tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27239817864039365622024-03-18T21:49:08.581-07:00Elizabeth HuhnWriter of Historical FictionElizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-15454156209337488782023-11-02T18:44:00.001-07:002023-11-02T18:44:09.291-07:00The Story of "A Well-Remembered Voice" by J.M. Barrie<p>"A Well-Remembered Voice" is a one-act play by J.M. Barrie first performed in June of 1918, just a few months before the end of the Great War. It's about a father coming to terms--or not--with the loss of his son in the war.</p><p>As anyone familiar with my blog will know, I'm deeply interested in J.M. Barrie and the brothers who inspired him to write Peter Pan and, in fact, inspired him to write this play. Much of what Barrie wrote was highly autobiographical, and this play was no exception. Here, the son, Dick, is clearly George Llewelyn Davies, the original spark for Peter Pan and Barrie's foster son. George was killed March 15, 1915 in the war. The father, Mr. Don, is, of course, Barrie himself. The scenes that take place between the bereaved father and the recently deceased son are plainly wish-fulfillment, and they echo with a sense of deep longing.</p><p>The story begins with a seance performed by Dick's mother, his fiancee, and some friends. Mr. Don isn't interested in taking part and reads a newspaper. His wife and the fiancee get angry with him after his disbelief seems to "scare away" Dick's spirit, who's been "tapping out messages" on the table. The spirit having fled, the seance breaks up. But as soon as everyone else has left, Mr. Don start's hearing Dick's voice, and then Dick appears. Dick can only appear to one person, and he can't stay for long. He describes what it's like to be dead and assures his father in various ways that it isn't so terrible, and he isn't lonely. He reminds his father of things they've done and places they've seen and tells his father to be brighter. Mrs. Don comes down from bed, and then the fiancee comes down, too. They can't see Dick, but Dick can see them. But once they leave again, Dick has to go, and Mr. Don is left alone in an empty room.</p><p>It's a rather somber little piece. I wouldn't say it's overwhelmingly brilliant, but I can feel Barrie's raw grief. The saddest bit, of course, is that Dick can't stay, and there's no happy resolution, no smile and no assurance that Mr. Don will be any happier after this visitation than he was before it. An underlying theme, as well, is that Mr. Don doesn't give much outer sign that he's been devastated by the loss of his son. He went on reading his newspaper during the seance, after all. But it was to him that Dick chose to appear rather than his mother, because it was his father who needed him more. Likewise, like any good Edwardian gentleman, Barrie wasn't likely to have been overtly demonstrative about his grief. Apparently, Barrie had an outburst when he received the telegram--"wires" are mentioned a few times during the play--and was in a state of stunned quiet for a while, but no doubt his grief went very deep. In a character like Mr. Don, he could show on stage how much deeper his own pain went than it appeared to from the outside. Barrie must have wished desperately he could have George come back and assure him that dying hadn't been do bad, that there was something beyond death, and that he, Barrie, had to keep going.</p><p>Several details here struck me: George had a fiancee, just like the fictional Dick. Young Dick mentions being a Second Lieutenant, just like George. Dick says that he doesn't remember dying; George was shot in the head, and there's a good chance he never really knew what hit him. Mr. Don is a painter, where Barrie was, of course, a writer. Dick noticed the fishing rods; George was an avid fisher.</p><p>Perhaps the most interesting aspect to me is the idea of the "veil" between life and death and how thin it is, especially in a time of war. Dick says that when he woke, he wasn't sure which side of the veil he was on, and neither were most the men around him, living and dead. It's a vertiginous thought, that the living aren't quite sure they're alive, and the dead aren't quite sure they're dead.</p><p>Perhaps this, as much as <i>Lincoln in the Bardo</i>, was what helped spark the idea for my novel about the Llewelyn Davies family (sadly, it's not published at this point). There are spoilers here, but I'm going to forge ahead since the stakes seem pretty low at this point. First, I'll note that I didn't read the whole play until after finishing the manuscript for <i>Proud and Insolent Youth</i>; I knew of the play and had read bits of it, quoted in other sources. The core concept behind my novel is that each narrator--four member of the family--are telling their story from just the other side of death. They're on the other side of the "veil", but they don't know it. Here, Dick isn't sure which side he's on but realizes it pretty quickly. In my manuscript, George takes a little longer to realize--long enough to tell his whole story to a German soldier nearby who is, it turns out, also dead. Interestingly, in the play, Dick mentions that there were German soldiers on the other side of the veil, and there was no animosity. I hadn't read that part before writing my novel. It just seemed right.</p><p>The idea of the seance itself and the autobiographical nature of the play inspired me to write a scene where Barrie holds a seance for George. In this scene, it's George's younger brother Michael who's the sceptic that breaks up the party, and it's Barrie's secretary Cynthia Asquith who leads the seance. Barrie participates but more or less repents of it. And it's Michael who thinks he hears George's voice--though he doesn't get to have a full conversation with his brother.</p><p>Here, I'm linking a summary from greatwartheatre.org.uk. It includes the Examiner of Plays' Summary. There was still censorship at this point, so this is essentially a censor's summary. You can also download the full script: <a href="https://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/script/2653/">https://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/script/2653/</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnh-HrMm_9XEzVxrQjSWd4pcsKLT6ip2uZTP2Ds-H3nypn6mAcnFqQ_ByxSecj9FsINvoCoxHrUX-RSIQNvOXIVLSaGzVbwFMtMpXq1lXtJQdpAzB33L82t__BjD-ILoM_2LazLwgyLxUDtlnyt7BjyAfaBJ3e9ZAl_MDhOp3pevHhwth7T9xSYM-Ugo-/s4032/20190930_174400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnh-HrMm_9XEzVxrQjSWd4pcsKLT6ip2uZTP2Ds-H3nypn6mAcnFqQ_ByxSecj9FsINvoCoxHrUX-RSIQNvOXIVLSaGzVbwFMtMpXq1lXtJQdpAzB33L82t__BjD-ILoM_2LazLwgyLxUDtlnyt7BjyAfaBJ3e9ZAl_MDhOp3pevHhwth7T9xSYM-Ugo-/s320/20190930_174400.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-72126391810599686682023-09-12T16:31:00.007-07:002023-09-12T16:44:11.307-07:00A Ball Gown and the Ghost of Mr. Lincoln<p>When creating my historical costumes, I don't always have a specific place or event in mind. I don't really sew for an event--I sew what strikes my fancy at a particular time, and then I wear it to any event it might be appropriate for.</p><p>When, however, a local costuming group organized a get-together at the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum here in DC, I had a particular vision in mind: a Civil War-era ballgown. Why? Because the building housing the NPG is a grand old building that in 1865 hosted the second inaugural ball for Abraham Lincoln. I'd been meaning to, at some point, make a ball gown bodice to match my black silk chiffon skirt (for which I'd made an 1850s sheer bodice and an 1860s day bodice).</p><p>This should have been relatively easy. Right? I've made a number of Victorian bodices at this point. I really, truly, sincerely thought I had a well-fitted Victorian bodice. Well, the joke was on me, because after merrily cutting out a lining in black cotton, I found to my frustration that it didn't actually fit perfectly at all.</p><p>Do I have pictures of the many fittings and the days and days of frustration? No, no I do not, because I was too intent on getting it right and too irritated that it was still wrong. In a fit of rage, I threw the damn thing onto the floor in a heap and took a picture to document my ire:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio6YZda7iPhoODcirnt0i2VFI4SgNkejC5R4EBHmrJ-SZQkbxeyxB6CPjXvmGbPhKl_TZXeEY6RJ0NwOZfOgThEbma_DZ2l_t_F-JFwfJB21Ow_9ucsxVxAfuk5wXUxLRrIGVb38X8mNHKsT4_JczqS4lJ8CKpRiHssQs3QdsEpN1VeMnj8B38UsExTVIt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2084" data-original-width="4624" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio6YZda7iPhoODcirnt0i2VFI4SgNkejC5R4EBHmrJ-SZQkbxeyxB6CPjXvmGbPhKl_TZXeEY6RJ0NwOZfOgThEbma_DZ2l_t_F-JFwfJB21Ow_9ucsxVxAfuk5wXUxLRrIGVb38X8mNHKsT4_JczqS4lJ8CKpRiHssQs3QdsEpN1VeMnj8B38UsExTVIt" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But then I remembered one of the fundamentals of fitting that for some reason had escaped me in my single-minded zeal to fit this damned bodice. If you have wrinkles in a particular spot, pin out the excess and remove it. I did that, and, like magic . . . it fit. As it turned out, the center front was significantly too long. and in fact the entire bodice was a little long all around. So I ended up slicing the bodice pattern piece horizontally and overlapping it:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgXCt3IuWOr58HeZ_I4wUh3UbT5bNU94qkSyuu0w56Y0XJtJMQ697zkkezUyLVV-Pmdg0tZj0pWZQcX2NCMBbt2NBxwPGTDHWtIQ0pWNLKKaUPlJPPEY4STqTkOTUkC3XUf-PCUt4JuuclYcOP2IqvF3mbgRnTorIF4bL7A9JqDsKpGQAwL74H_2BHb6xp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2084" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgXCt3IuWOr58HeZ_I4wUh3UbT5bNU94qkSyuu0w56Y0XJtJMQ697zkkezUyLVV-Pmdg0tZj0pWZQcX2NCMBbt2NBxwPGTDHWtIQ0pWNLKKaUPlJPPEY4STqTkOTUkC3XUf-PCUt4JuuclYcOP2IqvF3mbgRnTorIF4bL7A9JqDsKpGQAwL74H_2BHb6xp" width="108" /></a></div><p><br /></p>You'll see that I also changed the angle of the shoulder a bit by sloping it down at the end. Again, this is something I probably should have twigged to much earlier. When in doubt, the answer for me is usually to make things smaller. I'm very petite. I'm (sometimes painfully) aware of this. And yet my brain doesn't always make the connection.<p></p><p>In any case, I finally had something I was happy with. The next step was to cut away most of the neckline that I'd just been adjusting to make it a ballgown bodice rather than a day bodice. I added a point at the center front as well, because most ball bodice had a point at the front. I did this by eye, and I have to say I was pretty pleased with the result. Once that was all figured out, I cut out the pieces from the chiffon overlay (long story, but the bodice is made of a layer of black cotton and a layer of silk chiffon to match the skirt; this type of bodice would have been silk taffeta in the time period, but it reads as silk anyway, and again, I wanted it to match). I flatlined the layers together that could be flatlined, did up the darts at the front, and stitched the back pieces to the side-back pieces. Below you'll see there are four back+side-back pieces here. Because I decided to go with back lacing as a closure, I decided to have the outer layer wrap around the innermost layer at the center back edges as a facing. This gave me enough layers for stability for the lacing, but also cut down a bit on bulk (doing it this way, I ended up with six layers of fabric rather than eight). It worked quite well.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwzN7kwrbRh8QBBrRl__6e1GoWh70Np5XqSgCc0fttmUPrFBMuiq_JpIaM2Riun3dPgyTi5MnOps6BOt46T-3P1wftNPbLt9K1PHcwLbtkkzYtDSFMtzjif1w1fQ_EX61z8b0JETMdfKhSOG98mr3BjKcLBwDhVyFmAvUMvDlHfF0CXmyETrcCfyl5-hdz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="4063" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwzN7kwrbRh8QBBrRl__6e1GoWh70Np5XqSgCc0fttmUPrFBMuiq_JpIaM2Riun3dPgyTi5MnOps6BOt46T-3P1wftNPbLt9K1PHcwLbtkkzYtDSFMtzjif1w1fQ_EX61z8b0JETMdfKhSOG98mr3BjKcLBwDhVyFmAvUMvDlHfF0CXmyETrcCfyl5-hdz" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After some assembly, including putting boning channels and bones at the center back to support the lacing and putting in grommets, this is where the bodice was:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCkGlmNCr99SGO0WbATBbe9u70IRP_Lb9P6qUsr1ppXoapWqLj5Bt-FXkAtRwMF7cHa0bgKaNddvY9e_g30sBgEcwu07fkotsysp-1pBhAQGp_JUJ-IJekMG1DSDn7Xx85FvO0BZdHF6R3owx_4lKS3RnXZkApDnmxfWDAq9tGzbSJ1XF6lrCJ0Q3rkygP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCkGlmNCr99SGO0WbATBbe9u70IRP_Lb9P6qUsr1ppXoapWqLj5Bt-FXkAtRwMF7cHa0bgKaNddvY9e_g30sBgEcwu07fkotsysp-1pBhAQGp_JUJ-IJekMG1DSDn7Xx85FvO0BZdHF6R3owx_4lKS3RnXZkApDnmxfWDAq9tGzbSJ1XF6lrCJ0Q3rkygP" width="135" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoHyGEgOa_eSq94yODdxP3zy2HZMCZCmLCqaezPBiSaTHf5qDGLsKkgInw_GmophyL3tei_cJP95vNb3yT78R37By3GcoOk_KryH3WKTbqGhiKAbfHpjJbRQrSJeB5Ij4jqZ2JQNFFdixs-8PLhPHfs99m8N_6KGpmNlCC-062QmSWlkgFOf7n12Nc_OeU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoHyGEgOa_eSq94yODdxP3zy2HZMCZCmLCqaezPBiSaTHf5qDGLsKkgInw_GmophyL3tei_cJP95vNb3yT78R37By3GcoOk_KryH3WKTbqGhiKAbfHpjJbRQrSJeB5Ij4jqZ2JQNFFdixs-8PLhPHfs99m8N_6KGpmNlCC-062QmSWlkgFOf7n12Nc_OeU" width="135" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I was really pleased with the fit, and it laced shut perfectly at the back, so I went ahead and bound the neckline and the hemline. At first, I bound the neckline with the beautiful ivory silk I planned to use for an applied bertha, but I didn't like that and bound it instead with black silk (some black satin from my stash). The bottom was bound with the same, but I added piping. With that done, I added an applied bertha. This was composed of bias-cut strips of ivory silk. It had to be on the bias to follow the curves of the bodice smoothly. The process of pinning and sewing this all in place was more fiddly than I expected, but after a lot of, well, fiddling, I got the bertha applied:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFagEslQz3Zucw7MkLcM0_ssw-GRUAh-Z2IsGKXTUb-ZOUq4HHGxkWXsypkunriAizvmJImaExhShXIBVByn5gtL5dGJD3Hdd1hMB_Jhka75DxY59IwK7jUNrAa4D2PgYCMTkDLhLQXALvVsEbXKYVJSX484rUJFYlqIH9gGKmQHQBDtRYVv-Job5SXDll" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="4124" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFagEslQz3Zucw7MkLcM0_ssw-GRUAh-Z2IsGKXTUb-ZOUq4HHGxkWXsypkunriAizvmJImaExhShXIBVByn5gtL5dGJD3Hdd1hMB_Jhka75DxY59IwK7jUNrAa4D2PgYCMTkDLhLQXALvVsEbXKYVJSX484rUJFYlqIH9gGKmQHQBDtRYVv-Job5SXDll" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next was sleeves. These went fairly smoothly, after a little bit of pinching and pinning. Excuse my derpiness below, but I cut out one sleeve in black and one in white to make a decision. My general color scheme for the bodice was black-and-white. I wasn't sure whether I wanted the sleeves to contrast or not. After some consultation with friends on Facebook and Instagram, I went with black, which was what I was leaning towards anyway. I also realized I needed to adjust the shoulder seam a bit, to fix some of the wrinkling radiating up from the armscye.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_oJA7XZRIz1AYb-FV4-n8jleVxD2gWOV5y4o_WD2DKqdZCDs_YOanbY8aceJA9-ncgOA-tlZsGixkiAJOqFnTgfiuQFWWEPGQWJ3hgewvEeBSy-YDx34MzRaddIgoOQj-y6XIBWiIOZkAs9Xn599_mlZAV7oD2L4ioXBADNV9hrAPO3-DYlt79kLm5WC7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="4171" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_oJA7XZRIz1AYb-FV4-n8jleVxD2gWOV5y4o_WD2DKqdZCDs_YOanbY8aceJA9-ncgOA-tlZsGixkiAJOqFnTgfiuQFWWEPGQWJ3hgewvEeBSy-YDx34MzRaddIgoOQj-y6XIBWiIOZkAs9Xn599_mlZAV7oD2L4ioXBADNV9hrAPO3-DYlt79kLm5WC7" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>With these sleeves, the result was, somewhat to my surprise, a really charming, simple 1840s ballgown. I was delighted, actually, and had real thoughts of just, you know, leaving it there. Then I remembered that the idea was to make an 1860s ballgown to fit the setting of the 1865 Inaugural Ball. This required big puff sleeves. My intention all along had been to use the chiffon to make billowy sleeve puffs, but an attempt at that failed. The chiffon was simply too limp to make viable puffs.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After considerable thought, particularly while I was lying in bed half-asleep, I realized I had some wide black lace that I could add to the sleeves in big ruffles to mimic the shape of a puff sleeve. And around the bottom of the fitted undersleeve, I decided to add some white lace for contrast and to make it look visually a bit like a cuff. I also decided to embellish the bertha in a similar way: I tucked a line of the black lace and then a layer of the white lace under the bottom edge of the bertha.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The final touch was flowers: flowers at the center front of the bodice, flowers at the hip on one side, and flowers in my hair. I bought some really lovely flowers from Indy Supply Co. on Etsy. I got several packages of pre-mixed colors: purples, reds, and mauves in different styles of flower. This was fantastic, because the color coordinating was done for me, and I loved both the choice of colors and the various styles, sizes, and textures. This was one of the better purchases I've made in the last year or so--I was so stoked.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After getting a grip on my excitement over the flowers, I decided on my various arrangements, sewed them together, and tacked them onto the dress. As for the flowers in my hair, I put together a head-piece using a kit from Timely Tresses. It's kind of like a headband with a tear-drop at either end, so you can suspend a concoction of flowers at either side of your head. I added some ribbon here and there to fill it all out. I also sewed some flowers to a comb, thinking I might prefer to have the flowers at the back of my head rather than either side. As it turned out, on the day, I put both in my hair and it was a good decision.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The final touch was a rather slapdash cockade made of red, white, and blue ribbon, with a photo of Abraham Lincoln at the center. Firstly, this outfit was in large part a commemoration of Lincoln's second inaugural ball. Secondly, I want it to be painfully clear what side I'm on and that I will have no truck with Lost Cause bullshit. I think it's easy as a white person in 1860s garb to be mistaken for someone who sympathizes with the Confederacy (because such Confederate sympathizers have in the past appropriated the Civil War narrative, which, thankfully, has changed considerably in recent years). Thirdly, I'm just a big fan of Abraham Lincoln. Hence, Lincoln.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So the project was completed, and here is me getting ready:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" class="placeholder" height="240" id="c621519622ddf" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/transparent.gif" style="background-color: #d8d8d8; background-image: url('https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/materialiconsextended/insert_photo/v6/grey600-24dp/1x/baseline_insert_photo_grey600_24dp.png'); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; opacity: 0.6;" width="320" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" class="placeholder" height="240" id="683cceb0cb985" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/transparent.gif" style="background-color: #d8d8d8; background-image: url('https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/materialiconsextended/insert_photo/v6/grey600-24dp/1x/baseline_insert_photo_grey600_24dp.png'); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; opacity: 0.6;" width="320" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" class="placeholder" height="240" id="650cf75b52c2c" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/transparent.gif" style="background-color: #d8d8d8; background-image: url('https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/materialiconsextended/insert_photo/v6/grey600-24dp/1x/baseline_insert_photo_grey600_24dp.png'); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; opacity: 0.6;" width="320" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij_K8jzOfretYmqdYuaSdGda5vlQasKg1VR0qGDrs9TLc3Zo3qlnfMC5zOB-H9RCzdfiTRn0ZPGVNN6xrV_Roz9n4c92bFy797XBCN96X7oXkAON-ymwlTjU3116hbZWjOUc5NY0IxiJ-ZL2XuNQhCophKe6b11ZDJ6mIEksNq27k0A4Uo2JRQjzYAbBhW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4072" data-original-width="2243" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij_K8jzOfretYmqdYuaSdGda5vlQasKg1VR0qGDrs9TLc3Zo3qlnfMC5zOB-H9RCzdfiTRn0ZPGVNN6xrV_Roz9n4c92bFy797XBCN96X7oXkAON-ymwlTjU3116hbZWjOUc5NY0IxiJ-ZL2XuNQhCophKe6b11ZDJ6mIEksNq27k0A4Uo2JRQjzYAbBhW=w220-h400" width="220" /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw54KfYp7_bTn_WVETGmfwNAvH_DsIjTAz56pkusK7aPfm5P594Fj02gY5isC2HcTmfFl9nuMNMrX0WvdDLRA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiq-HvpIK2uvO8cbGFzAzADvBWN4mLAYHIW_oA8gyAsOLAXPvgFdpUlaPNg_K1PZDgpOExv2w6yWH1OP9CraFTbu432HbDB1vmY3p1qVhroTQj_u1O8UKeg3G_HWGFWA8QpSieAnP5DKs0xrFBsHiioD_pfeQQUImNRh0J-mPWn3iRH7-K01Bjiqfr3b5ME" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="2181" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiq-HvpIK2uvO8cbGFzAzADvBWN4mLAYHIW_oA8gyAsOLAXPvgFdpUlaPNg_K1PZDgpOExv2w6yWH1OP9CraFTbu432HbDB1vmY3p1qVhroTQj_u1O8UKeg3G_HWGFWA8QpSieAnP5DKs0xrFBsHiioD_pfeQQUImNRh0J-mPWn3iRH7-K01Bjiqfr3b5ME=w411-h640" width="411" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdduEMhVZYDr-urpf0zXSm0UWaw-xcSgX1gP9ZX32z9HcIQ_TzJTJGV6mCpT28zH244dORs-HcFBBDE32O-kwnfwN70_s-pgtoaRP1h5VZLoxQpSFL1ndKDgJPF7K0a_8hw48_k490X_MD0dGQ6mzVit_vBPnNgMpklDoUdnHCnoapdGzLsUqxF1lHmCFp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3179" data-original-width="2304" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdduEMhVZYDr-urpf0zXSm0UWaw-xcSgX1gP9ZX32z9HcIQ_TzJTJGV6mCpT28zH244dORs-HcFBBDE32O-kwnfwN70_s-pgtoaRP1h5VZLoxQpSFL1ndKDgJPF7K0a_8hw48_k490X_MD0dGQ6mzVit_vBPnNgMpklDoUdnHCnoapdGzLsUqxF1lHmCFp=w464-h640" width="464" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdduEMhVZYDr-urpf0zXSm0UWaw-xcSgX1gP9ZX32z9HcIQ_TzJTJGV6mCpT28zH244dORs-HcFBBDE32O-kwnfwN70_s-pgtoaRP1h5VZLoxQpSFL1ndKDgJPF7K0a_8hw48_k490X_MD0dGQ6mzVit_vBPnNgMpklDoUdnHCnoapdGzLsUqxF1lHmCFp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFEC11irfaIe7zcCpHfSkAn09TwG7l30iBQASrNDHbEgOWjyYSuTaP7tNBZwkzdLWTEEKqryYLG9hsUog6jRtXah43UkpjUQkkfGHjIy4WMFT9n86wuiUURWGBlk5c4AAWZKf1qr9Mn2osGkgy16NkuyX74kW1BLTDfdbIMcmEC9H42FvUp4TaW4EavmjD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFEC11irfaIe7zcCpHfSkAn09TwG7l30iBQASrNDHbEgOWjyYSuTaP7tNBZwkzdLWTEEKqryYLG9hsUog6jRtXah43UkpjUQkkfGHjIy4WMFT9n86wuiUURWGBlk5c4AAWZKf1qr9Mn2osGkgy16NkuyX74kW1BLTDfdbIMcmEC9H42FvUp4TaW4EavmjD=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div>Once I was ready, it was off to the National Portrait Gallery:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihss9Ama96uUtQ15NrqOEJTj58aDFx4MDpgHiq5Nhjph1qScAii4J04-PKz8i9lrPhVha_6aBhf5TVyc0ivBIfBpvNwhfeehN20APuPh7X8XOkpX5y6nKoYxCExF0179w0WNcuXOUzmG0RPh93wBRN1qLqFv_WNHOi5SwuwHRpKNAH_mgXtzvLDUtItKmJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihss9Ama96uUtQ15NrqOEJTj58aDFx4MDpgHiq5Nhjph1qScAii4J04-PKz8i9lrPhVha_6aBhf5TVyc0ivBIfBpvNwhfeehN20APuPh7X8XOkpX5y6nKoYxCExF0179w0WNcuXOUzmG0RPh93wBRN1qLqFv_WNHOi5SwuwHRpKNAH_mgXtzvLDUtItKmJ=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsAMzhJjfPNGnztTQfPosyC0eAHSFuk_tp9LsgYD5cCgYqIlXmBApj2RYVspHMlwVTJsH2AGp4kndpxqrtKi1wmzCRUgiWQV-y9xMF6GFvZxjMHnEPX1v2mlHZWRDyTz4Stenu0u8ifvVcZXEnVEBIcHvrYlid-pWrROAce-i9mTv_yD4xoIONeKhpbELp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsAMzhJjfPNGnztTQfPosyC0eAHSFuk_tp9LsgYD5cCgYqIlXmBApj2RYVspHMlwVTJsH2AGp4kndpxqrtKi1wmzCRUgiWQV-y9xMF6GFvZxjMHnEPX1v2mlHZWRDyTz4Stenu0u8ifvVcZXEnVEBIcHvrYlid-pWrROAce-i9mTv_yD4xoIONeKhpbELp" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPDGhPVNbYzp8atBjUnTlO2N6GDcmUCO8e1FLnoU8FFMe5drFk3eVERwdnyRmUZ5WYIxmn7CtT5wUZLrtIoWg2JivcLvUyUUtEj2zDFFfmmlPbG4cZjPJkgA_ekQ5W1j5w1x9iutEfxgRP7jX_QBUlbocsxbir8qzwriBthVp8xtGXt8n9c0B4cC7K4NaA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPDGhPVNbYzp8atBjUnTlO2N6GDcmUCO8e1FLnoU8FFMe5drFk3eVERwdnyRmUZ5WYIxmn7CtT5wUZLrtIoWg2JivcLvUyUUtEj2zDFFfmmlPbG4cZjPJkgA_ekQ5W1j5w1x9iutEfxgRP7jX_QBUlbocsxbir8qzwriBthVp8xtGXt8n9c0B4cC7K4NaA=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYJUJx19WX-6SJA3GX9GX36yL1Kj485re5CEhAjBdmQ91p7jKHPrmBm41d-iq9ENUvcbyZyJRXhSQmhL9voe_MLG88Jj0pzDlz5LUvYUPenp6KYmkaoaAWdLTvVvWR3cTxN9MJT-akDZ3NXjGiPUzts1h4cuqOOVcu0cfMzCHM0Kqjk9EkklOvKSQunT1o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYJUJx19WX-6SJA3GX9GX36yL1Kj485re5CEhAjBdmQ91p7jKHPrmBm41d-iq9ENUvcbyZyJRXhSQmhL9voe_MLG88Jj0pzDlz5LUvYUPenp6KYmkaoaAWdLTvVvWR3cTxN9MJT-akDZ3NXjGiPUzts1h4cuqOOVcu0cfMzCHM0Kqjk9EkklOvKSQunT1o=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvT_ZtyZS7mWcwBb5-OJB_H36J560cmq2Rhn98sGIu0M23okx5mtx6PHqqhYm4L3h6i3nsYwc3JdBm-6Fd8pShn9CHqkTWBBdrk7atB8gXp2vEaLeS-DbwXT3hyKcwhIc-1oV4fbfrfH9NpAhOnuH8hVzC2fgI6eC9PUhfg2RpSaH3CDNJvTEUzxsOrC3/s2048/pro-CTEcElIi.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvT_ZtyZS7mWcwBb5-OJB_H36J560cmq2Rhn98sGIu0M23okx5mtx6PHqqhYm4L3h6i3nsYwc3JdBm-6Fd8pShn9CHqkTWBBdrk7atB8gXp2vEaLeS-DbwXT3hyKcwhIc-1oV4fbfrfH9NpAhOnuH8hVzC2fgI6eC9PUhfg2RpSaH3CDNJvTEUzxsOrC3/w360-h640/pro-CTEcElIi.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWDjaz278Eb-1Xbl0bqPFW6QKpajUQI8nmcp-mMnf90VlVSrmxbhWjB5R5oelPaSKEcAPpOGth_SXiaJGvngkKSvj659y9MIKuS89Teg6PdmWOWjaI3s-_Nep8EZUHmSTdw2lDqVJTILSXsqxWKDAJkBkJ_fcw793bs_sM-AgvgcJOoK3w1k9IqnKYacK/s3540/pro-gK4iefXn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><p></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-21463634498981124052023-01-22T07:23:00.004-08:002023-01-22T07:24:11.068-08:00A Regency Ensemble<p>I admit it: I am one of those people who sometimes looks down their nose at things that are "trendy". "That's just the silly stuff that <i>everyone</i> likes. I'm <i>so </i>much cooler than that." And then I remember, oh yeah, I am not cool <i>at all</i>.</p><p>All of which is to say, I was very "meh" on the idea of Regency because I didn't want to be one of those "bandwagon" people. Bridgerton fever has swept the costuming community recently. That's a version of Regency, and I definitely wasn't interested in a "version of Regency". Of course, Jane Austen is massively popular, too, though I'm more of a Bronte fan myself. Also, aesthetically, it just isn't my favorite style. </p><p>But there were a number of benefits to putting together a Regency look. The proportion of costuming events that are Regency is quite high, and I wanted to be able to attend. Moving around in Regency is also easier than in many other styles: there are no hoops or piles of petticoats, no crazy hair or enormous sleeves. That makes it ideal for events like going to the art gallery (*foreshadowing alert*) where a hoop skirt might be less than ideal.</p><p>So began my journey into Regency which culminated in the outfit below. I started the whole journey back in the summer and only just finished (it's now January), but I was working on other projects, as well, so it isn't as though this is all I was working on.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzItbTy2OfVP6kf04xIJt_8rt9pewgqWZrknU2utMEawU3WksNqKd3ZbCbucQYdPE69zTnmtUbbxK_u_XuJz_Ve5Ll3MfMw1pfGHJJ2HjAd9gCs_VIuocFniOUK5SBiQunPbVq6L3wNoMN01oJnWMupxa5rjrKn9vSmzJpD-ygvGvwi9bhsJShs1uZJQ/s4624/20230114_142133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="549" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzItbTy2OfVP6kf04xIJt_8rt9pewgqWZrknU2utMEawU3WksNqKd3ZbCbucQYdPE69zTnmtUbbxK_u_XuJz_Ve5Ll3MfMw1pfGHJJ2HjAd9gCs_VIuocFniOUK5SBiQunPbVq6L3wNoMN01oJnWMupxa5rjrKn9vSmzJpD-ygvGvwi9bhsJShs1uZJQ/w309-h549/20230114_142133.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><b>Layers of the ensemble:</b></p><p>Cheap white stockings from my stash, white boots I bought second-hand years ago, white cotton chemise with a drawstring neckline, 1830s stays with fan-lacing, white cotton bodiced petticoat with a buttoned closure in the front and a pleated skirt, white cotton chemisette with two rows of ruffles at the neckline and ties at the waist and neck, drop-front dress made of pink-Swiss-dot white dobby cotton, red sleeveless spencer of red silk closing in the front with hooks and eyes, silk reticule, black wool scarf/shawl.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><b>Patterning:</b><p></p><p>The pattern for this dress took quite a journey. I started out with the <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/684205627/empire-regency-dress-with-front-clousure?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=black+snail+patterns&ref=sr_gallery-1-11&organic_search_click=1">Black Snail Regency Dress pattern</a>. I made a wearable mockup out of old bedsheets (that I dyed with tea to make the fabric less YELLOW). After much fussing and many alterations and essentially drafting the sleeves from scratch, I ended up with this:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-PtMK_Ss8yECPctSocNEzNABeKjwBVC4RuzAlHCqZoP9QQ6mhW7SgQD7QmNX0xEJ5cJLeBx0VZH9d99XC6zaa_k6iVfEX2N4Hbz4616sXQazXXSD_cYuh5oIzbhRirRfM9NWDQq_zfrICplITboSoEEbo_Og14JtVES04vS7Fj3U2QJ8R9cOifnI0Q/s4624/20220906_184902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-PtMK_Ss8yECPctSocNEzNABeKjwBVC4RuzAlHCqZoP9QQ6mhW7SgQD7QmNX0xEJ5cJLeBx0VZH9d99XC6zaa_k6iVfEX2N4Hbz4616sXQazXXSD_cYuh5oIzbhRirRfM9NWDQq_zfrICplITboSoEEbo_Og14JtVES04vS7Fj3U2QJ8R9cOifnI0Q/s320/20220906_184902.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>It's not too bad. The waistline could be higher. You'll notice this is a gathered front. It actually ties closed with ribbons. I don't at all mind the gathered look and the long sleeves, but I had a different vision in mind for the "real" dress. I still wanted/needed a front-closing dress (I can't do back closures myself, and I don't have anyone to help), but I didn't want gathers, and I wanted short, puffed sleeves with detachable undersleeves.<p></p><p>So I set about changing the gathered bodice into a . . . well, non-gathered bodice. This mostly entailed making a mockup of the gathered bodice and fiddling with the front until it was, well, non-gathered and had darts instead. So. Much. Fiddling. Eventually, I came up with something I liked. This became the basis for the various pieces I made: the chemise, the bodiced petticoat, the dress itself, and the spencer.</p><p><b>Chemise</b></p><p>White cotton with twill tape ties</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMLuEt6jX_r09ZudFbN3b4i-fVWoMW202y0U5W4Tv3_AfbaX4NirOGtk1YCxWSfMzjs2SIxPtyr9NTf7m5HGGRiQVfcPaGcwHs4WvKZXwjJLrLfJNOMlf8YjqSU5BclR_VVR9dnZIF_cJ6XBu_QiT0PVakFeUXweLOWoPjrtOLxGMgTa2Y0DYZ2DFYw/s4624/20230122_101744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMLuEt6jX_r09ZudFbN3b4i-fVWoMW202y0U5W4Tv3_AfbaX4NirOGtk1YCxWSfMzjs2SIxPtyr9NTf7m5HGGRiQVfcPaGcwHs4WvKZXwjJLrLfJNOMlf8YjqSU5BclR_VVR9dnZIF_cJ6XBu_QiT0PVakFeUXweLOWoPjrtOLxGMgTa2Y0DYZ2DFYw/s320/20230122_101744.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p>For the chemise, I took my new darted front bodice pattern, divided it into several pieces (four, I think) and spread them apart by several inches (two extra inches between each piece). The back bodice was in two pieces (a side back and back-back), so I just put those together and pretended they were one piece (for a one-piece back), then did the same as above. I did all of this directly onto the fabric, so when I say I "divided" the pattern, I mean I just did it by tracing on part of the pattern piece, then moving it over and tracing the next portion. You could, of course, create a copy of the pattern, cut it into pieces, and spread the pieces apart. The point of this whole exercise is to add width that will be gathered down to the right shape at the neckline. By doing all this, I now had what I wanted for the top of my chemise. For the rest of it (from the bust down), I extended a line straight down from the edges of the front and back bodice pieces for as long as I needed the chemise to be. I then added long triangular gussets into the long side seams to give the skirt hem more volume and make it hang better. At the neckline, I created a channel for a narrow twill tape to tie the chemise closed (I can make the neckline wider and completely off the shoulder if I so desire, or draw it in to be narrower). I added sleeves using the sleeve pattern from my wearable mock-up.</p><p><b>The stays</b></p><p>Cotton canvas and a cotton lining with fan-laced twill tape lacing</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZubDxLGKlhwVRNu1Ru8jIOYtxp8-uajW8tSlpnEGnGh-clvQbgJ6AR9PqJ12MdE7Si7sKOw3HXNkFtjHVRU7KWbe9-Km2_BqKJuIc1P9YaQ8xDdeRcvOwZTdo4bvIkk2ajRk-8v5uKpoMKor3gZeH4-IIkBeV8UppTslCLUHjOzS-KiDyIRdYzcIpg/s2948/20230114_095315%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2948" data-original-width="2231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZubDxLGKlhwVRNu1Ru8jIOYtxp8-uajW8tSlpnEGnGh-clvQbgJ6AR9PqJ12MdE7Si7sKOw3HXNkFtjHVRU7KWbe9-Km2_BqKJuIc1P9YaQ8xDdeRcvOwZTdo4bvIkk2ajRk-8v5uKpoMKor3gZeH4-IIkBeV8UppTslCLUHjOzS-KiDyIRdYzcIpg/s320/20230114_095315%20(1).jpg" width="242" /></a></div><p>I wear my 1830s stays for Regency currently. They do the job, which in this case is to get the bust line <i>way up there. </i>The higher, the better. I really love these stays, and they've already gotten a lot of use, so I may need to use that pattern as a basis for a pair of Regency short stays, or I may need to just make myself another set of the same stays.</p><p><b>Bodiced petticoat</b></p><p>White cotton muslin</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC9Wu5ORs4p7dcqAyZ6CDEBi7TRwezmds-iNVyjGiywqJuC0fXTgdAZ99jCtrUtp7hdJ4GqED_Hqk74gxTRrGLh080Z-Q8Yqflby74bEmFhFYYirBXgTad9CYSYI1PAMLGBpljKAFYBFfgeKiZW16-0tUPTqTgZ21SboGVkt4dOkUl9sFuwTNjDOJwA/s3273/20230114_095445%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3273" data-original-width="2310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC9Wu5ORs4p7dcqAyZ6CDEBi7TRwezmds-iNVyjGiywqJuC0fXTgdAZ99jCtrUtp7hdJ4GqED_Hqk74gxTRrGLh080Z-Q8Yqflby74bEmFhFYYirBXgTad9CYSYI1PAMLGBpljKAFYBFfgeKiZW16-0tUPTqTgZ21SboGVkt4dOkUl9sFuwTNjDOJwA/s320/20230114_095445%20(1).jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYggpFVSLgD6GXQ28UPMUsOEctNZkLAOryzX6qPuzEXrhOXBMXUt5c8yWGhO1KwuvDwLIpoDQb6oLudhAUg2rgsglCHTuSPcAws-M5V1ej2XX4FECEycbrLpXmFHolcAl2OC1D7X5UGbKedSIrzcv_9JiaPHmVstZFaFmd6kIyUDkHyuZ7YXr11baXw/s3261/20230114_095511%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3261" data-original-width="2290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYggpFVSLgD6GXQ28UPMUsOEctNZkLAOryzX6qPuzEXrhOXBMXUt5c8yWGhO1KwuvDwLIpoDQb6oLudhAUg2rgsglCHTuSPcAws-M5V1ej2XX4FECEycbrLpXmFHolcAl2OC1D7X5UGbKedSIrzcv_9JiaPHmVstZFaFmd6kIyUDkHyuZ7YXr11baXw/s320/20230114_095511%20(1).jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FU9FuHgmOegujo8ZhDI0GJUh1r2GG8b_CtbIY3g62jHML7SYBAj-hyDq1QWmXX56NYZu7wC-TXY3GqB2r9gZIq6cOO9vqOm8X2b_Ifaeew4AoOwu8y9JdyaZ0VDGHeIP1_DsHDw_0f-6lsAuoPokyo097RuvUTHq_p6YtvAIgVGVfWtkcfgdRHy3Vg/s3213/20230114_095525%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3213" data-original-width="2243" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FU9FuHgmOegujo8ZhDI0GJUh1r2GG8b_CtbIY3g62jHML7SYBAj-hyDq1QWmXX56NYZu7wC-TXY3GqB2r9gZIq6cOO9vqOm8X2b_Ifaeew4AoOwu8y9JdyaZ0VDGHeIP1_DsHDw_0f-6lsAuoPokyo097RuvUTHq_p6YtvAIgVGVfWtkcfgdRHy3Vg/s320/20230114_095525%20(1).jpg" width="223" /></a></div><p>Bodiced petticoats were worn in the Regency era under the Empire waistline to give the skirts some body. Some petticoats were skirts with straps over the shoulder, and some, like the one I made, had a sleeveless bodice. Something had to keep the petticoat up: to create the right silhouette, they had to sit right under the bustline, which is where the fashionable waistline sat. But, alas, gravity will want to force petticoats to fall down to the narrowest part of the body, meaning the waist. You need either straps or a bodice to keep it just below the bust. Here again, I started with my darted bodice pattern. I cut it very low in the front so that it wouldn't show under my dress. As it turned out, I cut the front a little lower than I wanted, so instead of facing the neckline, I bound it so that I didn't loose any of the height. The back, somewhat ironically, was cut too high, and I later had to cut it down and rebind the neck edge (it was showing above the back neckline of my dress). Unlike with the chemise, the skirt was cut separately. The skirt is made of a rectangle of fabric that's two yards wide and as long as I needed for my skirt (which hits between the knee and the ankle). It's flat across the center front and then is pleated starting at the side front and moving around to the center back. I added three tucks (I believe they're 1/4" each). It closes with three white buttons.</p><p><b>Chemisette</b></p><p>White cotton batiste with twill-tape ties.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-o7kuE9ChWMsvEjoMspNerxz6HvFXXrzCtqcHLNZXGxCr_me25M2YyLkZhld1VAZ_ZHdGuJ384Xa6Cda5--betKWGDMfMQQhTwDkkgwbkVRfkYdW91lM12_SGAlwh9-TooLztVpOqTDfcWbRaemkpC87a8NMHZirXVIWr2UUF2nf2mTKYoM1SiX52w/s3217/20230114_095740%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3217" data-original-width="2274" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-o7kuE9ChWMsvEjoMspNerxz6HvFXXrzCtqcHLNZXGxCr_me25M2YyLkZhld1VAZ_ZHdGuJ384Xa6Cda5--betKWGDMfMQQhTwDkkgwbkVRfkYdW91lM12_SGAlwh9-TooLztVpOqTDfcWbRaemkpC87a8NMHZirXVIWr2UUF2nf2mTKYoM1SiX52w/s320/20230114_095740%20(1).jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPsP-mJNtf7k8PoB5mXoHGe8tjwGDuUIFmR3ZtnwpUDxOf57SaWWmEf-25KiZJQw1fZDQFIrvjWF2i2k51-WgamqTtZ79CC5-QQQBCdz0pWwG9Rvj4hjN7zUqUzTzWhDMUW2hbid9rKrfheARBFFTvuJqLek7e_ye40ygtE17N_kZz87YWyzk3D2yIA/s3102/20230114_095824%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3102" data-original-width="2116" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPsP-mJNtf7k8PoB5mXoHGe8tjwGDuUIFmR3ZtnwpUDxOf57SaWWmEf-25KiZJQw1fZDQFIrvjWF2i2k51-WgamqTtZ79CC5-QQQBCdz0pWwG9Rvj4hjN7zUqUzTzWhDMUW2hbid9rKrfheARBFFTvuJqLek7e_ye40ygtE17N_kZz87YWyzk3D2yIA/s320/20230114_095824%20(1).jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p>Regency dresses were frequently cut quite low at the neckline, so for daywear, women often wore chemisettes or fichus to fill in the neckline. This was for warmth and modesty. I decided as I was making the dress that I wanted a chemisette, and I settled on a double ruffle at a high neckline (there are a lot of styles of chemisette to choose from). These are fairly simple garments: they usually don't have sleeves or side seams and simply tie at the waist. I started with my 1830s pelerine as a pattern. I had to adjust the shoulder seam a bit and take a lot off the length of the shoulder line, but it was a fairly simple process. I added a channel at the bottom for the twill tapes, which passed all the way around the body and ties in front. I took two long strips of my fabric (2" wide and 1.5 times the length of of the area I wanted to gather them down to, i.e., the neckline) and made two ruffles for the neck. I did careful little rolled hems, then sewed them to the neckline. Some more twill tape acts as ties to close it there.