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.

Volare Digital Capture — November 1817 Walking Dress. Ackerman’s Repository.

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!

SaveSave

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!

SaveSave

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!

Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part II: Initial Petticoat Details

November 27, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 6 Comments

19562579602403848_so6xmxCH_c — Petticoat. 1828-1835. Manchester City Galleries.

This bodiced petticoat is the inspiration for the first piece of my 1822-1824 ensemble that I need for December events. You can read more about the overview of the ensemble by viewing my last post: here. Despite the slightly later date given for this garment (later than my target of 1822-1824), the shape and construction are consistent with garments from the earlier 1820s, so I have no qualms about using this for my purposes in this case.

The description from Manchester City Galleries:

White cotton with high waist. Low, wide, round neck edged with embroidery and lace frill; piped armholes; front in one bias-cut section, back in two shaped sections, centre back fastening with drawstring at top and bottom of neck edging and at high waistband and two buttons; skirt front in one slightly flared section, two sections each side flared towards back, slit at hip in right back seam, centre back in two straight sections, closely gathered at centre waist; sixteen lines of piping at hem; edging of finer cotton scalloped and with openwork embroidery.

I used this description in combination with the 1820s patterns in Janet Arnold to create the bodice and skirt patterns. My petticoat is constructed out of plain white cotton. It is entirely hand sewn and has 16 rows of cording in the skirt. There is a edging of white cotton openwork embroidery at the hem. The seams are all flat felled in the skirt. The bodice seams are turned twice and stitched on each side of the seam. The petticoat closes in the back with ties.

Bodice of the petticoat with unfinished neckline.

Near the hem: 16 rows of cording and embroidery edging.

Super close up of a flat felled skirt seam, narrow hem, and whip stitches attaching the embroidery. The embroidery is whip stitched to the hem at the very bottom, and the top edge is whipped again on the inside (that’s the top horizontal row of stitches).

The only remaining work to be done is to add another tie between the current two since the back wants to gap open just below my shoulder blades, to finish the neckline, and to adjust the gathers across the back (secret tip I’ve learned through building these garments: to get that great 1820s triangle shape, your gathers have to be super concentrated at the center back area, not spread out across the entire back, as these currently are). I plan to finish the neckline with narrow white lace, but I want to determine the neckline of my ball gown before finishing the neck of the petticoat. You understand that desire, I’m sure!

Differences from the original include: that I have a seam up center front of the bodice (no particular reason, it’s just that’s how it turned out), my cording is spaced closer together (which I’m not sure I like as much as the original, but I’m not taking it out now!), my armholes are narrow hemmed rather than piped, and my skirt closes right in the middle of the gathers rather than off center at the side back seam.

Pictures of the entire petticoat will have to wait. It looks pretty foolish on hanger, doesn’t fit a dress form (because the bust is so high), and it’s super awkward to get a full length picture of oneself… so we’ll just have to wait until I’m wearing it!

Project Journal: 1822-1824 Ensemble Part I: Overview

November 23, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 3 Comments

Well, as you recently read, I have a 9 month sewing plan to get me through May of 2013. It’s not set in stone (which means that mostly I keep adding to it, not taking things away…), but it gives me a great overview of what I need to accomplish and by what month. Deadlines really help in getting things completed!

The first major portion of the sewing plan is an ensemble of clothing from about the year 1823. I’ve been doing lots of looking at fashion plates and extant clothing from the early 1820s, in books and online. Here’s a link to my pinterest board: 1820-1824. I had so many pins in the 1820-1829 board that I had to separate the decade, so I also have a separate pin board of 1825-1829.

The 9 month plan includes the following pieces: petticoat, ball gown, walking dress, muff, bonnet, and chemisette. I’ve added one more thing since the plan was created: a tippet to match the muff! Before I explain why I want these items (ie, where I plan to wear them!), let’s look at my inspiration for the items themselves!

19562579602654907_icgtD6xa_c — Bonnet. C. 1820. The Met. (I plan to make this in lavender to match the walking dress.)

19562579602471150_LsEuHQEk_c — Chemisette. c. 1810-1825. Snowshill Collection. (Yes, this is one of the ones in Janet Arnold. I plan to make this out of lightweight cotton and use my fluting iron! However, I have to say that if one thing in my December-to-do doesn’t make the cut, this would be it. I really want to take my time on this and play with my fluting iron, and I’m not sure I’ll have the time on this one…)

What is all of this for, you ask? I plan to wear the whole ensemble in December when I attend Fezziwig’s Ball, a 19th century ball hosted by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers in Salem, MA. Since it’s a ball, I’m sure you understand why the petticoat and ball gown are required! But why the outerwear? Before the ball begins, ball-goers have the opportunity to go caroling around the streets! It’s really fun, and usually pretty cold. I need to stay warm, hence the wool walking dress, tippet, and muff. The chemisette is to fill in the collar of the walking dress, and the bonnet is really icing on the cake to help pull the whole ensemble together! As an added bonus, later this winter my friends and I hope to go ice skating in 19th century dress, so this will also be my ice skating outfit!

Turkey Day Does Moose Day

November 22, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ Leave a comment

Well, it’s turkey day, not moose day… but in the spirit of animal-related-sillyness… here are a few more Quinn-does-moose photos! You can see the original one in my Happy Halloween post! Don’t forget to count your blessings and be thankful today! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

There I am, on the right being a moose. It’s hard to lift your arms in an 1860 dress…

Ok, this time I could lift my arms… but I had a fan in my hand. What to do? Use it as an antler, obviously!

