Gettysburg 2017, aka SEW ALL THE THINGS (part one)

I've been putting off writing up this post because there's just so much to talk about, so I've decided instead to break it up into multiple posts, to both post more than once and keep things manageable (and not overwhelming) for me.

Part One, wherein I FAIL to sew ALL THE THINGS

Yup, I'm starting on the low note here, so I can only go up from here!




The teal dress is the least finished what I wore over the weekend, and therefore I didn't get any solo shots of it. (Plus is was raining buckets that day, not entirely conducive to good photos.)

The plaid vest has no closures yet, and when I put it on it was a little tight at the bust, so I need to lower my dart points a little. The sleeve heads on the bolero need some work as well, as they wound up too full, despite me altering the pattern to allow for only 1" of ease at the head. The easing instead looks like shirring, and I don't like it at all. I just need to take the sleeves off and take them in again.

It also needs a collar and cuffs. I think what my eventual plan will be is to just make a blouse to go under it, with the collar attached there instead of to the bolero. And then if I need to I can take the bolero off and not be bare armed.

Otherwise I do like how this outfit came out! It just needs finishing. I also need to check the skirt again for staining. I wore it Saturday during the downpours, and the entire front of the skirt got soaked. That's why I'm in the back of the tintype, because on the solid fabric the wet parts were significantly darker. My hair also looks super flat in this photo, which I'm also blaming on the rain!

Coming Soon: Part Two, maybe fancy dress? TBD

How to survive an Egyptian summer

Wanting a natural form summer gown, I bought 30 yards of hand block printed cotton voile on Etsy. It was the best price, being $25 for five yards, $50 for ten yards, or $70 for 30 yards. I put almost half of it into this outfit already anyway, so it's just as well I bought that much!

 I used one of Butterick's costume patterns for the underskirt, adding a drawstring and a tie to get the natural form shape, Truly Victorian's 362 Wash overskirt, and 462 Tail bodice. Yes, those are both technically late bustle patterns, but the overskirt pattern notes mention it being in an 1882 advertisement as well, without a bustle underneath.



It's trimmed with a solid green cotton voile, and the skirt and bodice are flatlined with muslin. The sleeves and the overskirt are unlined, to keep it cooler.

This was first made to wear at Belvidere in September last year, and the temperatures that day reached the mid-90s, with what I'm sure was 150% humidity, because that's what New Jersey does.

I rewore it this past Saturday, at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in the Germantown area of Philadelphia, for their "Old Fashioned Picnic".

The Candy Pet en L'air

Well, I've had this blog sitting here empty for ages, and I figure now is as good a time as any to start using it!



My most recent project was a pet en l'air, started last Sunday the 30th, and finished Saturday the 6th for wearing on the 7th. I could've done the entire thing in a day, but I opted for a more leisurely pace for it. Which semi bit me in the butt when I badly cut my thumb while cooking Friday, and lost that as a sewing day. But all that was left at that point was finishing the shoulders and hemming. So it got bumped to Saturday, and I still had a finished piece to wear!


second photo by sewloud

I wore the pet with my faux taffeta petticoat, silk gauze cap, silk gauze bonnet, and silk pinball, which is actually made with scraps from two of my New Castle plaids. It was on the chillier side, so I also pulled out my old linen mitts, which are brown linen lined with purple silk noil, and a square of cotton lawn that will be hemmed eventually and become a legit kerchief. Shoes are AD Dunmores, and some day I'll decide what color I want to dye them. Jewelry is Dames A La Mode.

Hair:

I forgot to add in hair pictures on first posting! Better late than never. I used a wool pad to get the height, and techniques by Jenny-Rose for dressing my hair. I had the wonderful opportunity to be one her models for her upcoming Jennylafleur Historic Hair Shop, and while sitting there having my hair done I feel like I learned a lot. Once I had my hair up and looking fantastic, I lightly powdered it with Little Bits' lavender scented powder. It's a white powder, but with how dark my hair is unless I absolutely cake it on I get a gray tone instead of a very light one. Except where my gray streak is, of course! All that work, and then most of it was covered by my cap and bonnet.

Some in progress photos:

Back pleats pinned to the lining // back panel completely attached to lining // front pleats pinned to the lining

I actually used the Larkin and Smith English Gown pattern for the lining, stomacher, and sleeves. The only change I made to it was to only sew the top four inches or so of the center back sleeve, then cut it away to about a five inch gap at the center back waist, to give the pet it's characteristic adjustability. Right now it's just got crochet thread ties, and I'm trying to decide if I want to make eyelets for a cord lacing, or just sew on narrow tapes. For now, though, I'm leaving it as is.

I had just over two yards of this beautiful silk, and used almost all of it in the making of the pet. (I've tried to find more, to make a petticoat, but alas it seems to be impossible to find!) I cut my sleeves and stomacher first, and then used what was left to cut the front and back pieces. I wanted to keep them as long as I could. The stomacher closing pushes this a little earlier, so I felt the longer thigh-length was better than a much shorter hip-length pet.

In conclusion:

I'm very happy with my pet, and only have a couple small tweaks to make. The stomacher needs to be shortened, because it's too long for my taste, and I need to shorten the shoulder straps and change the angle at the back a bit to help keep it from sliding so wide. But those are both fairly easy to do!

I also need to wear it over straight front stays rather than the ones I had on, and that will fix some of the wrinkling on the stomacher as well. But I don't currently have straight fronted stays, having shrunk out of my last pair, and avoiding making new ones. But I can't put it off much longer, because my current stays are on their last legs.