The best of intentions...and a new project

Please don't ask me where the best part of this year has disappeared to. Things started off so well in January. Perhaps too well. I tackled not one, but two Historical Sew Monthly projects, and began the 1880s blue satin and leather corset that I had been dreaming of making for so long. Things seemed to be advancing at a more than satisfactory pace and I had high hopes of sticking to my plans to actually complete the HSM challenges this year.

And then life got in the way, as it invariably does. That said, there are things that are sometimes more important than sewing. Working and earning money to pay for the sewing to start with and needless to say looking after yourself, your home and the people you love do have to come first.

In any case, the result has been a complete lack of progress where historical sewing projects are concerned since February. Indeed, aside from the odd mending or alteration job not much stitch work has been happening at all, mostly due to temporarily taking on full time hours at the day job.

But I have good news. I am back to part time hours and sewing again and this time for a very exciting project. I have been invited by the Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival to appear at this year's festival as a Young Queen Victoria. This is of course a great honour in itself, but the best part for me is the opportunity to make the costumes for the young queen. In fact, work has already begun on the outfits which will include 1840s undergarments as well as day and evening dresses and accessories.

To document this project I have set up a separate blog dedicated to "Becoming Victoria". The plan, believe it or not, is to post updates daily (or as close as possible). A challenge in itself but certainly a motivating one! As such, I may not be posting here frequently for some time but to keep up with latest news on Her Majesty's wardrobe please join me at "Becoming Victoria" between now and August.

Happy New Year!

It's 2016 and I can't believe I've actually done it! I wanted to have all of my past costumes uploaded by the New Year and this is the last one. I saved the best 'til last and it seemed fitting to have a ballgown for New Year.

This is my latest ballgown that I completed two summers ago. I wanted a new gown as I didn't want to wear the same dress as the year before to the same event but I also wanted a project that wasn't going to break the bank. Since the ball was in the summer, a muslin dress therefore seemed the obvious choice.

The bodice was made using the same Truly Victorian pattern (TV442) as my first Victorian ballgown, but instead of using the bertha I applied some beautiful wide cotton leavers lace to the neckline. I didn't use a pattern for the skirt - this was simply a huge rectangle of fabric cut from three widths of fabric, pleated onto the waistband on my dress form. To add a little weight and structure to the hem I made three deep tucks at the bottom. This really created a beautiful swirl when dancing as the whole skirt lifted up when I twirled - such fun!!

I also made two different sashes and flower posies to pin at the neckline so that I could wear the dress to more than one ball. One was of fushia coloured satin in a simple bow and the second was a dark green and blue tartan sash stolen from a later 1870s pattern, that created a waterfall look at the back - unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of this so that will have to be saved for a future photo shoot.

So there we have it - I am now up to date and ready to start sewing and posting in real time as I begin some new and exciting projects.

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year and especially happy sewing...

An 1858 Walking Dress

Photograph by Jenny Edmiston

My second ever costume was this 1850s walking dress. It's was all very well having a beautiful ballgown, but it's of little use during daylight hours! So, as the festival I was attending lasted over a week with lots of outdoor events during the day, I wanted to be able to make the most of these opportunities to dress in costume.

I would have liked to have a few more changes in my wardrobe, but I only had very limited time to get my dresses finished and by the time the ballgown was complete I only had a few days to come up with some suitable daytime attire.

I went for the quickest and simplest option with the skirt by cutting three rectangles from the full width of my fabric and pleating them directly onto my dress form as per Truly Victorian's instructions on the ballgown pattern. This method is rather prickly as it involves a lot of pins but I have used it since and find it works quickly and effectively every time.

Then for the jacket I used Simplicity's Civil War Pattern (3727).

Simplicity 3727
Image from sew'n'sew patterns on ebay

I absolutely loved the pagoda sleeves on this pattern and also based my trimming on the fringe you can see in the picture. I flat-lined the jacket (but not the sleeves) with stiff cream cotton curtain lining and hand-stitched steel boning from Vena Cava Design to the seams. The collar and the engageantes were made separately, trimmed with a broderie anglais edging and tacked to the sleeves and neckline.

I found that the jacket went together really quickly and I enjoyed working with the flat-lined pieces which are very easy to handle. The hard work was the trim which I sewed on by hand - I think this probably took longer than the rest of the sewing put together! Not helped by the fact that I baulked at the price of velvet ribbon and economised by buying cotton velvet fabric instead and cutting it into strips myself.

But I think the result was worth it:

I accessorised the dress with a black lace parasol and fan from Vena Cava Design, white cotton gloves and a bonnet that I made by cutting a small section out of the back of an ordinary cheap straw sunhat and decorating with ribbon and artificial flowers.

I love wearing this dress because the fabric is actually very light and it moves beautifully. It also makes my laugh because my brothers call it the "cowgirl jacket" on account of all the fringe!

Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the sides or the back but the peplum is shaped into lovely points like the ones at the front.

Photograph by Jenny Edmiston

An 1858 ballgown with petal skirt, part III (more pictures)

And here are some more pictures of the dress at the festival. As I only had the one evening gown, I wore it to two balls.

I also entered it into one of the best dressed competitions (Costume Cavalcade for Original Costumes and Reproductions from authentic patterns) and was delighted to be awarded first prize.

However, as a result of wearing the gown outdoors in the midday sun for the competition (which a well-mannered Victorian lady would never do!) I ended up with a lovely sunburn in the exact shape of the neckline, complete with petals from the roses on the shoulders. Not very authentic at all, but in the pictures from the second ball I have a decidedly rosy glow!