</p><p>The best part about this chemisette is that it can be used under dresses up to and through the1830s, so I should get some great mileage out of it.</p><p><b>The drop-front white Regency dress</b></p><p>White pink-Swiss-dot dobby cotton</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VWm9KpMCayz4sCMlC5yWAsvcxBLSDCqBJnCOaekUyuuRnd-1Q9Nep1TpYO9AvdLkmboWxwMv9mIL_qtimD_wRe5oZbuLqT4sxrTFtvnGKTRsprbpltfIYI72hD4IwrcJsGTQ6O7urHBfD6pLxcGiyPWYZuWsx-XqbvGetius4z4DD2Fozdi5chN3-g/s3257/20230114_095915%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3257" data-original-width="2242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VWm9KpMCayz4sCMlC5yWAsvcxBLSDCqBJnCOaekUyuuRnd-1Q9Nep1TpYO9AvdLkmboWxwMv9mIL_qtimD_wRe5oZbuLqT4sxrTFtvnGKTRsprbpltfIYI72hD4IwrcJsGTQ6O7urHBfD6pLxcGiyPWYZuWsx-XqbvGetius4z4DD2Fozdi5chN3-g/s320/20230114_095915%20(1).jpg" width="220" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESrg8VRKp9cIJ1iyd-q5wEMVl080yvrfiTAD6Oi_KNf8MsnkPbaaClPcW0OgR7nwMScXnf4xI8neKFaiVLM4XKygzTFJD7atUa82NjjQ9ATaH7jB4sGNtgm6BiEcvODVwpguFTv6gviIuAJthW14Zb2GIAadzMEq1d_CFolKqToGeEziBF0UJLM03rg/s3309/20230114_100353%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3309" data-original-width="2190" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESrg8VRKp9cIJ1iyd-q5wEMVl080yvrfiTAD6Oi_KNf8MsnkPbaaClPcW0OgR7nwMScXnf4xI8neKFaiVLM4XKygzTFJD7atUa82NjjQ9ATaH7jB4sGNtgm6BiEcvODVwpguFTv6gviIuAJthW14Zb2GIAadzMEq1d_CFolKqToGeEziBF0UJLM03rg/s320/20230114_100353%20(1).jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p>The main event is the dress. This took forever, because I put it aside for weeks at a time, then came back it. I also had to go back and redo some things that I wasn't satisfied with.</p><p>Again, I started with the darted bodice pattern. After some research, I had settled on a front-closing, dropped-front or bib-front bodice. This is a somewhat complicated system of closing a dress, but it goes like this: the dress goes on over the head, and you put your arms through the sleeves, then close the front lining. You then pull up the bib front (which is a whole front panel of the skirt and bodice) and tie it at the waist. The bodice part of the bib front is then pulled up to its proper place across the front of the bust, where it covers the lining. It's secured in place by pins or buttons. Here are some pictures to illustrate:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNq7fVWahvGRNmLgPXWbDMyARdn8XP4h8rZrM8eb63KdSwPiQKa5cXUiJmsiPfhZdGTAJHGXvTd-6aPqycJ6QOGqcPndbImKdLoamNw6qBx2po9vbIYWfef12OHYxq3ket8-UTym3otYGbDap49OVJrYeW0zLieGiuIHFcFFuDfkEr5g2AaoXereD5A/s4624/20221122_162834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNq7fVWahvGRNmLgPXWbDMyARdn8XP4h8rZrM8eb63KdSwPiQKa5cXUiJmsiPfhZdGTAJHGXvTd-6aPqycJ6QOGqcPndbImKdLoamNw6qBx2po9vbIYWfef12OHYxq3ket8-UTym3otYGbDap49OVJrYeW0zLieGiuIHFcFFuDfkEr5g2AaoXereD5A/s320/20221122_162834.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmj0-9wriisB8b1UL02LXG7rWF9jZaMO-QCJRn8J0O32whI5QddttCaOxWIWe3_602aORUVEnmVW2ttXVGEPDNDfbBtazGOts392_rnPChXXATLWuQQJHvusEpGHpDp7--LquLPthKpKwEXekGvLhsCh7VhffUpa7g3-TYDWYe-fBPQqUgDPhwaPaCw/s4624/20221122_162908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmj0-9wriisB8b1UL02LXG7rWF9jZaMO-QCJRn8J0O32whI5QddttCaOxWIWe3_602aORUVEnmVW2ttXVGEPDNDfbBtazGOts392_rnPChXXATLWuQQJHvusEpGHpDp7--LquLPthKpKwEXekGvLhsCh7VhffUpa7g3-TYDWYe-fBPQqUgDPhwaPaCw/s320/20221122_162908.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmj0-9wriisB8b1UL02LXG7rWF9jZaMO-QCJRn8J0O32whI5QddttCaOxWIWe3_602aORUVEnmVW2ttXVGEPDNDfbBtazGOts392_rnPChXXATLWuQQJHvusEpGHpDp7--LquLPthKpKwEXekGvLhsCh7VhffUpa7g3-TYDWYe-fBPQqUgDPhwaPaCw/s4624/20221122_162908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyj7QwZ881-qcIxO6jZFK2mdVFgv_PvRcMt76p5dYFy4_wevHOKAfoj7jHFCtttW-rxgSMDVbHl3BtfJsxHMo9e8CT7d0cIjSPjW8Z7-xJxPMajfSYZisWz5GTjfI-vgX2KVP2wxTYR-dSeN7PKYA4WdlaTu-JldzWGaLJdIALS0zBu_9tmhJb6V7Q0A/s4624/20221122_163214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyj7QwZ881-qcIxO6jZFK2mdVFgv_PvRcMt76p5dYFy4_wevHOKAfoj7jHFCtttW-rxgSMDVbHl3BtfJsxHMo9e8CT7d0cIjSPjW8Z7-xJxPMajfSYZisWz5GTjfI-vgX2KVP2wxTYR-dSeN7PKYA4WdlaTu-JldzWGaLJdIALS0zBu_9tmhJb6V7Q0A/s320/20221122_163214.jpg" width="180" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBiqzkQF-Qg2U7TuqnvFBMQv1Kp2yaXcUFGxFV-Q4VA6gBJDs_Mm3BlZSK_8HImVsohbNbGWdNqzHje33TIxvsuPHeNrOrJZS62J9TTFKPI2uC3_Eik2zFur6pmUN0Q_dqT7YblCOX60O417tj5qscZ7EoZ8frVNE0uGxwm1-EQXlaP9Hx9KS1xik3g/s4624/20221122_162942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBiqzkQF-Qg2U7TuqnvFBMQv1Kp2yaXcUFGxFV-Q4VA6gBJDs_Mm3BlZSK_8HImVsohbNbGWdNqzHje33TIxvsuPHeNrOrJZS62J9TTFKPI2uC3_Eik2zFur6pmUN0Q_dqT7YblCOX60O417tj5qscZ7EoZ8frVNE0uGxwm1-EQXlaP9Hx9KS1xik3g/s320/20221122_162942.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5adpCVyzWMCr3Sdy7jT9BbWFTbereyikocBRhEZRjuYrZ57EXn5SOYdVd2UPlrMCFl42IUOLsBXiphebYlhnRulUguWBsAh-pry8pN11udfKzgpYJE9ow0zEMpIfoFpRns8VGxKW0hnSUkMrL3WfXkdxMTaTOOWD7SWW5erzpBwaj6-r3bZTXVMKSg/s4624/20221122_163256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5adpCVyzWMCr3Sdy7jT9BbWFTbereyikocBRhEZRjuYrZ57EXn5SOYdVd2UPlrMCFl42IUOLsBXiphebYlhnRulUguWBsAh-pry8pN11udfKzgpYJE9ow0zEMpIfoFpRns8VGxKW0hnSUkMrL3WfXkdxMTaTOOWD7SWW5erzpBwaj6-r3bZTXVMKSg/s320/20221122_163256.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXHTdQI4bE32HmjaizSmKlrbDG9oEqTGRiTmnlxzAWSWa3lXDX7dVUvCQczlSCNOkdsRpnLBwA9rYeQoTtm_2kYFa_xy8FGr6Ktp4CEp_QSs_9z3RLe0LES1_v05MY2szSdhpY_5IKsKEF_PaXfORhUXMCmNkL0D_uXSoB0IX3c39CaY8aPAbp9CdVw/s4624/20221122_163353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXHTdQI4bE32HmjaizSmKlrbDG9oEqTGRiTmnlxzAWSWa3lXDX7dVUvCQczlSCNOkdsRpnLBwA9rYeQoTtm_2kYFa_xy8FGr6Ktp4CEp_QSs_9z3RLe0LES1_v05MY2szSdhpY_5IKsKEF_PaXfORhUXMCmNkL0D_uXSoB0IX3c39CaY8aPAbp9CdVw/s320/20221122_163353.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I used my darted bodice pattern for the base of the dress--simple enough. I used hooks and eyes for my front closure. I found I had to raise the waistline a few times to get it where I really wanted it, and I struggled a little with how to construct the front closure, but I figured it out (I ended up adding a layer of fashion fabric; originally it was just one layer, the lining).</p><p>I moved on to the skirt without worrying (yet) about the bib. For now, all I needed to figure out was how wide I wanted the bib front to be at the waist. So I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "I want it to be this wide". That was roughly the distance from the base of one dart to the other. I needed to figure this out because this style requires the skirt to have a panel at the center front that corresponds to the bib that covers the bodice. I put together my skirt (just a two-yard-wide rectangular panel cut to the length I needed for my skirt), then cut deep vertical slits (about 11" long) into the center front panel. I bound these to finish them. I now had a big rectangular flap on the front of my big rectangular skirt.</p><p>Like the petticoat, this skirt was flat across the front (the flap I cut!). I wanted to gather this skirt, however, rather than pleat it. The exception was one deep pleat at the front: I arranged this pleat so that the right side of the fabric would be visible underneath the slit. That way, if the slit ever gaped open just a little, it would show the fashion fabric. I attached the gathered skirt (except for the flap!) to the bodice.</p><p>I created a very long tie out of my fashion fabric by folding over long strips and then whip stitching the edges together. I attached this to the top of my skirt flap, which could now be tied into place. But I found that when I tied it, it wanted to be lower at the back than the high waistline, which completely ruined the silhouette. I made loops to pass the ties through, and that solved the problem. Now, the ties are at the waistline as they should be rather than trying to slip down to the narrowest part of me.</p><p>To pattern the short puff sleeves, I started again with the wearable mock-up pattern. I used just the top of the sleeve pattern, and like I'd done with the chemise pattern, I divided it into pieces and added several inches to the width and a bit to the top and bottom. I did test out this sleeve pattern and thought it was okay, but after making it out of the fashion fabric and adding a 1" armband, I wasn't pleased. It was too <i>puffy</i>. I know it's meant to be a puff sleeve, but it felt very 1980s prom. It just didn't work. I fiddled around with it by taking several big tucks out of the width and taking a bit out of the sleeve head. Then I realized the armband was way too wide. I decided it was time to just start over, so I made new sleeves using what I had learned. And they weren't puffy enough! So I ended up making a <i>third</i> set of sleeves that somehow still aren't quite puffy enough but get the job done. I also ended up with a .5" arm band. The proportions were much better, and it was a reminder to me how much proportions matter.</p><p>The last piece of the puzzle was the bib front itself. I'd mocked up a trapozoid that I thought would work, but, yet again, I realized I was off. I ended up making it shorter and narrower by quite a lot. That seems to be a general theme for me: when in doubt, make it smaller. What can I say? I'm a petite person.</p><p>To hold this bib front up, I added buttons to the bodice and little loops of twill tape to the corners of the bib front.</p><p>I had seen a dress where the bib front was bound in contrasting fabric, and the armbands were the same contrasting fabric. I had some pink silk, so I bound the top of the bib front with that and made little bands for the sleeves. But the silk was too heavy for the job, and I found I didn't want the contrast after all, so I took all that off in the end.</p><p>As I mentioned, I wanted this dress to be versatile, so I decided to make detachable long sleeves. I went back to my mockup pattern and cut out the bottom 3/4 or so of the sleeve and determined where it met up with the bottom of the puff sleeve. Luckily this was a style: puff sleeves with a fitted lower sleeve, separated by an armband. I finished off the top of the sleeve, so all I have to is either pin or baste the sleeves in place and, voila, I have long sleeves instead of short sleeves!</p><p>And that was the dress complete.</p><p><b>The sleeveless spencer</b></p><p>Red shantung silk, cotton lining</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLNYX_38JktIBnHeKTrn8dw5uDqRbtc7kgIGc8FjgAzYvyp5n70n9MKqOw8PdqNuJl3a2FMoCfzCn7KXY6fCawrfNNH-mRIB0BfXhjCjzs6_y90y2ZaBd-cgj_SqYMNRqB3GY8RHssiyJYNNkQRdNKbef8n9SuvPUE4utPV7E5DLs5MMzVbRacQJ1TdQ/s3245/20230114_100455%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3245" data-original-width="2190" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLNYX_38JktIBnHeKTrn8dw5uDqRbtc7kgIGc8FjgAzYvyp5n70n9MKqOw8PdqNuJl3a2FMoCfzCn7KXY6fCawrfNNH-mRIB0BfXhjCjzs6_y90y2ZaBd-cgj_SqYMNRqB3GY8RHssiyJYNNkQRdNKbef8n9SuvPUE4utPV7E5DLs5MMzVbRacQJ1TdQ/s320/20230114_100455%20(1).jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6CD7odKlI7Ca4-gF57dbQEQRanKKEtlMYU4d5kPm2J3nadRZX8ffx91FnSdEqoDB1lnY8kvyFWwuTY8et4bpJ4_D1SVqAFLMqlrLbfstKd09mUxMTEVyMNkU-04VK_zOOyaydr0fbm28ZwiLKUnihhxqyhQL2hxjnBPyzL5o88WqEAn05T04Mzuz-A/s2481/20230114_100737%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2481" data-original-width="1497" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6CD7odKlI7Ca4-gF57dbQEQRanKKEtlMYU4d5kPm2J3nadRZX8ffx91FnSdEqoDB1lnY8kvyFWwuTY8et4bpJ4_D1SVqAFLMqlrLbfstKd09mUxMTEVyMNkU-04VK_zOOyaydr0fbm28ZwiLKUnihhxqyhQL2hxjnBPyzL5o88WqEAn05T04Mzuz-A/s320/20230114_100737%20(1).jpg" width="193" /></a></div><p>But it was not the last piece of the ensemble! Like I said, I wanted versatility for this outfit. To dress it up, I decided to make a little sleeveless spencer (a spencer is just a Regency jacket, essentially). My original plan was to make it out of the pink silk I'd used to accent the dress. I fairly quickly realized that the fabric was, again, too thick for the purpose. I puzzled over it a bit, then had a brain-wave. Last year at almost exactly this time, I took apart a quilted winter hood I had made. That hood was a failure, unfortunately (I just didn't like it). But I'd used nearly a yard of nice silk on both sides of it, as well as cotton batting, and I decided it was worthwhile to take it apart. This meant a LOT of seam-ripping, because I'd sewn all those quilted squares across all of the fabric. I wasn't sure at that point what I would do with that fabric, but I put it away to be used later. I used most of the black to cover a parasol in the middle of last year, and this year I used the red for this spencer. It was just barely enough fabric, and I did have to do a little bit of piecing, but boy was it the right decision! The red silk is very pretty on its own, but the scarring from the quilting stitches left an interesting, subtle pattern.</p><p>As far as the pattern, I used the same exact pattern I used for the bodiced petticoat. I had to adjust the back because for some reason it was way off, but I figured it out. Again, I ended up having to bind the edges because it was cut a little too low. I added some trim from my stash and some hooks and eyes at the front, and I called it a day (metaphorically--this little project took a week or two to complete). At some point, I want to make an open gown with a train for this dress, which will make it even fancier and suitable for a ball (with the long sleeves removed) and maybe a spencer with sleeves.</p><p>On the day of the event--an outing to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. with fellow costumers--I wore some ivory boots I've had for a few years now and some cheap-o stockings I got somewhere-or-other, and I dug out the silk reticule I made about two years ago. It was also very cold that day, so I grabbed my favorite black wool scarf and draped it over my shoulders as a shawl.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9lh_E8Jq6qb69CDX-E9U1AivjXiw54jI_E3w0EJYiRog0n834l48-85dTnPGv_Hiq2E27kiS1F-_7OasLXyn9fIWf2EJ9oa-7rCKPicsgNmJicxwKUwTjdtDN8SOJBQIypBzO8Fyt1YAS4i3gDE9Uswts6GAoSVGuEnvPxrfVPZ7nV7xFXfEJ1Qg2Q/s4624/20230114_120422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9lh_E8Jq6qb69CDX-E9U1AivjXiw54jI_E3w0EJYiRog0n834l48-85dTnPGv_Hiq2E27kiS1F-_7OasLXyn9fIWf2EJ9oa-7rCKPicsgNmJicxwKUwTjdtDN8SOJBQIypBzO8Fyt1YAS4i3gDE9Uswts6GAoSVGuEnvPxrfVPZ7nV7xFXfEJ1Qg2Q/w360-h640/20230114_120422.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p>I'm very proud of this entire ensemble. It's kind of adorable (if I do say so myself) and is the look I was going for. It's very Regency, maybe around 1810, but I think it has some elements of the 1790s. I'm not too fussed about it not exactly tracking to a specific year. I was incredibly chuffed that all my work had paid off, and that I even did a good job on my hair. And thanks to my fellow costumers who took pictures at the event!</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-68299722002885662032022-06-12T09:55:00.003-07:002022-06-12T09:55:53.359-07:00A Black Silk Sheer 1860s Dress<p>The Specs:</p><p>Patterns: Truly Victorian Darted bodice and Truly Victorian sheer bodice, altered</p><p>Fabric: Black cotton (about 5.5 yards) and silk[?] chiffon (5.5 yard)</p><p>Notions: Glass buttons from <a href="https://www.buttonbaron.com/">The Button Baron</a></p><p>Cost: about $7/yard for the fabric, or about $77 for 11 yards; $5 for the buttons.</p><p>It's been quite a while since I've blogged. It's been an up-and-down few months, and sewing has really helped give me something productive to do. I think I'm starting to get the knack of fit and style, and I'm generally pleased with the outcome of my projects. I definitely meant to get this out closer to Halloween, but here we are six months or so later [update: it's been another three months; oops]!</p><p>This project wasn't intended specifically as a Halloween dress. In fact, it's been somewhere on my To Be Sewn list for quite a while. Because it was on sale, I bought a bunch of polyester chiffon from <a href="http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com">www.fabricmartfabrics.com</a> and cruised Pinterest for a dress I could use it with. I found this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXO4zKPIVlF1bjXYkfDrSEBxAzGr2sKnfdnoTlldK4AII4MLZnz5A3xko19OcDfVPk8aGWM2LIiQYQT84RU-CJkk2dJLCII0WyqsFPlfNaBGWf31vC-gx4iUrrC40mO3YufZNbjjzVMAwqNedJWZeINnLfcrLylsrCaJo8LG0J5qm_O2EyQICWbee82Q=s3876" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3876" data-original-width="2955" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXO4zKPIVlF1bjXYkfDrSEBxAzGr2sKnfdnoTlldK4AII4MLZnz5A3xko19OcDfVPk8aGWM2LIiQYQT84RU-CJkk2dJLCII0WyqsFPlfNaBGWf31vC-gx4iUrrC40mO3YufZNbjjzVMAwqNedJWZeINnLfcrLylsrCaJo8LG0J5qm_O2EyQICWbee82Q=s320" width="244" /></a></div><p>I had a bunch of black cotton that I'd bought with the idea that, hey, I could probably use solid black cotton for a lot of things. [Bit of a spoiler alert: I used several yards of it to line a mantel that isn't finished yet and had enough left over for this dress.]</p><p>I set to work several weeks back. I began with my trusty Truly Victorian darted bodice pattern, which I had altered and ready to go (or, you know, so I thought). I would use the bell sleeves from the paletot pattern from last autumn (i.e. autumn 2020), and I would just cut down the neckline to make it wider and lower. For the sheer layer, I would used my Truly Victorian sheer bodice pattern. I checked to be sure that, for instance, the armsyces of the two patterns matched, and they did. There are short undersleeves for the inspiration dress, so I started with the short undersleeves from the sheer bodice pattern. Basically, I mixed and matched the two Truly Victorian patterns.</p><p>So I cut out the lining from my black cotton. I had to adjust the fit. For reasons that aren't clear to me, it was little too big in the back and front at the waist. At the back, I took it in at the back seams, and in the front I took in the darts. That did the trick. I cut down the neckline, marked where the waistline needed to be, and bound the neckline. Cool. Basic structure done!</p><p>That was the easy part. Next, I tackled the undersleeves. They were a bit tricky, but boy was it satisfying! Basically, the undersleeve is three pieces, the uppermost one and the two ruffles attached to it. I laid out my fabric on top of the pattern, then marked how long I wanted each layer to be and cut away the excess. I folded each strip in quarters and sketched out the scallop shape I wanted (they're 1" deep). Because the sleeve gets smaller as it goes down the arm (and the circumference gets smaller), the scallops of each respective layer are different lengths because they're each 1/4 of the full circumference of the sleeve at that point. I used pinking sheers to cut them out so that I wouldn't need to finish those edges.</p><p></p><p>Next came the sheer layer, which I planned to make out of the poly chiffon. I prefer to use natural fibers, but I already had this fabric and had based the entire project around it. I was confident in my fabric and my pattern, so I cut out the front bodice pieces, pinned them together with the lining, and held it up to myself and . . . well, yeah, the sheer layer wasn't sheer enough. It all just looked . . . black. There was no differentiation between the sheer and non-sheer layers.</p><p>Well, crap.</p><p>I tried to find some appropriate poly or silk chiffon online. But 1) all the options were quite expensive, particularly the silk, and I really wanted silk over poly for a lot of reasons; 2) it was surprisingly difficult to find a plain black silk chiffon; 3) I couldn't be sure the new fabric would be sheer enough if I bought it online; and 4) it would take a while to be shipped to me. I had a few not-great-but-maybe-okay options picked out online when I decided instead to go to my favorite fabric store in Alexandria. I think I spent 45 minutes wandering around there. There were options, but none seemed perfect. There was a dark gray, or a polyester, or a silk that was okay but $20/yard (and I knew I needed 5.5 or 6 yards!). My intention was to make this a fairly inexpensive project using stuff I already had. I didn't want to drop $120 on it. At last, I came across an amazing black chiffon that wasn't marked as silk and was only $7/yard but sure didn't seem to be polyester.</p><p>I took it to the cutting counter. "This, please!" I said. "All of it."</p><p>"All of it" was about 5.5 yards. That was cutting it a bit close, as I intended to make a silk chiffon over-skirt, and that would require about 4.5 yards. I would have to get a whole bodice with bell sleeves out of 1 yard. Luckily for me, I'm 4' 11", and 1 yard of fabric goes a long way. Not to ruin the ending, but I managed it just fine and even had some left over.</p><p>I came running (well, driving) home joyfully with my new fabric and got to work. I did a burn test, and lo and behold, it burnt into ash and smelled like burnt hair. Definitely not poly. Very possibly it's rayon or a blend, but I'm pretty darn sure it's silk. I got the perfect black silk chiffon for $7/yard. Not too shabby.</p><p>The cool thing about this [silk?] chiffon it that it looked <i>great</i> (it was the perfect amount of sheer). The not-so-cool thing about this [silk?] chiffon was that it was hard to work with, and it pretty much all had to be sewn by hand. Or at least, I didn't trust my machine with it. So I spent a lot of time hand-sewing seams and then hand-finishing them. Oh, and cutting it out was a pain, too. It worked out pretty smoothly in the end, though. All that mixing and matching of patterns did the trick<br />.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjixi3loToPHv64I5OB-imE8uM_WWZsC1UtikRLqb3dPY6dapqj9nRQC0goA1e5vfc2yzZUQoPikqltlxoa2SciL5ZeZlWDg7pWHy9T11WSEEv7flCZZU5KVWsJT790nn9cBS3osNR-Cc9RoIIJcBu7rE474bR7d7NT_OeN4GL_8qZyhavXWfPLrmM1Qw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjixi3loToPHv64I5OB-imE8uM_WWZsC1UtikRLqb3dPY6dapqj9nRQC0goA1e5vfc2yzZUQoPikqltlxoa2SciL5ZeZlWDg7pWHy9T11WSEEv7flCZZU5KVWsJT790nn9cBS3osNR-Cc9RoIIJcBu7rE474bR7d7NT_OeN4GL_8qZyhavXWfPLrmM1Qw" width="135" /></a></div>I had to do a little hard thinking about how to make the two layers come together at the front. The sheer layer actually wraps around the cotton underlayer at the placket and continues up past where the cotton layer ends. I had to add strips of cotton inside that folded sheer fabric so that I had a stable placket for the buttons. Once I figured all that out, I hand-sewed the button holes and buttons. I bought the buttons a while back from The Button Baron in Gettysburg without any plans for them yet. They're off-white glass buttons with some tan decoration, and the look great with the black fabric. I was going to go with some flat plastic buttons, but those buttons were shiny and just looked cheap (because they <i>were</i> cheap).<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9XWw5_79m2UmtKpyXOqcTJMG0fgsUs5S_AfFzxOddfDzWhjfaryRs7UHDVnAW0m56HmGqo1JDTO9D52iX3SvHQi6_S70ztV4DRGE1YdF-CYiPwWYXKWBH6B8AZTFCx40bThkx-JT5gQFqXIbQf56UEMdFJJLNim4V8J_fjcomvwDODsTucjvbn1_M_A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9XWw5_79m2UmtKpyXOqcTJMG0fgsUs5S_AfFzxOddfDzWhjfaryRs7UHDVnAW0m56HmGqo1JDTO9D52iX3SvHQi6_S70ztV4DRGE1YdF-CYiPwWYXKWBH6B8AZTFCx40bThkx-JT5gQFqXIbQf56UEMdFJJLNim4V8J_fjcomvwDODsTucjvbn1_M_A" width="135" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The next big hurdle was the sleeves. My original plan was to just stitch together the sheer bell-shaped sleeve to the shorter, scalloped sleeve at the top and then stitch them into the bodice as one. When I did that, though, you could barely see my pretty scalloped sleeves underneath. All that careful detailing just disappeared into a muddle of black fabric. I thought that this was because my black chiffon still wasn't quite sheer enough. I thought, <i>RIP, scalloped undersleeves. At least <u>I'll</u> know you're there</i>. Then I looked more closely at the photos of the extent dress, and it appeared that the sheer sleeve didn't just glide over the scallops: either the sheer chiffon was tucked into the scallops, or the two layers had been cut together and then flatlined until the point where the sheer sleeves were free of the undersleeves. Well, I didn't have the fabric or patience to re-cut the sleeves and redo the undersleeves. So I decided I could tuck about a quarter-inch of the sheer fabric under each scallop. It made the sheer sleeves a little shorter, but I had enough fabric. And it was fiddly work, but I did it and it was worth it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuGFYf66bCiT7_a7Fry-FBzcq1Qy3bbblozOtHcpJ-Hox84DXUQhTkyWAg0eb0mc70pVmPraVHCZoBjxztL8zy_-pkqTATml4-AU5VB67iENk6Es3PUucQeUaveNpzZo1kjiONb0EzJ5xpqviqrxMDvtpy-eVPXD-nu7xLPMh3GZjFeYG2hKAiuFDBxQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuGFYf66bCiT7_a7Fry-FBzcq1Qy3bbblozOtHcpJ-Hox84DXUQhTkyWAg0eb0mc70pVmPraVHCZoBjxztL8zy_-pkqTATml4-AU5VB67iENk6Es3PUucQeUaveNpzZo1kjiONb0EzJ5xpqviqrxMDvtpy-eVPXD-nu7xLPMh3GZjFeYG2hKAiuFDBxQ" width="135" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>(Also, in the process, I decided the undersleeves were a little too big, and I decided to hack into one of them, which was a BIG mistake. I spent a whole day piecing that undersleeve back together.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5tzHrxeqqMhvSgNAHhJksFrtvl8z6tPhq57bSlBcFUJEODndrfYM5yDmRrI2404wogUkFzaq4_Q80w8y7WKGm6BXTJLkLmfJ-YxgIBkh72NSNO5af-pJw5z2BUN82M0RJF-FIJs5YkEKxhhTYQHOrd2mlkPEqqbY9tRdVVh7nXiYk-Ex0cZ58xbv_sQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5tzHrxeqqMhvSgNAHhJksFrtvl8z6tPhq57bSlBcFUJEODndrfYM5yDmRrI2404wogUkFzaq4_Q80w8y7WKGm6BXTJLkLmfJ-YxgIBkh72NSNO5af-pJw5z2BUN82M0RJF-FIJs5YkEKxhhTYQHOrd2mlkPEqqbY9tRdVVh7nXiYk-Ex0cZ58xbv_sQ" width="135" /><br /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Anyway, the sleeves turned out GREAT, and I'm extremely pleased with them.</p><p>Next came the skirt, which was pretty straightforward: about 4.5 yards of the cotton fabric, cut to the length of the finished skirt plus seam allowance and hem, and the same amount of the silk chiffon, but just a little longer because it would lay on top of the cotton. For the record, I cut the cotton 36" long, with about 1/2" seam allowance at top and 1.5" hem at the bottom; I used the selvage for the bottom of the chiffon layer so that I wouldn't have to hem it and cut that layer 35" long, with 1/2" seam allowance at the top. I gathered these big rectangles down to a waistband (I gathered the chiffon by hand). I added a placket and closure to the cotton layer and finished off the single seam on the chiffon layer by hand.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH6NeDCdxvuGiGZDRNOaOCBFeJZwtHvWU-I8usP0rKOk13kxfQRd9f-sg3aq8Usr1legrnzwaeIVAuvVh6UDfvRQ57-Fk1hm5lgFvFbLcNIr28s6NqropJ-eN5gEIZay8LM-cb6ZbKC55NysAcjxa-OohHF-cGeSTjxktkov51Y6GMtVkacR30Gh37sw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH6NeDCdxvuGiGZDRNOaOCBFeJZwtHvWU-I8usP0rKOk13kxfQRd9f-sg3aq8Usr1legrnzwaeIVAuvVh6UDfvRQ57-Fk1hm5lgFvFbLcNIr28s6NqropJ-eN5gEIZay8LM-cb6ZbKC55NysAcjxa-OohHF-cGeSTjxktkov51Y6GMtVkacR30Gh37sw" width="135" /></a></div><p></p><p>I had decided to make the skirt and bodice separate for a few reasons. I wanted the skirt to be center-back so the seam in the chiffon wasn't visible from the front--I probably shouldn't have worried about that, since the seam disappears into the blackness of the fabric. I also am thinking I could make a more practical day bodice out of black cotton to go with the skirt [update: I have plans to make an evening bodice and a Garidbaldi blouse and another day bodice to go with this skirt]. </p><p>My last step was to finish the bodice with a waistband, add a closure to that waistband, and sew in the second sleeve (which hadn't been sewn in yet). I got it all done the day before Halloween, which was good because I wanted to be sure it was done before then. See, along the way, it had occurred to me that it was October and I was working on a black Victorian dress. How much more Halloween-y could you get?</p><p>On the day, I decided to use some of the offcuts from my chiffon as a veil. I just cut off a length and pinned it to my black bonnet, which is what I wore with it to take some photos.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDK5KVvoqowtErIoJuA1IvjYp_KPthLPmfEe8hUAWbiRx-DsWGEgYtyf57sEoNhOazEE2A3eyiysn6OSWvYUe90Kl3XFW2wtyXAUnGo8Cx-zcE0f95c-NXqbZijhi1RiX78Btmts5FfG8KDr2brx_OrYEnH7EaB9LVy3gSfpRFDQLMCjEHwDqUjA4BEA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDK5KVvoqowtErIoJuA1IvjYp_KPthLPmfEe8hUAWbiRx-DsWGEgYtyf57sEoNhOazEE2A3eyiysn6OSWvYUe90Kl3XFW2wtyXAUnGo8Cx-zcE0f95c-NXqbZijhi1RiX78Btmts5FfG8KDr2brx_OrYEnH7EaB9LVy3gSfpRFDQLMCjEHwDqUjA4BEA" width="135" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibtpSP9faSyBPenLf3YQzhZ_fItBVARYfsCYbRkf7Gpx_WtNgvQu6L4Eoe0q0tB0bWrfV1VfWPoVUq8V2ddq62AcPexaqMdlORJbCzozhZtDUwWRfTUIPwPzto6Vv05UGsMGrtOyxbcPWmgbmjN7uOKlXpKSRQHHQbRsaLUCH3Zsc9cLy1qJdh4BE-5g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibtpSP9faSyBPenLf3YQzhZ_fItBVARYfsCYbRkf7Gpx_WtNgvQu6L4Eoe0q0tB0bWrfV1VfWPoVUq8V2ddq62AcPexaqMdlORJbCzozhZtDUwWRfTUIPwPzto6Vv05UGsMGrtOyxbcPWmgbmjN7uOKlXpKSRQHHQbRsaLUCH3Zsc9cLy1qJdh4BE-5g" width="135" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilp-1BsKdArsQBO6QM95VzeV4wvS0AX92YTm1RYe8JDs5I8diKKJVZPU-0w7-VKnQ8VOsdBfQqZJYvYXL2Pobrbr-3uAxoQ9_nK3M882HfsWofITwoaz-_AUSk47vdag0_raCl8aPiEZGwaY9UqvvSi47c61lJLXfs2qOBN45VxkxCnLBfnBETguoBcA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilp-1BsKdArsQBO6QM95VzeV4wvS0AX92YTm1RYe8JDs5I8diKKJVZPU-0w7-VKnQ8VOsdBfQqZJYvYXL2Pobrbr-3uAxoQ9_nK3M882HfsWofITwoaz-_AUSk47vdag0_raCl8aPiEZGwaY9UqvvSi47c61lJLXfs2qOBN45VxkxCnLBfnBETguoBcA" width="135" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1b9aPIyT0_u28lKAH_JY3_rtM_TNzZaoYGOQNPrDN2LNXd0aR8g7ajn8mwo2O1iARmmdEUonO7DuFRoCPU55svz8SE-iT673RW0DeL8OCwSR9rrHDKuRaHWJmTIethB1TUZzZ4U_BuQCeW5P1nNq16KvlSXK2glwv6-RGOeE72LzqLqM0bnChz6mH_g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1b9aPIyT0_u28lKAH_JY3_rtM_TNzZaoYGOQNPrDN2LNXd0aR8g7ajn8mwo2O1iARmmdEUonO7DuFRoCPU55svz8SE-iT673RW0DeL8OCwSR9rrHDKuRaHWJmTIethB1TUZzZ4U_BuQCeW5P1nNq16KvlSXK2glwv6-RGOeE72LzqLqM0bnChz6mH_g" width="135" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>A note: this wouldn't <i>really</i> be a mourning look. It is black and matte, but there are white buttons and the ribbon on my bonnet is red. The chiffon is also very light for mourning. Black was, in fact, a perfectly valid fashion color in the Victorian age. It wasn't <i>only</i> for mourning. However, it being Halloween, I just kind of pretended, you know?</p><p>Another note: I mentioned the bodice is a little short. It might be that, or the fact that the skirt is just a bit too loose, but the darn pieces kept gapping open. This is essentially inevitable if you're moving around. The real problem is that my underthings are, of course, white, which is pretty obvious when you're wearing black! I had to keep pulling the bodice down. The solution is simple enough: some form of hook or strap to hold the bodice and skirt together. I definitely didn't have time for that before taking the pictures, but it's now on the very, very long list of Things I Should Really Do but Probably Won't [update: I did it! I added the hooks and eyes.].</p><p>Final note: the inspiration has tassel trim around the sleeves, and I bought some trim for that purpose, but I like it with no trim. The inspiration also shows a collar, but I'm not sure it really goes with the dress, and I like it with no collar.</p><p>Update: I recently got another chance to wear this dress, to a costumed picnic and walk in a botanical garden. As mentioned, I added hooks and eyes to keep it from gapping. I also had, in the interim, covered a parasol with black silk, bought myself a white collar, and sewn lacy undersleeves based on some original undersleeves I purchased on Ebay (I plan to post about this later). I also got some belting ribbon, but I decided against wearing a belt this time. I love the result:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-BdLgZjtioanDsMnVLCZb1_TV-zEU49rFb6hufwWh55ERPjnDioMDofLYB5b4TUBtbRApkCHAQAJcyZeQilK9nc0C7UjtZTY1TprBgnf2e_lIF8jD_Scvhfb0yY8uRJpaiI-7U9JhqIQH2D6rKbZ01Dh6q8vmF0a0YmW59VsXkYU8vSpd3BRbWJ3lCw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="2604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-BdLgZjtioanDsMnVLCZb1_TV-zEU49rFb6hufwWh55ERPjnDioMDofLYB5b4TUBtbRApkCHAQAJcyZeQilK9nc0C7UjtZTY1TprBgnf2e_lIF8jD_Scvhfb0yY8uRJpaiI-7U9JhqIQH2D6rKbZ01Dh6q8vmF0a0YmW59VsXkYU8vSpd3BRbWJ3lCw" width="135" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-68235936333474095972022-03-12T09:26:00.003-08:002022-03-12T09:26:39.406-08:00Gymnastics, Ice Skating, and the (New) Cold War<p><i>Before we begin: This is just a thought piece--I'm not an academic or an expert. I'm hardly the only one to think in these terms. If you want a more professional take on this, try this Guardian article: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/11/kamila-valieva-zhu-yi-victims-winter-olympics-puppet-theatre-pain-beijing-2022">https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/11/kamila-valieva-zhu-yi-victims-winter-olympics-puppet-theatre-pain-beijing-2022</a>. I can also suggest the documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">Icarus on Netflix</a> about the state-run Russian doping scheme. There are also plenty of books about this type of topic that you can seek out for a more in-depth treatment.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmYLoi8sD-Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="wmYLoi8sD-Y"></iframe></div><p>It's hard to believe that it's been only about three weeks since the world was riveted by the drama of the ladies' figure skating competition. Coming into the competition, the heavy (<i>heavy</i>) favorite was another in a long line of teenaged Russian phenoms, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva. Admittedly, I don't follow figure skating, but the first I heard of Valieva was a few weeks prior to the Olympics during an NBC broadcast of another competition. The commentators <i>gushed</i>. Fast-forward a few weeks, and Valieva is competes in the team segment of the figure skating competition, delivering two stellar performances that garner Russia a bounty of points. Team Russia ends up winning the team competition.</p><p>Except, wait. They weren't "Team Russia". They were the "Russian Olympic Committee". Which of course makes such a <i>massive difference</i>--or, you know, not. The reason these Russian athletes couldn't compete as "Russia" and couldn't display the Russian flag or hear the Russian national anthem played when they received medals is that Russia was under sanction for having cheated in 2014. Russian athletes were caught doping. What's more, it wasn't just individual athletes: the Russian sports aparatus was running a massive scheme to give their athletes an unfair advantage and to hide that fact from anti-doping agencies. The punishment? Just a change in nomenclature and the suppression of the Russian flag and national anthem. But let's be real, everyone knew these were Russian athletes, and it's not like anyone in any position of power in Russia actually <i>cared</i>.</p><p>This was not a real punishment.</p><p>Which is pretty obvious when return to the 2022 Olympics. Because, after the team competition, it was discovered, after a suspiciously long delay, that Valieva had tested positive <i>back in December </i>for a banned substance. Meaning, she should have been banned starting in December, and her ban should have included the Olympic Games. But she wasn't banned, because the sample wasn't tested until <i>the middle of the Olympic Games</i>, and when it was discovered she tested positive, the Russian doping agency banned her and then--predictably--lifted the ban as soon as she appealed. After a wee bit of wrangling, which amounted to nothing, the IOPC, ISU, and Court for the Arbitration of Sport all failed to ban Valieva. She went on to compete as an individual, and, under intense pressure, the fifteen-year-old imploded spectacularly. Her coach yelled at her for being a "failure", the Russian silver-medalist (Trusova) threw a tantrum because she felt she was robbed of gold, the Russian gold-medal winner (Shcherbakova) was left alone and somewhat sheepish by herself, and the world was aghast. Meanwhile, the Japanese bronze medalist, Sakamoto, wept with joy.</p><p>Holy smokes. What a circus.</p><p>And three weeks later, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.</p><p>There's a direct through-line here. It's not a simple, straight line, of course, but it's all part and parcel of the same thing: a Cold War mentality.</p><p>Let's get one thing clear: Putin knew about the state-run doping scheme. By virtue of it being state-run, he knew about it. Even if he didn't direct it himself or know the details, he knew of it and approved of it. Let's also be clear, the way these athletes are treated is straight out of the Soviet play-book (Putin loves the Soviet play-book; it's his favorite). The mentality was this: we are at odds with the West, and instead of actual warfare, we will use the sporting arena as our battlefield. Superior athletes meant a superior social and political system. The Soviets were hell-bent on exhibiting their social and political superiority, and sport was, during the Cold War, much (much) more than sport. It was an allegory, just like the figure skating fiasco of 2022 was.</p><p>[And while we're at it, think about this. The 2014 Russian doping scheme was uncovered, and there were no real consequences. Putin invaded Ukraine (Crimea) in 2014, and there were no real consequences. Russian athletes were still doping in 2022, and there were no real consequences. Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, thinking--not all that surprisingly, really--that there would be no real consequences.]</p><p>Watching the drama unfold at the Winter Olympics, I couldn't help thinking of Cold War drama during the Summer Olympics in my favorite sport, gymnastics. (To some degree, we are still fighting the Cold War in gymnastics, but, to be fair, it isn't quite the same as in figure skating.) The 60s, 70s, and 80s saw some pretty hard-core Cold War shenanigans in women's gymnastics (I'll be focusing on the women).