Wearing History 1910s Jacket Photo Shoot! Finally!!!

Whoot Whoot!  It snowed today!!  Lots!!  It's all melted now, but it stayed around long enough for my fabulous Mama to take some photos of me at the Boise Train Depot!  I had wanted to wait until it snowed for the photo shoot of my 1916 red wool outfit (made using Wearing History's 1910s Jacket pattern) as I thought it would be the perfect backdrop and contrast for the red and black and ivory.  We were already going to The Bishop's House for one of their Victorian Parlours, so we just left early and stopped at the depot on the way!  I'm so happy we did!!

I can't express just how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pattern for this jacket!  AND the jacket itself!  It is so beyond fabulous, and in this case warm!  And fun to wear!  This year's fashion is so very fun!  Not over the top, crazy fluffy, but still girly!

I really like the pleated collar on this jacket.

 

The snow was PERFECT snowball making texture!!  OHMYGOSH!  I wish my boys had been here...I would have dominated a snowball fight!!!

Rock and Fire!!!

You can see my fun black and ivory stripe petticoat in this picture!  It is such a fun petti!

Hahahaha!!  It's hard to pose in a snowball throwing pose, so I slow-mo threw it at Mom...it landed right under her skirt!  hahahahahaa!!!

I love everything about this jacket.  I am so needing to make about 10 more!

 

Lamp Post picture!!

I had to take some pictures of Mom.  She didn't want any taken, but I got my way!  The blue of her dress contrasted perfectly with the snow!

My beautiful Mama in her brand new tiara!  Isn't it awesome!!

Now to The Bishop's House!  We had a really lovely time!

My Mama and me!  How I love this grand lady!!!

I hope you all have a marvelous rest of you week!

Be Blessed my friends!

g

Wearing History's 1910s Jacket and 1916 Winter Outfit

Finally, after weeks of sewing, I can put my sewing machine and accouterments away.  The mad rush to finish all the things I had planned for the upcoming Fashion Show at Something Special Antiques next Saturday is over.  I still have to do some fiddly bits on the Grape Soda Dress, but I don't really "count" that as I can do that stuff downstairs while watching TV with my family.  So, to my way of thinking, the sewing is over!!  I was going to make a yellow 19teens corset to go with this outfit, but after I sewed the panels together, I discovered that the waist to waaaaay too small.  I did something I never do and that is, I did not make a mock.  I know.  I can't believe I did that either!  Crazy talk!!  But I was in a hurry and wanting to get things done before next Tuesday.  School starts for Colton and me, and I want to focus only on that while we work out the world of homeschooling without a Co-op.

I have to just tell you that I am so in love with the pattern that Lauren of Wearing History put out!! The 1910s Suit Jacket is FAAAAAABULOUS!!!!  I didn't have any issues with it and it went together so very smoothly.  The only seam ripping I did was after I followed a tutorial incorrectly, and that was my fault.  I did have to follow this tutorial on doing the collar, as I am so very not a read-it-and-understand-it type of gal.  I am an I-need-to-see-big-bold-pictures kind of gal.  After reading the tutorial and looking at the wonderful images, I was able to get back on track!  I am so loving this jacket that I seriously want to wear it with my jeans this winter!!  I made it from the scarlet wool that I found at a local thrift store years ago.  I had planned on making the Kyoto Museum's Regency era redingote, but after much deliberation decided to go with something I would actually wear more often in Idaho.  I had some striped ivory and black cotton jacquard fabric in my stash that I had also picked up at a thrift store and thought that would look great as the skirt.  I am sad to admit that I cheated on the blouse.  Like I said above, I was running out of time to get this ensemble completed and so searched the thrift stores for a white blouse with a suitable 1916 collar, or one that would pass for one until I can make one.  It will do!

Completed outfit!!  It is so simple and tailored that it makes me smile!!  Totally opposite to the Grape Soda Dress.  The whole thing didn't take even a 6th of the time it took to complete the GSD!!!

Inspiration for the skirt.  I LOVED the chevron skirt and so wanted to use that for my outfit.  I did have some troubles with it as I decided that the jacquard was very thick and didn't need to be flat lined.  Boy was I ever wrong!!  I had it all sewn together and ready to sew on the waist band and discovered that it was hanging weirdly.  I slept on it and decided that I would take it apart and flat line it with a poly taffeta I had in my stash.  Sure enough, the weird hanging that was going on was gone.  Lesson learned!!!  Ugh!  Oh, I was able to use the almost 100 year old pattern a very dear friend of mine named Hilda gifted me with!

