My Insanity Knows No Bounds....

It appears with this new project that I am working on, I have taken leave of my senses.  Let's just say one thing up front.  I hate hand sewing.  Like, with a grand and glorious passion.  So, why I decided that embroidering a demi suite of 1860s underwear would be a good and happy thing to tackle, is well beyond the realm of my understanding.

On October 22nd, Mama and I will be doing another fund raiser for The Bishops House titled Dressing the Victorian Lady in Mourning.  I thought it would be fun to make a new corset for the event (it will be a black silk one even though I know they didn't have underwear that was black specifically for mourning purposes...) and thought, "Heck!  Why not make a whole new set of white frillies and just for the craziness factor, let's make them all hand embroidered! Because we like to do all the hard, time consuming things a month before the event!"  Actually, what made me decide to do things that are hand embroidered was Colton's new school.  This year we chose to put him in a Homeschool Co-op that is classical education in style.  He is taking theology, biblical theology, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, classical literature and math.  I will be sitting in on his classes until he/we get a handle on this new school format and then math two days a week away from home will give me ample time to do some sewing away from my sewing machine.  Therefore....hand embroidered underwear!!  

I have completed some on the chemise which includes the scalloping along the neck line and am currently working on the eyelets...five sections of three small eyelets takes about an hour to complete, so that part is going sloooooowly.  And my hands are quite grouchy with me.  But, I think it will be very worth it when it's all complete!

Scallops are complete and the eyelets are one their way to being completed!  Now I remember why I hate hand sewing so much... The fabric looks like it is blue, but that is just the light and camera working their weird sort of magic.

Working with Past Patterns 1860-1870 embroidered chemise pattern.  I also would like to make an embroidered pair of drawers and corset cover.

The Inspiration

While searching for inspiration for the chemise, I came across this gorgeous set of underwear from The Philadelphia Museum of Art.  I am so loving the moire corset and have located some fabric that would totally work for making a reproduction!  For my birthday gift this year, I have asked for money to purchase the narrow gauge wire cage crinoline from The Wooden Hamlet!  Can't wait to get it!!!

Image Source:  Philadelphia Museum of Art

I love the beauty of this chemise!  I can't wait until mine is completed!!

Image Source:  The Philadelphia Museum of Art

A New Treasure!

Today, I was so happy to discover this wedding dress from 1903 at a place called The Yard Sale Place.  It is a fabulous place that is a consignment store selling yard sale like items for people.  I have found many incredible deals there and today didn't disappoint!  The fun thing is that if items are not sold in good time, they get reduced 30% then 60%.  Well, this wedding dress had not sold so was at 60% today!  I was beyond giddy with happiness as I paid a grand total of $27.35 for it!!  Huzzah!!!

It is made of a very fine cotton lawn, cotton and lace.  The tag that was pinned to the inside of the dress reads, "Wedding dress of my great-great-grandmother's married on June 11, 1903".  I sure would love to know Great-Great-Grandmother's name.  The dress is home made on a sewing machine with two of the front darts hand sewn after the dress was made.  I haven't steamed it yet, don't know if I will as I'm afraid that the steaming would damage the fibers...will have to do some research on that!  

Not sure if the bodice was tucked into the skirt or not.  I am thinking it was not tucked in because of the front vertical ruffle cascading down the bodice.

Tucks and ruffles and lace, oh my!!

Almost pouter pigeon front...but not quite there yet.

You can see through the sheer cotton, the eyelet lace at the top of the inner bodice!  

Inner bodice that takes the stress off of the outer lawn layer.  Closes with hooks and eyes.

And a Birthday Boy!

19 years ago today, I had this sweet baby boy whom I instantly and completely fell head over heals in love with!  We named him Dakota and he has been my sweet boy ever since!  We celebrated with a party on Sunday, and had a very nice time.  I can't wait to see where life and God take this young man.  I can wait for him to move out and be out of our daily lives, so I am happy that his plans to move out have not come to fruition... (two room mates that he was planning on moving out with had things happen).  I love having him home and dread the day when he strikes out on his own.  We are good buddies and friends and he delights my heart!!  

Happy Birthday Cody!