</p><p>The Soviets were far and away the best women's gymnastics team from the 60s until the fall of the Soviet Union (and slightly thereafter). (Yes, Romania gave them a run for their money on several occasions.) The Soviet gymnasts were incredibly skilled acrobatically and artistically. While I love, say, Simone Biles, there is nothing like a Soviet floor routine. This is important to keep in mind, especially when considering how dominant Russia has been in figure skating over the past decade. The Soviet team won <i>every Olympic team gold medal from 1952 until 1992, except for the boycotted Olympics in 1984. </i>They won nearly all the Worlds team competitions, too, not to mention a huge portion of the all-around and individual events medals. It wasn't just medals, either. They were demonstrably better. This is very much akin to the recent years in which young female Russian skaters have dominated (and yes, it's no coincidence that young women and girls are the ones being exploited in both cases).</p><p>Perhaps the most prominent example of Cold War politics is the protest of Czechoslovakian gymnast Věra Čáslavská. Not long before the 1968 Mexico City Games, the Soviet Union had invaded her county, Czechoslovakia, and Čáslavská had opposed the invasion. During the Olympics, she appeared to have won the floor exercise gold medal, but then the score of a Soviet gymnast was amended so that, conveniently, that Soviet gymnast was <i>tied with </i>Čáslavská for the gold. This was a pretty obvious political game. During the awards ceremony, Čáslavská pointedly looked down and to the right when the Soviet national anthem played. As a result, when she returned home, she was no longer allowed to compete and was an official outcast.</p><p>A brief video of the protest (not mine, so no guarantee the link will remain live):</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dykBBhaoczg" width="320" youtube-src-id="dykBBhaoczg"></iframe></div><br /><p>At the following Olympics, the world met Olga Korbut, a Soviet pixie with daring skills and a winning smile (she was/is Ukrainian, by the way). When she broke into tears after faltering on bars, those in the West expressed surprise that a Soviet could cry. This seems like a positive bridge between East and West, but it's important to keep in mind what was going on behind the iron curtain: Olga has indicated that she was emotionally and sexually abused, and that that winning smile was carefully choreographed.</p><p>Olga, 1972:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FrDtXx87C38" width="320" youtube-src-id="FrDtXx87C38"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>In 1980, the Olympics were in Moscow, and the U.S. boycotted. In retaliation, the Soviets boycotted in 1984 when the Olympics were in Los Angeles. This meant a lost generation on both sides, and a lot of unanswerable questions, especially regarding 1984. Could Mary Lou Retton have become all-around champion if the Soviets were there? Probably not, but we'll never know for sure. It's important to note that neither side was actually barred from any competitions during the Cold War; these were voluntary boycotts. Currently, Russia is barred from any International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) competitions.</p><p>By 1992, the Soviet Union was already defunct, but the former Soviets competed together as the Unified Team, and they won. But here's something of a legacy from the Soviet era: in 92, Rosa Galieva qualified for the all-around but was pulled because of an "injury" in favor of her teammate Tatiana Gutsu, who hadn't qualified because of an error on beam. Gutsu ended up winning the all-around. In the world of gymnastics to be "Galieva'd" is sometimes used as a verb--it means getting yanked from a final in favor of a teammate who failed to qualify but is more likely to win a medal. It's not really fair, but it didn't matter.</p><p>That's part and parcel of the culture of the Soviet sports. While gymnasts weren't drugged in the same way that athletes were in other sports (and in the same way as what happened in East Germany), it was a brutal atmosphere. Girls in their early teens were starved and beaten and berated. Many had their ages falsified so they could compete earlier. (This is all eerily similar to the coaching style of Russia's "star" figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze.) One example of Soviet coldness is the treatment of Elena Mukhina. She was pushed extremely hard by Soviet coaches, so that when she fell on her neck and was rendered a quadriplegic, her first thought was <i>Thank God I don't have to go to the Olympics</i>. Not only that, but the Soviets refused to acknowledge that she was badly injured. Mukhina apparently had fans writing to her hoping she would be competing again soon.</p><p>Mukhina, 1978 Worlds (that full-twisting Korbut on bars!):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wcJ4DdfBc8A" width="320" youtube-src-id="wcJ4DdfBc8A"></iframe></div><br /><p>This training documentary is beautiful in some ways but also heartbreaking. It focuses on Mukhina, who couldn't look any sadder:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4dNWq5fFLiw" width="320" youtube-src-id="4dNWq5fFLiw"></iframe></div><br /><p>This culture spread beyond the Soviet Union. It was very much the same in communist Romania, and that culture came to the United States (though modified) with Bela and Martha Karolyi. It's only very recently that this has started to change in gymnastics. The sport has had something of a reckoning. It doesn't look as if it has changed yet in figure skating--at least in Russia.</p><p>And so here we are, watching sport mirror big-picture politics yet again. We have Russian athletes on a massive stage trying to exhibit strength and power and yet demonstrating the rotten, rotten core of an authoritarian, aggressive state.</p><p>History doesn't necessarily repeat itself, but, as they say, it does rhyme.</p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-30301477707295197802021-05-19T16:00:00.001-07:002021-05-19T18:19:24.848-07:00...And Michael Llewelyn Davies and Peter Pan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLedwnVrl97Mx1wPEh2kLvETo1pxIG_z_fQPPw51Z6Ce5KNrJOGz22ORa__BtuPYkHasexiLDvM2olRYxY5WNW2jbdI77jysGbwOQy8adc8omCgKfEnBjAKH1atCyGkfkl0m_VOnlUx51M/s2048/20180908_072256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLedwnVrl97Mx1wPEh2kLvETo1pxIG_z_fQPPw51Z6Ce5KNrJOGz22ORa__BtuPYkHasexiLDvM2olRYxY5WNW2jbdI77jysGbwOQy8adc8omCgKfEnBjAKH1atCyGkfkl0m_VOnlUx51M/s320/20180908_072256.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oxford.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>If you have been keeping up with me at all, you're aware that I'm deeply interested in the story of the Llewelyn Davies brothers, who inspired the creation of Peter Pan--and contributed to it, I should add. Today is the anniversary of a sad event, and even though it's sad, I wanted to mark it in some small way. It was a hundred years ago today that Michael Llewelyn Davies, the fourth of the five brothers, drowned at Sanford Lasher outside Oxford, just shy of his twenty-first birthday.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VLOTKcdsovY-089kh9LbW4722tQeZdr8lCxnr0tNfE6CSGcX8oUq9tH6gKhU0WUG30gsRfYNSjTWvQoSE_bqdUzoyGeBeRnnS938AcS3iNbLcZB_0RBFxqJT4NnUgJ91qlA_9GjuHYtH/s2048/20191001_093822.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VLOTKcdsovY-089kh9LbW4722tQeZdr8lCxnr0tNfE6CSGcX8oUq9tH6gKhU0WUG30gsRfYNSjTWvQoSE_bqdUzoyGeBeRnnS938AcS3iNbLcZB_0RBFxqJT4NnUgJ91qlA_9GjuHYtH/s320/20191001_093822.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Llewelyn Davies.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Michael's life, for better or worse, was inextricably bound up with <i>Peter Pan</i>. The seeds of Peter Pan were planted in 1897, before Michael was even born (in 1900). His eldest brother, George, met the Scottish writer J.M. Barrie by chance while playing in Kensington Gardens. Michael was only four years old when <i>Peter Pan </i>premiered seven years later, in 1904. While George was always a favorite of Barrie's, Michael was also close to Barrie, in the way a child is close to a father--that is, it was a tangled, difficult, complicated relationship. Michael lost his own father when he was only seven years old, and Barrie had been a close family friend for a decade at that point. When Michael was ten, his mother passed away also, and he and his orphaned brothers became Barrie's wards. This was partly a practical matter: while the five brothers' relatives weren't financially and logistically able to take on all five boys in one household, Barrie was. He was a wealthy, successful writer, and he was known to and liked by the brothers. They stayed in the family home, with their faithful nurse (nanny) looking after them on a day-to-day basis (although eldest brother George turned seventeen that year and was at Eton, and second brother Jack, a year younger, was at the Naval Academy and didn't really need looking after). Later, Michael and younger brother Nico moved into Barrie's flat on the Strand. Barrie would have been more or less the only father Michael could remember.</p><p>Michael was extremely intelligent and talented, and in spite of suffering from terrible nightmares (which Barrie often helped relieve) and being homesick, he succeeded at Eton. He was a good athlete (football/soccer) and was co-editor of the <i>Eton College Chronicle. </i>He wrote some poetry and drew a bit (Barrie wrote that he was distressingly aware that Michael's portraits of <i>other people</i> were good likenesses, which meant that his portraits of Barrie must, alas, be fairly accurate, too), and he became friends with peripheral members of the Bloomsbury Group.</p><p>While Michael was at Eton, war broke out in Europe. Having been born in 1900, he was only 14 when Britain declared war, but his three older brothers were old enough to fight in the war. George was twenty-one, Jack was twenty, and Peter (yes, the namesake of Peter Pan) was seventeen in 1914. In March of 1915, George was killed by a sniper's bullet, and in 1916, after spending time at the Front, Peter was sent home for a time with shell shock--only to be sent back to the trenches and win a Military Cross for his valor and then spend years living with an older married woman.</p><p>The war went on long enough that Michael came of age to join the army. He was due to enlist, believe it or not, on November 11, 1918. But that, of course, was the day that the armistice took effect. So instead, Michael was left to figure out what his future looked like without a war looming on the horizon. The answer for him wasn't entirely clear. His grandfather, George du Maurier, had been an artist and novelist, and Michael had a notion to take after him and go to Paris to study at the Sorbonne (George du Maurier had not been admitted). By this time, Michael and younger brother Nico had moved in with Barrie, who did not like the idea of Michael going off to Paris instead of going to Oxford. Michael went up to Oxford, then informed the authorities he was leaving, then asked somewhat sheepishly to be taken back, which he was.</p><p>It was at Oxford he met Rupert Buxton, a Harrow student who seems to have shared a lot in common with Michael. Both were brilliant and apparently charismatic. Both were troubled. Michael had his nightmares, and Rupert had had a mental breakdown during his time at Harrow and had run away for a brief period. Interestingly, he seems to have had synesthesia. Both young men had lost brothers in the war and had lost parents. They hit it off.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunYKk3YyDmxsP0k9RXUjFgZSC7t90uP_bl6PgwtndJqNVWovBKPfSqb07llV3pmFwYwXqFdBLd_hFMcStQY7m8bxzR1aaHKD0-xiZxwT7xT8LSLIHkgiu1HnomUcf6l9hswQHvim7uViO/s2048/20190930_173840.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunYKk3YyDmxsP0k9RXUjFgZSC7t90uP_bl6PgwtndJqNVWovBKPfSqb07llV3pmFwYwXqFdBLd_hFMcStQY7m8bxzR1aaHKD0-xiZxwT7xT8LSLIHkgiu1HnomUcf6l9hswQHvim7uViO/s320/20190930_173840.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael and Nicholas (Nico)<br />Llewelyn Davies</td></tr></tbody></table><p>What happened next is unclear. But on May 19, 1921, Michael and Rupert went down to a pool below Sanford Lasher outside Oxford. There, the Thames splits around an island; to one side there are locks, to the other a dam. Below the dam is a pool. It's here that Michael and Rupert went swimming and were both drowned.</p><p>This is the great mystery. What happened, and why? An inquest found that it was an accidental drowning, but people have suggested ever since that it might have been mutual suicide, that the two might have been homosexual in a time when being homosexual was dangerous. There's no evidence they were romantic--though there is, of course, no proof they <i>weren't</i>. There simply is no way to know what was in their minds. We can never know what those two young men intended that day. And it's entirely possible that each of them intended something different--that perhaps one tried to drown himself and the other tried to save him but both were drowned in the attempt.</p><p>Acknowledging that, I believe it was accidental. It was well-known that Michael couldn't swim and was, in fact, afraid of water. The very fact of being afraid of the water could have made him more likely to panic and drown. People underestimate how easy it is for a drowning person to bring down a would-be rescuer. It's possible that Rupert tried to help Michael and that Michael, in his panic, brought Rupert down, as well. The opposite is less likely but still possible: perhaps Rupert got in trouble and Michael tried to save him but, being a poor swimmer, failed.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-bq5X0PHocy7yw4yMXNV9d3UyKaC4OeYDj_hl-qIPYEANheg6ehnWR3UONWykY-U5XCvOCdKtfL8HmnNfGAPWj9DJv4CFMyjn5qXbJQILsjhWEi9U_4Ag_wzaObrmSzfZhIo3I5ivTLK/s5184/IMG_3021.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-bq5X0PHocy7yw4yMXNV9d3UyKaC4OeYDj_hl-qIPYEANheg6ehnWR3UONWykY-U5XCvOCdKtfL8HmnNfGAPWj9DJv4CFMyjn5qXbJQILsjhWEi9U_4Ag_wzaObrmSzfZhIo3I5ivTLK/s320/IMG_3021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A swan on Sanford Lasher</td></tr></tbody></table>In any case, other underclassmen had drowned there before, and it was called a "very good place to drown yourself in" by Jerome K. Jerome. There is a monument there now to the young men who died there. Michael and Rupert's names are etched on it, along with the date: 19 May, 1921.<p></p><p>Whatever the case, it seems that Michael was seeking his place in the world as a young man when he died. This isn't unusual for someone of that age. And he had had some traumatic experiences as a boy, losing both his parents and his eldest brother. It can't have been easy to also be so closely attached to <i>Peter Pan</i>, and it doubtless affected him in deep and unnerving ways, but there were many other things in his life that could have led to a potential suicide (if it were suicide). While it's tempting to make a quick and easy association between <i>Peter Pan</i> and J.M. Barrie on the one hand and Michael's death on the other, life is not so simple. Even if it were suicide, you can't lay the blame solely on Peter Pan or J.M. Barrie.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEty7RqQ8RsQNmDiC7gnEwnlxCCZV2iY2QJNOhwdkXb5Mw3nOrhs2eV8hJ_v-iYX5F3GDE181TJqfQLEy0X6ogneyx3u1z9GVktDrdGKMzLzwJ40a1GEGmi9KaHprnZZRV9DHNNUKKuP3/s5184/IMG_3025.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEty7RqQ8RsQNmDiC7gnEwnlxCCZV2iY2QJNOhwdkXb5Mw3nOrhs2eV8hJ_v-iYX5F3GDE181TJqfQLEy0X6ogneyx3u1z9GVktDrdGKMzLzwJ40a1GEGmi9KaHprnZZRV9DHNNUKKuP3/s320/IMG_3025.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dam above Sanford Lasher.<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table>In the 1970s, Nico told some wonderful stories to Andrew Birkin about Michael (and other things). My favorites are the story of the two brothers teasing J.M. Barrie ("Uncle Jim") when he received a baronetcy. They called him "Sir Jazz", mostly because Barrie disliked jazz and partly because Jas. is an abbreviation for James (Barrie's given name was James). Speaking of music, Nico tells a cute story of how Barrie bought a phonograph and gave the boys some money to buy music (I think Nico says it was ten quid, but that seems like an awful lot). They separated to pick out what they wanted and met back up to compare. Michael had bought Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade (which I happen to love) and Nico had bought <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOhkc1a-zCo">Paul Whiting's The Whispering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOhkc1a-zCo)</a>; this one is pretty catchy, too! Their choices are a bit telling of their personalities. (You can hear Nico tell the story here: <a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nicos-love-of-music-and-playing-the-piano-unlike-his-brothers-his-story-of-going-off-with-michael-to-buy-their-first-gramophone-records">https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nicos-love-of-music-and-playing-the-piano-unlike-his-brothers-his-story-of-going-off-with-michael-to-buy-their-first-gramophone-records</a>.)<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiYBK0ZnbtiOeZ0NF7Sn45F_h7UfUl79AP3SlRhpVx-MHwbdDcp0Jmhs-odz02KrYSjpwgpsq9y0cl94evPDGcEP_XPtlWQTEMaL32MI7tzzzn2a9rAYLPLZPgt_H5GBjEnxKKFD9a7WH/s5184/IMG_3024.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiYBK0ZnbtiOeZ0NF7Sn45F_h7UfUl79AP3SlRhpVx-MHwbdDcp0Jmhs-odz02KrYSjpwgpsq9y0cl94evPDGcEP_XPtlWQTEMaL32MI7tzzzn2a9rAYLPLZPgt_H5GBjEnxKKFD9a7WH/s320/IMG_3024.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monument to the young men who drowned<br />in Sanford Lasher.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I've covered most of this in other posts, and I had hoped to do something a bit more exciting to commemorate this big anniversary of his passing, but real-life things have been getting in the way of me accomplishing much recently, so I'm afraid I will have to let this anniversary pass with a minimum of fanfare. I had had the vague hope of having my novel about the Llewelyn Davies brothers published by now, but alas, that hasn't happened, either, and the publishing business being what it is, chances are slim that it will ever happen. Ah well, here's to hoping for some good luck!</p><p><b>Further Reading</b></p><p>To learn more about the Llewelyn Davies brothers, I HIGHLY recommend <a href="https://www.amazon.com/J-M-Barrie-Lost-Boys-behind-ebook/dp/B017DNAIEY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=j.m.+barrie+and+the+lost+boys&qid=1588812553&sr=8-1">Andrew Birkin's </a><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/J-M-Barrie-Lost-Boys-behind-ebook/dp/B017DNAIEY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=j.m.+barrie+and+the+lost+boys&qid=1588812553&sr=8-1">J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys</a>. </i>It's certainly the best source out there.</p><p><a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2018/11/and-oxford-and-peter-pan-too.html">My trip to Oxford and the site where Michael and Rupert drowned.</a></p><p><a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2018/09/and-london-of-peter-pan.html">My trip to key Peter Pan-related sites in London.</a></p><p><a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2020/05/and-michael-llewelyn-davies.html">Last year's anniversary post</a></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-40836366987415038202021-03-22T07:17:00.002-07:002022-01-21T08:52:29.299-08:00...And A New-Old Blue 1860s Dress<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgjWnEDCIM_jmsnPXqi8w5q9L0mNnEglzCSeuZeUK1nM1psoGar73E6P7za56Fou4m4u7VDNYnjgRhggjQKtHjmgIZUJ_3c6WEP3aKQvnIB_9Ar4EAv7Ym4PngtmYuEtOw4fczmeq87K2/s2048/20210306_154331.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgjWnEDCIM_jmsnPXqi8w5q9L0mNnEglzCSeuZeUK1nM1psoGar73E6P7za56Fou4m4u7VDNYnjgRhggjQKtHjmgIZUJ_3c6WEP3aKQvnIB_9Ar4EAv7Ym4PngtmYuEtOw4fczmeq87K2/s320/20210306_154331.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AFTER</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bjO5qKigz3qpxkksz-S57SKgC-C6H4uFHgnBLAch09jQQ3obIxFqNee1SDqQkxqYNj6akxT7-FvQfgdpeZuJ3SXZDiT2Ft1pmilFYcdHMzOs0J8OPl3giwNFXlOi26Uftg1jbBF5MNOz/s2048/20210306_154339.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bjO5qKigz3qpxkksz-S57SKgC-C6H4uFHgnBLAch09jQQ3obIxFqNee1SDqQkxqYNj6akxT7-FvQfgdpeZuJ3SXZDiT2Ft1pmilFYcdHMzOs0J8OPl3giwNFXlOi26Uftg1jbBF5MNOz/s320/20210306_154339.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AFTER<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCdqIQGk-kgjvWXEg4HlK64YS8n9RRGQY3xpie5AW_1XyLu1r2jCPkO0sfLl6zt49c9j4eJTOVDYaL_MgjZOYiTEvvDYc_YrMJilQtRY8Nr2pcTKb2Zw7eijW9W4VCERm6HJM4yWL0v4H/s4032/20200613_142647.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCdqIQGk-kgjvWXEg4HlK64YS8n9RRGQY3xpie5AW_1XyLu1r2jCPkO0sfLl6zt49c9j4eJTOVDYaL_MgjZOYiTEvvDYc_YrMJilQtRY8Nr2pcTKb2Zw7eijW9W4VCERm6HJM4yWL0v4H/s320/20200613_142647.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEFORE<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><p>Being on that good old "learning curve" can be difficult. There are different stages. There's the "I'm just going to buy a few cheap underthings and one ready-made dress" phase. The "this doesn't fit me, so I'm going to try sewing myself <i>one </i>dress" stage. The "this is great, maybe let's try it again with quilting cotton from JoAnn's!" stage. The "well, if we're going to all this trouble, let's try some more period-accurate fabric". The "let's try fixing the fit" stage. The "let's try a different era" stage. The "it's really not going to look right unless I actually <i>get it </i>right" stage. The frustrating "I know what I'm going for but don't quite have the skills to get there" stage.</p><p>I'm currently at about that stage, moving on to the "acquiring those skills and starting to be satisfied with the fit and overall accuracy" stage. Hopefully, soon I'll be at the "historically credible and satisfactory to me" stage.</p><p>Yeah, that's right. I started this journey not planning to actually <i>sew</i> anything. But obla-di, oblad-da, life goes on.</p><p>The dress I'm blogging about today was sewn somewhere around the "let's try some more period-accurate fabric" stage. I had made up a fitted 1860s bodice (the <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tv446-1860s-darted-bodice/">Truly Victorian Darted Bodice</a>, TV446) a few times (in cotton, which isn't quite right; cotton was usually gathered, while silk and wool were darted). But what I wanted was a gathered bodice. I also wanted more appropriate fabric (though I was going to stick to cotton, now knowing, as I did, that cotton should be gathered). So I got some lovely blue fabric on a destash page (and let me tell you, that fabric went on a journey before it made it to me in the mail!). After much waffling, I decided on Simplicity 4551 as my pattern (it seems to be out of print and currently quite expensive, but I got it for a good price).</p><p>The pattern choice was...not a good one. I should have stuck with Truly Victorian, or perhaps Laughing Moon. But I liked the look of the image on the front of the Simplicity pattern. I was drawn to View B. So I took the time and trouble to alter the pattern for fit (have I mentioned how drastically I have to alter everything to fit?). I was quite pleased with the lining, the sleeves were remarkably easy to redraft, and I was good with the gathered overbodice. I felt pretty good about it.</p><p>But.</p><p>But it was too big around the waist, the gathered layer puffed out too much and looked too blousy, the sleeves fit great for what they were but just didn't seem right for the1860s, the collar looked clunky, and the pleating on the skirt was wonky. All in all, it just looked . . . off.</p><p>Since finishing the dress, I had really started diving into fashion plates and period photos to get a better idea of what was <i>right</i>. And I found I wasn't satisfied with this dress. I thought it <i>could </i>be quite nice. But it <i>wasn't</i>. I'd put a lot of time and effort into it; I didn't want it to sit in my closet because I was lukewarm about wearing it, and I didn't want to put it on and feel not-quite-right in it. So I determined to put a bit more time and effort into it so that I was at least <i>mostly </i>satisfied with it.</p><p>Which meant I had to tackle all the things I mentioned above. The game was afoot.</p><p>The first thing to tackle was the bodice. This was several weeks ago now, and many life things have happened in the interval, so I don't recall the exact sequence of events. I think I took off the sleeves before tackling the waistline and gathering, but I could be wrong. In any case, I did start by unpicking the gathered bit of the front bodice from the waistband, tugging it down to make it less puffy and blousy, and re-stitching it to the waistband. I did the same at the center back where there was more gathering. I also moved the closure on the waistband in to tighten it up a bit. This sounds simple. It took me days to get this right.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWVIRF1T_zF8feILohLqZ8ktwoYFomFBM96I3bhbyNxICbTbm9fLTDroRSBBktpf5-1sXgCOdPdSVEsrgCKO7E341zTsAqbIW2O0lvqU3Kva0Oi8K6bCdPyjaIsw7izbaDDKVaQBeMaPG/s2048/20210207_163501.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWVIRF1T_zF8feILohLqZ8ktwoYFomFBM96I3bhbyNxICbTbm9fLTDroRSBBktpf5-1sXgCOdPdSVEsrgCKO7E341zTsAqbIW2O0lvqU3Kva0Oi8K6bCdPyjaIsw7izbaDDKVaQBeMaPG/s320/20210207_163501.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My poor dress, dismembered.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The next thing to tackle was the sleeves. I definitely detached the skirt from the waistband before (or during) working on the sleeves. I took off the puff sleeves and drafted new sleeves from scratch. I didn't have enough left-over fabric for two-piece coat sleeves, but I was able to make a one-piece "coat sleeve". The shape isn't great, but it's credible. In any case, it isn't as obviously obnoxious as the puff sleeves.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ldcWcbimFtPM6e8UPZ5N5qts3US1cZ7EeooUoIg7QTGUzW-tJjxKa3uPLM9CdxOKx45iUcWYhvC4tCZPRpiwqN4jnWQluNCraZRv5jwQItXKuavOg1i7dasyeuMW-fFTtjghbs9mzpeF/s2048/20210207_163607.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ldcWcbimFtPM6e8UPZ5N5qts3US1cZ7EeooUoIg7QTGUzW-tJjxKa3uPLM9CdxOKx45iUcWYhvC4tCZPRpiwqN4jnWQluNCraZRv5jwQItXKuavOg1i7dasyeuMW-fFTtjghbs9mzpeF/s320/20210207_163607.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New sleeve, old sleeve.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The final hurdle was the skirt. My main problem was that when I first made the dress, it was too loose around the waist. I just lapped the closure over and called it a day because the volume of the skirt hid the fact that it was a bit wonky, and I definitely didn't want to re-pleat it. Since I was going to all this trouble, however, I wanted to redo the skirt. I should say, early 1860s skirts are about as simple as it gets: they're a big rectangle gathered down at the top to the waistband. The shorter side of the rectangle is the length you want your skirt to be (plus hem allowance at the bottom and seam allowance at the top), and the long end is how much yardage you want for the circumference of your skirt (I usually use about 4 yards of fabric; it needs to be full around the bottom of your hoops). Because I'm short, I usually just use the full width of the fabric so that each long edges of the skirt is the selvedge and I don't have to worry about fraying. I just attach one selvedge edge to the waistband and turn up the bottom however much I need to (usually it's quite a few inches).</p><p>In any case, I decided not to redo the pleating but to actually gather it. This ended up being more work and trouble than I'd bargained for. I don't actually know how much fabric is in this particular skirt, but I'm guessing it's more like 5 yards. It's also mid-weight cotton. The combination of yardage and fabric thickness made it very difficult indeed to gather that beast of a skirt down to my waist measurement. I ran machine gathering stitches (like I was going to sew two 5-yard-long lines of stitching by hand!) and pulled until it couldn't be gathered down any more. And each eighth of the skirt (I divided it up into sections) was still an inch or so too long. If you're counting, that means it would be 8" too long for the waistband, which is obviously not going to work. So I had to kind of bunch up the gathers as best I could and smoosh it into submission. And I did: I smooshed those gathers into submission. Once they had bowed to my superior will and strength, I sewed it all down to the waistband (which was still attached to the bodice at the top). A little more hand-sewing to keep everything together and shift some closures, and voila, the revamp of my dress was done!</p><p>But wait! I did forget one important bit. The collar. I happened to see somewhere that collars were usually a single layer of fine fabric, whereas mine was two layers stitched around the edges and turned out. The collar I had was also too wide by about 3/4". It's all about proportions. I'm petite, so things like collars need to be proportioned a little smaller for me. Instead of starting from zero, I just unpicked the collar I already had and used one layer of the fabric. I trimmed it down around the edges to make it narrower and hand-sewed a little hem. It looks much less clunky now. Another minor note: I added a second line of the black trim to the bodice to better define where the dropped-sleeve seam is. (In my before picture above, there is no black trim at all, but after taking that photo I added a line to the skirt and to the bodice.)</p><p>I am much happier now with this dress. I consider it historically credible, which is currently my aim. I think I'll get much more use out of it and feel better about wearing it when I do wear it.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHYneX2zyisYtCd2Doo3eM_suoZ0DUjfiolaTYh0P3nSAuu6HOvo9Gq-RpkhQOhCylwPySJY2vpxgFg2PwmIcdFpuM58UB_ph-aS79ZoSYWIeev3m7zGiSx8gFC6md05KJczqLggL3vfa/s2048/20210306_154544%25280%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHYneX2zyisYtCd2Doo3eM_suoZ0DUjfiolaTYh0P3nSAuu6HOvo9Gq-RpkhQOhCylwPySJY2vpxgFg2PwmIcdFpuM58UB_ph-aS79ZoSYWIeev3m7zGiSx8gFC6md05KJczqLggL3vfa/s320/20210306_154544%25280%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-37015960453632447332021-02-23T10:55:00.003-08:002021-02-23T10:55:33.599-08:00...And a Paletot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>Intro</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having a whole bevy of historical dresses/separates (of varying quality!) is all fine and good . . . so long as you only plan to wear them indoors, or outdoors in warm weather. If you--that is, I--want to wear them in cold or even cool weather, some outer wear is needed. (Oh, should I note that a paletot is a Victorian jacket? It is.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Coats are more than a little intimidating. To do them, er, <i>properly</i>, you're really meant to interline and pad stitch and all kinds of things that are probably not as difficult as they seem to be but are still, as I said, intimidating. I mean, people like Bernadette Banner can do it, and while she's much more experienced than I am, I, too, am a person who sews and has two hands, so <i>theoretically</i> I could do it, too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But did I? No.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Might I have ended up with an even nicer product had I done so? Perhaps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Do I regret not doing it? Nope.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Am I entirely satisfied with the final product? No. I'm about 85% satisfied, but that's not bad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In any case, I like to start out by showing you all the final product. On a cool, though not particularly cold, day, with highs in the low 40s, I decided to get dressed up and drive up to Gettysburg to walk around a bit and give my new(ish) paletot a spin:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj956INOsek-XTBWcq1KjX6NhqFt1iJ09hhBO7vQSbetMBEIjdD0MlyVDV3bMhqbLt8yikyPtRhKPkuJCUxeWpXaiKyK6qzPWJ31aPlapXpgFkVm8D6M81fSQLDXeuEvMWu5xwXl2gsX1J-/s2048/20210118_132523.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj956INOsek-XTBWcq1KjX6NhqFt1iJ09hhBO7vQSbetMBEIjdD0MlyVDV3bMhqbLt8yikyPtRhKPkuJCUxeWpXaiKyK6qzPWJ31aPlapXpgFkVm8D6M81fSQLDXeuEvMWu5xwXl2gsX1J-/s320/20210118_132523.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abe's bench is pushing my hoops forward here,<br />so the skirts look bigger than they are.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWkZAK9hlbU8g-D_IfeLJTtTjfchIuoiqgu8XSBM24Ty7D73AN8ywp4ox-1R9hQsAFnM4t4B0MTxlMeceR5ZUUnW3PpZx4icOcSU86A6TE56LY1NWacDX99PnY6J9DJqJLbG3zFLl2z-5/s2048/20210118_135151.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWkZAK9hlbU8g-D_IfeLJTtTjfchIuoiqgu8XSBM24Ty7D73AN8ywp4ox-1R9hQsAFnM4t4B0MTxlMeceR5ZUUnW3PpZx4icOcSU86A6TE56LY1NWacDX99PnY6J9DJqJLbG3zFLl2z-5/s320/20210118_135151.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you get a better idea of the proportions of the skirts<br />to the rest of me, which I think are just about right. The skirt of <br />the paletot is blown open, though; hence the big gap.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>The specs:</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>Fabric</u>: wool (possibly wool-cotton blend), a little under 2 yards on the "remnants" table at a fabric store, for $9.99/yard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>Lining</u>: navy-blue cotton, gotten at JoAnn's for around $4/yard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>Trim</u>: Two different types/widths of cotton fringe (because I didn't have enough of the wider fringe); bought online from someone de-stashing; white velvet ribbon bought on Amazon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><u>Pattern</u>: self-drafted</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>Getting started</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As noted above, I self-drafted this pattern. I did this for a few reasons: I didn't want to pay for a pattern since I'm trying to trim costs as much as possible, and I would have to heavily alter the pattern anyway (patterns are always pretty far off for me). I also happened to come across the following diagram via The Lady's Treasury:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/freepatterns/em185703wsgpalpatt.html</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/freepatterns/em185703wsgpalpatt.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tfXIz9gZ1Rm27mplRjLOROb0_N-GUbAvndEbptA_3kmhKwjcsfcCB_IbtjexVRatbjT-llEpCldSh7vb6fQU5N1joNsdY1oDW2ii9MY_XXe1w5ii6qAoanj4BQIS1EA04yJKp9QfZ9oC/s320/spring+paltetot+1857.jpeg" /></a></div><p>I thought the finished look was pretty <a href="http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/freepatterns/em185703wsgpalview.html">(here it what it looks like)</a> and I realized I could most likely start with a pattern I had already fitted to myself. In fact, it's the pattern for the lining of the dress I'm wearing underneath the paletot in the picture above. (Long story short: the lining fit well, but I wasn't satisfied with the dress as a whole, so I am currently taking it apart and putting it back together, but that's a blog for another day.)</p><p>I actually started working on this ages ago--last summer, I think, when I had notions of going to the Remembrance Day celebrations in Gettysburg in November. Because of pandemic reasons, that was cancelled anyway, but it's just as well, because that attempt was a total failure. At that point, I didn't have the diagram above, and I was just going to kind of . . . wing it. I used the old mock-up and didn't do a new mockup, and I pulled out some wool blend polka-dotted fabric left over from a skirt (that may or may not end up in the back of my costume closet forevermore). The fabric was all wrong, using the old mock-up was a failure, and even though I put hours (and hours) of work into it, it was a failure. I tossed it aside.</p><p>And then I moved.</p><p>Almost as soon as I had unpacked my everyday clothes, I was itching to sew again. I had had a really rough month of it, with the massive stress of finding and buying a home for the first time and with health issues on top of that. It wasn't pretty, but once I had moved, an enormous weight was off of me, and I felt almost normal again. Because of the move, I hadn't done any sewing in probably a month and a half, and I just needed a creative outlet, so I dove right into the paletot.</p><p>I knew I had to start essentially from scratch because my previous effort wasn't salvageable. I believe this is when I found the diagram above. In any case, because I'd confused myself with the previous mock-up, I decided to go back to the under-bodice pattern for the blue dress. My plan was to start with that and use the diagram above to get the general shape of the pattern pieces. In order to turn the under-bodice pattern into a paletot, I would need to add the skirt, convert two darts (per side) into one and extend that dart into the skirt portion of the paletot, and draft the pagoda sleeves and cape.</p><p>And . . . it was not an immediate success. It fit okay in the shoulders and chest but not around the waist, and the skirt was way off. It folded over itself at the side but didn't reach all the way to the front. It was also quite long, though that wasn't much of a problem. It's easy enough to hack off a few inches at the bottom edge.</p><p>After much fiddling and pinning and repinning, I was able to get a shape that I was happy with, or at least happy enough to be getting on with. As for the sleeves, those were fairly easy. Some time ago, I found a good resource on how to draft sleeves, and it served me well here. As for the cape, it wasn't too difficult. As per the diagram, I just extended the lines of the bodice pattern outwards from the shoulder, decided how far down the front I wanted it to come, and drew in the shape I wanted. I had to modify the mockup a little bit to make the front angle deeper, but that was no problem.</p><p>Once I was satisfied that I was pretty close to where I wanted to be with the shapes, I cut out a second mock-up, this time from a navy blue cotton I'd bought for the lining. My plan was to save some fabric and time by making the mock-up out of lining fabric. As long as it wasn't too far off, I would simply take apart the blue cotton mockup and use it as lining.