number of new friends! So thank you, lovely friends, who in person and online share in my experiences and contribute to the fun and adventures!

champagne_glasses-1 — Here’s to us, and another fabulous, fun-filled year!

Product links in this post contain an affiliate code, which provides a small benefit to my shoe fund. This does not affect my impressions and reviews of this product.

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Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part VI: Muff and Tippet

December 21, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 1 Comment

One thing I actually did finish for the recent ball was the muff and tippet. For visual reference, the picture below shows the garments I’m discussing.

1822 walking dress with muff and tippet (and a bit of the 1824 ball gown peeking out).

What is tippet, exactly? Merriam-Webster defines it, thus:

1: a long hanging end of cloth attached to a sleeve, cap, or hood

2: a shoulder cape of fur or cloth often with hanging ends

So, how did I make my tippet? First, I cut a piece of high loft polyester batting the length and width that I wanted. (I know they didn’t have poly batting in the 19th century… but it’s super warm and sometimes just worth it!) Then I cut a piece of my faux fur that was double the width of the batting plus an extra 3/4″ or so on each side as well as about 1″ longer on each end. I centered the batting on the wrong side of the fur, wrapped the fur around to the back, turned one edge under, and pinned. The ends of the fur I just turned up and under the other pinned bits. Then I whip stitched that folded edge down using pretty large stitches. The stitches disappeared in the fur… and voila, tippet! Too bad I didn’t take pictures of the construction!

The muff was slightly more tricky, not because of construction details, but because I agonized over what color lining to use! (To construct the muff, I made two tubes, one out of fur and one out of silk lining. I stitched one end of each tube to the other, turned the whole thing right sides out, inserted a tube of poly batting (warm!), pulled the lining through the middle, and pinned the open side of the fur to the silk, with the fur edge turned under. Then I simply whip stitched it like I did the tippet.

But before I could make the muff, I had to pick the lining color! Did I want it to match my walking dress trim (and be lavender?) Did I want to pick a color from a fashion plate? What colors were used in fashion plates? So many questions! I determined that of the muff linings I could see in fashion plates from that general period, there were three recurring colors: pink, blue, and white. Here’s what I came up with, image-wise:

PINK

19562579602803386_gVTjJrmC_c — January 1823 Walking Dress. La Belle Assemblee.

19562579602401776_TvaRkZoN_c — December 1822 Promenade Dress. Ackerman’s Repository.

19562579602401842_51zasE7P_c — January 1826 Promenade Dress. Ackerman’s Repository.

BLUE

19562579602401785_nUUKnK8g_c — March 1823 Walking Dress. Ackerman’s Repository.

186688347022992512_HVaD6lEY_c — December 1825 Carriage Dress. Lady’s Magazine.

WHITE

186688347022992610_ERzVeK6C_c — 1825 Promenade Dress.

83035186849486953_XGi68fzU_c — 1829 Walking Dress. Ackerman’s Repository.

UNKNOWN/OTHER

145663369167455361_eRX7bB2f_c — c. 1810 Redingote (and muff!). KCI. (Also a tippet, though they call it a “palantine”: which M-W defines as *a fur cape or stole covering the neck and shoulders.)*

19562579602930398_Bi3xvCKC_c — November 1814. La Belle Assemblee.

186688347023026494_QoWFeN5r_c — 1823 Carriage Dress

So pink came in with 3, blue and white tied with 2 each, and then there were an assortment of unknown/other. But I didn’t like the idea of pink with my dark pinkish wool (you can see what that would look like in the December 1822 fashion plate: that’s the inspiration for my walking dress), so I settled for the light blue, which I think is delicate and softly Regency. Also, I had just a small amount of that color silk, and it’s a color that doesn’t really complement my skin, so I wasn’t likely to use it for a bonnet or something similar… but with a muff most of my skin is hidden! You can see the predominance of white fur for the muffs in these fashion plates (one of the reasons I chose white fur for the muff and tippet). There are brown, too, but a lot of white! 7 out of the 11 I included are white. Well, there you go. That’s my rationale for the muff and tippet.

All of these images are on my Pinterest pages with lots of other beautiful garments. Specifically, these are on the 1810s Inspiration, 1820-1824 Inspiration, and 1825-1829 Inspiration pages.

Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part V: Almost Finished Petticoat

December 17, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

Recently, at Fezziwig’s Ball, I was able to wear my almost-finished 1820s ensemble. You can see pictures of that event, which includes pictures of the ball gown, walking dress, muff, and tippet in this previous post. In that post, I didn’t get to share pictures of the petticoat that went along with these 1820s garments, so that’s what this post is about! For the record, after the ball I simply starting taking off layers and having my friends take pictures so I would have evidence of all my sewing (while I still was wearing the proper hair style and accessories!).