I hope you all have a truly blessed rest of you week!  For me, it will be hand sewing craziness and starting a new corset!

Be Blessed!!

g

Edwardian Era Bathing Boots

It all started back in November of 2012, when my sweet friend Melodye Kamplain gave me a box while we were picking out costumes for the cast of "Our Town".  I was giddy with delight as I delved into the carefully wrapped goodies in the box.  I exclaimed over and over again as I pulled out gorgeous antique after gorgeous antique.  A pair of groom's wedding braces, a bride's waxed orange blossom headpiece (I think I screamed aloud at that....), green wool spats, a pair of French drawers, a 1920s wool bathing suit, a hand painted peach silk negligee from the 1920s .  I could not believe all the things that she had released to my care!  One of the things that I could not believe Melodye had passed along to me was a pair of canvas swimming boots.  I absolutely could not believe my eyes!!  They are exactly like this pair from the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  I am still shocked and totally in awe that these boots live at my house!

I knew that one day I wanted to make a pair for my big feet, using the extant boots as a starting point.  Sadly, I just didn't have any reason to.  I have had a bathing suit on my "to do" list for quite some time, but other things keep pushing their way to the top and the bathing suit kindly takes its place a the back of the line.  Well, my friend Josie was telling me that she had an event coming up and she was going to be making a vintage bathing suit.  I volunteered myself to make a bathing boot pattern for her by saying, "I have a pair of antique bathing boots and I can totally make up a pattern for you when I get back from my trip to Utah and before Cody graduates!"  Sometimes I think that the creative side of my brain tries to trump all other parts of my brain.  Like the side that says, "No, we have people to feed and laundry to wash and a house to clean and all the other uber important things to do!!!!"  Anyway....I did come home from Utah and just because I had that bee in my bonnet, I started and completed the boots in two days.  There is something to be said about a sewing binge.

Thank you Josie for lighting that fire under my creative rear and helping me to get something accomplished that may have gone un-accomplished for a very looooong time!!!

Here they are!

The new bathing boots and the fabulous antique boots!!!

I decided to make mine red as I actually had a canvas material in my stash and I had this pair on Pinterest and fell in love with them!

The antique ones need to be cleaned, but I don't know how to do it and I don't want to ruin them!!!!

As you can see, mine are quite a bit larger than the original ones.  The originals are so adorably sweet and petite!

The ridge on the sole at first looked like a corded piece, but it is just a bias strip over the cork sole.

I looked in vain for narrow lacing, but just couldn't find any.  I decided to add a tongue to my boots.  I just really liked the looks of it!

New and old, side by side! 

Yes, these sweet things did see some action!

The bottoms of mine are so not even close to being nice and tidy, but I wanted to show the difference in the two.

The originals were one layer of canvas....

I decided to make mine two layers, canvas and a linen weave cotton.  I really want them to stand up and not slouch.

It always makes me so happy to see that things made long ago were not all neat and tidy on the insides!

After seeing a tongue on another pair of bathing boots with an overlock stitch (these right here), I decided I would go ahead and do that to mine as well!

Well, there they are!  Now I need to make a bathing suit for myself.  It will be a while though before I can get to it.  Sorry suit, you still have to hold a place at the end of the line.  

I am thinking about perhaps doing this one...

Hathi Trust Digital Library

Or perhaps 

This Edwardian Era one.

I guess it will depend if I can find some stripe green fabric!

I did take lots of construction pictures so that I can write a tutorial on the boots for a future date.  Probably after the graduation and things have calmed down.  Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Blessings!

g

First 1930s Skirt: Success!!!

OHMYGOSH!!  At this current moment, as I sit at the laptop and type, I am THRILLED!!!  Why?  Because I completed my first early/mid 1930s skirt and it was a breeze!!  Holy Monkey!  I can tentatively say that I am hooked on vintage.  Ok, I know that this is just a skirt, but what a beautiful experience making the skirt was...well, after the 2 hours I spent trying to piece the fabric together that I had used attempting to make an 1888 bustle suit that never came to fruition.  I will post a picture of it here in a bit.