</p><p>Here are the pieces cut out of the blue fabric:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BH_UY2o_wiDQSFmRUykYVQZzhy2YiadZ74kQ_0PS0B0ZGkkN_x2RkrxK5wuoSeBdWQH6W55ts2AHRfr_75HdffsVzktGvuaIvsS0nD_NfTD1yfnjGJkJZRUtucvb5tWLraPOPbK1v_vQ/s2048/20201116_134926.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BH_UY2o_wiDQSFmRUykYVQZzhy2YiadZ74kQ_0PS0B0ZGkkN_x2RkrxK5wuoSeBdWQH6W55ts2AHRfr_75HdffsVzktGvuaIvsS0nD_NfTD1yfnjGJkJZRUtucvb5tWLraPOPbK1v_vQ/s320/20201116_134926.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Going clockwise from the top left, we have the back, the front, the front cape piece, the sleeve, the second front cape piece, and then both the back cape pieces. Notice the dart cut out of the front piece.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbJad0iQj3AHN-66rF-Xb0r2HiOPQU6zDSLy7N5Qa9gLrUEsHhNdjFLJ5I0X6iYuiPJEn7Razekm_vi6BVHG1kOzjtuIklOiXrMFUwQNwamNi8N0nNBViWYajkFLWEevTES_D9AcaKfPJ/s2048/20201114_093816.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbJad0iQj3AHN-66rF-Xb0r2HiOPQU6zDSLy7N5Qa9gLrUEsHhNdjFLJ5I0X6iYuiPJEn7Razekm_vi6BVHG1kOzjtuIklOiXrMFUwQNwamNi8N0nNBViWYajkFLWEevTES_D9AcaKfPJ/s320/20201114_093816.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Here, I'm trying to figure out how to get the whole paletot out of less than two yards of the black wool fabric I bought for the project. The wool here folded in half lengthwise. I ended up having to piece the top of the front pieces at the shoulder, but since that is covered with the cape, it doesn't show.</p><p>Worth noting: I often use newspaper when drafting patterns. I have a ton of it, it's big, and I don't mind tossing it out if the pattern doesn't work out. More recently, I was turned on to the idea of using wrapping paper with a grid on the back. I got several rolls on steep discount after Christmas. The grid helps SO MUCH in drafting. Ten out of ten, would recommend.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNadIEaWPK-CSRnk2jU7fJCYCsj3U9ntLkmdYuai-2Am4pzBe94mU0fCMd_aoykXY8JJFsjOl7fzafA-n79rlEuRlSP-YDrb4ski81Y1a6BPyPBsjsauf6m81TT9Bffp8lTSf8g_YOVJ6/s2048/20201115_101627.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNadIEaWPK-CSRnk2jU7fJCYCsj3U9ntLkmdYuai-2Am4pzBe94mU0fCMd_aoykXY8JJFsjOl7fzafA-n79rlEuRlSP-YDrb4ski81Y1a6BPyPBsjsauf6m81TT9Bffp8lTSf8g_YOVJ6/s320/20201115_101627.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here in all her glory is the mock-up over my hoops. No, the fit still isn't awesome, but it fits better on me and I figured it would do.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MQMtcA-yMUrCykjRB6c_wc05wrvNbaiFL9TthmE6alEisfshCRNI0VtvOlqg905iM35X4S2tpVNO4dq8z7RkuiGeMXynaVfcLy6bwhN60Fb1bos4fHIDUz2KF8XuGHwOelOsKWGlRIqq/s2048/20201116_172635.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MQMtcA-yMUrCykjRB6c_wc05wrvNbaiFL9TthmE6alEisfshCRNI0VtvOlqg905iM35X4S2tpVNO4dq8z7RkuiGeMXynaVfcLy6bwhN60Fb1bos4fHIDUz2KF8XuGHwOelOsKWGlRIqq/s320/20201116_172635.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made a few adjustments to the blue mock-up, particularly adding more width to the center front so the skirts came together. Here, the measuring tapes continues the line of the center front a few inches, since I decided not to recut the front in blue and just make the adjustment when cutting out the wool. You also see here where the front piece doesn't quite fit onto the black wool; that's the bit I pieced.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I went ahead and cut out the wool. The next step was to assemble all of this. Looking at the paletot in the image, I had no idea how it closed. I saw it had buttons down the front of the cape. Were these decorative or functional? If they were functional, how did they manage to traverse all the layers of fabric there? Because the edge of the bodice and of the cape are both turned under there, there are a lot of layers of fabric. I considered having the cape layers wrap around the bodice layers and have it all button as one, but that seemed like it would be too bulky. So I worked out a somewhat complicated system of closure that is probably not historically accurate <i>at all. </i>The cape is only attached to the bodice at the neckline (though not all the way around). The bodice is closed by hooks and eyes down to the waist. On one side, the cape is attached to the bodice at the neckline all the way to the center front edge. The other side is unattached for the last few inches so that it can reach overtop the layers on the other side and attach to the other edge of the cape (by means of a hook-and-eye). Essentially, the separated cape and bodice layers on one side end up sandwiching the stitched-together cape and bodice layers of the other side. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With the top edge of the cape thusly secured, it lays closed pretty happily on its own, but I added one hook and eye to the bottom edge to secure it. All of this required massive amounts of cogitation and a lot of fiddling to make the angles meet up neatly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My suspicion is that the Victorians simply managed to make the buttons functional.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6nML8dMbmHhL9qXtyXFMmTa9sZJhR0EHyPpccMHOUXKuNboadpIDdBkqYwzfK4k0L7Err4nQlnzGgYutRLZjFLXIaDUqQSGNMoAMZHjK22cqWJo4t_ut_ULtFyKLubKTau4WGALZk7Vj/s2048/20201122_082204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6nML8dMbmHhL9qXtyXFMmTa9sZJhR0EHyPpccMHOUXKuNboadpIDdBkqYwzfK4k0L7Err4nQlnzGgYutRLZjFLXIaDUqQSGNMoAMZHjK22cqWJo4t_ut_ULtFyKLubKTau4WGALZk7Vj/s320/20201122_082204.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Above, we have the body of the paletot in black, all assembled. And a bonus cat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next thing to tackle was the decoration. I hadn't attached the sleeves yet because I wanted to do the Greek key design from the image, and I knew that I would have to do that while the sleeves were still flat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVIvx86tTkBkFSc8Qj9m6z3sLOmutYn5GDaZvfX1ISoVxcLHw1vEEw6rtX6S6wVu_Q4sZBAS-RzWGGOrTghhaOPhaXy5Fl9OWpdDkQrymtiJKZjIWsLKC4aDniW6zi7Qwb9xc4Uh8LdVk/s2048/20201202_144247.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVIvx86tTkBkFSc8Qj9m6z3sLOmutYn5GDaZvfX1ISoVxcLHw1vEEw6rtX6S6wVu_Q4sZBAS-RzWGGOrTghhaOPhaXy5Fl9OWpdDkQrymtiJKZjIWsLKC4aDniW6zi7Qwb9xc4Uh8LdVk/s320/20201202_144247.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had to redo this design several times. I painstakingly mitered the corners and pinned it all down, only to realize that my 1" velvet ribbon was too wide. Luckily, the ribbon was backed with something synthetic, so I trimmed it down to 3/4" and melted the edge, and it worked great. I also realized that the velvet ribbon was just too white compared to the fringe. It was glaringly WHITE. So I dyed it with tea (the plush part of the ribbon must be cotton, because it dyed quickly and easily). I pinned on the narrower, less-glaring ribbon only to realize that the ribbon wasn't totally opaque and the mitered corners showed different shades of white where the ribbon folded over itself. Like with the WHITE ribbon that was too white, this didn't look good. If I was going to all this trouble, mitering the trim and all, then I decided I ought to take the extra time to fix this problem. So I unpinned bits of it at a time and slipped some 1/2" white satin ribbon underneath. I started stitching it all down. Then I realized that <i>that</i> didn't totally solve the issue, either, because at the corners I'd folded over the satin ribbon instead of mitering it like the velvet ribbon overtop, and that was visible. So I undid it <i>again</i> and did it properly, mitering the satin ribbon as well as the velvet ribbon. This time, it turned out looking great. Finally.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG15AC1X33qQHrsiB6QQkKAOEZKgVzS4U_N9E5oh3wg0pzfTUXgNvJsegLksrx_5As7m9lh4SiPh4SqNxTtgyXvjMcqoGl5W5zxvF4DFTlQ3kRa7QDKbAHxfsHK-LdeWRrYRXTbjiyo25/s2048/20201201_110023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG15AC1X33qQHrsiB6QQkKAOEZKgVzS4U_N9E5oh3wg0pzfTUXgNvJsegLksrx_5As7m9lh4SiPh4SqNxTtgyXvjMcqoGl5W5zxvF4DFTlQ3kRa7QDKbAHxfsHK-LdeWRrYRXTbjiyo25/s320/20201201_110023.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next step was to finalize my trim plan for the body. Above, I'm trying out some different configurations. I went with an edge of wider fringe around the bottom of the cape with a line of the velvet ribbon (dyed but not trimmed down) above it, a line of narrower fringe around the sleeves, a double line of the narrower fringe edging the skirts (to match the width of the trim around the cape), a line of velvet ribbon at the neckline (trimmed down to 1/2"), and some buttons. It was difficult to get the velvet ribbons to follow the curves of the cape and especially the curves of the neckline. I had to make little pleats in it to make it work, but it does work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Work in progress:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNLqzj7Bh1Nnnam1f6ksvr4UT01krLIRNQpGUKZxsSX9K4rStHDcsac2yrlRBpMUPjhWQPRhwn6SBAxXoMXJ5lUzl_Lv5Uq8xtNExVAq4cKTGDP5ZDq8YbqWUIYsBeavQOPyDSr00zMzG/s2048/20201208_184152.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNLqzj7Bh1Nnnam1f6ksvr4UT01krLIRNQpGUKZxsSX9K4rStHDcsac2yrlRBpMUPjhWQPRhwn6SBAxXoMXJ5lUzl_Lv5Uq8xtNExVAq4cKTGDP5ZDq8YbqWUIYsBeavQOPyDSr00zMzG/s320/20201208_184152.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And with that, we had a completed paletot:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOofZz9XoEyAvBPOghygcEf2W7d5tHelQplaykywEYahTn8PDdTY6wWqCAgMWQB5qCdCT-zu6tdSm0xf013VgrSy_7_SuI7QUpJsaRamigcoCQPUHzTbZVoLI5Nj1174BNPkz98wK9CU3S/s2048/20201211_121607.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOofZz9XoEyAvBPOghygcEf2W7d5tHelQplaykywEYahTn8PDdTY6wWqCAgMWQB5qCdCT-zu6tdSm0xf013VgrSy_7_SuI7QUpJsaRamigcoCQPUHzTbZVoLI5Nj1174BNPkz98wK9CU3S/s320/20201211_121607.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm really pleased with the result. Unfortunately, I really didn't have anywhere to wear it, given the pandemic. But I finally got the courage to get dressed up a few weeks ago and go up to Gettysburg. In addition to the paletot, I wore tall socks, an extra petticoat against my legs, and gloves (which go with a Victorian outfit anyway). I did get a bit chilled walking around in the 40-degree weather, but honestly it wasn't too bad. I did discover a few things. I should add another hook-and-eye to the middle of the cape, because when moving, it sometimes gaps open. I also might add some kind of closure to the skirts, because they kept blowing open. It wouldn't be an issue if the lining were black, but the blue, while fun and colorful, is really evident when the thing blows open.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall, though, this is one of the projects I'm most satisfied with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-30041276749107460582021-02-13T14:26:00.004-08:002021-02-14T15:17:37.846-08:00...And a Gazette and a Morgue<p>This may be exciting only to myself, and perhaps I should have come across this already, but even well after finishing the manuscript for a novel about the Llewelyn Davies brothers (George, Jack, Peter, Michael, and Nico, who inspired the creation of Peter Pan), I can't help poking around the available resources. Much to my delight, there are a lot of rich available resources, and I can continue to learn. Most of this won't end up in the manuscript, since it's finished and I did, as thoroughly as possible, research everything that does appear there. What I'm finding is a wealth of additional info that just can't be fit into the novel I wrote.</p><p>Today, there was a slight exception. I was looking back over the manuscript and realized that I might be able to double-check a fact that seemed to be hazy in my sources. The fact in question was when George and Peter were "gazetted", that is, when they were summoned in the official London Gazette to go to training for war. They enlisted as soon as war was declared August 4, 1914 and were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, but they went home until being told to go to training at Sheerness. That's what happened on September 11, 1914: they were gazetted. In the manuscript, I had written that it happened in "October". When I got to that point in my re-read, I was thinking of my sources, which I'd recently revisited. They both said the brothers were gazetted in September (no date), so I'm unclear why I wrote "October", but today it occurred to me that I might be able to look up the London Gazette online, and I did. Here is what I found:</p><p><a href="https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28899/page/7225">https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28899/page/7225</a></p><p>This link is to the page that shows George's and Peter's names. This is what they saw and what they read to inform them they were about to go to war. Peter wouldn't actually see action until 1916, but George went to France in December of that year (1914) and was killed in March 1915.</p><p>The other thing I found--which might have been there for some time--was Peter's "Morgue". Later in life, Peter started to put together a family history. It included family letters from the previous several decades with Peter's intelligent, eloquent commentary. He wryly called it the "Morgue." Ultimately, he never completed the project, probably because of how difficult it was for him to revisit the past. The manuscript still exists, however, and can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/works/some-davies-letters-papers-aka-the-morgue-1907-1910">https://jmbarrie.co.uk/works/some-davies-letters-papers-aka-the-morgue-1907-1910</a></p><p><a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/works/some-davies-letters-papers-aka-the-morgue-1911-1915">https://jmbarrie.co.uk/works/some-davies-letters-papers-aka-the-morgue-1911-1915</a></p><p>I want to go through it more carefully, but I haven't done so just yet.</p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-69688804880730512222021-02-05T16:07:00.000-08:002021-02-05T16:07:05.465-08:00...And Godey's Lady's Book<p> I recall, somewhat vaguely, hearing about "Godey's Lady's Book" in my AP US History class in high school, lo these many years ago. If I remember, it was mentioned in the textbook, one of those bolded words you're meant to take note of. Apparently, I did take note of it.</p><p>Godey's Lady's Book was a monthly lady's magazine out of Philadelphia, begun in the 1830s. Magazines at this period were <i>very</i> popular and included all kinds of information and features. It was something of a catch-all resource for women, with short stories, poetry, literary notices (that is, notices of books about to be published), "receipts" (what we now call recipes), architectural plans, music, tips for pressing flowers, drawing tutorials, embroidery designs, all the latest fashion "chit-chat", and full-color fashion plates.</p><p>All of which is to say that I was familiar with Godey's Lady's Book when my father's cousin contacted me to say he had a volume of the magazine. I was interested and mildly enthusiastic. On a day when I had another package go awry in strange circumstances, I got the package containing this volume. When I got it, I was preoccupied with that other package.</p><p>And when I opened it, I became more than mildly enthusiastic. I was <i>thrilled</i>.</p><p>This was a volume of all twelve monthly issues of Godey's Lady's Book from 1864. A whole year's worth! This volume, according to my father's cousin, had come down through the family (he suggested it had come with the family out to Kansas in the 1850s, but of course that isn't possible since the volume was of 1864 issues). It isn't in very good shape. There is no cover, the first few pages are torn and detached, and the binding it starting to fall apart. In fact, I sat down and immediately engrossed myself in it, flipping through the pages, and I went through it again a few days ago taking pictures of anything that might be of interest, but I will do my best not to open it again. Just going through it twice caused more cracks in the binding and therefore caused more sections to come loose from the rest of the volume.</p><p>Going through it that first time, I was delighted. I didn't read any of the stories, but I did glance at some of the poems, which were, I'm afraid, pretty maudlin Victorian fare, focused on death (not a big surprise in 1864, right in the middle of the war). I can't really read music, so I skimmed that. I didn't want to sit down and read the many stories and serials, either. But I <i>was</i> very interested in the various fashion items.</p><p>These fashion items came in various forms. There were the gorgeous, full-color fashion plates, of course. These were double the width of the magazine, were a "landscape" orientation, and folded in half fit into the magazine--you know, fold-outs. Sadly, over the last 157 years, some of the fashion plates went missing, lost the half of themselves that once folded out, or were torn along the fold. None were entirely intact. But what did survive is pretty glorious:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCSKzCN5Crn_wkRUq6t5BKbKYPQWuA0n9Rv5Cd9kGSufDX5inYXhvrbndUzmuAIaGOr7SOhnk1R6q7QMnxPCROgep7QpJ9BjDA-wnN-XBnT2lBNm4tG7jFmLxrbRR0Rcqz90EXJWnZBG4/s2048/20210201_092334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCSKzCN5Crn_wkRUq6t5BKbKYPQWuA0n9Rv5Cd9kGSufDX5inYXhvrbndUzmuAIaGOr7SOhnk1R6q7QMnxPCROgep7QpJ9BjDA-wnN-XBnT2lBNm4tG7jFmLxrbRR0Rcqz90EXJWnZBG4/s320/20210201_092334.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdmC_GaluqBSWf2rdv5LHLZ3PnO0HBQ-kXc1bJegLHN3H0qZvJYVuXdggnu-BkgnyI-GaD2KiYSxYm12tJybXYz78SLmn7gBMWMr2oHtt-T0lAlGrfEMdVi-xb50LUcmp8CzFi8UBzgWR/s2048/20210201_093154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdmC_GaluqBSWf2rdv5LHLZ3PnO0HBQ-kXc1bJegLHN3H0qZvJYVuXdggnu-BkgnyI-GaD2KiYSxYm12tJybXYz78SLmn7gBMWMr2oHtt-T0lAlGrfEMdVi-xb50LUcmp8CzFi8UBzgWR/s320/20210201_093154.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xUYTB0IMhltSsqzMm6n6ksqxzZJ2yt5T2jGORGvhk2ZSElW7lKsELJwxkTZd5CXRPj7UqQHOcVTIhbhNjjCb3xGmkeSDKUHXwbqrsuHACoflLep-9UsVQNqylYcjnTaC4Eg-dT96WVzn/s2048/20210201_101702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xUYTB0IMhltSsqzMm6n6ksqxzZJ2yt5T2jGORGvhk2ZSElW7lKsELJwxkTZd5CXRPj7UqQHOcVTIhbhNjjCb3xGmkeSDKUHXwbqrsuHACoflLep-9UsVQNqylYcjnTaC4Eg-dT96WVzn/s320/20210201_101702.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>(This is just a sampling. About half to two-thirds of the fashion plates survive, reckoning in the plates that are half-missing.)</p><p>Aside from this, there was a sections called "novelties", with etchings of various items of clothing, sometimes for children and sometimes accessories. There were images of bonnets and caps and undersleeves and what I would call chemisettes:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sSCsljDCVV7UV8TR9u0sZeWzOtp1NEPHuW4axHKFF0gAZ8zvnWOU690Usq9cMIXcmXMti4O0HWGfLrD18oly2BcFFZI1N-u5CWYTd8Db0joJUoXNS6xFrQTbgXl5AkQg1e8sly0qKLsA/s2048/20210201_101448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sSCsljDCVV7UV8TR9u0sZeWzOtp1NEPHuW4axHKFF0gAZ8zvnWOU690Usq9cMIXcmXMti4O0HWGfLrD18oly2BcFFZI1N-u5CWYTd8Db0joJUoXNS6xFrQTbgXl5AkQg1e8sly0qKLsA/s320/20210201_101448.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_m_EIk96gFnOSImHNi0uf2WzYTEIhdxbRjHJKiv_h-OFFX4h06zVC7hnwcxGR25dIA88ndbYTHJPleHhGTYRD8G6pxNZCDNpVbOvDDpDYPZ3Xvo2z_Uh2GGJfsRDVF3DeFiidqyMBn9D/s2048/20210201_092916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_m_EIk96gFnOSImHNi0uf2WzYTEIhdxbRjHJKiv_h-OFFX4h06zVC7hnwcxGR25dIA88ndbYTHJPleHhGTYRD8G6pxNZCDNpVbOvDDpDYPZ3Xvo2z_Uh2GGJfsRDVF3DeFiidqyMBn9D/s320/20210201_092916.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>There were also line etchings of outfits, ensembles, hair decorations, and coiffures:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iJBGawXqxPu6gMD0MawEaEtEGyL5ucyq3U6utpIkSIk2iNn0wnWJFBCYUa9cCYSNxZS-RfjfuYiEV9fqveiwuFqA2x2KARXVkwugluQATpCgRI8Qc9dSIuOYrwIxzcvTiH2dJmVDKJno/s2048/20210201_094734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iJBGawXqxPu6gMD0MawEaEtEGyL5ucyq3U6utpIkSIk2iNn0wnWJFBCYUa9cCYSNxZS-RfjfuYiEV9fqveiwuFqA2x2KARXVkwugluQATpCgRI8Qc9dSIuOYrwIxzcvTiH2dJmVDKJno/s320/20210201_094734.jpg" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jW_JmB9KiKxcBaDmJy2G0MQ5MQpQTGMdus3tubTdE4PCnt9VPWnFJuMbIBxFdcF0BUs6lG4tYAkL38f49hb6IDBQFMP4CH-YtAlxvS4X1ZbjrhsS_VjTPArolKpDryiR_WsmkUvp6tX8/s2048/20210201_093250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jW_JmB9KiKxcBaDmJy2G0MQ5MQpQTGMdus3tubTdE4PCnt9VPWnFJuMbIBxFdcF0BUs6lG4tYAkL38f49hb6IDBQFMP4CH-YtAlxvS4X1ZbjrhsS_VjTPArolKpDryiR_WsmkUvp6tX8/s320/20210201_093250.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p><br /></p><p>I particularly enjoyed this etching of bathing costumes:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsh0ocQiNEo_XP6a1zgcN_GoYd21BI_qgqeLBb8G0jTtU_XKBE6sz7rmtmdUojkhNMfFACIyOlueWO784YtJE01UD3oHcYIKWfWwf3gVJR_wgp4SujcxfVUw0a_Frgiw9yaVV0j4SB99N1/s2048/20210201_100428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsh0ocQiNEo_XP6a1zgcN_GoYd21BI_qgqeLBb8G0jTtU_XKBE6sz7rmtmdUojkhNMfFACIyOlueWO784YtJE01UD3oHcYIKWfWwf3gVJR_wgp4SujcxfVUw0a_Frgiw9yaVV0j4SB99N1/s320/20210201_100428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZrp8i4jNiqoJAsjE1x40b2g8L8Y0L8zzM5FXdhpLfIuNPDjaUiZ82-4kigJowCeYx4EylGnj5pLjI1U2XNMhOAYgyiFtLzMBuXxJ2SojywO9kJa71ccOfwc3fSbtl5NXY-hrnhllUN6a/s2048/20210201_100445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZrp8i4jNiqoJAsjE1x40b2g8L8Y0L8zzM5FXdhpLfIuNPDjaUiZ82-4kigJowCeYx4EylGnj5pLjI1U2XNMhOAYgyiFtLzMBuXxJ2SojywO9kJa71ccOfwc3fSbtl5NXY-hrnhllUN6a/s320/20210201_100445.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHsAvu5UFCECwnz-PX7DWYQzXHNfV-I4QfaZudG7byuDAe_49dNVTikyZAjFBgVYsvLv_-gN3pA8uwyOJsXbMwEvEM1YVAhugoaQWsH3UEw7201w50f4tAss07bZe9Kv7NZ4tIzxJkXb4/s2048/20210201_100441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHsAvu5UFCECwnz-PX7DWYQzXHNfV-I4QfaZudG7byuDAe_49dNVTikyZAjFBgVYsvLv_-gN3pA8uwyOJsXbMwEvEM1YVAhugoaQWsH3UEw7201w50f4tAss07bZe9Kv7NZ4tIzxJkXb4/s320/20210201_100441.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">There was, alas, only one pattern diagram, but I quite like the bodice it supposedly makes:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CPWxjVhom498KJDO1PUlSnV-XlANJJZpc3mNJSCxqDS0hXCoAP98w92ltHrcSPbIkL1d0Xv609RWaFBUlnj-nmCrOlLr9y7UEaP0-lov_fCSi4Pdd4z72Q7VwT56mAJbTvpSQvFZepGF/s2048/20210201_100652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CPWxjVhom498KJDO1PUlSnV-XlANJJZpc3mNJSCxqDS0hXCoAP98w92ltHrcSPbIkL1d0Xv609RWaFBUlnj-nmCrOlLr9y7UEaP0-lov_fCSi4Pdd4z72Q7VwT56mAJbTvpSQvFZepGF/s320/20210201_100652.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhNqcSqT1nm9GzbTnXS6qXfVnIlnqG2sSd1wuVlrRfYywc_LQ4IuzY1Iyozy1Le2amvPxqlEuKJjgEn-VwpwdsQRjMJXZWGPFvmJ5KOMUKo_eNA1gJYESetvPATxjU6go3-R-PA5-AbYo/s2048/20210201_100632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhNqcSqT1nm9GzbTnXS6qXfVnIlnqG2sSd1wuVlrRfYywc_LQ4IuzY1Iyozy1Le2amvPxqlEuKJjgEn-VwpwdsQRjMJXZWGPFvmJ5KOMUKo_eNA1gJYESetvPATxjU6go3-R-PA5-AbYo/s320/20210201_100632.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Now, if you've seen any other part of my blog, it's pretty evident that I'm into costuming. I've been trying hard to up my game recently as far as accuracy. I've been less than satisfied with what I've sewn, though I'm getting closer as I learn. How better to make an accurate ensemble than to base it on the information in Godey's Lady's Book? This volume can show me the cut and silhouette of dresses, but it also has information about accessories and styling and how everything went together as a look. The hair stuff would be helpful if I weren't so utterly useless when it comes to hair. That is a weak point of mine and is oh-so-important in getting the right look. I'm working on it.<p></p><p>In any case, I am extremely grateful to my father's cousin for sending this to me.</p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-21960518009313476202020-12-26T05:36:00.004-08:002020-12-29T06:51:00.057-08:00...And Living and Learning<p>The other day, a memory popped up on Facebook. Two years ago, Facebook reminded me, I had just completed an 1860s dress made of white Swiss-dot cotton fabric. I knew the dress was flawed, but I was proud of having completed my very first dress and was overall pretty dang pleased with my effort. So I drove up to Gettysburg, to the Victorian Photography Studio, to get a real wet-plate photograph taken. This was the process used at the time of the Civil War and involves standing still for a few seconds as the prepared plate is exposed. Then the plate is dipped in a series of chemicals. The last bath turns the image from a negative to a positive, which is a fun process to watch. It really is like magic.</p><p>Anyway, I smiled to see this memory, because I happen to be working on that dress right now. I recently finished a Victorian paletot (I'm sure I will eventually blog about that), and I'd told myself (sternly) that I would go back and fix up a few of my older pieces that needed work before starting something new. This dress was top of the list.</p><p>Now, let's start with looking at the photo:</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1f3-vrQlSzYBLpLPK_4N5kZuquIE0y2HAPY-EXvir4gFWjUxaOTjVLk9KXcCJRFZOrtAru0rLYGSjxG31nJEgCGHNMVmu2YEvRDfO2YBWXGWxRRTVvZo6kL1qoFCypEUW7WW6eLn4z3B/s2048/20181222_152749+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1f3-vrQlSzYBLpLPK_4N5kZuquIE0y2HAPY-EXvir4gFWjUxaOTjVLk9KXcCJRFZOrtAru0rLYGSjxG31nJEgCGHNMVmu2YEvRDfO2YBWXGWxRRTVvZo6kL1qoFCypEUW7WW6eLn4z3B/s320/20181222_152749+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p>And let's talk about what I got right: firstly, the fabric is lovely. It's a soft, delicate cotton with cute little tufted dots all over ("Swiss dots"). It's period-appropriate. It was a little difficult to work with, but I did a decent job, considering my lack of experience. I also chose a good pattern, the Truly Victorian sheer bodice, and I chose the correct sizing (the beautiful thing about TV patterns is that it gives you instructions for choosing a front and back to better fit your size). So it fits quite well in the back and at the ribcage and waist. I altered the sleeves (they were *way* too long), and the length and puffiness are right. I'm wearing a corset and hoops, and my hair is okay.</p><p>Now, let's talk about the things that I improved over the last two years, aside from the dress itself. I altered my hoop skirts to be less A-line and more bell-shaped. I made myself a better, more accurate corset. I improved my hair game (and I now have both a hair net and a bonnet).</p><p>Now, let's talk about what was wrong with this dress.</p><p>Oh boy. The construction is...not good. I didn't know what to do with the front opening, where the two layers of the bodice and the skirt all come together. The stitching is a bit wonky, and I threw on some pre-bought bias tape here and there. For all that, from about two feet away you can't really tell (especially with a helpful belt hiding it). What you *could* tell, however, was that the shoulder seam was way too high. I ended up with fabric bunched up above my shoulders as if I were constantly shrugging. Also, the skirt was much too long since I'd altered the hoop skirt.</p><p>I decided that there was a limit to what work I would do to the dress. The whole thing really needs to be taken apart and put back together, but at that point I might as well make a new dress. I also wanted to preserve this as a "look how far I've come" kind of memento. But I also quite like the dress and wanted to make it wearable. So my efforts have been focused on that. I redid the shoulder seam, bound the neckline, and hemmed the skirt. I ended up taking 7" off the bottom of the skirt, and I decided to use that excess to make ruffles. One row of ruffles has been sewn onto the skirt, and I'm trying to decide whether to add another row (I think I will not). I am going to add a placket to the skirt opening for stability, redo the cuffs (which are a mess), and sew on not-plastic buttons. The rest will just be as it is. I will say that I tried it on after pinning up the hem, adding a belt and bonnet and gloves, and it looks pretty darn good.</p><p>When the whole thing is done, I will share the result here.</p><p><b><u>UPDATE:</u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI4Ix_iq5mXY1uGqEtzHrlnFinZtSBCzlcdU33KJKNin1dVTZ1s4CDBWiw2kUZhnRI6Dg_7AVpvtg4YZirjuvydWIT_C-s2JTHgbhEfv4Ry34YiQhs4YtYHX7iNKfYv4-YYl7upbK9i40/s2048/20201228_170457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI4Ix_iq5mXY1uGqEtzHrlnFinZtSBCzlcdU33KJKNin1dVTZ1s4CDBWiw2kUZhnRI6Dg_7AVpvtg4YZirjuvydWIT_C-s2JTHgbhEfv4Ry34YiQhs4YtYHX7iNKfYv4-YYl7upbK9i40/s320/20201228_170457.jpg" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvTSCxsW_82q7h9rNh1FJ93fzWDW1d_CeqnL43wP1c0EWjsmU4_w9kWZdkVVL_SdWSSgaThQbJ-bWI-O8u2D6enek69WIyIgVPeVGho0FoOtUnvvk_tyPIfWLtz4XakN3OhgQefChy3my/s2048/20201228_171016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvTSCxsW_82q7h9rNh1FJ93fzWDW1d_CeqnL43wP1c0EWjsmU4_w9kWZdkVVL_SdWSSgaThQbJ-bWI-O8u2D6enek69WIyIgVPeVGho0FoOtUnvvk_tyPIfWLtz4XakN3OhgQefChy3my/s320/20201228_171016.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I've finished the refurbishment! As promised, I didn't fix everything that was wrong about this dress--that would be basically impossible. But as you can see here, there are a lot of improvements. The first is not the dress itself but the proportions. Because I adjusted the hoop skirt to be smaller and less A-line, the overall shape and proportion (in relation to my body) is much better. The problem with the shoulder seam isn't super evident in the photo above, and the improvement isn't evident in the "after" photos, but trust me, it's better. You also can't see that I added a placket to the skirt opening (previously, the vertical seam at the center front simply stopped a few inches short of the top of the skirt; I added a flap and finished off that seam). You can see that I added a ruffle. If you look closely, you can see I put on new cuffs, bound the neck line, replaced the plastic buttons with mother-of-pearl buttons. You can also see the belt, which is a different belt from the "before" picture. This belt is black with a rosette at the center front (I actually bought this online for a good price). The bonnet is something new I created earlier this year. The dark charcoal color of the bonnet and the beautiful red ribbon look great with the white dress. (The bonnet needs a little work--the ends of the ribbon need to be hemmed and the inside needs a lining.) I also have gloves that I'm not wearing in these pictures.<br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-47041783159576435622020-11-20T05:30:00.001-08:002020-11-20T05:55:20.036-08:00. . . And Peter Davies's Signature<p>I think that my blog-related to-do list needs to include a "short story" version of the Llewelyn Davies family history. The more I write about it, the more I want to have a short version I can send people to to catch them up if need be, rather than doing a summary every time I write about the Ll. Davieses.</p><p>But in any case, here's the short-short version for the purposes of this blog: </p><p><b>Peter Llewelyn Davies</b> was one of five brothers who inspired the creation of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. The character ended up with Peter's name through happenstance: Peter was a baby in a pram when Barrie started telling Peter's two older brothers, George and Jack, stories about how baby Peter could fly. The stories morphed, as they do, and eventually we ended up with the Peter Pan we know, the one who never grows up. The real Peter, however, did--of course--grow up. He was seven years old when the play <i>Peter Pan </i>premiered in 1904, and from that time he couldn't disassociate himself from the character, especially because of his name.</p><p>Within six years of the play's premiere, Peter and his brothers were orphaned and became Barrie's wards. Peter was at Eton (on scholarship, I feel I should add, rather than on Barrie's dime like his other brothers) and was in the Officer Training Corp when war broke out in 1914. He and big brother George immediately signed up. He was 17 years old, which was old enough to sign up for the army but not old enough to be sent to the front. George went off to the trenches, while Peter remained in England in training. In March 1915, George was killed. At the end of that year, Peter was sent to France. He had a bad experience during the war, watching friends die and cowering under the unrelenting threat of the artillery shells. At one point, he was sent home to England to recover from shell shock, but then he was sent back to the front. He was a signalling officer (meaning he laid and repaired telephone wire, etc.), but during the fighting he, at twenty-one or twenty-two (I should check the dates...), became the commanding officer after all the senior officers were killed. For several days, he led a fighting retreat, and as a result he was awarded a Military Cross.</p><p>Last autumn, I had the immense pleasure of viewing the Llewelyn Davies papers at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Among the papers are Peter's 37 letters home from the trenches to J.M. Barrie, whom he and his brothers (except Jack) called Uncle Jim. (As a note, Peter later carefully added the year to the date of each letter and numbered them--or at least, I'm fairly certain that that's Peter's handwriting. Also worth noting, it was kind of insane to be holding actual letters sent from the actual trenches of the Great War, in fact the <i>actual letters</i> from Peter to J.M. Barrie.)</p><p>I've been working on transcribing the letters. They're incredibly rich and vivid, and there's a strong undercurrent of world-weariness and nerviness, with a good dose of acerbic, very English, wit. For instance, he says the whole unit is in good fighting order, including "the signalling officer"--which is, of course, himself. This isn't a <i>joke</i>, but it's a wry way of stating things that I greatly appreciate. There are also some really descriptive, affecting bits, like this: "It is quite delightful going out under the trees with a book and Balkan cigarettes and a box of chocolates while the gramophone plays. One almost forgets the practically permanent noise of the guns." Peter is an excellent writer, in spite of being very young. I find his words at least as evocative as those of his adopted father, J.M. Barrie, perhaps more so for being less sentimentalized.</p><p>I got about two-thirds of the letters done, then took a break. I'm only up to mid-1916, but you can begin to see the psychological effects the war is having on Peter ("Honestly, Uncle Jim, I can't write about it - I don't believe anyone could, and I'm not particularly anxious that anyone should."). One of the things that struck me is the signature. He begins his correspondence signing himself "Yr affectionate Peter". Later, it's "Yr loving." In one of the last letters, here, it's what appears to be just "Your" or "Yr" or "Yrs". As you can see, the signature in 1918 is pretty untidy. Though his handwriting is mercifully fairly legible throughout (unlike JMB's!), it does appear to get looser and quicker towards the end of the war, as evidenced by the signatures. Of course, he was writing these letters from the field, and sometimes conditions necessitated him to write quickly or on a less-than-ideal surface, which might explain the sloppiness. In any case, I thought it would be interesting to look at Peter's signatures when he set out for France in 1916 and after two years in the trenches and a struggle with shell shock (a struggle which I contend he never really won and, in fact, lost in 1960 when he committed suicide):</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwSWUVV-AJZn5PH8DcR1WnHLvG8_qCmXAx7nO3MXmVu01F-fIc74jkxv2fmrtQtV79gtH294744HyyW36Z0T011Ec_ntHVASXzO11t5kqT8_oDesTrMUKil9zDuAXw7mW2OPzl2zSZaze/s1342/Peter%2527s+first+signature.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="1342" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwSWUVV-AJZn5PH8DcR1WnHLvG8_qCmXAx7nO3MXmVu01F-fIc74jkxv2fmrtQtV79gtH294744HyyW36Z0T011Ec_ntHVASXzO11t5kqT8_oDesTrMUKil9zDuAXw7mW2OPzl2zSZaze/w400-h140/Peter%2527s+first+signature.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter's signature late 1915: Y[ou]r affectionate Peter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvZPokrzn-2H_np8M3Ymli6vxgP_N0l01PKhFTjR5IDUwj77eiXcdx8pg0V5_nlcaXkhMnyPbTQE3mLMYk3ki6dBlRsJ7UOoWrJTSkcwhwTbPs7ZRyEKqpVxYrxl7VXqqYYFuUjKI6Y7m/s523/Peter%2527s+last+signature.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="523" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvZPokrzn-2H_np8M3Ymli6vxgP_N0l01PKhFTjR5IDUwj77eiXcdx8pg0V5_nlcaXkhMnyPbTQE3mLMYk3ki6dBlRsJ7UOoWrJTSkcwhwTbPs7ZRyEKqpVxYrxl7VXqqYYFuUjKI6Y7m/w320-h230/Peter%2527s+last+signature.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter's signature 1918: "Ever"? "Your"? Peter</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><p></p><p>You can see a definite deterioration there, though this isn't scientific and it's impossible to say <i>why</i> the 1918 signature is so sloppy. But he definitely missed the "t" he was meant to be crossing...</p><p><br /></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-31800668771329204462020-09-16T18:28:00.004-07:002020-09-16T18:28:59.624-07:00. . . And Victorian Unmentionables<div><b>Introduction</b></div><div><br /></div>Over recent weeks, I made a few Victorian underthings: a mid-Victorian corset, a mid-Victorian chemise, and a late Victorian/Edwardian petticoat. <div><br /></div><div>Why? </div><div><br /></div><div>I made the corset because the corset I had was fine but wasn't very historically accurate, didn't give me quite the hourglass shape I wanted, and was too long at the sides so that it pressed on my hip bones. Also, the pattern for a new corset was on sale.</div><div><br /></div><div>I made the chemise because, again, I wasn't happy with the shape of the chemises I had, and I wasn't going to go to the trouble of making a better corset only to wear it over a chemise that looked wrong. Yes, I know that when the whole look is put together, no one will see the chemise, but this is the 21st century and sometimes we take pics in our Victorian "undies" (which are less revealing than most modern outfits).</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I made the petticoat because the dress I'm working on currently definitely made it necessary. It's made of sheer chiffon, so I needed something to go under the skirt.</div><div><br /></div><div>I should add, these were stash-busting projects for the most part, meaning I used mostly stuff I already had on hand.