Source:  Dress Making Research

I did need to make a new petticoat to go with this shorter dress.  Darn it.  I so hate making underwear.  

AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!  Just kidding!  I adore making underwear and this was no exception!!  I had purchased some striped cotton fabric years ago in the hopes that it would become an Edwardian petticoat.  Sadly, I didn't buy enough and the quilt store where I got it didn't carry it any more.  What to do........  Make a 1916 petti!!!  Huzzah!

I just love black and white Edwardian petticoats and was thrilled at the thought of making one for myself!!  I used satin ribbon for the accents on mine.

Source:  The Met

For the hat, I had to shorten the brim on a antique fur hat that I have had for a while.  I feel a little bad about defacing an antique, but the tall brim just wouldn't do for the 1916s.  I shortened it about a inch, re-attached the silk ribbon and added a composite feather do-hickey and a jet buckle.

Inspiration for my hat.  I only learned after I got the hat completed that this advertisement was from 1920!!!!!  Oh well.  I like the hat and don't plan on changing it.  The curly feathers are so fabulous!

Source:  Found in Mom's Basement

I was having issues with the fact that my blouse needs to be buttoned to the top and not lay open like so many of the blouses from this era.  I searched Pinterest looking for justification for wearing a brooch at the base of the neck and came across this image.  I believe this catalog page is from 1919, but until I can make a new blouse, the brooch at the collar will have to do!

Another accessory will be a black fur muff.  It is so fluffy!!!

The shoes aren't vintage, but they are oooooh sooooooo comfortable!!!  I am actually looking forward to wearing these!!  I dare my feet to yell at me!

Buttons!!!  I love buttons!!!

I found these fabulous buttons at Something Special Antiques.  I know they are antique ones from the construction of them, but not sure from what time period.  I don't really have a problem with using them on my jacket as they are so incredible and stand out really nicely as if to say, "Look at me!!  I am a fabulous button with an eagle on me!!!!"

I just thought of something!!  This is the second outfit in an row that I have sewn completely from stash stuff!!!  I am Huzzah thrilled!!!!!

Well, I am looking forward to taking a break from sewing.  I know, that is probably a weird thing to say, but school, and canning, and soups and stews are now calling my name and I must obey!!

Be Blessed my friends!!  I hope this coming week is a wonderful one for you!

g

Nonni and Her Middies

 A while ago I wrote about my Great-Grandmother Hazel Prudence Palmer Chriswisser, or Nonni as we called her.  She was beyond fabulous in every way, shape and form, and I really miss her.  This lady is another of the inspirations for my making a Sailor Dress/Middy blouse from the years surrounding WWI.  You see, she wore several and I have photographic proof of how adorable she was in them!

Here we see Nonni, on the left, in a white middy with a dark skirt.  My mom and I always know who she is in the picture before we even see her face because of her riotous hair!  It was known to be very uncontrollable!  check out her shoes!!  The dress on Nonni's friend is pretty fabulous as well!

Here, Nonni is wearing a white outfit with a HUGE bow.  I wonder if it is a blue, red or black bow!  Her skirt buttons up the front and has two front pockets!  Don't know who the dashing gent next to her is, but he is handsome!  It may have been her soon to be Brother-in-Law....

This picture makes me happy.  Hazel and her fiance Herbert Chriswisser, my Great-Grandfather.  He was quite the handsome young man!

This picture makes me smile so much!  Herbert and Hazel are wearing their middys and a sailor's hats.  Too much fun!

Mom thinks that Nonni is wearing Herbert's Naval uniform.  I am inclined to agree with her!  What a fun thing to do!  You can see her white shoes peeking out from the pants!

Nonni told Mom that she had this picture taken for Grandad when he was away on a training mission.  She was saying "Come home to me!"  How utterly and completely adorable!!  And look at her boots!!!

Another wonderful outfit.  Possibly a blue middy with a white skirt.  Love the hat and that parasol!!!

Just for fun, here is Herbert and Hazel at the sea shore!  LOVE love love her swimming suit and check out those bathing shoes!!