Ok, I’m making a funny face (I think my eyes are closed)… but it’s full length picture of the petticoat! You can see the shape, and the cording, and the lace at the bottom.

I didn’t get to finish the neckline before the ball… so you can see how that right shoulder seam is starting to split. I’ll have to repair it before finishing the neckline.

This simple white cotton petticoat has 16 rows of cording to help it stand out. It is entirely hand sewn and closes in the back with ties. Close up photos showing the construction of this petticoat are in this previous post.

With this petticoat I wore my short sleeve linen chemise and pink 1820s/30s corset. Both of these things were made last year and have been worn multiple times since then (especially the linen chemise, which gets worn often!). I finally have pictures of me (versus Squishy, the dress form) in the corset! Granted, it’s not a particularly exciting picture, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

1820s/30s corset. You can read more about the inspiration and construction by clicking on the links. Clearly, I haven’t actually quilted a diamond pattern on the front like I planned to do when it was built…

And just for fun, I thought I’d include this fun picture of me getting ready for the ball. One of my friends is on an “artsy photo” kick… I didn’t even know she was taking this picture, but I like it! I especially like the mixture of modern and historic that is me in my chemise and corset putting on mascara… they had modern mascara in the 1810s, right?!?

Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part IV: Partial Completion For The Ball (Fezziwig’s Ball 2012)

December 12, 2012March 25, 2018 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 16 Comments

Yikes, that is a long title… but I do like my titles to be descriptive sometimes…

As is suggested by the title of this post, though I did have new, wearable 1820s clothes (with closures, yay!) for Fezziwig’s Ball this past weekend, not all of the garments were entirely completed. I had set out with a rather rigorous plan for the month of December and I will admit that “my eyes were bigger than my stomach” and I wasn’t able to fully complete all of the projects I wanted to. That being said, however, I was very pleased with how things looked. (I will also admit that I spent the week before the ball furiously sewing every night… in fact, I was still sewing appliqués on the afternoon of the ball!)

Caroling before the ball! We stopped at the super huge town Christmas tree to take pictures. I was perfectly warm in my new clothes!

After caroling we paused outside the hall to take some more pictures… As you can see, the muff and tippet did get done! Entirely! Yay!

Back of the new walking dress. I only just noticed that someone is in the window… That’s sort of creepy looking!

Staging a “gossiping” photo before the ball officially began.

Waiting for the dance, Sir Roger De Coverley, to begin.

Dancing Sir Roger. It is similar to the Virginia Reel.

I had a wonderful time during the ball. It was crowded, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying myself. Perhaps because I knew more people than I have in any year past, the entire evening felt full of friendship and fun. Also, it’s super new and exciting to dance the same dances as other balls, but to the tune of Christmas music! And there were lots of beautiful dresses and fashionable gentlemen to keep one’s eyes occupied.

After the ball I imposed on my friends to take pictures (in better lighting) of my new clothes, so I could document them here on my blog. I, in turn, took pictures of them so they would have pictures as well! That’s only fair, really.

Here it is! Clear, full length picture of my new gown! I finished the hem appliqués! Whew! But it is missing it’s sleeve appliqués and the center front appliqués.

I was having trouble making my hair look the way I wanted to, so I settled for a tiara (it’s actually the same one I wore to the 1890s Soiree during Newport Vintage Dance Week). In the end, I really liked how it looked!

A closeup of the finished appliqué motif around the hem.

For this event I took the opportunity to wear my blue American Duchess clocked stockings. I liked them! The only annoying thing is that one got brown puddle stains on it during caroling. I’ll have to see if I can scrub it out. I think I can.

Here we are, a picture of the walking dress with better lighting! You can actually see the dark raspberry color of the wool. It’s pretty scrumptious. It’s soft on it’s own, but also lined with soft cotton, so really it’s quite cozy.

Proof that the sleeve appliqués were partially complete! I didn’t have the time to finish the raw edges, make the centers, or sew them on…

Pictures of the petticoat will be in an upcoming post. It was almost finished for the ball. I’m looking forward to adding trim to the walking dress and the front and sleeves of the ball gown, as well as finishing the bonnet. All of these things were started (the pieces cut out and even sewn in some cases), but as you can see in the pictures, they didn’t make it in time for the ball. Oh well!