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Specs:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Corset:</div><div>Pattern: Redthreaded 1860s gored corset (<a href="http://redthreaded.com">redthreaded.com</a>)</div><div>Fabric: Single layer of heavy white twill (about 1/2 a yard)</div><div>Hardware: Grommets for back lacing, 11" busk for front closure, zip ties for the boning, twill tape, bone casing, and cording to lace it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Chemise:</div><div>Pattern: Started with Truly Victorian Chemise and Drawers (TV102)</div><div>Fabric: White cotton lawn (about 1 yard)</div><div><br /></div><div>Petticoat:</div><div>Pattern: Started with Truly Victorian Late Edwardian Petticoat (TVE14)</div><div>Fabric: White Cotton lawn (about 1 yard) and some lace (about 1.5 yards)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Making the corset:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>My first corset was a 1910s long-line corset (<a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2020/02/and-a-great-war-corset-week-2.html">my Rilla corset--see my blog here</a>), and it went really well, so I embarked on an 1860s corset with optimism. I ordered my supplies (I needed a busk and cording) and made a mock-up in the meantime. I had purchased the medium size pattern based on my bust size (I possibly should have gone smaller, given what happened later, but, well, you'll see). I made a mock-up of muslin, taped on zip ties, and attached a 2" strip of fabric in the back to mimic the lacing gap. This meant I didn't have to fiddle around with a lacing panel, holes, and lacing. I put it on and was pretty pleased. It fit pretty well in the torso, the hip gores hit in a good spot, and the bust gores seemed fine. I noticed the side seam was too far back. Instead of being right at my side under my arm, it was along my back.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then I realized I hadn't added the lacing panels, which would add another inch-and-a-half or so on either side.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSU3rVwBIZ27NNVJ3_GYAKOyAoNu_TlqO1T6H9HXO0dQYC1pSFJjyJDmya25z4q9wkTrJ6wrjBBdpcOSzebhvVTB57Xd0oLGyBJ4W1yH7MlVk0MshyphenhyphenqIB_rfH4ot9l_-ofP9XX8pX1rfZ/s2048/20200729_093150.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSU3rVwBIZ27NNVJ3_GYAKOyAoNu_TlqO1T6H9HXO0dQYC1pSFJjyJDmya25z4q9wkTrJ6wrjBBdpcOSzebhvVTB57Xd0oLGyBJ4W1yH7MlVk0MshyphenhyphenqIB_rfH4ot9l_-ofP9XX8pX1rfZ/s320/20200729_093150.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mock-up. Sewed in the busk with contrasting thread to make it <br />easier to take it out again.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWHWsub0mCCi2SQ5Wmx7Emo3MaVxpM9busSdo7svDU51K9-5Pp2Jp3XN2CG-MbdB-swejU1wgo5YQ8iuxo__97tAtz8y-WzeJBrqAAASUHScCEhGkyX4BpWPl92V69CtCe_HSK8REPw0x/s2048/20200730_143252.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWHWsub0mCCi2SQ5Wmx7Emo3MaVxpM9busSdo7svDU51K9-5Pp2Jp3XN2CG-MbdB-swejU1wgo5YQ8iuxo__97tAtz8y-WzeJBrqAAASUHScCEhGkyX4BpWPl92V69CtCe_HSK8REPw0x/s320/20200730_143252.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messy mock-up.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Well, damn. My solution to the corset being too big around was to kill two proverbial birds with one stone: I lopped an inch off the side of the front panels, which took 2" total out of the circumference of the corset and moved the side seam forward. To take even more out of the circumference, I tightened up the seam allowances in the lacing panels. By taking these bits away, I compensated for the addition of the lacing panels, and it ended up fitting well, like it did when it had no lacing panels.</div><div><br /></div><div>Honestly, it still is probably a little too big all the way around. When I lace it shut, the gap at the back is barely 2", which is basically the minimum. On the upside, the lacing gap is even all the way down. On the downside, I can't tight lace, but I wasn't going to do that anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uTbFON_dhHmt1zgn6lkPYPPv3EEWMhx1dPPPsnkEwIZoyCTTAW9-FsVrAZiQR_yfu7fhcc1ofky1YAJTjDV3KtrOT105GVH3R8EVWS8HsgWjvbKf55aFwiCnUSdDF_yFSBdlXfipuuMv/s2048/20200801_161729.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uTbFON_dhHmt1zgn6lkPYPPv3EEWMhx1dPPPsnkEwIZoyCTTAW9-FsVrAZiQR_yfu7fhcc1ofky1YAJTjDV3KtrOT105GVH3R8EVWS8HsgWjvbKf55aFwiCnUSdDF_yFSBdlXfipuuMv/s320/20200801_161729.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6Gh9c2Nq2Ws67qC0kNUsvnquOvVnYtoBs8Rqc3M4HqkIftNhGudyFuYf9MPq8dBdXj7ZXqyKYxuSVRDixmVPn9dVr1TP0e0ihtpU_HYHdzzcpukfPg-SUkamaLI2HLTPZ4kFTAqlJ2mh/s2048/20200801_183002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6Gh9c2Nq2Ws67qC0kNUsvnquOvVnYtoBs8Rqc3M4HqkIftNhGudyFuYf9MPq8dBdXj7ZXqyKYxuSVRDixmVPn9dVr1TP0e0ihtpU_HYHdzzcpukfPg-SUkamaLI2HLTPZ4kFTAqlJ2mh/s320/20200801_183002.jpg" /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54OCMNXJ64lQIqddqhe_WQjR5N7KdlWW3lckhD1EPkxjshQ9Q27qoDP1MAWRjf3GCSccnkRykLLoq4rx-sWjg3Sj9rvZMh3SOn-Vwm5FGaXFeYVpi58f_sWH-N3TAQEy5dbpMc0e2NQuv/s2048/20200803_101604.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54OCMNXJ64lQIqddqhe_WQjR5N7KdlWW3lckhD1EPkxjshQ9Q27qoDP1MAWRjf3GCSccnkRykLLoq4rx-sWjg3Sj9rvZMh3SOn-Vwm5FGaXFeYVpi58f_sWH-N3TAQEy5dbpMc0e2NQuv/s320/20200803_101604.jpg" /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGL1Ji_xChrVjQZsr5sf1sSwxQla2PcggM-0ttPOpMh_bQyrjSotLWULKQVDJDEazbB4X4W4qHz6G3Bl36vPcXb1zHA1vcTi6O6b1p3hLjC02q9VKYC49eoI_pek0s6Ur7u0BeXlJaZ8T9/s2048/20200802_135354.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGL1Ji_xChrVjQZsr5sf1sSwxQla2PcggM-0ttPOpMh_bQyrjSotLWULKQVDJDEazbB4X4W4qHz6G3Bl36vPcXb1zHA1vcTi6O6b1p3hLjC02q9VKYC49eoI_pek0s6Ur7u0BeXlJaZ8T9/s320/20200802_135354.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, those changes were really pretty simple to make. and I was really happy with this pattern and how it went together. I started in on the final product, that is with the twill. I did only a single layer because it's easier and it's cooler to wear, and I'm quite happy with a white corset. Fancy colors are fancy, but . . . fancy isn't totally necessary. I inserted the busk, sewed together the panels and gores, constructed the lacing panels, sewed in the boning channels, and added the bones. Then I bound it around the top and bottom and added the lacing. And it was done.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was pleased with the final product. It's a bit big in the hips, so the proportions look odd. It could/should be padded to create the proper silhouette, but then again, it will be under a hoop skirt and not visible, so why? The bust is a bit gappy along the top edge, but apparently it's a Thing to have a little drawstring at the top of the bust, which I might actually do. That or sew in tiny darts. Or add padding. Oh, and I had trouble with the grommets. A few popped out. So I need to sew those. Okay, so a bit of work still needs to take place here, but not much, and it's really fine as-is.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HgkzVMcEzrq2BAC2LwIPu4ks92AxIr1Ap4f9riR5bN4ptHlhidBdpRan5vGoUMAAHS7UBKjQW3U6bWwGZSNjDGl2_9Xc8kGRQKQvlUFaihW5G8Iy3dpbuhArqiD4td7QkN606uHYWoXV/s2048/20200804_160844.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HgkzVMcEzrq2BAC2LwIPu4ks92AxIr1Ap4f9riR5bN4ptHlhidBdpRan5vGoUMAAHS7UBKjQW3U6bWwGZSNjDGl2_9Xc8kGRQKQvlUFaihW5G8Iy3dpbuhArqiD4td7QkN606uHYWoXV/s320/20200804_160844.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of the corset. The bunny ear loops<br />help with lacing and look like a villain's mustache.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxUfIsRs8zHrPpuGyUWRzXSHaSSfJDwvHE4M6WcV2rbMeAIOj7Dcid53DnQgnd9mbWsQtsWRvrbLtud7yR5ZoOSCzITgxE2TR2CKF-XuruDd0Ir4Y8wVcTAEikmUCwkh5eYj3l7xbC7Yy/s2048/20200804_160909.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxUfIsRs8zHrPpuGyUWRzXSHaSSfJDwvHE4M6WcV2rbMeAIOj7Dcid53DnQgnd9mbWsQtsWRvrbLtud7yR5ZoOSCzITgxE2TR2CKF-XuruDd0Ir4Y8wVcTAEikmUCwkh5eYj3l7xbC7Yy/s320/20200804_160909.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corset's inside, upside down. The tan is a waist stay.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Making the chemise:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>For this piece, I started with a Truly Victorian pattern which was, in fact, the very first thing I ever sewed (aside from a really, really simple dress for the Ren Faire in middle school lo these many years ago). That chemise has served me well, but the fabric is a bit stiff, and the shape is . . . not what I was looking for. I was looking for a wider, scoop-ier neckline. I also wanted to finish everything off nicely.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I got to work. I wish I could describe what I did. It involved measuring the width of my shoulders and the depth I wanted the neckline to scoop, and doing some math and guessing and head-scratching. I penciled something I hoped was correct onto the original pattern. I could've done a mock-up, but I frankly didn't want to use up the fabric and time. So I traced my new pattern directly onto my cotton lawn and cut it out with a whole lot of seam allowance all around.</div><div><br /></div><div>I then draped the result onto my dress form, and, whoo boy, it's good I left lots of seam allowance. The outer edges of the front and back shoulder seams just barely met. I did a bit more adjusting, but I was basically happy with the result. All of this fiddling and cutting took most of a day.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day I started sewing, and I didn't stop until I was done. I decided the neckline was right where I wanted it, so I bound it with double-folded strips of bias-cut fabric. I had never actually tried this technique, and it turned out beautifully. I did the same thing with the arm holes. The side seams I folded and then machine-stitched down (no hand felling for me; I'm not Bernadette Banner, ffs). In addition to binding, I wanted to try pin tucks. It was getting a little late in the day, but I was determined to finish this thing, so I added three pin tucks along the bottom, which really go a long way in making it look VICTORIAN.</div><div><br /></div><div>I might add a bit of lace around the neckline to soften it and make it, well, lacier. Otherwise, this thing is LEGIT and it is DONE.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_QHMkGjTP03zS3UP7Noqz7TFdrhdJItVfXj0hhwuRQrweq1_-rcgu7VoQEB62Uu2gpRc0RzIgIxvv-5zIEJhYhCftUpXgSWil6ob66k_0thFWj8bOHqaQcxsiq7jiW-wZYfsNkV_Bfsu/s2048/20200805_182850.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_QHMkGjTP03zS3UP7Noqz7TFdrhdJItVfXj0hhwuRQrweq1_-rcgu7VoQEB62Uu2gpRc0RzIgIxvv-5zIEJhYhCftUpXgSWil6ob66k_0thFWj8bOHqaQcxsiq7jiW-wZYfsNkV_Bfsu/s320/20200805_182850.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I considered trying insertion lace for the first <br />time but decided against it.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtRjaWzOMFCe-QK9ypsy7BY-y0wOjdcujd3YrKg8RfnJ9rm0n26YriyKDZjHDDTM84WjxklQFJDaBonPfoz-3DytbDrt3i4vDbY8EPl_ph1ioGPNB1hPDlxpFrzk5ntBAL1D9Qta_b2CR/s2048/20200807_091122.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtRjaWzOMFCe-QK9ypsy7BY-y0wOjdcujd3YrKg8RfnJ9rm0n26YriyKDZjHDDTM84WjxklQFJDaBonPfoz-3DytbDrt3i4vDbY8EPl_ph1ioGPNB1hPDlxpFrzk5ntBAL1D9Qta_b2CR/s320/20200807_091122.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product, with American Duchess shoes.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzS459e07SuwlBL2KA06pIUFOvt9Y-eYhKaioKPkNTE4aomtWFnrAnMcHiz0h4IsMeND4BeI_2y2wgGyB1GBgKOTsWXsQ-qFO_WbRpPggGMRQ6zOEBwDJWUhRfHufgAKSWQIAGYXSlaUO/s2048/20200807_090745.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzS459e07SuwlBL2KA06pIUFOvt9Y-eYhKaioKPkNTE4aomtWFnrAnMcHiz0h4IsMeND4BeI_2y2wgGyB1GBgKOTsWXsQ-qFO_WbRpPggGMRQ6zOEBwDJWUhRfHufgAKSWQIAGYXSlaUO/s320/20200807_090745.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CAT.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8p811vX51_opWOapKxRfhjWj6VqLVU6Chtx17gMRyabrbhCHrJSte8vKdnNDJe9hHUM90KO58_0-iuSAeTh_fXZnz2t6ooU9E9br6NFRVk8db9NqHHsSAifa2jfBncs1NbJRHQqgEdO-d/s2048/20200807_093111.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8p811vX51_opWOapKxRfhjWj6VqLVU6Chtx17gMRyabrbhCHrJSte8vKdnNDJe9hHUM90KO58_0-iuSAeTh_fXZnz2t6ooU9E9br6NFRVk8db9NqHHsSAifa2jfBncs1NbJRHQqgEdO-d/s320/20200807_093111.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ALSO CAT.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuQCtBoy1-7-bUGRxYxDphnsnSq0VqDEfTz6xS7dFV-GUe9uMNUBh3NYAmUkqRablGppYvIvTiWzrCM_FjQGVrSBvHqoRkKIlr_Da02f0yxzziwB-SO5h3aHbk6bjloBa7cd4XNPQxcWC/s2048/20200807_092713.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuQCtBoy1-7-bUGRxYxDphnsnSq0VqDEfTz6xS7dFV-GUe9uMNUBh3NYAmUkqRablGppYvIvTiWzrCM_FjQGVrSBvHqoRkKIlr_Da02f0yxzziwB-SO5h3aHbk6bjloBa7cd4XNPQxcWC/s320/20200807_092713.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corset with chemise. Even though my hands<br />are there, you can still kind of tell my hips should<br />be padded out a bit.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Making the petticoat</b>:</div><div><br /></div><div>This, like the chemise, was somewhat ad hoc. I started with the late Edwardian petticoat pattern from Truly Victorian. What I needed was a fairly plain skirt that didn't add much volume or shape. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, quite fortuitously, I found this image of a petticoat from about the time period I needed my petticoat for (1919--and yes, I'm aware that that is *not* Victorian; I'm stretching it a bit/a lot, but the resulting petticoat can, I think, work for a variety of styles). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAsG2EBC0iZEY-r31akZ1gYtxXSJF9kaz77OteK4uSODgyaonxAHvN8pbH0wJoEFmiJyw5Rhe6ClV462Lf5mlYPdRlO24CyMq2Pp0Y2Lz4jXL452vpAQKOMT5QGMr5rv9t7zhI7nJewZB/s840/picture-diagram+1910s+petticoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAsG2EBC0iZEY-r31akZ1gYtxXSJF9kaz77OteK4uSODgyaonxAHvN8pbH0wJoEFmiJyw5Rhe6ClV462Lf5mlYPdRlO24CyMq2Pp0Y2Lz4jXL452vpAQKOMT5QGMr5rv9t7zhI7nJewZB/s320/picture-diagram+1910s+petticoat.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>If you notice, this shows quite a bit of gathering at the waistband. The TV pattern calls for a bit of gathering at the back but is otherwise quite fitted. The TV pattern also shows a slightly different configuration of front, back, and side panels. My first step was to ignore the back panel; I would just cut two of the front panel. Then I went up several sizes. For the front panel, I drew a straight line from the "attach dust ruffle here" line to the very top corner of the waist line. This was now my fold line, thereby doubling the width of the panel <i>after</i> going up several sizes. For the front panel (which would be the pattern for both the front <i>and</i> the back), I just went up several sizes. All of this fiddling preserved the lines where the pattern pieces met, so I wouldn't have to worry about making curves meet neatly and so forth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, with all that figured out and a lot of volume added to this petticoat, I went ahead and cut it out of my cotton lawn, then sewed together the four panels. I was pretty pleased with the volume. I ran some gathering stitches. It was again getting late in the day, and I might have forged on, but partway through running a line of gathering stitches, my bobbin ran out of thread, which was a sign from the sewing gods to give it up for the night. I came back to it, finished the gathering stitches, cut out a waistband, turned in the edges, gathered the skirt to the waistband, turned it out, folded the waistband over the top of the skirt panels, and stitched it down using a machine top stitch because I was too lazy to do it by hand when it really would never be seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>I tried a drawstring as a closure but it didn't quite work, so I sewed on a hook-and-bar closure, and it worked perfectly. I hemmed the bottom, and it was magically almost the exact right length to go under the dress I made it for. For pizazz, I added some lace that I bought as part of a lot on Ebay. It was a perfect addition. Finally, I ran some light pink ribbon through the holes in the top of the lace.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxvlss8Ab_U1Mqq5fBRV-Pq76pgzePiXorO0djsQHAiTG4xzvQeupgKNOhMWtUribgfzdA6lOYXEgNNkPd-e8m_rD5mDgLaTkD4TfDCOMn-n_ahqwi31amn_8qIz56H0rlt-LQURaXaY3/s2048/20200907_130533.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxvlss8Ab_U1Mqq5fBRV-Pq76pgzePiXorO0djsQHAiTG4xzvQeupgKNOhMWtUribgfzdA6lOYXEgNNkPd-e8m_rD5mDgLaTkD4TfDCOMn-n_ahqwi31amn_8qIz56H0rlt-LQURaXaY3/s320/20200907_130533.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petticoat: check<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-49372825748698998052020-08-17T09:13:00.001-07:002020-08-17T09:13:24.932-07:00...And George Llewelyn Davies at Cambridge<p>At the end of last year (oh Lord, that seems like a bloody age ago, doesn't it?), I went on a trip (fancy getting on a train and <i>going somewhere!</i>) to New Haven, CT (God, I miss traveling).</p><p>Why might I have gone to New Haven? Well, because New Haven is the home of Yale University, and Yale is home to the papers of J.M. Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family. To catch up anyone who might not be aware, I became deeply fascinated with the story of the Llewelyn Davies brothers, who inspired Peter Pan, about two and a half years ago now. I wrote a novel about them. And then I decided to go to New Haven to see the papers. That seems backwards, but I had access to most the info in those papers via a fabulous book by Andrew Birkin: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/J-M-Barrie-Lost-Boys/dp/0300098227/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=j.m.+barrie+and+the+lost+boys&qid=1597618315&sr=8-2">J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys</a>. </i>Much of the photos and letters are also available via <a href="http://jmbarrie.co.uk">jmbarrie.co.uk</a>, and a lot of it is digitized by Yale (e.g.: <a href="https://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3435510">The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island</a>). Besides, I didn't realize the papers were there at Yale until after I finished the ms.</p><p>In any case, in going to Yale to actually see the collection (at the Beinecke Rare Manuscripts Library), I was able to hold in my hands the actual letters that I had read copies of, including George's and Peter's letters home from the trenches of WWI. I was also <i>thoroughly</i> delighted when I came across this spectacular photo of George:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWrsqrXNR2-HoNLz9URkqguy8ICS9qRTha9pJeVAdfaSHC7fKQZYKxnRibBSHIhE24RXE_6bhev-NjMjK1sbYoSsTDJDkIdo2v5WdISfAFEF-Wxzih4nfLA1lihHKlbt2nIkG8THzuX-0/s2048/20190930_174710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWrsqrXNR2-HoNLz9URkqguy8ICS9qRTha9pJeVAdfaSHC7fKQZYKxnRibBSHIhE24RXE_6bhev-NjMjK1sbYoSsTDJDkIdo2v5WdISfAFEF-Wxzih4nfLA1lihHKlbt2nIkG8THzuX-0/s640/20190930_174710.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMbecwDOBHkzxwIajkASbtBzyq2oK-al6isdaB2Js4y0sBNwkKSMKy6ehAzlUh0gaaA-AUAMzHvm3e8dt5XQRhUs8pKyk4WKtwk_8BMca2pfyaTNQGQTTPPVKhp6bcnJntcd6kNv7xf15/s2048/20190930_174654.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMbecwDOBHkzxwIajkASbtBzyq2oK-al6isdaB2Js4y0sBNwkKSMKy6ehAzlUh0gaaA-AUAMzHvm3e8dt5XQRhUs8pKyk4WKtwk_8BMca2pfyaTNQGQTTPPVKhp6bcnJntcd6kNv7xf15/s640/20190930_174654.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Does dear George not look fabulous? It's clearly a costume (this is not standard 1910s men's garb, <i>obviously</i>). It's part of a group of photos of him in costume, sometimes with fellow actors posing as if taking part in a scene. George was in the Amateur Dramatic Club at Cambridge, which is where these photos come from. Being the unofficially-adopted son of a famous playright and the real inspiration behind one of the stage's most beloved characters (that is, Peter Pan), acting was surely in his DNA.</p><p>The costume is from a time that was bygone even in 1914, when this was taken. I have an iota of knowledge about historical dress, and I pinned this to the 1790s or early 1800s. I was only about 80% sure of my guess, but this costume is pretty amazing in its detail and, frankly, accuracy. It seems quite extravagant, too. One wonders--well, <i>I </i>wonder--whether Barrie provided financial backing to the ADC. In any case, a friend on Facebook confirmed that it looked very 1790s.</p><p>Today, I was browsing through jmbarrie.co.uk (for funsies) and realized that this photo was online there (I don't think it was previously) and that it was labelled as being from 1914 and from a production of A Tale of Two Cities (which takes place partly during the 1790s).</p><p>It's delightful to be validated in my placing of the costume's time period. It's also fantastic to know exactly what play it was from. It also hurts more than a little to know that this was taken just a few months before war broke out--a war that killed George the following year. But mostly I was just pleased to have a little more knowledge about this story.</p><p><br /></p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-49955748142642761882020-08-16T15:33:00.003-07:002020-08-16T15:33:14.790-07:00...And a Bonnet<p>Yep, I'd say this blog has shifted pretty thoroughly to costuming stuff, at least for now. I'm fine with that. I'm a little backed up as far as the costume posts--I've been busily sewing but not blogging about it.</p><p>At the same time I was <a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2020/07/and-1920s-dress.html">working on my yellow '20s dress</a>, I worked on a bonnet to match <a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2020/07/and-blue-1860s-dress.html">my new blue 1860s dress</a>. I already had a bonnet, <i>but</i>: 1. it was white, tan, and yellow, which absolutely did not match with the blue-white-and-red dress, 2. it was not all that well-made, 3. I made that one in crappy polyester (a mistake), and I wanted to make one with real silk, and 4. I just wanted to.</p><p><b>THE SPECS:</b></p><p>Fabric: 1/2 yard of *beautiful* charcoal silk from <a href="www.timelytresses.com">Timely Tresses</a>. $15.</p><p>Structure: about half of 1 yard of buckram I bought from Timely Tresses for $11.</p><p>Wire: got some 18 gauge wire from Home Depot. You're supposed to use millinery wire, but this worked beautifully. About $4.</p><p>Pattern: Timely Tresses Clara Christine pattern--previously bought, so free(ish)!</p><p>Trimming: Red silk ribbon ($10), various paper flowers (total of $9) all from Timely Tresses.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-J2UxO5lynIYkZ7mXyrsjqbdr19bTH7M1LES8mQcvbNqX6zDqKJSHdrINAXLko9E34W_GM-HGZIg8i1thx0Wc4mV2ZdjWuiv-SlwoIizZQdmhl_As9vTm0wuiYgvEE5etMCNVoCIYaag/s2048/20200625_185009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-weight: 700; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-J2UxO5lynIYkZ7mXyrsjqbdr19bTH7M1LES8mQcvbNqX6zDqKJSHdrINAXLko9E34W_GM-HGZIg8i1thx0Wc4mV2ZdjWuiv-SlwoIizZQdmhl_As9vTm0wuiYgvEE5etMCNVoCIYaag/s640/20200625_185009.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't it look pretty just sitting there?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>THE BONNET</b><br /><br />I had made this pattern before, so I knew the general idea. Although I love everything I got from Timely Tresses, the directions can be confusing for a first-timer, and when I first made this bonnet, I made mistakes, especially in wiring it. But this time I was more careful.</p><p>The first step was to trace out the pieces--the tip (or back), headpiece, brim, and bavolet--onto the buckram and then cut them out. Nothing special there. The next step was wiring the edges. This entailed butting the wire against all the edges, taping it on temporarily, and then blanket-stitching it all around. Everything on the bonnet is hand-stitched, and I'm slow with hand-stitching, which is why this project took me a while to complete.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKW4oEfZU5_Osm0PZzrDaMwiRo0qRE9J2huuHPANiNdYkaVx71hiNz9hxDp8lQwZOokwCE5n7LNKsSraEe5-cze2e-De0yJbf_0wiKNkiA7V016wUGMpk8E6WsiO-o0xzaFPcW3O_B4okF/s2048/20200712_112642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKW4oEfZU5_Osm0PZzrDaMwiRo0qRE9J2huuHPANiNdYkaVx71hiNz9hxDp8lQwZOokwCE5n7LNKsSraEe5-cze2e-De0yJbf_0wiKNkiA7V016wUGMpk8E6WsiO-o0xzaFPcW3O_B4okF/s640/20200712_112642.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjLgPsBmRmfJgELW6Ob7LuVGyWA81sWImolD3hNhsyHJb6_KAhVyeuslRH7GPlosyRoDySMW3jTLfLYU_DixchcyUXJ8pRJZ2xfb8PPHRa1GyMC8prnXf2myOTsokBttH1J8-lHpDqGPo/s2048/20200712_112626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjLgPsBmRmfJgELW6Ob7LuVGyWA81sWImolD3hNhsyHJb6_KAhVyeuslRH7GPlosyRoDySMW3jTLfLYU_DixchcyUXJ8pRJZ2xfb8PPHRa1GyMC8prnXf2myOTsokBttH1J8-lHpDqGPo/s640/20200712_112626.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the process of wiring, with tea cup handy.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />While I was at it, I had to create a bowl-shaped tip for the back of the bonnet. In the picture above, it's just to the left of the tea cup. To make this shape, I cut a circle out of the buckram and tried to use steam to form it over a cannoli container (that's what's sitting beside the tip in the picture above). I had gotten myself pizza and a cannoli for dinner a night or two earlier and held onto the little plastic container the cannoli came in. I was trying to figure out how to form the tip and thought of this container, which magically was just the right size and shape. I used that and a cereal bowl to help shape the tip.<p></p><p>I did run into some trouble. In my infinite wisdom (ha), I thought I should spray starch all over the tip to . . . make it stiffer, I guess? I'm not sure what my thought process was. But it got wet with the spray starch and went limp, and I was pretty sure I'd ruined it, because it was just like a wet piece of netting and it needed to be stiff. I shaped it with my bowl and cannoli container and used a hairdryer to dry it. Look, no one said the making of these pretty things was glamorous. My unorthodox methods worked, the buckram dried and stiffened, and I had a tip. It ended up having folds in odd places and not being quite as nicely shaped as I would've liked, but it worked perfectly fine for my purposes.</p><p>In any case, with that minor crisis overcome, it was on to binding the edges of the pieces. I cut bias strips out of an old muslin mock-up and wrapped them around the edges, then did a running stitch to secure them. Easy. Somewhat time-consuming, but easy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0d8xYUypQ-x-e1YhW4_akgNLQUovRg1wT9xX0mEvZHZVgH5kcYd0wH8JBRkuESkG4cvniZbQyswowmz0kSNQWNc0cio7NrhxVODTWADphPxy4daNl3MAzcyJOpUEX0MwFnkulFLS-6nqR/s640/20200713_114449.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edges bound. Tea cup still present and accounted for (top right).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The next step was to butt all the edges against one another and whip-stitch them together. The wire tail from the brim stuck out long enough to wrap around the bottom of the bavolet (the back flap) and give it structure.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFhtyzDHpNjPXYHIT3Wbe5cPHrF5By6SAu2HDeJyAXZ-mKu0edIrfH-AkmZS9xPHItMHF9hvwyZpKjBKXHppS1-NfewFVNhZU1SKRu6i4Cm5QpBs6QPFq4msREQpObmyCQaofT7TZlJUr/s640/20200714_094921.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonnet form completed, sitting with my hero ,the cannoli container, and the charcoal silk.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnDdwv0wSYwqtzHoSKx64j3fJuKBOO5LC93RFCNbqOV_ynpxHiXrRm9zcRhIPVHBWWm4MIxZBvzv7QqHppq865mazLvJO_bNxkc9jxpkD8GaHl1X9CvB-OriVJBfrvCYcMRsUVcp7doSg/s640/20200714_094810.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Next, it was time to chalk the pattern onto the fabric...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7cz_MW1k12tbwZF0mUSnrN0pTwPJMoGfg7A0UMe0w0ryy17L6Wfhujv9luoW9rJj6Jt_wn7k2B7_BTLqGkBxCFx1NepCIAM554UqTN5z8C6uN1oSoSIiC0XALbmk3JVP2PG5-57BUxnd/s640/20200714_095123.jpg" /></p><p>...and then cut those pieces out and hand-stitch them down. I sewed the tip on first. I had to do tiny pleats to make it fit, and there was some fiddling to make it as even as possible. But then I just did a running stitch to secure it. I did the headpiece next, sewing the center back seam first, then fitting it over the form. I turned under the back edge and slip-stitched it to the silk tip (that is, I didn't secure it to the buckram form, just to the silk, which was secured to the form). </p><p>Then I did the brim. This is a long rectangle, gathered down. I had some trouble with this, so to help get the gathers even, I actually sewed my gathering stitches on a curve, rather then right along the edge of the fabric. At the tips, I just tucked the excess fabric in and sewed it down. Along the edge with the headpiece, I turned under the brim fabric and slip-stitched it to the headpiece fabric. I think I did this out of order and that it might have been easier to do the brim first, then the headpiece, but whatever.</p><p>Finally came the bavolet, the frill on the back. This is just a long rectangle gathered and sewn to the back of the bonnet (with more slip stitches). I did make a mistake here--I didn't make it long enough, and I'm slightly dissatisfied with that part of the bonnet. I had to go back and wrap the white buckram bavolet in black silk so it wasn't so visible, which wouldn't have been a problem with a longer bavolet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEZjbTE1CbwlIFJQCNS4sXK6PyPqjp-WftG3WD4mjXlaOgf3vIVtN9-S79ELU_s05wXsCdn0pfejjkDVVYgpNArATXft-2mkDI6Ji3ibDzuVZvB1jE3Z0BPhMOm27_FNrXw9Dpge5roER/s640/20200716_170805.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Covered. On the outside, at least.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr8VZftSTqvHU9AntWO67OV6YWASP-IGHjly_1Ta1Z9QMcda5ScVFAA9QOMpmjaJiRgvgKiVtMlJgiSaaPQIGQeZ92kH-jJ9meszOFquJgnf6Y0hqCeHphe72X2HTuxhZlGWlbHbrS-ou/s2048/20200716_170900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-weight: 700; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr8VZftSTqvHU9AntWO67OV6YWASP-IGHjly_1Ta1Z9QMcda5ScVFAA9QOMpmjaJiRgvgKiVtMlJgiSaaPQIGQeZ92kH-jJ9meszOFquJgnf6Y0hqCeHphe72X2HTuxhZlGWlbHbrS-ou/s640/20200716_170900.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see the stitches where I attached the brim or the bavolet <br />to the headpiece? No? EXACTLY. Hurray for slip stitches.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The next step was, of course, to decorate my bonnet with my ribbon and flowers and some netting on the inside of the brim. This was all totally straightforward. I took a length of the netting (which was left over from my first bonnet) and gathered it to fit inside the brim, then stitched it in place. I fiddled around with the ribbon and flowers until I had an arrangement I liked. No science to it, and very little art, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turn out.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6Y5t4TFsmfavfV6hK6Zyx9rsyL_5hRWANhNGU-LlPTO2WaDYU20USclMRibe-9K6Xdu-eyhV7rqbKFkj_kqLMimdqDHeRoikZZhr74unRSFw60HeI6Nueu7mMP6iyH-KBGoa__Vbf8-0/s2048/20200720_170438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6Y5t4TFsmfavfV6hK6Zyx9rsyL_5hRWANhNGU-LlPTO2WaDYU20USclMRibe-9K6Xdu-eyhV7rqbKFkj_kqLMimdqDHeRoikZZhr74unRSFw60HeI6Nueu7mMP6iyH-KBGoa__Vbf8-0/s640/20200720_170438.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu4oskZrjGXRwqGlBR-JRLUI3W6F0K6nV4aU00wRIjVUDZKjNCNRKOYD2jgvTAeDXd9rhtPRXoPjOIz2FxnJMLiZDVglgVtZBG_2wdwEpiGFhs2PItJzXPxKLNRpDgmLIyZuqNWgcuYF7/s2048/20200720_170503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu4oskZrjGXRwqGlBR-JRLUI3W6F0K6nV4aU00wRIjVUDZKjNCNRKOYD2jgvTAeDXd9rhtPRXoPjOIz2FxnJMLiZDVglgVtZBG_2wdwEpiGFhs2PItJzXPxKLNRpDgmLIyZuqNWgcuYF7/s640/20200720_170503.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b>WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER</b></p><p>Overall, I was really, really pleased with this bonnet, so I wouldn't do too much differently. But I would have perhaps added a layer of fabric between the buckram and the silk, just to soften the look. This probably isn't necessary, so I'm not too upset about not doing that.</p><p>I also didn't line the inside of the bonnet. This is something I really should do and might do in the future. It would help with getting it on and off without messing up my hair.</p><p>Oh, and I should have made the bavolet about an inch or two longer, as mentioned.</p>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-23370961136497247342020-07-19T12:57:00.001-07:002020-07-19T12:57:15.688-07:00...And a 1920s Dress<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVsUYZcnLmYzRqvd4ahb6Rii7uynC0Ynn2aRdEbVCYaW60bG5mxwDxC_5F6ELLbzUMx2jcHrRXQv0Li2vNRNdnwLl5Jo2nmhKOaqfvLySU6JY2PIAYofDZUffUA9W9-01HJUhTr6Fm13g/s2048/20200714_152041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVsUYZcnLmYzRqvd4ahb6Rii7uynC0Ynn2aRdEbVCYaW60bG5mxwDxC_5F6ELLbzUMx2jcHrRXQv0Li2vNRNdnwLl5Jo2nmhKOaqfvLySU6JY2PIAYofDZUffUA9W9-01HJUhTr6Fm13g/s320/20200714_152041.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>INTRODUCTION<div><br /></div><div>Normally, I wouldn't consider the '20s to be in my "sweet spot". I'm mostly interested in the 1830s-1860s and the Edwardian-Great War era. That puts me right up against the 1920s, so I was willing to fudge a bit because the novel I most recently wrote more-or-less ends in 1921 and because there's a '20s event in September that I want to attend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PLANNING</b></div><div><br /></div><div>My planning for this one was a bit all over the place. My original plan was pretty much "make a '20s evening dress". Where to go from there, I wasn't sure, not being very familiar with the era. I had the vague knowledge that most people have of what the '20s looked like. I also knew that that popular image is, mostly, not correct.</div><div><br /></div><div>As I started poking around, looking at patterns, I came across some really neat cotton fabric with a brown base and all kinds of art-deco designs in white and pink and red and tan, all shot through with silver pinstripes. I got super excited and decided I would definitely use this fabric for my new dress (spoiler alert: it didn't work out that way, obviously).</div><div><br /></div><div>I bought a pattern from Reconstructing History and followed it and had all kinds of problems. It was too big in pretty much every way, and it hit me in weird places, and I didn't really like the shape. My attempts to fix the fit around the shoulders and chest meant the gathering at the hips was too high, and... And anyway, it just wasn't working out. (I should note that I went as far as making it up in the brown art-deco fabric before abandoning this attempt.) Frustrated, I went online and poked around, trying to find inspiration and a way forward. I found the following diagram--"cinq rectangles=un robe."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOGjt32hEzAczUQP0zKw6_XWpShY631tf9bfQo4Q8c-po3EF_auXmx-z8J6o2iTLqSjO6GAuw_T3fL9mIXqTX1eRHCBLpOosvmjmFymJ2DEQc1VOIna8ZaeNn03oZqeYeWneb_HKLDF2V/s823/bf090038576892c91ad3f44d1b4ec29d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOGjt32hEzAczUQP0zKw6_XWpShY631tf9bfQo4Q8c-po3EF_auXmx-z8J6o2iTLqSjO6GAuw_T3fL9mIXqTX1eRHCBLpOosvmjmFymJ2DEQc1VOIna8ZaeNn03oZqeYeWneb_HKLDF2V/s320/bf090038576892c91ad3f44d1b4ec29d.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It seemed simple and like something I could do. And I did. I sketched out a "pattern"--more of a diagram--according to my own measurements. The mock-up looked pretty good. But then I did it in the brown fabric, and, again, it just didn't work. The problem with this diagram is that you gather a lot of fabric into a small width at the shoulders, and when you bring the back skirt around to the front, you have this awkward bulkiness at the sides because of that fabric that reaches from right under the arms at the back down to the waist at the front. That fabric is <i>meant </i>to wrap around to the front for effect, but there's a lot of bulkiness. Looking back at my failure, I think it might be the fabric I used. A mid-weight cotton probably isn't quite the right medium. It probably needed something much lighter weight. I might retry at some point in the future using something lighter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In any case, I went back to the Internet, poring over fashion plates and patterns. As I mentioned, actual '20s dresses aren't quite what most people think they are. The dresses were longer than you might think and almost never actually had fringe, for instance. Though I ended up making a dress with blocky straps, most dresses had little sleeves and/or a wide, scooped neck. And these gowns were generally made of layers of very light fabrics like chiffon. I liked the looks I was finding but was struggling with exactly how to bring it to life without 1) buying new fabric or 2) buying any more patterns. Because as I wrote on my calendar to remind myself: "No more fabric, FFS!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, I came across the following image and knew it was the ticket. Firstly, it's adorable. Secondly, I had light yellow crinkle chiffon that would be <i>exactly</i> the right thing for it. Thirdly, I had a good idea of how to make it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyELQ9NzbuisffC7u7tP7RleWp27VZiEi2a47I-0zK7lkK9WVJ7FeS2NDYMu2N8id4BgG3XlLcyzhkEWlAe6-llgW5yX-4tGC31i7O7nwLc2wP0ieTA-pT06bbA1MMjyZOcm_LCbXHmQ_-/s960/20s+dress.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="409" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyELQ9NzbuisffC7u7tP7RleWp27VZiEi2a47I-0zK7lkK9WVJ7FeS2NDYMu2N8id4BgG3XlLcyzhkEWlAe6-llgW5yX-4tGC31i7O7nwLc2wP0ieTA-pT06bbA1MMjyZOcm_LCbXHmQ_-/s320/20s+dress.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, the source of this picture is Pinterest, and it seems to be an image from a vendor of some pretty nifty vintage-style clothing. At first, I thought it was an original '20s dress, but when I looked into the origin, I wasn't so sure. Dig as I might, I wasn't able to resolve that entirely. It has an original look, but the site doesn't seem to be selling <i>actual </i>vintage clothing. But they might post <i>pictures</i> of actual vintage clothing (as inspiration or what have you). In any case, the look comported pretty well with what I had seen in fashion plates, so I felt comfortable using it as my inspiration.