One of my "official" portraits from the ball - unfortunately I hadn't realised how creased the skirt was until I saw the photograph. However the sepia tone does disguise my sunburn!
Photograph by: Jenny Edmiston

First and Second Place in the best dressed competition. I think we make a lovely pair and I was so pleased with my tiny trophy. It was really lovely to be chosen as the winner especially as this was my first ever costume.

On the steps - this is here for no other reason than the fact that I love the shape of the skirt in this picture. I enjoy the feeling of going down steps in a crinoline too - it feels so elegant.

And finally... in the line up for the competition. I'm not quite sure why I look like I'm giving a speech though!

An 1858 Ballgown with petal skirt

Given the choice, I am always attracted to beautiful clothes over the more practical ones and this was no exception. As I was making the costumes to be worn at a festival that lasted over a week, it would have made sense to begin with a gown that could be worn outside in the daytime. But my love of sumptuous evening gowns and the lure of a real Victorian ball was too great to resist. So my first real costume project after the underthings was a ballgown.

When browsing Truly Victorian patterns, I immediately fell in love with their 1850s petal ballgown skirt (TV246) which teamed perfectly with the 1860s Ballgown bodice (TV442).

TV246 Petal Ballgown Skirt
 From: www.trulyvictorian.net

TV442 1860s Ballgown Bodice
 From: www.trulyvictorian.net

These two patterns therefore formed the basis of my inspiration for the design of the dress, along with a roll of salmony peach-coloured fabric with a watered effect to resemble moiré silk that I acquired very cheaply at a closing down sale at a local curtain and fabric store.

To be continued...

The Original Outfits - The Underthings

My first two Victorian gowns were made to attend the Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival. I only had about three weeks to finish everything so I could only manage one day dress and one ball gown and the necessary underthings.

As I have always loved the silhouette of cage crinoline skirts, I decided on the late 1850s as my time period and started my project by stitching open drawers and a camisole (which I now realise should be a chemise!) from a McCall's costume pattern (3609).

The pattern

It was a pattern that I already owned, having bought it some years previously in a fabric store and it made up very easily. However, I would probably not use it again as I am not entirely convinced by the historical authenticity of the camisole top, even if it does allow one to show off one's drawers! In fact, I expect I bought it because the model on the left looks like the girls in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers when they sing and dance in their underwear. Nevertheless, so far none of my research has found any examples of camisoles replacing the longer chemise under corsets so I suspect that it may be a Hollywood interpretation!

Aren't they sweet!
via: sallycooks.com

Still, I was quite pleased with the finished results and they provided a perfectly acceptable first layer for my costumes.

The fabric and trimmings all ready to go...

The finished camisole

Some very frilly knickers!

Unfortunately, for the next layer I had to cheat a little bit. I had never made a corset before and given the limited time available wasn't sure about attempting one. However, I knew that I would never be able to carry the weight of the cage and skirts without a corset so I had to make do with the closest thing I could find to a Victorian corset. And while it may not be exactly period-correct I have to admit that I do love my What Katie Did corset.

What Katie Did - Storm Overbust Corset

 

The real thing



The next step then was the all important one: the cage crinoline. I chose Truly Victorian's cage crinoline and was amazed at how easy it was to put together. Admittedly, I did need my brother to help me cut the steel boning and to slide all of the bones into the casings but following the instructions carefully it was simple to join everything together and I didn't have to do hardly any adjusting to get the hoops straight.

The kit purchased from Vena Cava Design

Gertrude modelling the finished cage



A nice view of the extra fullness at the back

For the underthings then that only left the petticoats which I made up from Truly Victorian's Free Hoop Petticoat Diagram (sorry - no picture) and I was ready for the next step - the gowns.

Next installment - An 1858 Ball Gown 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

Ever since I can remember I have loved fashion but I have always been out of date! Not for me the fashions of today... not when I could have a gown with yards and yards of fabric, and lace and ruffles and bows. I can remember how, even as a small child, I loved pretty dresses and I never wanted to take off my party frocks. And not much has changed since then! Given only the slightest excuse, I can usually be found decked out in my finery, preferably with frothy petticoats and all the accessories.

For everyday wear, I tend to inhabit the mid-20th century and I love to wear clothes inspired by the 1940s and 50s. Most of my wardrobe is homesewn from original patterns by my very own seamstress (a.k.a. my mother) or myself. Indeed it was my love of vintage style that really started my passion for dressmaking. Coming from a sewing family (My great-grandfather was a tailor, my grandfather taught himself to sew dance dresses for my grandma, and as a teenager and young woman my mother sewed most of her own clothes) I learnt to use a needle and thread at a very young age and have always enjoyed needlecrafts. It wasn't until I left school though that I really began to become interested in vintage fashion and, after a couple of years watching my mum sewing my suits and dresses, to start learning to dressmake properly myself.

However, this venture did not turn out quite as originally intended...

 Instead of taking over the production of my everyday clothes (as Mummy was no doubt hoping!) I found a rather different use for my skills.

I have always loved historical costume and one day, playing on the internet, I discovered Katherine's Dress Site (http://koshka-the-cat.com) and I dreamed of one day being able to make my own historical costumes and recreate the elegance of bygone times. Since then, I have discovered other wonderful blogs that have inspired me and last August I finally found the excuse I needed to design and sew my very own crinoline and gown to attend the Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival. And from the very first moment that I stepped out in costume I knew I was hooked! And that was even before I danced all night at my very first Victorian ball in the presence of Queen Victoria herself!

So my poor mum still has a list of commissions as long as her arm because almost every minute of my sewing time (which is unfortunately very limited at present) is spent adding to my beloved Victorian wardrobe. And since I have been so inspired and learnt so much from other costumers through their blogs, I have decided to share my sewing and costume adventures too as I attempt to recreate history stitch by stitch... I hope you enjoy them.