Let me tick off some of the wonderful experiences I had yesterday and today:

1.  Very little (and I mean very little) fabric was used.

2.  I didn't need to line the skirt.

3.  There was no NO pleating, ruching, gathering, adorning.  No fluff and stuff!

4.  I did not seam rip once.

5.  Did I mention the use of very little fabric?  This skirt probably weighs one pound (if that) as opposed to the several of, say, my Grape Soda Dress skirt.

6.  Took me several hours as opposed to several and more days.
7.  I can use the 2-3 yard remnants of fabric that I have been collecting from thrift stores that can't be used in Victorian/Edwardian to my liking.

7.  Simple. 

Oh yes, I think I am going to like going Vintage!

For my first piece of clothing, I chose to something simple to give me a taste of sewing "Simple".  I have had some delightful cotton plaid in my stash for years.  It started out its costuming life as trim for an 1888 bustle dress and hat.  I decided that the outfit was failing in its job to blow my skirt up and dismantled everything.  The silk from the dress became lining for a Romantic Era hat, the vest is still in tact, and the patterned velvet underskirt still lives.  But...but the plaid has held me captive for ever so long.  I then found some burnt pumpkin wool at a thrift store.  It was a match made in Autumnal heaven!!  Seriously!  I brought the wool home, laid it next to the plaid and they sang songs of sweet harmony!  I knew that this pairing would make a most magnificent vintage outfit!

Then, I realized that I didn't have enough of the plaid.  My heart broke!  I spent days perusing the web, in vain, for the same fabric.  But, this fabric was very old and I had to come to the realization that I would never find it.  So, it sat most forlornly in the fabric room in the garage, weeping and sulking with the wool.  Tuesday, I brought the fabrics out again, maybe hoping that the plaid had multiplied like the fish and loaves in Jesus' hands?  I don't know, but I was determined that this fabric would be a skirt.

I had been looking on Pinterest for some examples of suits from the '30s and 40s that used a skirt in one color/fabric/pattern and a jacket in another.  These were some I came up with and in orange/plaid combos!!!

From eBay.  Ok, so this one isn't a two piece with a different top and bottom, but it was MY fabric!  I didn't want to mess with altering a pattern from an era I had never sewn and I don't have enough solid orange wool, but still, proof that this era used these colors!  Huzzah!!

From Etsy

From Etsy

Here are some wonderful examples from The New York Public Library: Digital Archives

Matin-Voyage
Juvenile Ensembe Pour la Rue
Smart tailleur estival

Then my eyes beheld this beauty, this seriously FABULOUS example from:

Betsy Vintage

This one was it!!!!

I was determined to make the plaid work!

I spent at least two hours yesterday sewing 8" x 55" wide strips of fabric to the one piece of whole fabric I had.  I finally had what I thought would be a big enough piece for the vintage dress pattern I had.  No such happiness.  There were too many pieces and not enough fabric.  I finally ended up using the skirt pattern from Butterick 6330.  I consoled myself with the fact that two of my vintage, long skirted dress patterns from the 1930s had very simple, front and back piece skirts!  Problem with the issue of not that much fabric solved!!!

I was having problems with the fact that I have never seen a dress or anything from the 1930s up close and in person since I have started costuming, therefore did not have any clue as to the construction.  Did they line?  Was that lining sack or flat line?  How did they hem?  Etc, etc.

Then!!  I realized that I had my Grandmother's wedding suit from when she married my Grandad in
1943.  I will have to dig out the photo of she and my Grandad on their wedding day!  They were so adorable!!

Looking at my Grandma's suit, I was able to see the construction of garments, at least a suit, from this era and let me tell you...it is vastly different from what I am used to!  Thank heavens!!  Way more simple!

Photos of Jeanne's Wedding Dress

Very sweet WWII era dress!  I love the lines!

These pictures are super dark.  The suit is made of a light weight wool.  A very scratchy wool.

Love the tucked detail on the front!

Left side zipper closure!

How the hem is finished...with hem tape!

This image is of the jacket facing and how it was finished.

Sideways image of the inside back of the jacket.  The raw edge were turned under then top stitched.  Super cool!

Love the pleating on the sleeve caps!  There are wee little shoulder pads inside!

Fabulous buttons!!