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>MAKING THE DRESS</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This dress was entirely self-drafted, which sounds considerably more impressive than it is, I think. The dress is, not so unlike the "cinq rectangles" diagram, made up almost entirely of rectangles. A rectangle for the front of the bodice and one for the back, and two rectangles of fabric for the skirt. Well, four, really, but we'll get to that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the bodice, I started with my bust measurements, then added 2" for seam allowance and 3" for ease. I suppose I could have made it one big rectangle that I sewed into a tube, but I did make a front and back panel. For the front panel, I measured up from the center of the rectangle by 1.5" and drew a curve down to side seams. This was to give a little more bust coverage, to make me feel more comfortable in the dress. As for the length, I measured from where I wanted the dress to start under my arm to where my hip bone sticks out (because '20s dress are very low-waisted). Because I was still in the "figuring it out" stage, I added a few inches for a margin of error. I should add, I was using white lawn, which would serve as both a trial run for the chiffon and as the under dress, because obviously I couldn't wear a dress like the one above without some kind of under dress.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That was pretty much the bodice figured out. I puzzled a bit over the ruched section of the dress. Was it a strip of fabric covering the seam where the skirt and bodice met? Was it a strip of fabric that was connected to the bodice on top and the skirt on the bottom? Eventually, I figured out that the strip of ruching was the top of the skirt, gathered to the bodice with several lines of gathering. So, I went ahead and ruched the top of my skirt panels. I had cut two panels, each of which was as wide as the <i>entire bodice </i>and 20" long (which seemed to be the right length for my short frame). When I gathered the panels down, it was a ration of 2:1, skirt:bodice. I did five lines of gathering for the ruched effect, all of which I sewed by hand.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In retrospect, I should have created a strip that was the right length (the length of the bodice) and height (the section of ruching is 3" high) and gathered the skirt down to the panel before attaching it to the bodice. This would have helped in making the gathering neat and even. Actually, in retrospect, I shouldn't have ruched the lawn under-dress at all but left that un-gathered so I could gather the overdress to <i>it</i>. But as I said, this was basically a trial run for the overdress.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I pinned on some temporary straps (just pieces of ribbon) and was pretty pleased with the effect of the dress. I now had proof of concept. I went ahead and cut out pieces from my yellow crinkle chiffon. I can't recall if I mentioned this fabric in another post, but this stuff is hard to work with. It tends to warp really, really easily as you try to transfer your pattern onto it and cut it. I made use of the selvage edge for the skirt panels, of which I cut three because I decided I could use more volume in the chiffon skirt than I had in the lawn skirt. Thankfully, the pieces for this dress were basically all rectangles, which made it easier to keep the lines straight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, the next steps were simple enough in concept: sew up the side seams, sew the skirt panels together, run the gathering stitches, and gather the skirt to the bodice. However, this was somewhat fiddly work, what with the chiffon being so given to warping. I had to measure and remeasure everything to ensure it stayed even and level. I also decided that two skirt panels would suffice and set aside the third panel (a fortuitous decision in the end). In any case, with the chiffon outer dress put together, I pinned it to the under-dress and sewed the layers together at the top edge. I rolled the chiffon over the edge of the white lawn (I'd cut the chiffon about an inch longer than the lawn) and stitched it down to the lawn so that the stitching isn't visible from the outside. I also connected the two layers at the waist.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another retrospect thing: If I were doing this again, I actually might forget about what I said above and just flat-line the chiffon to the under-layer, treating them as one layer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I attached more-permanent ribbon straps to the dress and had what amounted to a completed dress. I was satisfied with this as a base, but it still didn't have quite the right shape and look.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DL3ut9ccjDYOhdF5iHUJbJHZzz1Ymw9keHHhtR0jW4qKQTKgD72l2QFYU_QV_YmTdwoVchutTZK7yzmFBL-qtyo4_0D9GgjHOROcNAidkWiOSBFriA9Ue0_hdFeXbbZPXPhKVU4KrBJR/s2048/20200701_162143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DL3ut9ccjDYOhdF5iHUJbJHZzz1Ymw9keHHhtR0jW4qKQTKgD72l2QFYU_QV_YmTdwoVchutTZK7yzmFBL-qtyo4_0D9GgjHOROcNAidkWiOSBFriA9Ue0_hdFeXbbZPXPhKVU4KrBJR/s320/20200701_162143.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dress as completed without any added touches. It<br />looks quite pink, but I promise it's yellow.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>MAKING THE DRESS BETTER</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had three major issues to resolve and a few assets in my corner. The first major issue was the skirt length. The skirt came to just above the knee, which was too short, as all the fashion plates showed skirts ending around mid-calf. The white under-dress also peeked out under the yellow chiffon. The second issue was the straps, which were nothing but two 13"-long white ribbons. I'd never intended these to be the final look but to be the structure on top of which I would add....something. Sleeves? Ruffles? Lace? More yellow chiffon to make wider straps? This was TBD. My third issue was that the overall look was too plain. It needed more visual weight at the bottom and top to balance the ruching in the middle, and I also just wanted it to look more <i>more</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What I had to work with was the following: that third skirt panel I had set aside, pieces of a failed bodice from a different project using the yellow chiffon fabric, and various bits of lace and trim. I took apart that old bodice and quickly realized that the waistband from that would make a lovely bow for the middle of the bust line and that what had been a peplum would be perfect for a tie around the waist (like in the inspiration picture). I wouldn't need to hem or alter these pieces at all, just attach them. Hurrah! That helped.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYSHh6l9rY680PuGv-bGm12-TmIjpcTT8_I9iMbuntB3ohduc1cw6aIgnL1GTEvmJkWzUk9eSyBkyQPZ1QTcBLwHFurfgynb_jUSLggo8XlPJ8UNsH7M__EMhHWoDkB_xZHe6Xrv2xRgw/s2048/20200701_161544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYSHh6l9rY680PuGv-bGm12-TmIjpcTT8_I9iMbuntB3ohduc1cw6aIgnL1GTEvmJkWzUk9eSyBkyQPZ1QTcBLwHFurfgynb_jUSLggo8XlPJ8UNsH7M__EMhHWoDkB_xZHe6Xrv2xRgw/s320/20200701_161544.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pile of scraps from an old bodice, on top of my comforter.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I played around with that discarded skirt panel, and thought about making it a little shrug thingy like in the inspiration picture, but it just didn't quite work. I considered making flutter sleeves out of it. Then I realized that the perfect solution was to cut the panel in half lengthwise so that I would have two panels the same width and half the height as the skirt panels already attached to the dress. I would then sew those to the bottom of the skirt, making a flouncy little flounce. To hide the spot where the flounce was attached, I would apply some kind of decoration.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuNKZectjkbTlxfe-FalLMLuTa2bGFAJQmfZ-nMeUSPO_51FmakaIBKGHU32a1RC7sWhawrHsDRN80PcTxrYIKzEM8ieGBI39j8ekDXGfXWWScuOiumv6QDk1AHwPtneL9nsaWASGxIXi/s2048/20200707_083656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuNKZectjkbTlxfe-FalLMLuTa2bGFAJQmfZ-nMeUSPO_51FmakaIBKGHU32a1RC7sWhawrHsDRN80PcTxrYIKzEM8ieGBI39j8ekDXGfXWWScuOiumv6QDk1AHwPtneL9nsaWASGxIXi/s320/20200707_083656.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unadorned dress, but with the added skirt flounce<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thence commenced a lengthy scouring of the Internet for some kind of trim to cover the line where the flounce attaches to the skirt. Should I use a lacy trim with gold accents? A Greek-key trim? Then, as had happened a few times already during this project, inspiration hit. Recall that art-deco-design fabric I failed to make good use of? Well. Here was a good use for it. I would cut out a strip of only the lotus flower part of the design and stitch that in a long strip over the place where the flounce was stitched to the skirt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Done and done.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-3oPYyn1wml4SWwZ3RL9cjrFcLbF_bjZVpEugKK7Z5F1SyfiLHrmSJBVioWCMDggTfX8jUh5j36r0WvLdYjXD4FDK2UmxhvMhdEhNos885YPgWzMyEoZxuUEy05agFJuYk0qEOpdz5T-/s2048/20200708_103559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-3oPYyn1wml4SWwZ3RL9cjrFcLbF_bjZVpEugKK7Z5F1SyfiLHrmSJBVioWCMDggTfX8jUh5j36r0WvLdYjXD4FDK2UmxhvMhdEhNos885YPgWzMyEoZxuUEy05agFJuYk0qEOpdz5T-/s320/20200708_103559.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lotus flower design.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfQDL1AjR7RZoF9IN1_12Wc3hrtphzwS2FTV4F4aoXGKbGYm5tHqXPKyyhJnsWOCIHXkaYTbA2z4J7LAJ_Cvs0EpZD2lmTKX1A283G0xn6cRlXNctUDLE9GJ5kO51x6fOEw-naWoxfQg_/s2048/20200708_103522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfQDL1AjR7RZoF9IN1_12Wc3hrtphzwS2FTV4F4aoXGKbGYm5tHqXPKyyhJnsWOCIHXkaYTbA2z4J7LAJ_Cvs0EpZD2lmTKX1A283G0xn6cRlXNctUDLE9GJ5kO51x6fOEw-naWoxfQg_/s320/20200708_103522.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ironing my strip flat (it's folded over in thirds, envelope-like).</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This brain-wave helped solve the problem of the straps, as well: I would use more of that fabric to make wider straps. I went ahead and did that, then thought it needed a little something more to ground it. So I made little ruffles using more leftover bits of that failed bodice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh, and I should also note that the weight of the dress made it sag from the straps. I'd added 1.5" to the top of the front bodice, but it was sagging between the straps so badly that it was straight across. So I added a band of ribbon all the way around the bodice, and in the front I added some "boning" (a zip tie) to help it keep it's shape, and that worked. It still sags a bit from the straps, so I'm going to keep this folded for storage rather than hung.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2bc9XTJ6MMEXKpQBZs-r85zrhaNSoG9PirQ1jntuUK0Es20uihvHS9UgZAC3tbh5u4140TCZyUBwrNDR9x5zZtvG49doTFmrZMElKmwwUC1Xw1kIYdvJ2qzNi40oJlInhNj0EFDEKyXA/s2048/20200708_113050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2bc9XTJ6MMEXKpQBZs-r85zrhaNSoG9PirQ1jntuUK0Es20uihvHS9UgZAC3tbh5u4140TCZyUBwrNDR9x5zZtvG49doTFmrZMElKmwwUC1Xw1kIYdvJ2qzNi40oJlInhNj0EFDEKyXA/s320/20200708_113050.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dress, without the ruffles on the straps and<br />without hair/makeup done. Also, without shoes.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And so I had a dress! A whole dress, almost entirely of my own design, and it turned out *so well*. I was really, really proud of the different design decisions I made and the problems I solved. I was most pleased with the fact that I used stuff I already had.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few notes. In the below, I'm wearing a wig for volume and some dark lipstick (which I actually really like and might wear more everyday!). The shoes are actually 1860s reproductions (American Duchess), but they're simple white shoes and therefore unobtrusive and versatile. The gloves are cheap Halloween gloves, and I think I'll get white one to match better, though the contrast is kind of nice. You can't see it very well, but I am wearing a white headband in this pictures, too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzbPsXo4z1lQuyYc0ZkV7weS8YQZwuYJlVW9uWmeC2_0X-4-ki7l70bOxlYHbAwwxZrQmwCAkaXXFRkA1UDe77-IXOsEcG5ACugk1KIUfjmPQofDR64GOn9THf4AHgDal0_RT6OWM8xM0/s320/20200711_081841.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dress on a hanger. It looked really pink in all<br />the pictures I took in this spot, so I color-corrected and now <br />some of it looks a bit green, but the color of the dress is closer to correct.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPeYMk6bQ7_lXegow6A_l1CxpzM0oRcynCph3N7_cW8YpxZSb0kPiMSYADlQK9XKAAoA1dhKwlkqU0KI98sCs1_1pm3FTd3FygBE_jL8Ndmrehrw_HaibmZQvhzR_88wNc5soDESX0vEI/s2048/20200714_152436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPeYMk6bQ7_lXegow6A_l1CxpzM0oRcynCph3N7_cW8YpxZSb0kPiMSYADlQK9XKAAoA1dhKwlkqU0KI98sCs1_1pm3FTd3FygBE_jL8Ndmrehrw_HaibmZQvhzR_88wNc5soDESX0vEI/s320/20200714_152436.jpg" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUT2qcw50B5PwavKNO_iOOPsMgrcBNPqg19ZfeBNoi2nFfevBHZWHx3r7OJalxbdf63TBERjPwK379hoAaWU-LU7mkC8aZq8yNmBPMvkfrAGZXu4TNejDZ7n853mdqozfujLzEWuNNuKSk/s320/20200714_152432.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpzTFfZkN7fq7Lc3Z_m-EqBX-409tZpvl_ryhTSRoD6PkurIjXfPiO-q_z29lNyHCVhQrW-OzynftUEDyngHoKbi8c93JOQAesKcbk84Zb35Sx0NTUo3mwo9PI739nz4130U6UA-t3V5_/s320/20200714_152145+%25282%2529.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmU96cyVQjP2-yBF_HjxzfBsoXqijy3naazX8EfShEtlX_SRXjP1o7mVb_jcU4lNGkK0rNQIUDsEmkQAJQ0OwrZGykGco5bMA4G-ks61ZxOFX7OmDsOKZLboDkjun-JBwWP0vV-hAiUmC/s320/20200714_151940.jpg" /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-36076373810459159752020-07-08T13:14:00.001-07:002020-07-08T13:14:42.876-07:00...And a Blue 1860s Dress<div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>SPECS:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><u>Fabric</u>: bought via Facebook directly from a fellow costumer who was de-stashing. Blue cotton "Marcus" reproduction fabric with red-and-white flowers. According to buyer, originally bought at Needle and Thread in Gettysburg.</div><div><u>Fabric cost</u>: $65</div><div><u>Fabric amount</u>: used nearly all of about 7 yards.</div><div><u>Lining</u>: bodice is lined with white cotton lawn; sleeves and skirt are unlined.</div><div><u>Trim:</u> black braided trim, about 1"; used about 6 yards; also bought directly from fellow costumer de-stashing. Got a bolt of many yards for $15. [Note: the trim isn't included in any of the pictures here; I applied it after my little photo shoot.]</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>INTRO</b></div><div><br /></div>I have to say, I feel like I have come a <i>long way</i> on my sewing journey and have travelled quite a learning curve. I've come out on the other end with new sewing and problem-solving skills, and a lot of pride in both the things I've produced and the hard work I put into them. See, I'm not always a natural at things, but I'm a quick learner and quite persistent when I get the bug. It may take me a bit, but I can usually work through almost anything and make a good showing of it, even if I'm not brilliant at it.<div><br /></div><div>I say all this because I was thinking of some of the other dresses preceding this one that were...not up to scratch. There are a few I'd rather forget about. Since I've made a few other 1860s dresses, I can compare this one to them. The very first dress I sewed, a white 1860s dress, is actually quite nice, though fairly simple. The second, tan dress is <i>lovely</i> and may still be my favorite historical costume--but it wasn't very well-constructed. There are loose threads and some weird little things here and there. But this new dress not only turned out looking nice, it's also solidly constructed. It bears close scrutiny.</div><div><br /></div><div>But anyway, having made a number of 1860s dresses before, what possessed me to sew another? Well, I was only satisfied with two of the dresses I made, and the aforementioned poor construction bugged me. So I wanted to do it and do it <i>well</i>. Also, I have grand visions of myself wearing these to various events (which events exactly, I don't know), and so I would like to have a few dresses to choose from. That's probably wildly optimistic, but mostly my motivation was just to have another pretty dress, one that I was fully satisfied with in look and construction.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>PLANNING</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Once I had decided I wanted another 1860s dress, or rather had decided that I was going to act on that aching need for another pretty dress, I needed to decide what pattern and fabric to use. Lemme tell you, I spent a <i>lot </i>of time considering patterns and fabrics.</div><div><br /></div><div>I started with the fabric: I purchased a dress length of blue-and-brown stripey cotton. It's nice fabric. I quite like it. But I realized that it was most suitable for a wrapper-style dress. And while I did strongly consider a wrapper pattern, I didn't <i>really</i> want to do a wrapper. Eventually, I settled on Simplicity 4551, a day dress pattern that is out of print (I bought this used, though not via Facebook). The pictures looked pretty, the bodice was gathered (which I understand was the standard for cotton dresses, while wool or silk used darts; I already have a pattern for a darted bodice), and there were three interesting sleeve options. I was planning to use the blue-and-tan stripey cotton for this dress, even though it was really more suitable for a wrapper.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, in one of the Facebook groups I'm a part of, someone was selling a dress length of blue, red-and-white-floral-printed fabric. It was a good price, it was pretty, and in spite of the fact that I already had blue cotton fabric for an 1860s dress, I bought this stuff. It seemed more appropriate for the pattern. And you know what? I do not regret it one bit. Because <b>when I got the fabric, this was how happy I was with it</b>:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, so that might be because this fabric took an epic journey through the US postal system and I was VERY happy to finally get it. I live in Virginia, and after this package was mailed from, uh, Ohio I think it was, it started bouncing around from Washington DC to Southern Maryland to Virginia and back again--for <i>three weeks</i>. It got stuck in a circle because the sender had put in the wrong ZIP code (and apparently, this caused the postal tracking system to completely melt the eff down and send my package in an endless loop of existential, tautological dread). I had to pay to have the package "intercepted" and finally received it like a month later (the seller did reimburse me for that).</div><div><br /></div><div>After it took that epic journey and made me smile, I just knew I wanted to use this fabric for this 1860s dress, and I knew I wanted it to be my next project.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>MOCKING IT UP</b></div><div><br /></div><div>By the time I got the fabric in the mail, I had already spent some time working with the pattern. For logistical reasons, there were times I had to set aside my 1910s project for a bit, at which point I worked on the 1860s project.</div><div><br /></div><div>As mentioned, I started with Simplicity 4551, but, of course, I had to make major alterations (for those who don't follow along, I'm 4'11", with a strangely-shaped torso and very short legs). To describe the bodice pattern a bit: it consists of a darted lining layer (the pattern calls it the "under-bodice", but it's basically a lining) and a fashion-fabric layer that is gathered at the waist in the front and back. It buttons up the front, and the sleeve I chose has a lot of volume at the shoulder and becomes narrow just below the elbow (similar to a leg-of-mutton of gigot sleeve). It's an unusual shape, but I liked the look of it, so I chose that over the other options.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've struggled with fitting in the past, but this time around, I used the advice in this article:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://itch-to-stitch.com/get-great-shoulder-fit-narrowwide-shoulder-adjustment/">https://itch-to-stitch.com/get-great-shoulder-fit-narrowwide-shoulder-adjustment/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>And...it worked like magic. I used tracing paper to draft a pattern with a shorter shoulder seam, and with my first mock-up it fit like a glove. It was beautiful, just beautiful. It <i>almost</i> brought a tear to my eye. Almost.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had to work a little harder to make the over-bodice fit. That took a few attempts. It also took cutting up the mockups from my 1910s outfit. I figured that whatever worth there was in keeping the mock-ups for the future (in case I ever wanted to make the pattern again and couldn't figure it out from the pattern pieces or the finished product...), the fabric itself was literally more valuable. I want to try to waste as little fabric as possible. It saves money and, uh, the planet.</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case, for this project I also had my fancy new dress dummy, which was a life-saver. It really helped in making sure the under bodice and fashion fabric matched up neatly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also worth noting: as a result of my fiddling with the pattern, it ended up being a little too short-waisted. I made a point of trying on the mock-up with my hoop skirt, and I'm glad I did, because I needed to add some length in the back and at the sides so that the bottom of the bodice was right at the top of the hoop skirt. The bodice needs to end right where the hoop skirt starts or else you'll get a strange, triangular dead space, with the torso and hoop skirt as two sides and the skirt itself as the hypotenuse, if that makes sense. In any case, that problem was fixed, and I moved on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sleeves can be a real pain in the ass. And I had fears of these sleeves in particular just <i>murdering</i> me with their complexity. I was sure I would find myself defeated by the pleated tops of the sleeves and the way it tightens at the forearm. I envisioned the elbow being in the wrong spot and everything being twisted. But, as luck would have it, while I altered a lot about the bodice, I didn't alter the armscye. Which meant that I didn't have to change the top of the sleeve at all. Huzzah!</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem was the length, and how to shorten it while keeping the proportions correct. I accomplished this by pleating the pattern piece where I wanted to take out length and bulk. This broke the nice smooth lines of the pattern piece, of course, so I free-handed some lines to connect it all back up. It took just a little refining of my free-hand lines, but all things told, it went shockingly well. The poof <i>poofed</i> in the right spots, and the sleeve tightened at the forearm in the right way. Bonus: I now basically have a leg-of-mutton sleeve pattern if ever I should want to make a dress that involves such a thing.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_zBavWql5VKc27hvz0bCs_zITmQ25DLQ6KHrWecRGpTfXvEXRFWYVFdvWKwtM5YUnVlj0hJkzUAjbBUbbXxvX3KRHZKNd_MSpoV7PFQ8mxGZN-mKdS9F1IhriJMdv-WS5ErRTV8x4FlI/s4032/20200702_114647.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_zBavWql5VKc27hvz0bCs_zITmQ25DLQ6KHrWecRGpTfXvEXRFWYVFdvWKwtM5YUnVlj0hJkzUAjbBUbbXxvX3KRHZKNd_MSpoV7PFQ8mxGZN-mKdS9F1IhriJMdv-WS5ErRTV8x4FlI/s320/20200702_114647.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the bottom is the original sleeve pattern. On<br />top is the revised sleeve pattern.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QbWm0QgjkSkHo4sC9Df-0IVfxabmWLZaQ-Ffw8RT0xyFrFN-1EHAUxO328eop3qlCdDUUxncJ11Zyx46ywh7B_KTTyR5FtxagaQ8gHLtpcx6H9z23_lr7fBzsLUCvPNFVIXSoGbgU0VJ/s320/20200527_163320.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mock-up on the dress form, with an unrelated hat.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>THE BODICE</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Being satisfied with my mock-up, I went ahead with cutting out the fabric for the finished product. I cut the darted "under-bodice", or lining, out of white cotton lawn--lightweight but sturdy, soft without adding bulk. This went together easy as pie. It's just three pieces (the back of the bodice, for both the lining and fashion fabric, is one piece, and the front, for both the lining and fashion fabric, is two pieces). It was just a matter of sewing four seems: the two shoulder and two side seams., then sewing in the darts I also marked a line two inches from the bottom, where the waistband would sit and along which the upper bodice would be gathered. At the front, I turned under the center front edges, making sure to offset the left from the right by about an inch so I could lap the right side over the left to button it and still have everything centered.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I got to work cutting my pieces from the fashion fabric. I did my damndest to match the pattern so the front two panels mirrored each other, and glory be, it worked. To conserve fabric, I actually cut the waistband out of two pieces of "cabbage" and stitched them together at center back. I left plenty of leeway in the length of the waistband, just so I had some "wiggle room". I've found through experience that it's better to err on the side of too much than too little.</div><div><br /></div><div>With that done, I sewed the side and shoulder seams, hand-stitched gathering stitched along the front and back of the outer bodice, stitched the lining and bodice together at the neckline and the center-front, and gathered the gathering stitches until the bodice fit to the lining. Then I stitched the bodice to the lining at that 2" mark I mentioned earlier. Those last two inches, currently comprised of the lining only, would be covered by the waistband.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be damned if I know why the lining and outer layer didn't match up at the armscyes (see picture below). I carefully trimmed my mock-up to fix exactly this problem, then transferred it to my pattern. Or at least, I thought I had, but maybe I somehow missed that step. In any case, when I forced the layers together and piped around the armscyes (more on that next), all was well. Huzzah!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjae6uMKr0e-9qbCo9KkaU_S6Mi5z-C2s_Daas_DGrqOPRbGOLppWoWNanjkxRH_fQS4RxCGqiBLCjnlsVH5URRvTKg4_gyxIJr2PRC-X4_YlYRfMwdCEZeSZp3TxagFAiM2fl-TyreuZ/s320/20200607_150236_resized.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The next step was piping. I hate piping. It's finicky and takes forever, but it really is necessary for an 1860s dress--and it does look nice. Previously, I've done piping entirely by hand. This means 1) cutting out strips of fabric on the bias, 2) folding some cord into those strips of binding and 3) stitching it together, then 4) stitching it to the right side of the fabric, with the raw edge of the piping matched with the raw edge of the fabric and 5) turning all those raw edges inwards in order to 6) stitch it all again so it stays in place, then, finally 7) trimming the middle layers away and pressing it in place. Yeah. But, hey, I figured out how to attach the zipper foot to my sewing machine! I was ecstatic at this, thinking I would be zipping through this piping like nobody's business. Alas, the tension was wonky and I couldn't make it work well, so while I did that first stitching by machine (that is, stitching the cord into the bias strips), I actually attached the piping to the dress by hand. It was a lot of hand-stitching, but honestly it wasn't that bad, and anyway it's much more precise to do it by hand. It turned out quite well.</div><div><br /></div><div>I started by piping the top of the waistband, then attaching that where it was meant to go, directly to bottom 2" of the lining. I had barely enough width in my waistband, so I had to finagle the bottom edge, but it worked out fine. I piped the neckline and the armscyes, as well.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA38ecdcEOQDE769vHPZ0f8Nkm67U5aFwIIXP6ugssoEnjqczm9QCpiF_sIW6-Kq_TNAsi1NlcwX4pyxh3YMXnE8G4PtzymMLFK5EJNnTE07avDwugy27xps5NpYl9v2ZnVODPlXNgH87m/s3024/20200605_203940_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA38ecdcEOQDE769vHPZ0f8Nkm67U5aFwIIXP6ugssoEnjqczm9QCpiF_sIW6-Kq_TNAsi1NlcwX4pyxh3YMXnE8G4PtzymMLFK5EJNnTE07avDwugy27xps5NpYl9v2ZnVODPlXNgH87m/s320/20200605_203940_resized.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjpHfJHSD67unePzAHZM1aHYPHOqFSOEnyeDnf0NrGnej1tytC-d_Ybjd3fbUmgadZVJZLYqW4hgeCUCd1Ee8TsuKGRacyfpcvCl-MsgyNTsQ01WnoQN7s__oTBMPxbAdBqV2qRYW1WlT/s3024/20200605_203953_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjpHfJHSD67unePzAHZM1aHYPHOqFSOEnyeDnf0NrGnej1tytC-d_Ybjd3fbUmgadZVJZLYqW4hgeCUCd1Ee8TsuKGRacyfpcvCl-MsgyNTsQ01WnoQN7s__oTBMPxbAdBqV2qRYW1WlT/s320/20200605_203953_resized.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxBWdBQvBVHv7ldudMa4kFPAHHGs9hR-i1vlffgs9jOz9Dc4EkDevc_YbSPm8ti5sdNNwgiVHYa-V5IdTM3w37ytG-YLgyra00hBDdEkCKUgcWXOYCvQ_h4YX40ZAUZWp9w3ZNFVNgjMn/s3024/20200606_165559_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxBWdBQvBVHv7ldudMa4kFPAHHGs9hR-i1vlffgs9jOz9Dc4EkDevc_YbSPm8ti5sdNNwgiVHYa-V5IdTM3w37ytG-YLgyra00hBDdEkCKUgcWXOYCvQ_h4YX40ZAUZWp9w3ZNFVNgjMn/s320/20200606_165559_resized.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAnlDantGIjHaZ6pHEhyf-DtwF9R6Wwzkiobd6SHbWBtGveUlDM7MShmsEaCP1QyjtoPmtxJEncf5Jg1JSlK1Mq1DVKOeA37-9doUbSAsATKZi10CQfkQjbDStcoJTR2bNwvVXgW0OgZr/s3024/20200607_150404_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAnlDantGIjHaZ6pHEhyf-DtwF9R6Wwzkiobd6SHbWBtGveUlDM7MShmsEaCP1QyjtoPmtxJEncf5Jg1JSlK1Mq1DVKOeA37-9doUbSAsATKZi10CQfkQjbDStcoJTR2bNwvVXgW0OgZr/s320/20200607_150404_resized.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Along the way making this bodice, I did multiple "gut checks". That's a weird way to put it, actually, because it sounds like that might be literal, but no. I just mean I tried it on at various point swith and without all the underthings, just to be sure everything was still fitting like it should. Above, I took the mock-up sleeve and pinned it on, just to be sure everything was sitting correctly. It looked kind of cool with the contrasting color sleeve, like a varsity jacket from the '90s.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRei6_VXFWl6zAt_I-JdaEHgldqAXYgB-JpCxnfUOPTDLAib8TkcAOuNrOEDWiimOLnAeJY_UgOnu06895J3VbXR9DgBqxVfy4oyYYJms0lZ6sCLQ1gdXe4htNxmYr7Y-Dwgc9fxZbttS/s3024/20200609_105724_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRei6_VXFWl6zAt_I-JdaEHgldqAXYgB-JpCxnfUOPTDLAib8TkcAOuNrOEDWiimOLnAeJY_UgOnu06895J3VbXR9DgBqxVfy4oyYYJms0lZ6sCLQ1gdXe4htNxmYr7Y-Dwgc9fxZbttS/s320/20200609_105724_resized.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And the above is how it looked with sleeves attached and buttons/buttonholes completed. The waistband was lacking closures and the sleeves were lacking cuffs.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJcTl7Di4OKlxKlBewDo78eixk9bP6HST5gsM3Vnzvk0Vs7DXLrDWBwa5lu2d7mQrauWkkik2BrXKdhC3ISwBkig-pLNoqkki5YA1XqE2UjdWhlyoTS9YdzDkGkSHYzW-bsf_NsVXeNAp/s3024/20200609_164428_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJcTl7Di4OKlxKlBewDo78eixk9bP6HST5gsM3Vnzvk0Vs7DXLrDWBwa5lu2d7mQrauWkkik2BrXKdhC3ISwBkig-pLNoqkki5YA1XqE2UjdWhlyoTS9YdzDkGkSHYzW-bsf_NsVXeNAp/s320/20200609_164428_resized.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Annndd, here she is with the collar and cuffs exactly as the pattern called for. With that, we had a completed bodice.<div><br /></div><div><b>THE SKIRT</b><br /><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures while making the skirt. However, it was a pretty straightforward process. I've made skirts like this multiple times now. I cut off some of the uneven excess from my length of fabric and had about 5 yards of 44"-wide fabric. I'm quite short, so I needed a finished length of 35". The top 2" would be stitched into the waistband. The bottom seven inches would be my hem. So I went ahead and hemmed first. Then I used a scrap of muslin as a waistband to pleat the top of the skirt to. My method is to mark off every 32nd of the skirt and the waistband. Then I match the marks and fold the excess skirt fabric towards the front or back, depending on which direction I want the pleats to face.</div><div><br /></div><div>Believe it or not, I had the worst time with these damned pleats. I had to redo half of them once and then the whole thing once because I just kept doing it unevenly. It's actually hard work for me, because it can only really be done on the floor, and it's hard to get up and down, up and down. But, I told myself that I couldn't do a crappy job just because I was tired. I was under no deadline, so I would take a rest and come back and <i>do it right</i>. And I did.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then I realized that when I was measuring out the muslin waistband onto which I pleated my skirt, I did it wrong. Don't ask me how; I don't know. Even though I measured it against the actual bodice to be sure, that skirt waistband was like <i>3" too long</i>. As I said, I don't even know.</div><div><br /></div><div>My brilliant solution? Just scootch over the hook-and-bars and let the volume of the skirt hide my mistake. It basically worked. I may at some time in the future go back and actually <i>gather</i> the skirt. But then again, I may not... I'm fairly sure other projects will distract me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I now had a completed skirt and a completed bodice. They needed to be sewn together. This was straightforward. The skirt waistband was 2", and the bodice waistband was 2" (by design), so I sewed the skirt to the waistband at the top and bottom of that waistband, "stitching in the ditch"--that is, I used the gap where the piping meets the waistband to hide the stitches.</div><div><br /></div><div>With that, I had a complete dress. Trying it on, however, I quickly discovered that I did not like the collar as it was shown in the pattern, and the cuffs were too big, even though I'd reduced their width by something like an inch. To fix the collar, I just pinned the points together with a brooch. I turned in the cuffs and pinned them temporarily.</div><div><br /></div><div>See, I was determined to get some pictures of myself in my dress the next day: a fun quarantine activity around my apartment complex. I didn't have time to redo the cuffs entirely. But I DID (apparently) have time to fiddle with my hoop skirt. I read a tutorial online and compared it to my hoop skirt, the shape of which I wasn't entirely happy with (not bell-shaped enough). I discovered that part of my problem was that the top hoops were not wide enough. I made them as wide as the fabric of my hoop skirt would allow, and it actually helped quite a bit. It would also help, I think, to have a fluffy petticoat. But I, uh, don't.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRCUlo4eIGCeajzDstQzIfyLCA2eoz5DmH03l_RRa0Smv9Hga8fXz0517xvApri5-JBn3WsA-3JyYkauhBauBlFGlA8XccdURF0liIDdR_GiwvFCKQCV2AJwzL794i9HIWJSwTfh5iQAB/s3024/20200613_115605_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRCUlo4eIGCeajzDstQzIfyLCA2eoz5DmH03l_RRa0Smv9Hga8fXz0517xvApri5-JBn3WsA-3JyYkauhBauBlFGlA8XccdURF0liIDdR_GiwvFCKQCV2AJwzL794i9HIWJSwTfh5iQAB/s320/20200613_115605_resized.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Before I regale you with some pictures of me in my dress on a lovely early-summer day, let me regale you with a picture of the innards of my dress.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSUkrgu3LKgCDrvmWvHIkEGe3dGvQvjyU2xvvXNE7Y17i6W4hSDzr9OUJvapEDrJS26BTRO1mv1-bdsZUFcylNYPZZNF4UFgzFmr2o9b2flGPxn-fAXhaghaZFApFWoepBcv11HqUeGYr/s4032/20200705_101827.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSUkrgu3LKgCDrvmWvHIkEGe3dGvQvjyU2xvvXNE7Y17i6W4hSDzr9OUJvapEDrJS26BTRO1mv1-bdsZUFcylNYPZZNF4UFgzFmr2o9b2flGPxn-fAXhaghaZFApFWoepBcv11HqUeGYr/s320/20200705_101827.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. The bars for the hook-and-bar skirt closure, matching up with the hooks (#6).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2. Internal strap attached to the skirt waistband at front and back and long enough to be looped over a hanger to take the weight off the shoulder when hanging (it's better practice to store flat, but I don't have that option).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. Stitching that connects skirt waistband to bodice waistband. You'll see it's stitched at the top and bottom, because these stitched have to take the weight of 5 yards of skirt. You'll also notice that just to the left of the 3 and where the internal strap connects, I stopped stitching the skirt to the bodice. The last few inches of the skirt and bodice are separate so that they can be closed separately.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4. Buttonholes. Don't mind the messy threads.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5. Bodice waistband closures. Two hooks and eyes to close it horizontally, and one vertical hook to that the bodice and skirt don't gap apart at the front where they aren't connected. If they did, that white waistband on the skirt would be really obvious.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6. Hooks for the hook-and-bar skirt closure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>GETTING DRESSED</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The order of operations for getting dressed is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. Chemise.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2. Stockings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. Drawers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4. Shoes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5. Corset.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6. Hoops.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">7. Dress--on over the head, close the skirt with the hooks-and-bars, close the bodice waistband with the hooks-and-eyes, button up the bodice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">8. Brooch.