9 Month Sewing Plan

November 19, 2012 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 6 Comments

As I shared in my last post about my recent stash additions, I have a 9 month sewing plan to keep me going on historical sewing through May of 2013. Now that it is November it’s really a 7 month plan, but regardless, in my head I keep calling it the 9 month plan. Here it is, with my progress noted on it:

By December 2012:

1823 hand sewn corded and bodiced petticoat (95% done)
1823 ball gown with hand sewn appliqués (40% done)
1823 walking dress (50% done)
1823 bonnet to match walking dress
1823 muff (50% done)
1810s or 20s chemisette (patterned)

By January 2013:

1780s petticoat with ruffle
1780s jacket
18th century basic pockets
18th century yellow shoes

By February 2013:

1812 evening dress (75% done)

By March 2013:

1860 ball gown

By April 2013:

1812 underdress for existing 1812 gown (75% done)
1812 bonnet to match underdress
1812 reticule
1814 pelisse (cut out)
1814 turban/hat to match pelisse (cut out)
1815-1818 day dress
1815-1818 bonnet

By May 2013:

1920s beaded evening dress

Other projects that will probably also get started but don’t have a deadline:

18th century hand quilted petticoat
18th century cloak
a new ballroom competition dress (started)

As I go along, I’ll start posting more specific information about the projects. Right now I’m really focusing on my 1823 projects, so I can get ready for events in December. (December is surprisingly close! Eep!) The 1823 things are going to be super pretty and exciting, and posts about them are going to come soon!

A Lot Of Wool: October Fabric Stash Additions

November 14, 2012March 4, 2013 ~ TheQuintessentialClothesPen ~ 8 Comments

I really should post about my 9 Month Sewing Plan before posting about the additions I might have added to it (cough, cough). But oh well… These fabrics are exciting so I don’t want to wait!

The first fabric stash addition is 2 yards of Waverly Mineral Felicite. I was interested in the Curtain- Along created by Jen of Festive Attyre, but I wasn’t inspired enough by the three Waverly curtain colors (Cream, Noir, and Crimson) to actually hop on the train (and I didn’t want to make something super similar to what other people are making). But then I started researching other color ways online and fell in love with the Mineral Felicite at onlinefabricstore.net. You can see my Pinterest board of various color ways here. The board also includes some other similar fabrics. I haven’t done all my research yet so I can only generally say that I’m planning to make a 1780s jacket out of this fabric. (And possibly something else, because 2 yards of this fabric is actually quite a lot!)

My next fabric stash addition has two parts. The first is plain weave creamy yellow silk that I bought a few months ago when buying the whole giant mound of fabric that is for my 9 Month Sewing Plan. I bought a few sections of it from the remnant table for just $6 a yard! I love prices like that! It had no definite plans, until… I was starting to near completion of my current hand sewing project and started thinking (which is almost always dangerous!) about what to hand sew next. I’ve been contemplating an 18th century quilted petticoat for about a year, but never had a real need and considered it to be overwhelming. But now the idea is sticking… and I’m planning to hand quilt a petticoat sometime in the foreseeable future! I mean, I hand piece and quilt queen size quilts, and if I can do that, I think I can tackle a petticoat. In fact, I think a queen size quilt is actually bigger… The second part of this, and the recent stash addition, is a plain weave cream colored wool to back the petticoat with (only $5 a yard!). You can see both of the fabrics in the top photo. To the right you can see the wool by itself. I’m excited… It’s going to be really amazing!

While looking at the wool wall for the petticoat backing I stumbled upon this wonderful wool plaid. There were only about 1 1/2 yards left on the bolt and it was $8 a yard, but I loved it and couldn’t let it go, even though I had no idea what I would do with it. It’s really lovely and thick, and a little fuzzy and soft, and not itchy. It’s hard to see in the picture, but it’s forest green, plum purple, dark tan, and light beige. The repeat is pretty big (I didn’t measure it, but I’d guess about 6″). After taking down this bolt, I stopped at the wool remnant table… where wool was only $3 a yard! Really nice wool! There were about ten 1-2 yard pieces of that slightly fuzzy beige wool in the picture… and I might have bought all of them! I have visions of using some of them, with the plaid, to make a bustle dress either from the 1870s or 1880s (with a train!!!). I’m still open to inspiration for this fabric, though, so who knows what else I will come up with? Does it strike you as anything in particular? I also have visions of maybe using the beige wool for an 18th century cloak, and a modern skirt, and probably other things… I have a lot of it. Whee!

I also found, at the wool remnant table, two similar but different dark blue wools. There were two pieces of each, all under 1 1/2 yards in length (and I did have to dig through a lot of blue wool, analyzing the selvedge edges of each to make sure I found matches, before I was successful). One of the two blues will be used to make a 1780s petticoat. The other… I don’t know. Maybe a cloak, instead of the beige wool? Blue cloaks were more common than brown in the 18th century, I believe. And I’m not sure that the beige is the right shade of brown, anyway. I have more research to do on that before I make a decision. One of the blues is more purple-y than that other (and I think I do like that one best!) but I’m not sure if it’s too purple-y for the 18th century. Although if they are not next to each other they just look navy and are almost impossible to tell apart, so I’m not sure it matters. On the left is another view of the same fabrics.

Well, as you can see, I was sort of struck by an 18th century inspiration… so most of these new additions relate to new 18th century projects. Yikes, I had better go sew, or my stack of to-be-used fabric might just envelop me!