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Regency Christmas Party At The Commandant’s House

December 7, 2012March 25, 2018 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 2 Comments

This past weekend, the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers participated in a Regency Christmas party for a public event at the Charlestown Navy Yard. It’s the same venue as the Guerriere Weekend we participated in a few months ago. I wore the same 1812 hand sewn gown I made for that event, which you can read more about in this post. We danced and played games while the public wandered through, watching and taking pictures, and eating the delicious cookies and punch we provided. We love that space, so of course we enjoyed being there again. I took the opportunity of the Christmas party to try out my red clocked stockings from American Duchess ... they were perfectly fitting for the Christmas cheer!

Posing with the lovely tea set that was set out to add ambiance to the scene.

Another glimpse of my red stockings as I passed off the blind fold.

After the party we stuck around to get some extra pictures. I had to get a real pose with my stockings!

Then we staged a few fake scenes to take pictures for possible CVD advertising opportunities.

It was one of those “look into each other’s eyes” scenes, which I somehow get put in rather often… Anyway, I like this picture because you can see my hair. I took a long time (and a lot of bobby pins) putting it up and really liked the result.

Then I grouped some of the dancers to get some nice “as though you are dancing” shots. This is how we would begin and end a dance.

Back to scenes. Aren’t these scenes by the fireplace super cute?

As you can see, it was a fun Christmas gathering. We look forward to participating in more events at the Commandant’s House next year!

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Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part III: Green Dress Hem Appliqués

December 1, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 4 Comments

Well, I’ve got the green silk ball gown sewn together. That’s good, because the ball is fast approaching. There’s only a week to go! Eep!!! I’ve finished the padded hem, but I still need to have someone mark center back for me so I can put closures on. And I haven’t set the neckline yet, either, because I’m waiting to see how it looks with the back actually closed… So far every time I’ve tried it on the back has just been hanging open, because I can’t actually reach that part of my back by myself. Never fear, though, I’ll be seeing friends this weekend who can help with marking the back for me! Yay!

You’ll remember from my overview of this early 1820s ensemble that the fashion plate below is my inspiration for this gown.

19562579602401819_964eyRUt_c — May 1824. Ackerman’s Repository.

I’ve been furiously hand sewing, working on the skirt appliqués on the ball gown. These are my first priority. In part this is because they’re already started (and it would look silly to have only a fraction of them done) and in part this is because the hem decoration is pretty essential for 1820s dresses. This is how I’m making the appliqués.

After cutting out literally hundreds of pieces… I pin the blue canvas bases to the silk of the gown. The pinning allows me to make sure everything is symmetrical before sewing the bases down. Once I’m satisfied, I baste the bases to the silk, leaving 1/4″ around all the edges unsewn, so I can tuck seam allowance under later.

Whew! Finished basting that repeat of the pattern. The blue canvas is tightly woven and hardly frays, even at the points and in the curves! And even after being manipulated and folded while I’m basting all the pieces down, which is important because it keeps the shape accurate for the layers that go over the base.

The next step is to take the two top layers (a layer of the green silk and a layer of white silk organza) and sew them over the base. The base provides sturdy edges so that I keep all those nice curves when turning under my seam allowance. This piece is just about done, except for the last corner. I used the technique in this great quilting appliqué blog post to make my sharp corners as sharp as possible.

And here’s what the motif looks like when all the bases are covered! The silk organza is pretty tricky for making sharp points, so I think these turned out pretty well! The motifs are still missing their center sections. I’m focusing on all the pointy bits first. Right now I’ve got 3 out of 7 motifs done.

This is what the inside of the skirt looks like after the appliquéing is finished. It’s kind of neat, I think, to see the relief of the front shapes.

Most recently, I’ve just finished basting on the bases where they meet at the back. You can see in this picture there was only one more motif to go!

Right now the motifs really remind me of pineapples, a common motif in appliqué quilts (as a quilter as well, I appreciate the overlap between related interests). I’m sure once the centers are added they will look more like flowers and much more like the fashion plate. Each motif is 11″ tall and the repeat is 12″.

As I continue to sew these, I’m thinking about the sleeve appliqués. Currently, I’m stumped. I was going to sew my motifs on in the same way as the skirt, but I also made my sleeves pretty gathered… so I’m not sure how to nicely hide my seam allowances while also keeping the gathers looking un-squashed. I want the sleeve appliqués to sort of float on the gathered sleeves… I’m still brainstorming on how to make that happen. Perhaps I’ll stitch the seam allowance to the back of the base and then hope that the gathers mean you won’t see the base past the 1/4″ seam allowance that gets turned? If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them!