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>PICTURES</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took these around my apartment complex, which has some lovely old trees that offered lots of shade on a warm day. I was really quite comfortable, even in quite a lot of layers. Cotton is breathable, and the hoops keep the skirt away from my skin, so my legs were only covered by drawers and stockings. Anyway, I set up a tripod and took these pictures, and had so much fun that I decided to hop in the car and drive over to a nearby park on the site of a Civil War fort (I live in Northern Virginia; you can't throw a stone without hitting something CW-related). And, yes, I was able to drive. I just skooched my hoops out of the way of my feet and it was fine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMP5f221-3XYH0EkOM8edPJ46p3Sk51wWG-vCr6GasukyllcElxu2zgUwl7EfDonJD4hWgqs5cDb52Fkr8cbqu7O0DTxWzz2iwQ1OSXnbW5mLSqdxapNGACa_hFTd70aec75gaqMWkfT8/s4032/20200613_134020%25280%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMP5f221-3XYH0EkOM8edPJ46p3Sk51wWG-vCr6GasukyllcElxu2zgUwl7EfDonJD4hWgqs5cDb52Fkr8cbqu7O0DTxWzz2iwQ1OSXnbW5mLSqdxapNGACa_hFTd70aec75gaqMWkfT8/s320/20200613_134020%25280%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXuBQCiXNDj9Tj_4M-pVm0MtoxDWbzuPUUOoQX5mNHfUB_qGXwWJV1kOu4NFAwaTWkh9AWOvOcnUCkaUpjFTUlqooDn1GwY9O666iBiC8ydjgUdjM6LmufAZVWRW24cafN3hQjxGrSaLR/s4032/20200613_134027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZWiry7X3LLXehwfFom1Qyzf1q7_m0C5FkRbV50dVmqF-ZJEUULRVHvyL3hSTZORJHgOWik4QmtrYF0k8geMlfn_V-ZVwFVKbYdUAEeO7DmyBVTDqJIqwkDYzOO24JbSZS2vVwH4jcg01/s4032/20200613_142418.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZWiry7X3LLXehwfFom1Qyzf1q7_m0C5FkRbV50dVmqF-ZJEUULRVHvyL3hSTZORJHgOWik4QmtrYF0k8geMlfn_V-ZVwFVKbYdUAEeO7DmyBVTDqJIqwkDYzOO24JbSZS2vVwH4jcg01/s320/20200613_142418.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9iSNjjZqXpSMT7g3_LoU7IDtGt1xk_go4oa_AAr8VoH1_CJWr0lzN4J9y-4TbZMMw1V_J1araVriaLzO7a7XhlCSyAK5VI7PaGpxVEd3UJivhnZReZ5uY_ObD0IoMcmNa-n657qZvfMq/s4032/20200613_142647.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9iSNjjZqXpSMT7g3_LoU7IDtGt1xk_go4oa_AAr8VoH1_CJWr0lzN4J9y-4TbZMMw1V_J1araVriaLzO7a7XhlCSyAK5VI7PaGpxVEd3UJivhnZReZ5uY_ObD0IoMcmNa-n657qZvfMq/s320/20200613_142647.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoQiYRvOeIyF8_eBso2hcGOO4u-w9aHmUE0sJjJeP7Sl6DTfrrX1p9U3hyphenhyphenkdb0-789iT1tMt1uEJT9yalcqce-x_ih2smkKT5AD9eyCsxo3DjvpSdO_7dhfUdfOqWTVl8nrtWJ78pgM0d/s2592/20200613_145854.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoQiYRvOeIyF8_eBso2hcGOO4u-w9aHmUE0sJjJeP7Sl6DTfrrX1p9U3hyphenhyphenkdb0-789iT1tMt1uEJT9yalcqce-x_ih2smkKT5AD9eyCsxo3DjvpSdO_7dhfUdfOqWTVl8nrtWJ78pgM0d/s320/20200613_145854.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-48338089834279881662020-07-02T06:56:00.001-07:002020-07-02T06:56:08.581-07:00...And a 1910s outfit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">A technical note: I'm re-publishing this, which was originally published June 5, because something went wonky with the blog post, and it appeared on the main page but not when you tried to view it as an individual page.</div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_7JQPiOxxTnTxZmqrj7u6kJOQs5cDp5k4Lkd09lR_Hjg-jh2mB5Pcjwkbq0E9pYaPR7R-q7_gdGdRaTPBMaVQ2fqXqhOgaPMQL_Foq99dIrKf6OyLUGuK-GpfAC8U_M-MCiSdDJkkVW_/s4032/20200530_192411.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_7JQPiOxxTnTxZmqrj7u6kJOQs5cDp5k4Lkd09lR_Hjg-jh2mB5Pcjwkbq0E9pYaPR7R-q7_gdGdRaTPBMaVQ2fqXqhOgaPMQL_Foq99dIrKf6OyLUGuK-GpfAC8U_M-MCiSdDJkkVW_/s320/20200530_192411.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">The finished product--a 1910s outfit.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>I've been working along behind the scenes for some months now, buying [too much] material and [too many] patterns, looking at old fashion plates and the projects posted by other costumers online, and generally making plans. This was all groundwork for a series of projects I have planned, and it's been a long time in coming to fruition. But at last, my efforts are starting to bear actual fruit, and I'm very proud.<div><br /></div><div>The first fully-realized outfit to come out of this whirlwind of planning is my 1910s ensemble: a blouse, chemisette/guimpe, skirt, jacket, and hat. I knew I wanted a 1910s look (better than the one I'd previously put together), and I'd been skimming the Internet for inspiration. I wanted to find a period image (so that the final product ended up looking credible) but to use modern-day patterns to achieve the look (because I needed a pattern to start off of). Finally, I came across the following image:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="685" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrlofx5ih5x-N14-tske3tN0_u84VGRskFp09LzzEpcGFMriVcfuVS0GsGE_Dq4a9Nz9JfLBDl79OsAcsos07r-Wcq-fYWFHNmDNNPjpOOUYt2toaJjfvnQuKVsyfothw_haHvd9VuRsL/s320/LHJ+June+1912+%2528a%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Inspiration.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>To my delight, I realized I had the perfect fabric. I had bought some slate-gray, white-polka dot, wool-blend fabric for another project. When I got the fabric, I realized that, while I loved it, it was much too heavy for the intended purpose. I had gotten some white-and-navy-blue-striped fabric at the same time; it was lighter-weight, but, until this point, I hadn't been quite sure what to do with it, either. But when I found this image, it all came together <i>perfectly</i>. The two fabrics I'd bought would work beautifully together to create the outfit in the image.</div><div><br /></div><div>What was more, I knew which patterns I would use. So I had a plan.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>THE BLOUSE and CHEMISETTE</b></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u>: white cotton lawn (about 1.25 yards), black lace of unknown fiber content (I think it's a natural fiber, though), white lace of unknown fiber content (but almost certainly <i>not </i>natural fiber).</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tve45-1911-narrow-panel-blouse/">Truly Victorian 1911 narrow-panel blouse (TVE45).</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Let me preface this by saying something I've said before. I'm 4'11" and have a rather odd, boxy shape and very short arms and legs, so I have to heavily alter every pattern I start with. I was measuring up one of the patterns and got so frustrated at the difference between the pattern measurements and my own measurements that I literally scrawled in my notebook, "WHO DID THEY MAKE THIS PATTERN FOR, GIANTS?"</div><div><br /></div><div>The first piece I tackled was the blouse. This pattern is made of four pieces: the center front panel, the center back panel, and one panel each for the left and for the right sides. There's no seam at the shoulder; the side panels start at the front waist, goes up over the shoulder, and continue down to the back waist. It closes up the side. These side panels are held together by the front and back panels (which are kind of like an 18th century stomacher, but, you know, both front AND back).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ1o-LiKuQuOUGaGdAsSYS5KedfKwSexLFg8SBPv1Py3VwMnsbfS98XYq427UdK4BTJdGadebHdWWXYMyQ9ife8WTpDpySpDnGL-V-y9A8C2LvJ4FJes_LJdUEBUWK3GJAHhR0Anj9Vi8/s4032/20200506_102849.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ1o-LiKuQuOUGaGdAsSYS5KedfKwSexLFg8SBPv1Py3VwMnsbfS98XYq427UdK4BTJdGadebHdWWXYMyQ9ife8WTpDpySpDnGL-V-y9A8C2LvJ4FJes_LJdUEBUWK3GJAHhR0Anj9Vi8/s320/20200506_102849.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Mocking up the blouse on my new dress form.</font><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I think all this made it harder to fit the pattern to me, because boy did I struggle with this one. I think I went through four mock-ups, using up a lot of muslin in the process. My main problems were wrinkles under the arms and across the back, and weirdly-fitting sleeves. The angles on the original pattern did not work at all on me, but I had a lot of difficult finding the <i>right</i> angles. Eventually, I got to something that I was satisfied with. Perhaps someone with more skill could've done a better job, and maybe I could've stuck with it and made it perfect--but probably not, and I frankly decided I'd fiddled with the damn thing long enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once I was done with mocking it up, the rest was actually pretty simple. I cut out the pieces from my white lawn and sewed them together (simple, straight-ish seams all around). I decorated the front and back panels with black lace and added some black buttons to ground the black lace. I decorated the cuff with white lace and black buttons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the blouse really wouldn't have been worn alone but with a chemisette (or guimpe). This fills in the neckline up to the chin--a very typically Edwardian look. The 1918 dinner dress I recently made included a pattern for a chemisette to fit into the triangular neckline. I used the pattern but made the bottom square instead of triangular. For the "fabric", I used the same 2.5"-wide lace that I'd used on the cuffs of the blouse. I pieced it together at the edges so that the front and back are each four panels of lace wide. I used literally every last bit of the lace to finish the collar part of the chemisette; that bit of lace ran in the opposite direction (horizontal) to the lace on the rest of the chemisette (vertical). I added some hooks and eyes for closure, but I made a hash of that am going to redo it. I'll either reconfigure the hooks and eyes or do buttons with thread loops instead.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-06xm2C3a_mIeXP0kQ24F8taEbd81UQ34cLXJhiXXbm5_eNvNJV93jjF_zdMnKqW5IWxxnmIqUD0tFjXWHfqpAN_Lk6eoK-StX-N6aE7Qt0IowUt2u4EQSuYz0heWxIaiA6uAqAk8Ynm/s2592/20200511_124914.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-06xm2C3a_mIeXP0kQ24F8taEbd81UQ34cLXJhiXXbm5_eNvNJV93jjF_zdMnKqW5IWxxnmIqUD0tFjXWHfqpAN_Lk6eoK-StX-N6aE7Qt0IowUt2u4EQSuYz0heWxIaiA6uAqAk8Ynm/s320/20200511_124914.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">That's the blouse done.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz_ML7GYmLSzWs_QK78RflWv2swyQNtUWnpsbO5g8ZKjJXCHHacv9l7VEDojC37LRrYW6hbDfAxQ4tLa3EWVHainH5jR_LNOstIzSblf7o6GeBCwu_WLqCjoA9ohOSLAI4mVt4rg2mgxO/s4032/20200512_153427.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz_ML7GYmLSzWs_QK78RflWv2swyQNtUWnpsbO5g8ZKjJXCHHacv9l7VEDojC37LRrYW6hbDfAxQ4tLa3EWVHainH5jR_LNOstIzSblf7o6GeBCwu_WLqCjoA9ohOSLAI4mVt4rg2mgxO/s320/20200512_153427.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">All the lace that was left after making the chemisette.</font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgRYkOpCUxw5e_wYjcasKLaLOF0LA_djmxmXEFQxc4i2DV4Kiqh135Q_hR81ADvbXBLQrDXsXWO4nccS9EOCiyspG1FMwgi6ahe6O9Altg0A88B2_sBQplJt98ctasSG5fgkyasYh5LtL/s2592/20200512_185959.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgRYkOpCUxw5e_wYjcasKLaLOF0LA_djmxmXEFQxc4i2DV4Kiqh135Q_hR81ADvbXBLQrDXsXWO4nccS9EOCiyspG1FMwgi6ahe6O9Altg0A88B2_sBQplJt98ctasSG5fgkyasYh5LtL/s320/20200512_185959.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">It looks a little silly tucked into jeans, but this<br />is the blouse with the chemisette.</font><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>THE SKIRT</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u>: slate-gray white-polka dot wool blend (about 1.75 yards); 1 yard of belting.</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tve30-1911-narrow-panel-skirt/">Truly Victorian 1910s narrow panel skirt (TVE30).</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This pattern is designed to go along with the blouse pattern above. Probably if you're the same size bottom and top, the front panels match up so it's one long line from the neck to the hem. But am I the same size on the bottom and top? Of course not. I bet that's the same for a lot of women.</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case, the skirt was actually surprisingly easy (less fiddly than fitting the blouse). Skirts do tend to be easier because the only thing I really have to alter is the length. That was the case here. It was a little trickier because of the kick pleats at the bottom of the skirt. See, I determined from day one that I needed to take off 8 inches from the skirt. Yep, eight whole inches. Did I mention that I'm really bloody short? I'm really bloody short. However, if I just took the 8 inches off the bottom, the kick pleat would be basically gone. On the other hand, if I took it from the top, then I'd have a disproportionately long kick pleat. So I took out four inches from above and four inches from below the kick pleat.</div><div><br /></div><div>This was a PDF pattern I printed myself and taped together. So what I did was fold the pattern up by 2 inches (which actually eliminated a total of 4 inches) at a point above and at a point below the kick pleat. Then I untaped some of the pages and scooted them over (inwards) so that the vertical lines of the skirt matched up again (when I took out those 4 inches, it interrupted the line of the skirt, of course). This had the result of narrowing the width of the skirt all the way down, but that was desirable, too. Again, I'm a small person. The less fabric, the better. And if I had kept the same width and just drawn a new line connecting the old line with the new line, I would've ended up with a skirt that flared out too much, and it would no longer have been "narrow" but a-line. I hope all of that, or any of it, makes sense.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did a mock-up just to make sure everything was kosher, and it was, so I moved on to the fashion fabric. Doing the kick pleat required some careful attention to the directions. It involves basting the seam (I did it by hand to make it easy to take out later) part of the way down and pressing the seam allowance towards the front, then topstitching it down and removing the basting stitches. That's how you get the "panel" look. In any case, I didn't run into any difficulties there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where I ran into difficulties was the internal waistband. I was wildly optimistic in thinking that the muslin waistband I'd used in my mock-up would work. After all, I had fit it very nicely to my waist and I was happy with it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, wait. Let me back up a bit. This skirt, like many skirt of the time, has an internal waistband. It sits just <i>above</i> the natural waist and has little darts in it to hold it close to the body. It is attached along its top edge to the top to the skirt and thereby supports the skirt while the skirt skims nicely down the body. To make this work, the waistband has to be well-fitted, but it also has to be sturdy enough to support the skirt. The fabric I chose for the skirt, a wool blend, was quite heavy, and the muslin was really pathetically unable to support it. I searched out "belting", which is what the pattern calls for (should've listened to the pattern to begin with, huh?) and found it (online) at Mood.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I waited for the belting to arrive in the mail, I moved on to the jacket, but I'll get to that in a minute. Once I got the belting in the mail the other day, I set right to fitting it and then sewing it into the skirt (carefully by hand so that the stitching isn't visible from the outside). I sewed in the hook-and-bar closures, and voila, I had a skirt!</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, for the most part I had a skirt. The hem still needed to be leveled (the back was longer than the front) and, you know, hemmed. So I did that the other day to complete the look.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr3SGTypC4-JHcZ_aC3orGIdOOa6gEYJGFX4FpcWvVFKC3h4pUXuRcoS4fK4pgq6yyrqqxjGrpnlrft4XzphDBFNt-XEJEreGLXvAgf9-7Q-v1pq3azLd-34P4KgK027b7c-vHFaDjyZb/s4032/20200601_114446.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr3SGTypC4-JHcZ_aC3orGIdOOa6gEYJGFX4FpcWvVFKC3h4pUXuRcoS4fK4pgq6yyrqqxjGrpnlrft4XzphDBFNt-XEJEreGLXvAgf9-7Q-v1pq3azLd-34P4KgK027b7c-vHFaDjyZb/s320/20200601_114446.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Levelling the skirt hem. Put it on the coffee table to get some height.</font></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />THE JACKET</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u><i>: </i>white-and-navy-blue striped wool blend (about 1.5 yards); same slate gray white-polka dot fabric as skirt for facings (about .5 yards).</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="http://wearinghistory.clothing/1910s-suit-jacket-skirt-pattern-circa-1916/" target="_blank">Wearing History 1916 jacket</a> (the pattern is for a jacket and skirt, but I only wanted/needed the jacket so only bought that part of the pattern).</div><div><br /></div><div>This was another one that gave me fitting problems. The pattern gives sizes based on bust, by which I was not the smallest size. And yet when I measured the pattern pieces, it became evident that anything but the smallest size would swamp me. So I started with the smallest size and started reworking it from there, taking width out of the shoulder seam and bringing up the armscye and taking length off the bottom of the jacket. This is easy to say but was difficult to do--keep in mind, I'm entirely untrained and have no bloody idea what I've doing. I'm winging it based on hopes, prayers, and Internet tutorials (I'd be lost without help from the Internet).</div><div><br /></div><div>I got the torso to a place I was happy with and moved on to the sleeves, which gave me no end of trouble. They were ludicrously too big--like I wrote in my journal, I don't know who this pattern was made for, but they must have really, really long arms! In any case, I spent hours fiddling with the damn sleeves, trying to get rid of the slight wrinkles at the back. But again, I felt that I wasn't going to get any further by fiddling with it more, and I was reasonably happy with the fit. So I moved on to the fashion fabric.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the things I loved about this pattern was the option for a sailor collar, which is exactly what was in the image I found (really, the patterns and fabric worked out perfectly to create this project). In the image, you also see the lapel and collar are faced with contrasting dark fabric, the same fabric as the skirt. So naturally, I used the striped fabric for the jacket and faced it with the slate-gray fabric I used for the skirt. I had to fiddle with the way the collar met the lapel, because it was off for some reason, but that wasn't too hard--I didn't mess with the pattern, I just eyeballed it and pinned it in place and then sewed it. In any case, with that achieved, I set in the sleeves, again struggling to get out the wrinkles.</div><div><br /></div><div>To finish the jacket, I added buttonholes and black buttons and made a belt (with black buttons, naturally). The black buttons match the buttons on the blouse, though you can't see the blouse when the jacket it on.</div><div><br /></div><div>And with that, I had a jacket and a complete outfit!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>ALL TOGETHER NOW</div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as I had the waistband in my skirt, I put on the whole ensemble, even though the skirt wasn't hemmed. I actually took it all off, then decided to put it back on, do my hair, and take some photos. I'll let you in on a secret. I'm actually wearing bright pink socks here, but you can't see them.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I'm really pleased with the look I achieved here. It is actually quite close to the original, which I'm proud of. I put in a lot of work and thought, and it paid off nicely, I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUYVKh2P9wmw5ybTHk1poUsvrAJrkwMhipGeexY7jR4lfqTVBIIrkZ8AZejUfwA_Rj6WCo-j0OfbNiaNFMIGy37MsGKj-L9mySOFJFMGQIIiN3vLSi-3fcQSASQ2B78Dyl2Ikzeuvkvpr/s320/20200530_192528.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3PRyDn8hgYKnQy7V46jcCaT7kCcJxkUFzemFp9c00wa-Ud1ALonDpqCiVCqrTmIAIA8jpWAgxPW0XEkpQ_4VJkaiBsPNme3mQPTtGA4TpowVO_WVbIZ0nDIsypSoJ6-lHXZ3KcXhgof9/s320/20200530_192905.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwi8cKSdQA9pL3WOTlP5s733DtQ-Xyl5rSsTzVI59F_5ltnnu6ZzPcaWqiBrmi4cBwZgqlYCZ3znwD5pWoZPasjuS5XMnUT7ah_SbrOaxfHLuBoQ44a8BqlOScZ-ENZQeoc5PjpfY3jGv/s320/20200530_193829.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JzOgbncMpfYL6S9FdL8LOCTqQKiqXsT5Q5rLoKsbFD4OcRz0oo3vp9GWOdY22bYF7RiU-8KPDTDujAvGWNFROkDxIit2q3W_WMbVY-imWVL0Tu-0IK4dHX9tH_MRxIp-QIiC4c1kjb3B/s320/20200530_194027.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div>LOOKING FORWARD</div><div><br /></div><div>I will post some time in the future about the hat. You see the hat in my pictures, but that is the *unimproved* hat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also have a lot of the gray fabric left over. I might use it to make a 1910s toque hat, and I am heavily considering using it for an 1860s paletot (coat), even though I don't think polka dots would be correct for the period. I also have enough of the navy-striped fabric to make a whole dress out of; that will be well down the road, I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-37392733809188493812020-06-05T06:04:00.002-07:002020-07-01T18:45:50.971-07:00...And a 1910s Ensemble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_7JQPiOxxTnTxZmqrj7u6kJOQs5cDp5k4Lkd09lR_Hjg-jh2mB5Pcjwkbq0E9pYaPR7R-q7_gdGdRaTPBMaVQ2fqXqhOgaPMQL_Foq99dIrKf6OyLUGuK-GpfAC8U_M-MCiSdDJkkVW_/s4032/20200530_192411.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_7JQPiOxxTnTxZmqrj7u6kJOQs5cDp5k4Lkd09lR_Hjg-jh2mB5Pcjwkbq0E9pYaPR7R-q7_gdGdRaTPBMaVQ2fqXqhOgaPMQL_Foq99dIrKf6OyLUGuK-GpfAC8U_M-MCiSdDJkkVW_/s320/20200530_192411.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">The finished product--a 1910s outfit.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>I've been working along behind the scenes for some months now, buying [too much] material and [too many] patterns, looking at old fashion plates and the projects posted by other costumers online, and generally making plans. This was all groundwork for a series of projects I have planned, and it's been a long time in coming to fruition. But at last, my efforts are starting to bear actual fruit, and I'm very proud.<div><br /></div><div>The first fully-realized outfit to come out of this whirlwind of planning is my 1910s ensemble: a blouse, chemisette/guimpe, skirt, jacket, and hat. I knew I wanted a 1910s look (better than the one I'd previously put together), and I'd been skimming the Internet for inspiration. I wanted to find a period image (so that the final product ended up looking credible) but to use modern-day patterns to achieve the look (because I needed a pattern to start off of). Finally, I came across the following image:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="685" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrlofx5ih5x-N14-tske3tN0_u84VGRskFp09LzzEpcGFMriVcfuVS0GsGE_Dq4a9Nz9JfLBDl79OsAcsos07r-Wcq-fYWFHNmDNNPjpOOUYt2toaJjfvnQuKVsyfothw_haHvd9VuRsL/s320/LHJ+June+1912+%2528a%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Inspiration.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>To my delight, I realized I had the perfect fabric. I had bought some slate-gray, white-polka dot, wool-blend fabric for another project. When I got the fabric, I realized that, while I loved it, it was much too heavy for the intended purpose. I had gotten some white-and-navy-blue-striped fabric at the same time; it was lighter-weight, but, until this point, I hadn't been quite sure what to do with it, either. But when I found this image, it all came together <i>perfectly</i>. The two fabrics I'd bought would work beautifully together to create the outfit in the image.</div><div><br /></div><div>What was more, I knew which patterns I would use. So I had a plan.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>THE BLOUSE and CHEMISETTE</b></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u>: white cotton lawn (about 1.25 yards), black lace of unknown fiber content (I think it's a natural fiber, though), white lace of unknown fiber content (but almost certainly <i>not </i>natural fiber).</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tve45-1911-narrow-panel-blouse/">Truly Victorian 1911 narrow-panel blouse (TVE45).</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Let me preface this by saying something I've said before. I'm 4'11" and have a rather odd, boxy shape and very short arms and legs, so I have to heavily alter every pattern I start with. I was measuring up one of the patterns and got so frustrated at the difference between the pattern measurements and my own measurements that I literally scrawled in my notebook, "WHO DID THEY MAKE THIS PATTERN FOR, GIANTS?"</div><div><br /></div><div>The first piece I tackled was the blouse. This pattern is made of four pieces: the center front panel, the center back panel, and one panel each for the left and for the right sides. There's no seam at the shoulder; the side panels start at the front waist, goes up over the shoulder, and continue down to the back waist. It closes up the side. These side panels are held together by the front and back panels (which are kind of like an 18th century stomacher, but, you know, both front AND back).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ1o-LiKuQuOUGaGdAsSYS5KedfKwSexLFg8SBPv1Py3VwMnsbfS98XYq427UdK4BTJdGadebHdWWXYMyQ9ife8WTpDpySpDnGL-V-y9A8C2LvJ4FJes_LJdUEBUWK3GJAHhR0Anj9Vi8/s4032/20200506_102849.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ1o-LiKuQuOUGaGdAsSYS5KedfKwSexLFg8SBPv1Py3VwMnsbfS98XYq427UdK4BTJdGadebHdWWXYMyQ9ife8WTpDpySpDnGL-V-y9A8C2LvJ4FJes_LJdUEBUWK3GJAHhR0Anj9Vi8/s320/20200506_102849.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Mocking up the blouse on my new dress form.</font><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>I think all this made it harder to fit the pattern to me, because boy did I struggle with this one. I think I went through four mock-ups, using up a lot of muslin in the process. My main problems were wrinkles under the arms and across the back, and weirdly-fitting sleeves. The angles on the original pattern did not work at all on me, but I had a lot of difficult finding the <i>right</i> angles. Eventually, I got to something that I was satisfied with. Perhaps someone with more skill could've done a better job, and maybe I could've stuck with it and made it perfect--but probably not, and I frankly decided I'd fiddled with the damn thing long enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once I was done with mocking it up, the rest was actually pretty simple. I cut out the pieces from my white lawn and sewed them together (simple, straight-ish seams all around). I decorated the front and back panels with black lace and added some black buttons to ground the black lace. I decorated the cuff with white lace and black buttons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the blouse really wouldn't have been worn alone but with a chemisette (or guimpe). This fills in the neckline up to the chin--a very typically Edwardian look. The 1918 dinner dress I recently made included a pattern for a chemisette to fit into the triangular neckline. I used the pattern but made the bottom square instead of triangular. For the "fabric", I used the same 2.5"-wide lace that I'd used on the cuffs of the blouse. I pieced it together at the edges so that the front and back are each four panels of lace wide. I used literally every last bit of the lace to finish the collar part of the chemisette; that bit of lace ran in the opposite direction (horizontal) to the lace on the rest of the chemisette (vertical). I added some hooks and eyes for closure, but I made a hash of that am going to redo it. I'll either reconfigure the hooks and eyes or do buttons with thread loops instead.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-06xm2C3a_mIeXP0kQ24F8taEbd81UQ34cLXJhiXXbm5_eNvNJV93jjF_zdMnKqW5IWxxnmIqUD0tFjXWHfqpAN_Lk6eoK-StX-N6aE7Qt0IowUt2u4EQSuYz0heWxIaiA6uAqAk8Ynm/s2592/20200511_124914.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-06xm2C3a_mIeXP0kQ24F8taEbd81UQ34cLXJhiXXbm5_eNvNJV93jjF_zdMnKqW5IWxxnmIqUD0tFjXWHfqpAN_Lk6eoK-StX-N6aE7Qt0IowUt2u4EQSuYz0heWxIaiA6uAqAk8Ynm/s320/20200511_124914.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">That's the blouse done.<br /></font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz_ML7GYmLSzWs_QK78RflWv2swyQNtUWnpsbO5g8ZKjJXCHHacv9l7VEDojC37LRrYW6hbDfAxQ4tLa3EWVHainH5jR_LNOstIzSblf7o6GeBCwu_WLqCjoA9ohOSLAI4mVt4rg2mgxO/s4032/20200512_153427.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz_ML7GYmLSzWs_QK78RflWv2swyQNtUWnpsbO5g8ZKjJXCHHacv9l7VEDojC37LRrYW6hbDfAxQ4tLa3EWVHainH5jR_LNOstIzSblf7o6GeBCwu_WLqCjoA9ohOSLAI4mVt4rg2mgxO/s320/20200512_153427.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">All the lace that was left after making the chemisette.</font></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgRYkOpCUxw5e_wYjcasKLaLOF0LA_djmxmXEFQxc4i2DV4Kiqh135Q_hR81ADvbXBLQrDXsXWO4nccS9EOCiyspG1FMwgi6ahe6O9Altg0A88B2_sBQplJt98ctasSG5fgkyasYh5LtL/s2592/20200512_185959.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgRYkOpCUxw5e_wYjcasKLaLOF0LA_djmxmXEFQxc4i2DV4Kiqh135Q_hR81ADvbXBLQrDXsXWO4nccS9EOCiyspG1FMwgi6ahe6O9Altg0A88B2_sBQplJt98ctasSG5fgkyasYh5LtL/s320/20200512_185959.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">It looks a little silly tucked into jeans, but this<br />is the blouse with the chemisette.</font><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>THE SKIRT</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u>: slate-gray white-polka dot wool blend (about 1.75 yards); 1 yard of belting.</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="https://trulyvictorian.info/index.php/product/tve30-1911-narrow-panel-skirt/">Truly Victorian 1910s narrow panel skirt (TVE30).</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This pattern is designed to go along with the blouse pattern above. Probably if you're the same size bottom and top, the front panels match up so it's one long line from the neck to the hem. But am I the same size on the bottom and top? Of course not. I bet that's the same for a lot of women.</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case, the skirt was actually surprisingly easy (less fiddly than fitting the blouse). Skirts do tend to be easier because the only thing I really have to alter is the length. That was the case here. It was a little trickier because of the kick pleats at the bottom of the skirt. See, I determined from day one that I needed to take off 8 inches from the skirt. Yep, eight whole inches. Did I mention that I'm really bloody short? I'm really bloody short. However, if I just took the 8 inches off the bottom, the kick pleat would be basically gone. On the other hand, if I took it from the top, then I'd have a disproportionately long kick pleat. So I took out four inches from above and four inches from below the kick pleat.</div><div><br /></div><div>This was a PDF pattern I printed myself and taped together. So what I did was fold the pattern up by 2 inches (which actually eliminated a total of 4 inches) at a point above and at a point below the kick pleat. Then I untaped some of the pages and scooted them over (inwards) so that the vertical lines of the skirt matched up again (when I took out those 4 inches, it interrupted the line of the skirt, of course). This had the result of narrowing the width of the skirt all the way down, but that was desirable, too. Again, I'm a small person. The less fabric, the better. And if I had kept the same width and just drawn a new line connecting the old line with the new line, I would've ended up with a skirt that flared out too much, and it would no longer have been "narrow" but a-line. I hope all of that, or any of it, makes sense.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did a mock-up just to make sure everything was kosher, and it was, so I moved on to the fashion fabric. Doing the kick pleat required some careful attention to the directions. It involves basting the seam (I did it by hand to make it easy to take out later) part of the way down and pressing the seam allowance towards the front, then topstitching it down and removing the basting stitches. That's how you get the "panel" look. In any case, I didn't run into any difficulties there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where I ran into difficulties was the internal waistband. I was wildly optimistic in thinking that the muslin waistband I'd used in my mock-up would work. After all, I had fit it very nicely to my waist and I was happy with it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, wait. Let me back up a bit. This skirt, like many skirt of the time, has an internal waistband. It sits just <i>above</i> the natural waist and has little darts in it to hold it close to the body. It is attached along its top edge to the top to the skirt and thereby supports the skirt while the skirt skims nicely down the body. To make this work, the waistband has to be well-fitted, but it also has to be sturdy enough to support the skirt. The fabric I chose for the skirt, a wool blend, was quite heavy, and the muslin was really pathetically unable to support it. I searched out "belting", which is what the pattern calls for (should've listened to the pattern to begin with, huh?) and found it (online) at Mood.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I waited for the belting to arrive in the mail, I moved on to the jacket, but I'll get to that in a minute. Once I got the belting in the mail the other day, I set right to fitting it and then sewing it into the skirt (carefully by hand so that the stitching isn't visible from the outside). I sewed in the hook-and-bar closures, and voila, I had a skirt!</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, for the most part I had a skirt. The hem still needed to be leveled (the back was longer than the front) and, you know, hemmed. So I did that the other day to complete the look.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr3SGTypC4-JHcZ_aC3orGIdOOa6gEYJGFX4FpcWvVFKC3h4pUXuRcoS4fK4pgq6yyrqqxjGrpnlrft4XzphDBFNt-XEJEreGLXvAgf9-7Q-v1pq3azLd-34P4KgK027b7c-vHFaDjyZb/s4032/20200601_114446.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr3SGTypC4-JHcZ_aC3orGIdOOa6gEYJGFX4FpcWvVFKC3h4pUXuRcoS4fK4pgq6yyrqqxjGrpnlrft4XzphDBFNt-XEJEreGLXvAgf9-7Q-v1pq3azLd-34P4KgK027b7c-vHFaDjyZb/s320/20200601_114446.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><font color="#9e9e9e">Levelling the skirt hem. Put it on the coffee table to get some height.</font></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />THE JACKET</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Fabric</u><i>: </i>white-and-navy-blue striped wool blend (about 1.5 yards); same slate gray white-polka dot fabric as skirt for facings (about .5 yards).</div><div><u>Pattern</u>: <a href="http://wearinghistory.clothing/1910s-suit-jacket-skirt-pattern-circa-1916/" target="_blank">Wearing History 1916 jacket</a> (the pattern is for a jacket and skirt, but I only wanted/needed the jacket so only bought that part of the pattern).</div><div><br /></div><div>This was another one that gave me fitting problems. The pattern gives sizes based on bust, by which I was not the smallest size. And yet when I measured the pattern pieces, it became evident that anything but the smallest size would swamp me. So I started with the smallest size and started reworking it from there, taking width out of the shoulder seam and bringing up the armscye and taking length off the bottom of the jacket. This is easy to say but was difficult to do--keep in mind, I'm entirely untrained and have no bloody idea what I've doing. I'm winging it based on hopes, prayers, and Internet tutorials (I'd be lost without help from the Internet).</div><div><br /></div><div>I got the torso to a place I was happy with and moved on to the sleeves, which gave me no end of trouble. They were ludicrously too big--like I wrote in my journal, I don't know who this pattern was made for, but they must have really, really long arms! In any case, I spent hours fiddling with the damn sleeves, trying to get rid of the slight wrinkles at the back. But again, I felt that I wasn't going to get any further by fiddling with it more, and I was reasonably happy with the fit. So I moved on to the fashion fabric.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the things I loved about this pattern was the option for a sailor collar, which is exactly what was in the image I found (really, the patterns and fabric worked out perfectly to create this project). In the image, you also see the lapel and collar are faced with contrasting dark fabric, the same fabric as the skirt. So naturally, I used the striped fabric for the jacket and faced it with the slate-gray fabric I used for the skirt. I had to fiddle with the way the collar met the lapel, because it was off for some reason, but that wasn't too hard--I didn't mess with the pattern, I just eyeballed it and pinned it in place and then sewed it. In any case, with that achieved, I set in the sleeves, again struggling to get out the wrinkles.</div><div><br /></div><div>To finish the jacket, I added buttonholes and black buttons and made a belt (with black buttons, naturally). The black buttons match the buttons on the blouse, though you can't see the blouse when the jacket it on.</div><div><br /></div><div>And with that, I had a jacket and a complete outfit!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>ALL TOGETHER NOW</div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as I had the waistband in my skirt, I put on the whole ensemble, even though the skirt wasn't hemmed. I actually took it all off, then decided to put it back on, do my hair, and take some photos. I'll let you in on a secret. I'm actually wearing bright pink socks here, but you can't see them.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I'm really pleased with the look I achieved here. It is actually quite close to the original, which I'm proud of. I put in a lot of work and thought, and it paid off nicely, I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUYVKh2P9wmw5ybTHk1poUsvrAJrkwMhipGeexY7jR4lfqTVBIIrkZ8AZejUfwA_Rj6WCo-j0OfbNiaNFMIGy37MsGKj-L9mySOFJFMGQIIiN3vLSi-3fcQSASQ2B78Dyl2Ikzeuvkvpr/s320/20200530_192528.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3PRyDn8hgYKnQy7V46jcCaT7kCcJxkUFzemFp9c00wa-Ud1ALonDpqCiVCqrTmIAIA8jpWAgxPW0XEkpQ_4VJkaiBsPNme3mQPTtGA4TpowVO_WVbIZ0nDIsypSoJ6-lHXZ3KcXhgof9/s320/20200530_192905.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwi8cKSdQA9pL3WOTlP5s733DtQ-Xyl5rSsTzVI59F_5ltnnu6ZzPcaWqiBrmi4cBwZgqlYCZ3znwD5pWoZPasjuS5XMnUT7ah_SbrOaxfHLuBoQ44a8BqlOScZ-ENZQeoc5PjpfY3jGv/s320/20200530_193829.jpg" /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JzOgbncMpfYL6S9FdL8LOCTqQKiqXsT5Q5rLoKsbFD4OcRz0oo3vp9GWOdY22bYF7RiU-8KPDTDujAvGWNFROkDxIit2q3W_WMbVY-imWVL0Tu-0IK4dHX9tH_MRxIp-QIiC4c1kjb3B/s320/20200530_194027.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div>LOOKING FORWARD</div><div><br /></div><div>I will post some time in the future about the hat. You see the hat in my pictures, but that is the *unimproved* hat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also have a lot of the gray fabric left over. I might use it to make a 1910s toque hat, and I am heavily considering using it for an 1860s paletot (coat), even though I don't think polka dots would be correct for the period. I also have enough of the navy-striped fabric to make a whole dress out of; that will be well down the road, I think.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-42334022481205101402020-05-24T17:31:00.002-07:002020-05-24T17:31:52.707-07:00...And Michael Llewelyn Davies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a weird few days--okay, let's be real, it's been a weird few months, with COVID and all. But the point is, I meant to blog about this several days ago and...didn't. In my defense, I did get a lot of sewing done and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 during that time. Which...isn't much of a defense now that I think about it.</div>