Grandad in one of his Naval uniforms.  He was incredibly kind and loving.  Mom has one of his uniform scarves, though she won't tell me where it is... Gee....I wonder why!!!  Bwahahahahaha!!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing more of who inspires me in the things that I do.  Nonni was a dear lady to me and was instrumental in setting me on my path to loving all things from the past.

Be blessed my friends!

g

1916 Sailor Dress from Original Pattern!

Earlier this year, I declared on Facebook, that this year, 2015, would be the year of the return to the 1890s.

I think I need to get one thing straight with myself right here and now.  Please, for the love of all that is good and holy....

STOP DECLARING THINGS!!!

Why?  Because, even though these are things that I, MYSELF, declare, there is a part of my very DNA that is obstinate.  Like telling a 2 year old, "DO NOT stomp in that mud puddle!" or "DO NOT touch that thousand dollar vase that your Grandmother has carelessly placed within your reach!"  There is a part of me that, even when I tell myself to not do something or that tells myself, "We WILL do this!" stiffens my neck, digs my feet in and says, "Wanna bet?"

Therefore, I am going to politely ask myself if it is ok if we do such and such and not make demands or declarations!!

That being said, I am going to allow myself to sew whatever blows my skirt up at the time I am planning.  We shall see how this goes.  Knowing my mind and personality, I will probably be paralyzed creatively and won't be able to sew anything without a plan set in motion.

This is where I tell you my plans for making yet another Sailor Dress.  I am sure you have probably grown weary of my making them and talking about them ad nauseam...but as I said above, this is where my skirt is being blown up and this is currently what is making my heart happy.  I have grown tired of sewing against what makes my heart sing, and what I dream about at night.  It makes the whole experience tiresome and difficult to complete, and sort of causes me to resent the whole process.

Enter the 1916 Sailor Dress!!!  TaaaaDAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Way back, oh about 5 or 6 years ago, a dear friend of mine by the name of Hilda Steiner, gave me a pattern (Hilda Dress blog post from 2011) that she thought I would be able to use.  I have kept it safe in my pattern file cabinet since then, taking it out every so often and petting it and whispering sweet nothings in its ear.  I wanted to wait for something out of this world to use it for/with and while perusing my Pinterest Sailor Suits board the other day, I came across some 1917 dresses that had the sailor dress bent to them and that got me thinking about Hilda's pattern!!  Holy Monkey!!  While waiting for my 1920s middy pattern, I can play around with this pattern!!!  I went to Walmart and low and behold, they had a 100% cotton with a linen like weave to it and I purchased enough to make the 1916 pattern!!

I'm sooooo Heppy!!! (That's Maid Marian from Robin Hood Men in Tights...)

I even found this most fabulous H. & W. Walker catalog of 1916 items on the Winterthur Museum Library site.  Ohmygosh...were my salivary glands working over time!!!

Aren't these delicious dresses???  I really love the one in the upper right hand corner...

Source

The precious pattern that Miss Hilda gifted to me!!!  I can't wait to start on it.  I have the fabric in the washing machine as we type!!

Close-up of the dress....isn't it adorable?

I really like the collar on the blouse in the bottom right hand corner...
Source

Well, there you have it.  My plans for my next outfit.  That reminds me....now I need to make a new, short petticoat....Rats!!!  Oh well!  That's totally ok if it means I can have a 1916 dress!!

Be blessed my friends!!

g

The Hilda Dress

I have a most lovely friend named Hilda Steiner, who once was a seamstress. She also loves to play in her flower garden. Two of my favorite things, sewing and flower garden playing! When we get together, which is not often enough, we like to chat about sewing or what color she is painting her bedroom, and she is always interested in what dress I am working on now. Well, one day she was sifting through her patterns and came across a couple that she thought I would appreciate and perhaps one day use. Well, sure enough, one caught my eye and I could feel them dilating...my mouth started salivating, and my heart rate rose quite a bit. I had to tell myself, "Whoa Bessy" as my creative juices started revving into overdrive. The pattern she gave me is an original 1916 bodice and shirt ensemble. I am so in love!!! I set about looking for fashion illustrations to get an idea on color combinations and fabric ideas. I believe I have the perfect solid color fabric and am now on the look out for the stripe. And yah, I have the perfect shoes!!! I so cannot wait for the time when I find the second fabric and can start on this totally awesome dress!!! hahahahahaha!!!