So, from studying this suit, I decided that for now, until I can get my hands on an early to mid 1930s suit, I will employ the construction methods of this suit!!!

And here is my skirt!!!

So excited about it!!!

I couldn't find any hem tape, so used an orange bias tape.

Here is the plaid with the lovely wool.  It is a much darker color in real life, but you get the gist!

This is what the plaid used to be on...

Ok, so now to do some thinking on the jacket for this project!!

I hope your Thursday evening is a wonderful one for you all!!

Be Blessed!!

Edwardian Silk/Linen Duster of AWESOMENESS!!!!

OHMYGOSH!!! OHMYGOSH!!! OOOOHMYGOOOOSH!!!!

Ok, before I get head of myself, let me tell you about my obsession with motoring dusters from the Edwardian Era.  Way back on January 3, 2012, I fell in love with the motoring outfit from FIDM (Here is my salivatingly crazy blog post from when I found the outfit...here.)  Since then, I have purchased the light weight cotton to make a motoring outfit/safari outfit.  I have purchased the pattern (Folkwear Model T Duster 230).  I have the safari hat, scarab beetle tie pin and goggles (for the safari outfit).  I have an Edwardian era silk/wool skirt and the black "granny" boots.  I have a passable tuxedo front shirt with an antique collar and tie.  And of course I have a Motoring Outfit Pinterest page dedicated to them.  What I didn't have was the actual duster, nor the time to make one.

That all changed at roughly 10:12 in the a.m. today at the event "Found" at The Bishops' House in Boise.  Mom and I were scheduled to work the BH table at the event which was a fabulous antique show, and were taking a few minutes to peruse the offerings before we planted our bottoms in our seats for the duration of our time slot.  We had walked into one of the upstairs rooms and mom was showing me a lovely painted silk fan, when my roving eyes landed on one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

It was like the roof of the old house opened up, sunbeams were streaming through the rafters and angels were singing the "Hallelujah" chorus.  I sucked all, and I mean all, of the oxygen out of the room....(mom was choking and grasping at her throat from the lack of oxygen).  I went on wobbly knees to the object of my instant lust, reached out trembling hands and tenderly caressed its silky essence, gently took it off its hanger and tried it on.  I dissolved into tears as I slipped it over my shoulders.....  

IT FIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I clasped it to my heaving bosom and went in search of Nancy who owns In Retrospect, to ask about the price.  My eyes found hers across the crowded room as I possessively held my find, ignoring the curious gazes of the other shoppers.  I believe she sensed my insane obsession and said, "You want that don't you?"  All I could do was grunt and nod my head.  

Needless to say, the duster now lives with me.  Greg will be sleeping on the couch tonight as I will lovingly lay my duster on his side of the bed....

Anyhoo, here are some pictures Colton took of me.  They aren't the best as they were taken with my phone, but I was sooooo beyond excited that I wanted to share!  I will at some point in the future make the Model T Duster, but I am beyond thrilled that I own a true piece of history in my gloriously, fabulously, lovely Edwardian duster!!! 

Hello HUGE black buttons!!!!

For today, I wore my safari hat and goggles.  I will be finding a HUGE motoring hat and some silk tulle to tie it under my chin!

It has two slits in the back....

The wind was doing fun things with the fullness of the duster.

Did I mention that this beautiful thing has tabs!!! Be still my beating heart!!  TABS!

I LOVE how it moves.

My sweet Rosie!!

You can see the neat silk strips on my skirt.

Horrible exposure, but here you can see that it does in fact button and still is very roomy!!!

Made in New York!  What fun!  

I am pretty sure this is a silk duster.  It may be a silk/linen blend.  I'll have to do a burn test to make sure.

*Edited*  For anyone concerned with the burn test I am going to perform, I will be using fibers removed from inside the lining.  It is a tear in the seam allowance that will be removed then rebound.  So, never fear!!  The burn test will in no way affect the integrity of the garment!

A deaccession number from a museum?  Don't know!

Anyhoo, I can't wait for the opportunity to wear my new duster to a car show or something equally awesome!!!  Whoo hooooooooo!!!!!!  Thank you Nancy for having this lovely piece of history for me to acquire!!!

Blessings!

g