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I shouldn't be so flippant. The occasion for this blog post is a sad one.</div>
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The pictures below are of Michael Llewelyn Davies. He was the fourth of the five brothers who helped inspire Peter Pan. He wasn't even born in 1897 when his eldest brother George met writer J.M. Barrie in Kensington Gardens and the two became friends. Michael was born in 1900, and he was only four years old when <i>Peter Pan </i>premiered. George was the original model for Peter Pan, and Peter gave him his name, but Michael had no small part in inspiring the writing of <i>the play. </i>George was still very much a favorite of Barrie's, but Michael became a favorite among the brothers, too, maybe <i>the</i> favorite.</div>
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Here is a picture of Michael, dressed up as Peter Pan in a costume given to him by J.M. Barrie:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWSg_lwtvRaWMELI4K28p0dg8zZT7NKyOR29nibTo4zeCO0uMGaoisdjqZUXm-TQqxHvY2VbUd1lL0ojn-P48bMkkwScxYAF7YlqQYTJkwiQnHeMdoUhpaUFWD7nu24U9latb5g8tltvj/s1600/20191001_093556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWSg_lwtvRaWMELI4K28p0dg8zZT7NKyOR29nibTo4zeCO0uMGaoisdjqZUXm-TQqxHvY2VbUd1lL0ojn-P48bMkkwScxYAF7YlqQYTJkwiQnHeMdoUhpaUFWD7nu24U9latb5g8tltvj/s320/20191001_093556.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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And here's Michael a bit older, kitted out to go fishing--which was a favorite activity for the Llewelyn Davies brothers, and which J.M. Barrie encouraged. By the time this photo was taken, both the boys' parents had passed away from cancer. Barrie was acting as guardian, alongside their longtime nurse Mary Hodgson.</div>
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Michael was a sensitive child, and the loss of his parents affected him pretty deeply. He had terrible nightmares and had trouble adjusting to Eton at first. But he was extremely bright and talented, both in art and poetry (for the record, his grandfather was an artist and novelist, and his first cousin was novelist Daphne du Maurier, so J.M. Barrie's wasn't the only literary influence in his life). He was athletic, too, making the first elevens at cricket at Eton.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOntyxLzGz8Ww_rP7KvIVkeD-FozZdmuuehDiffETAdDjNJZ6WxEuPfTpE574wfrKdnA3wH1gnhOZwF2v7uGZM5JkPcyLoHnKjpVhawMq_0XWHC-hHhyphenhyphenuvprySL5vcZCwVtS4rxLAKTRD_/s1600/20191001_094926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOntyxLzGz8Ww_rP7KvIVkeD-FozZdmuuehDiffETAdDjNJZ6WxEuPfTpE574wfrKdnA3wH1gnhOZwF2v7uGZM5JkPcyLoHnKjpVhawMq_0XWHC-hHhyphenhyphenuvprySL5vcZCwVtS4rxLAKTRD_/s320/20191001_094926.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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This last picture is Michael in 1919, at Oxford. There was some back-and-forth between Michael and Barrie over Michael's future. Michael had thoughts of studying at the Sorbonne and being an artist in Paris, but Barrie preferred he go to Oxford. Michael actually left Oxford briefly but went back.<br />
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It was while he was studying at Oxford that he and a friend, Rupert Buxton, went down from Oxford on May 19, 1921, to Sandford Lasher along the Thames. A lasher is the pool beneath a dam, and this was a place where students sometimes went to swim. Unfortunately, on that day, something happened, and Michael and Rupert were drowned. They were both far too young to die, and it was a devastating blow for Barrie (especially since they had lost George during the war).<br />
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Exactly what happened that day isn't clear. I have my own theories, and I could go on and on about this topic, and maybe I will do so later. Many people suspect it was a double suicide, or at least a suicide on the part of Michael--that is, the two young men committed suicide together (the theory is usually that they were homosexual and were distressed by what that might mean in that time and place), or Michael committed suicide (for whatever the reason) and Rupert tried but failed to save him. The official inquest returned a finding of accidental death, however. I tend to believe it was accidental. It was well-known that Michael couldn't swim and was terrified of the water. He might have gotten into some difficulty while swimming, and when Rupert tried to help, Michael, in his desperation, took them both down (this is not unusual in drowning situations). But of course, we'll never know what went on in the heads of either young man.<br />
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But it was 99 years ago this past week that Michael Llewelyn Davies passed away. So I wanted to mark the anniversary. Well, roughly.<br />
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<br />Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-69149819456481290092020-05-11T15:39:00.001-07:002020-09-10T04:50:40.635-07:00. . . And Audio of the Real Lost Boys. . . or at least one of them.<br />
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I'll back up and explain. The "real lost boys"--the brothers who inspired the creation of Peter Pan--were the George, Jack, Peter, Michael, and Nicholas Llewelyn Davies.<br />
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(If you've seen Finding Neverland, that's--sort of--them, except it's a Disney-fied version of half the story; if you want a more accurate idea of the real story, <a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2019/03/and-finding-neverland.html" target="_blank">read my blog entry here</a>; you can also read about <a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2019/10/and-llewelyn-davies-family-papers.html" target="_blank">my research trip to Yale in New Haven, Connecticut here</a>.)<br />
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I have written a novel about the Davies family, which I plan to start shopping around to agents in the near future (that ought to be a joy). In the meantime, I remain <i>slightly </i>obsessed with the true story of these five brothers, and the other day I logged onto jmbarrie.co.uk. This is an amazing site. It's administered by Andrew Birkin, the longtime expert on J.M Barrie and the Davies family and the custodian of a large amount of primary material. He wrote the best available book on the topic, <i>J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys--</i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/J-M-Barrie-Lost-Boys-behind-ebook/dp/B017DNAIEY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=j.m.+barrie+and+the+lost+boys&qid=1588812553&sr=8-1" target="_blank">buy it here</a>; I highly recommend it. He also wrote and directed <i>Lost Boys, </i>a wonderful (and wonderfully accurate) BBC miniseries on the story from the '70s (it is available used on DVD). The point is, I owe a massive debt to his work.<br />
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Among the material Birkin collected is a series of audio interviews conducted in the '70s with those involved in the story who were still alive. He interviewed Nico, the youngest and last surviving of the five brothers, and Jack's widow, Gerrie. He spoke to the sister of George's fiancee and to Robert Boothby, a friend of Michael's at Eton and Oxford. He also spoke to Daphne du Maurier, who happens to have been the brothers' first cousin. The audio files also include recording of speeches by Barrie (not great quality).<br />
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(There is also a trove of photographs and letters and other written materials and ephemera that are well worth diving into.)<br />
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Some of the info and stories to be found in these audio files are absolutely fabulous. I suppose it helps to know the characters behind the stories, but I was just filled with glee as I listened to a few of these clips that I hadn't listened to before. A few struck me in particular:<br />
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<b>1</b>. In this file, Nico talks about being the only one of his brothers with any musical talent at all. I love the story of him and Michael being bought a gramophone by Barrie and given 10 quid to buy music. Nico buys some jazz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuyPWGRgqII" target="_blank">(this song, actually)</a>, and Michael, at about 19 years old, buy Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. I love "Scheherazade", though Nico apparently thought it was tripe!<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nicos-love-of-music-and-playing-the-piano-unlike-his-brothers-his-story-of-going-off-with-michael-to-buy-their-first-gramophone-records"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nicos-love-of-music-and-playing-the-piano-unlike-his-brothers-his-story-of-going-off-with-michael-to-buy-their-first-gramophone-records</b></a><br />
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<b>2</b>. This one struck was intriguing because I've though a lot about what led Peter, later in his life, to commit suicide. It will never be entirely clear, of course, exactly what led him to do it, but in my mind the trauma of war lingered on, even decades later. It wasn't the only cause (he was in bad health, as was his wife, and they had financial troubles), but I think a major factor. Here, his sister-in-law, Gerrie (Jack's wife) talks about his mental state following the Great War:<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/gerrie-on-peter-being-mentally-wounded-beyond-repair-by-the-horrors-of-the-great-war"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/gerrie-on-peter-being-mentally-wounded-beyond-repair-by-the-horrors-of-the-great-war</b></a><br />
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<b>3</b>. In this one, George's fiancee's sister, Norma, says he had a lot to be conceited about, though he wasn't at all conceited. Interestingly, she says that Barrie said he thought George would've been a very sad man had he lived. Norma disagrees, but I don't <i>entirely </i>disagree. I think he had a lot of weight on his shoulders after the death of his parents, and he probably would've borne it well enough but been been rather sad underneath. It must be said that Barrie was an incredibly astute man, so maybe he was right. We'll never know, I'm afraid.<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-talks-about-george-josephine-and-michael"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-talks-about-george-josephine-and-michael</b></a><br />
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<b>4</b>. And a little more from Norma about dear George and how he courted Josephine, the fiancee he left behind when he went off to war:<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-remembers-george"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-remembers-george</b></a><br />
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<b>5.</b> I rather think Norma was smitten with the Llewelyn Davies brothers--the older ones at least, who were closer to her own age. Here she says they had an easy charm that they didn't need to turn on and off; it was simply there:<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-douglas-henry-was-the-sister-of-josephine-dauphine-mitchell-innes-georges-fiancee-in-1914-i-met-her-rather-late-in-the-day-while-we-were-shooting-the-lost-boys-but-managed-to-include-her-recollections-of-george-in-jmb-tlb-here-she"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/norma-douglas-henry-was-the-sister-of-josephine-dauphine-mitchell-innes-georges-fiancee-in-1914-i-met-her-rather-late-in-the-day-while-we-were-shooting-the-lost-boys-but-managed-to-include-her-recollections-of-george-in-jmb-tlb-here-she</b></a><br />
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<b>6. </b>This one I liked very much because Nico talks about how much he enjoyed working alongside Peter in the publishing industry, which just makes me very happy. The sense that Nico made Peter happier, and that Nico enjoyed Peter's company warms the cockles of my cold, dead heart. Also, like Nico I have a love-hate relationship with the publishing industry, so I can totally relate, even if I'm on the author's side of the equation rather than the publisher side.<br />
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<a href="https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nico-and-peters-disillusionment-about-the-publishing-trade"><b>https://jmbarrie.co.uk/audio/nico-and-peters-disillusionment-about-the-publishing-trade</b></a>Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-23938856913356345562020-04-22T17:49:00.000-07:002020-04-22T17:49:15.421-07:00. . . And a Great War Dinner Dress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I considered nicknaming this dress the plague dress, partly because I made it using a pattern from 1918, when influenza was killing tens of millions of people across the world, and partly because I <i>started</i> it just as COVID-19 was breaking out in China and <i>finished</i> it while quarantined at home. And also, this thing PLAGUED me. (See what I did there?)</div>
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But then I realized that it might be too soon to flippantly refer to this dress as my "plague dress", even if it's jokingly and affectionately.</div>
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Let me tell you, there were points when I did <i>not</i> feel affectionate towards this thing. At all.</div>
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Let's start at the end, though, because I want to reassure you all that there's a happy ending (hooray!):</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMS8RrUKKpwSyqoNtXBunI8Y8p_MJcvxLsLOxNEG_M8-w9rCWnkWGumJ0AeK_Xu-Lyn-dy3mPcVrYYR7LILWiKildxWtGsHCkheBKPKj51Bbsqs-wsowVlZnZU8ljw3_Qyk2LQ2l90dfm0/s1600/20200415_122822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMS8RrUKKpwSyqoNtXBunI8Y8p_MJcvxLsLOxNEG_M8-w9rCWnkWGumJ0AeK_Xu-Lyn-dy3mPcVrYYR7LILWiKildxWtGsHCkheBKPKj51Bbsqs-wsowVlZnZU8ljw3_Qyk2LQ2l90dfm0/s320/20200415_122822.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that is a painting of my cat behind me.</td></tr>
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Let's jump back to the beginning. I was researching various patterns for the 1910s and came across this one. It looks cute and pretty and young here in the illustration. I was a little wary because, frankly, the pattern is expensive and this is just an illustration, but I liked that there were various options, for long or short sleeves, for a chemisette with collar, for an over-bodice, and for an over-skirt. I figured that, one way or another, I would get my money's worth out of this. The size was a little big, but I was aware that I would have to alter the pattern anyway, so that didn't deter me.</div>
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By the way <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/643360797/1918-ladies-dinner-dress-with-optional?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=dinner+dress+pattern&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&cns=1" target="_blank">HERE IS THE LINK TO BUY THE PATTERN</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Oee6MbdFTwD41mvSKE800FKOfUqwDcKXFHMz5CJcxw0XjHcvfXHjRaf4BEsyHZnUE_Ss3NRTOcyabR9VaNsC10R6SYRbO1o1QEpj1A-WebvvfM-zDOaFEgDkTCT_1ZtmFnd1SfwGL7PM/s1600/20200320_093606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Oee6MbdFTwD41mvSKE800FKOfUqwDcKXFHMz5CJcxw0XjHcvfXHjRaf4BEsyHZnUE_Ss3NRTOcyabR9VaNsC10R6SYRbO1o1QEpj1A-WebvvfM-zDOaFEgDkTCT_1ZtmFnd1SfwGL7PM/s320/20200320_093606.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Once I got the pattern, I immediately went to work on the pattern pieces for the bodice. As you can see above, the bodice consists of two pieces in the front and two in the back that cross over to make a v-neck and are gathered to a waistband. I figured this would be pretty easy--when you gather to a waistband, you can cut your waistband to just the right length and gather your fabric to the waistband accordingly--there's room for error, basically.</div>
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From experience, I knew I would have to alter the length of the shoulder seam (that is, the seam from the neck to the tip of the shoulder). On the pattern, it was 5"; I needed it to be 4". I also knew I needed to take some height out of the shoulder seam (shortening the distance from waist to shoulder). So I did those things using some tracing paper and moving around my pieces until I had the measurements I wanted.</div>
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Cool.</div>
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Right?</div>
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WRONG. It was not going to be that easy. Why would it be that easy? I made a mock-up using my altered pattern, and it was very wonky. It pulled and bunched at the crossover point rather than laying nicely over my torso.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mCO775FO6xIT-AYEYDXZjkQ-bxjM6uVr7abgKHShxR5FQczpgAsVo97iz13PwerCgW89R9X3Z-mOr8mOqujpyaDv-H1oiyksvTFckLaJT9mcDtYu5yKJCa2DVSbXadi4NHWBnIyQ__St/s1600/20200303_115445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mCO775FO6xIT-AYEYDXZjkQ-bxjM6uVr7abgKHShxR5FQczpgAsVo97iz13PwerCgW89R9X3Z-mOr8mOqujpyaDv-H1oiyksvTFckLaJT9mcDtYu5yKJCa2DVSbXadi4NHWBnIyQ__St/s320/20200303_115445.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I went back to the drawing board, almost literally, and started working with my altered pattern. I added some width to the side seams, then changed the angle of the side seam a bit. I fiddled with this and that and the other thing and even totally redid the pattern for the back and recut it. And that was <i>worse</i>. I went back to what I'd had and kept playing with it, and eventually I got to something that I thought was good.<br />
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The next step was the skirt, which was...remarkably painless. I mean, it was too long because I'm 4'11". Before I started, I took 4.5" off the length of the pattern pieces for the skirt. You can see below that I turned the hem up again quite a bit--another 7", in fact (you can see the shadow of the hem in the picture). Yeah. That's right. I took up the hem about <i>a foot</i>. (Who the bloody hell was this dress made for, a giant? Or maybe it was really meant to hit closer to the ankle--but I wanted it to hit just above the ankle, like in the illustration.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv5J6-eLntrfPYgRRNuWwROWFYaB3R_jWSJguPZPVmmJ0NJJ3DVxX2vcQVSqgFidRFZ5DDX1HB5Y0nx8THMv84O9imO9eKLriAv9b2N9WtDz2xqXBz5aS1_chWB2oF56jBRmEV1bUTeec/s1600/20200303_150727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv5J6-eLntrfPYgRRNuWwROWFYaB3R_jWSJguPZPVmmJ0NJJ3DVxX2vcQVSqgFidRFZ5DDX1HB5Y0nx8THMv84O9imO9eKLriAv9b2N9WtDz2xqXBz5aS1_chWB2oF56jBRmEV1bUTeec/s320/20200303_150727.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I should also note that the skirt pattern was about 2" too narrow at the waist. Since the skirt is not gathered, the measurement along the top had to match precisely with the waistband (which, in this case, is slightly above the natural waist). So I added a bit to the very top of the front and back panels.<br />
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With all that done, I moved on to the fashion fabric, a pretty sky-blue cotton voile. I cut out all my bodice pieces from the blue voile and from white cotton lawn as lining. I flat-lined them and turned over the edges that form the v-neck line. Here, I'm hand-sewing the gathering stitches along the bottom of one of the bodice panels--with Penny the cat helping me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9G02VW0aAdD3XuAkcXfZUepICC3Khx9p0OvFxqn6p2AN3FykHpgK633cF2GAzW1y-w8J9WB_qiCWniNUA7LheFmKYTMAOoEnh2km0Lj5wK12YGwHMj8NLDYNxjWpuzFrxjmARupkYZoOn/s1600/20200307_095103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9G02VW0aAdD3XuAkcXfZUepICC3Khx9p0OvFxqn6p2AN3FykHpgK633cF2GAzW1y-w8J9WB_qiCWniNUA7LheFmKYTMAOoEnh2km0Lj5wK12YGwHMj8NLDYNxjWpuzFrxjmARupkYZoOn/s320/20200307_095103.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And here is what I ended up with. It looks pretty good on the hanger, doesn't it? The gathers are pretty even, which is something I have trouble with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSwmev-6Soc1DtLWdVBbVOpEFeDDPlXFX6eXbmgGouv2Zlx4dVbR5UIJLJLt7Z2EB4ztq87wkKpYbMqZBO2G5s_OXwJt7iBqqoi26FlSZ8i528YvKOt7DlnEb6FkIs6if_azNp_iadmfb/s1600/20200308_112421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSwmev-6Soc1DtLWdVBbVOpEFeDDPlXFX6eXbmgGouv2Zlx4dVbR5UIJLJLt7Z2EB4ztq87wkKpYbMqZBO2G5s_OXwJt7iBqqoi26FlSZ8i528YvKOt7DlnEb6FkIs6if_azNp_iadmfb/s320/20200308_112421.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And below we have the bodice with the sleeves. If you look closely, you can see the hook and eye at the center front, where the panels cross, to make it easier to get on and off. You'll also see the tab there on the right side of the photo (actually on the left side when worn). The closure is up the left side of the dress, and I was having some difficulty with it because it was fiddly. The waist is higher than the natural waist, so it's awkward to get in there and close it up. I started off using hooks and eyes, but it was gapping open, so I switched to a snap tape that I had, which worked much better. But I also added this tab to make it close more easily and more neatly.<br />
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Great in theory. But it meant patching on a length of waistband, which was awkward. And having the hook-and-eye at the center-front cross-over point was awkward too. And there was still bunching and pulling at the crossing point, which was awkward. Awkward, awkward, awkward.<br />
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Oh, I should note that I also had huge problems with these sleeves. To me, they're a very weird shape, with a sort of bell at the wrist and a slit along the back of the sleeve up to the elbow, and I had played with the pattern to take off a few inches in length, but I ended up making them too short. I kept fiddling with the sleeves and got super frustrated with them, but there they were. Again: awkward.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDpywmYpw-Sy6bOEbxbzkA1EkWG5kVDq3_vH8QDwJB5svD5Rz8N0CfE_hJjX7sJz5xqxRwRFvGFBud49VnF0GSBn-g2hQFVle7GxAIGRByPEMnWIZY8bKtADK71nvamE_-v6Ya3vZtl7R/s1600/20200318_174451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDpywmYpw-Sy6bOEbxbzkA1EkWG5kVDq3_vH8QDwJB5svD5Rz8N0CfE_hJjX7sJz5xqxRwRFvGFBud49VnF0GSBn-g2hQFVle7GxAIGRByPEMnWIZY8bKtADK71nvamE_-v6Ya3vZtl7R/s320/20200318_174451.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also had massive issues with the skirt. The mock-up went so well that I thought to myself, Why don't I cut out the blue fashion fabric and stitch it at the side seams, unpick the mock-up skirt from the mock-up bodice, slip the mock-up skirt inside the fashion-fabric skirt, stitch them together at the top and bottom, and have a nicely lined skirt?<br />
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Can you guess what happened? Yeah, it didn't work.<br />
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One of two things happened: either I wasn't careful when cutting out the muslin mock-up skirt, or the very light blue voile warped as I pinned and cut it. In either case, the two layers did not match. I got so far as adding in a messy, crappy placket for closures before I realized that what I was doing wasn't working. I had to take everything apart, back to the four flat pieces of fabric. I carefully matched the pieces up and realized just how off they were in comparison to one another. And somehow, something was off, and the back panels seemed to be missing the seam allowance. I had to carefully piece in more fabric, which, thankfully, ended up being invisible because the stitching actually sat right at the seam line. It's hard to explain, but anyway, it was a pain.<br />
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The pieces of the skirt were uneven at the bottom, too, but I measured it out to make sure it was even all around and then, instead of cutting any of the excess off, I just folded it up into the generously wide hemline. The result was actually really successful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvjgWc1iU_QRiKkL3P18g_RKfs0X-b3eu87aFOrYNEPs5QEOas4XS3X1x_f5q6Nkx7I5cpJCzsrg1VcOILdah83DWzDXw33ACaPXdnCyZOtuTSGl68zJhPqDJpwcWJ-weWTHU3tQ8rQ6o/s1600/20200320_081917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvjgWc1iU_QRiKkL3P18g_RKfs0X-b3eu87aFOrYNEPs5QEOas4XS3X1x_f5q6Nkx7I5cpJCzsrg1VcOILdah83DWzDXw33ACaPXdnCyZOtuTSGl68zJhPqDJpwcWJ-weWTHU3tQ8rQ6o/s320/20200320_081917.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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It looks pretty good here, but the fit was still off, and I didn't like the sleeves. The way I'm standing pretty purposefully obscures the problems. I wasn't satisfied, but I moved on and decided that the overbodice would make things better. (Spoiler alert: it didn't).<br />
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This is the fabric I bought for this project. It's a little hard to tell here, but it's a pale yellow crinkle chiffon. It's extremely light and slippery, and warps very, very easily. I could literally make it ripple just by breathing on it. It was kind of a nightmare to work with, but it's actually pretty, so I stitched and stitched because it all had to be hand-sewn, and I had to stitch every damn edge, turn it out (I did two layers), and then topstitch it because there was no other way to keep it it place. It took me about a week to do all that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq988VW3cC-aE9IVgHsUl5LzUbrsx3wxqF-E8BF4GIBTK560ZA3-dMDdx2znXUML5O5rf_yBQAADRNpleBJbO9GKsZouOzsizXLIAIVjHTo-8J972k5rYGgBbB7i5XRnzznvGKgUCWwMn1/s1600/20200320_092315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq988VW3cC-aE9IVgHsUl5LzUbrsx3wxqF-E8BF4GIBTK560ZA3-dMDdx2znXUML5O5rf_yBQAADRNpleBJbO9GKsZouOzsizXLIAIVjHTo-8J972k5rYGgBbB7i5XRnzznvGKgUCWwMn1/s320/20200320_092315.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And these were the pieces all done:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNu5NL0OBbfSwPBa_FvkGr1PA6mRf_p-1tOHDGUsLFxRlPRFhFkdVTsziMM7wZujKM7rMu6SrnC4E9fxX0MXKAgN70ESFSJyc7YkxRnlTtkXCJXpwf8Iu4m2AhrBKOnxCa-P_TEp39-aT/s1600/20200327_134702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNu5NL0OBbfSwPBa_FvkGr1PA6mRf_p-1tOHDGUsLFxRlPRFhFkdVTsziMM7wZujKM7rMu6SrnC4E9fxX0MXKAgN70ESFSJyc7YkxRnlTtkXCJXpwf8Iu4m2AhrBKOnxCa-P_TEp39-aT/s320/20200327_134702.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And this was the result:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRCEiueb2TYDveLfnv2Qn0XOQbJA_Xf1f816iZSiRumGkvjIDH8qYskbOYgfPT75EnDC58vNCLXb0jT126WygnJ6Rk_ssTdNWO8fnbgob7kKjaEVZVprn3JH9b78VO73m0mIaTxFBk96K/s1600/20200331_170920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRCEiueb2TYDveLfnv2Qn0XOQbJA_Xf1f816iZSiRumGkvjIDH8qYskbOYgfPT75EnDC58vNCLXb0jT126WygnJ6Rk_ssTdNWO8fnbgob7kKjaEVZVprn3JH9b78VO73m0mIaTxFBk96K/s320/20200331_170920.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Ugh. Yeah. I look uncomfortable because I did not like it. I was disappointed and I was close to just kind of shutting it in a closet and writing it off as a failure. But I really didn't want to do that, and all of a sudden the realization came to me. The sleeves were really awkward; the armscye started too low. That is, the side seam needed to be longer and reach a little higher into my armpit. And maybe if I just added something to that seam, it would fix the issues. So I went to work, creating a crescent to add under the armpit. I stitched it into one side of the bodice, lengthening the side seam. And it was like effing magic. It made everything fit a hundred times better. The bodice lay much more nicely. There was no more pulling at the center front. The sleeves looked better (though I still didn't like them). The gathering looked better. Even on the hanger, it just hung better. Here, I switched to the puff sleeve option because I didn't want to redraft the long sleeve (the puff sleeve could just be gathered to fit the new, smaller armscye; I'd have had to do all kinds of crazy things to the longer sleeve).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_Am3MptxSB8xbcog3K9P8VkJlKcnbwAHIm_SMBKb27cYSQfoSkWiLk0otWOj1np5WQTru_54ivfECtxaNKjObZAJeDS7POoRxw99la01TmDTwf1rAKyHw9FkTMgMUex_2Bv3xssHJA-G/s1600/20200403_102336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_Am3MptxSB8xbcog3K9P8VkJlKcnbwAHIm_SMBKb27cYSQfoSkWiLk0otWOj1np5WQTru_54ivfECtxaNKjObZAJeDS7POoRxw99la01TmDTwf1rAKyHw9FkTMgMUex_2Bv3xssHJA-G/s320/20200403_102336.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I was thrilled. I fixed it! I figured out the issue I'd been having all along. But you could <i>see</i> that fillet of fabric under the armpit. It looked bad, and I didn't like that. I luckily had plenty of the fabric left, so I just started over with the bodice.</div>
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This is what my remade pattern pieces looked like after all my alterations. Look at all those taped-on pieces!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZrwwCM2qFlXafjhoGPK3_-a5DZp9PXZFibnAEBLh4oikFgF-DdxJ52pg0ZIjF5OfmZRZphrXDwebii5qAJvp9TUEBs3zf8OFEGvFn4Mc68Jl6LrnZ9u7G8aaUCx9fF6V7JUF0fvTTmZx/s1600/20200402_091039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZrwwCM2qFlXafjhoGPK3_-a5DZp9PXZFibnAEBLh4oikFgF-DdxJ52pg0ZIjF5OfmZRZphrXDwebii5qAJvp9TUEBs3zf8OFEGvFn4Mc68Jl6LrnZ9u7G8aaUCx9fF6V7JUF0fvTTmZx/s320/20200402_091039.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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It actually didn't take too long to remake the bodice. I was also able to make a neater waistband and match up the bodice side closure more neatly with the skirt closure.<br />
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I was SO happy with the result. It looked really sweet and tidy. There was still some pulling at the cross-over point, as you can see here:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeQmM34ZF-YVJd4Snde9jkMi_t1J52mcTKK24ETJwewXJgygEFwET0Cm0Nm4jDIlodJK_AM1UVVTXKREQXRWxGjOVFiOpIbPYWdI1aPOhuf9baYx5UyezZXJGH9-Qr1Rm2Scc-5kNsgPi/s1600/20200409_132824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeQmM34ZF-YVJd4Snde9jkMi_t1J52mcTKK24ETJwewXJgygEFwET0Cm0Nm4jDIlodJK_AM1UVVTXKREQXRWxGjOVFiOpIbPYWdI1aPOhuf9baYx5UyezZXJGH9-Qr1Rm2Scc-5kNsgPi/s320/20200409_132824.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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But by pinching more of the fabric at the center front down into the waistband, it reduced the pulling, as you can see here:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3Emp7XwDE-PZqv20c84YCJ4ZgHNbogCle7OHuK61h1dONSB3oj1TBxzA4IlzeVC7cqVUPJPc13wjOgnV0VNXjaTwaL-cMkVC9BlXjbS10OXB9d44eC3djGGkVyVIbB00Lkqb2JvROhDq/s1600/20200409_133705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3Emp7XwDE-PZqv20c84YCJ4ZgHNbogCle7OHuK61h1dONSB3oj1TBxzA4IlzeVC7cqVUPJPc13wjOgnV0VNXjaTwaL-cMkVC9BlXjbS10OXB9d44eC3djGGkVyVIbB00Lkqb2JvROhDq/s320/20200409_133705.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I was finally happy with my dress. Now it just needed some embellishment. I ignored the over-bodice I'd spent so much time making. Instead, I went back to one of my original ideas: a waistband of a brocaded silk ribbon (that I got for like $5 on a Facebook group!). The yellow contrasts nicely with the blue, and I love the colorful little flowers. As I was trying it on with the ribbon waistband, I got a flash of inspiration and really roughly pinned the rest of the ribbon around the bottom of the skirt, and it looked GREAT. So I went ahead and stitched that on--I used every last bit of that three yards or so of ribbon.<br />
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The last step was the chemisette and collar. I had some black lace fabric that I decided to use for this. I think the dress looks lovely without it, but it has a more historical vibe with the chemisette and collar. It was a pretty quick project, though the lace was difficult to stitch (all those damn holes).<br />
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And at last, we had a completed dress. To show it off, I put on my American Duchess period-correct shoes and put on a wig.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqKceFlBrp9Fu-2zWVLvmaAS18nwzY8GUSuxmvAygvMEt-mWgxpzw72yLl7JvJNt-ObzfGR4oB9qAlzxVCrQuJQGk9NNVn43Fz1-yJPfvPSTfwPycUNRQXUQ5NGcKTAS1dvHtyzcpLcX8/s1600/20200415_122754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqKceFlBrp9Fu-2zWVLvmaAS18nwzY8GUSuxmvAygvMEt-mWgxpzw72yLl7JvJNt-ObzfGR4oB9qAlzxVCrQuJQGk9NNVn43Fz1-yJPfvPSTfwPycUNRQXUQ5NGcKTAS1dvHtyzcpLcX8/s320/20200415_122754.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Oh look, it's me holding my cat in front of the picture I painted of my cat, while wearing a historical costume. Height of cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABfzirRwktpTGE_dKgD-kMKLYSTHZBLqoElC9P5_uBF0LCkhDQEzkUT-gvC3Oq9K0PgLaqUI8TRGkpowlzlkebg0WQbvCF35A0m12t4i8iHWtxC-7EJieuomQk0n4Kjr53ij8CZvMXS4D/s1600/20200415_123033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABfzirRwktpTGE_dKgD-kMKLYSTHZBLqoElC9P5_uBF0LCkhDQEzkUT-gvC3Oq9K0PgLaqUI8TRGkpowlzlkebg0WQbvCF35A0m12t4i8iHWtxC-7EJieuomQk0n4Kjr53ij8CZvMXS4D/s320/20200415_123033.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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So, ultimately, I ended up being very pleased with how this dress turned out. It was touch-and-go there for a while, but I persisted. I learned a lot of things here. I learned not to overlook issues at the mock-up stage and not to just shrug and declare it good enough. I also learned that I need to pay attention to that under-arm seam, something I hadn't been thinking about previously, and which might be part of the fitting issues I've had in the past.<br />
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But mostly, this was a reminder to persist.<br />
<br />Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-48004699202820542372020-02-21T08:16:00.000-08:002020-02-21T08:20:24.687-08:00. . . And a Great War Corset, Week 2So, it looks as though this project will span only two full weeks, which is nice. I should note that a lot of thought and planning took place before the actual work began.<br />
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If you want a full intro of the project, including the supplies I used and the cost, see my post about week 1. But just to summarize, I decided to make a mid-1910s corset, a "Great War" corset. The pattern is the Rilla corset from Scroop. It was a fabulous pattern to work with, so if you want to make yourself such a corset, this is the pattern to choose.<br />
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Now, in my last blog post I talked about some fitting issues. What I decided in the end was to add 3/8" to each edge of each panel at the bottom, to give more room for my hips. I did not create new pattern pieces because I figured it would be something of a waste of time. Instead of retracing and redrawing all the lines I'd used with the original pattern pieces, then adding the extra 3/8" and redrawing, then tracing that onto my fabric twice . . . well, instead of all that I just used the same pattern pieces, traced them directly onto the fabric, added the 3/8" right there, free-handed the new lines, and cut out those pieces. By "those pieces", I mean the pieces for the right side of the corset. I then flipped those pieces over and traced them onto the fabric so I had the panels for the left side of the corset. This way I was more sure to have very symmetrical panels, and I wasn't tracing and retracing and tracing and retracing.<br />
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I should also note that, per my fitting of the mock-up, I removed 2" from the bottom of every piece because the mock-up was too long. This meant that instead of having to fit the pieces onto my fabric like jigsaw pieces, I was able to line them up right next to one another and even had a bit of fabric left over. That would come in handy later...<br />
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You might think this took, oh, maybe two or three hours. NOPE. This was approximately a day-and-a-half worth of work. First, there was quite a bit of tracing, measuring, and free-handing of lines. After all, I had to completely redraw eight lines, then trace them for the opposite side of the corset and refine them so they were pretty and smooth. I also carefully drew lines 1.5 cm in from the edge to guide me in sewing the seams. (I don't ever use centimeters, but the pattern said the seam allowance was 1.5 cm and that using the measurement in inches would be less precise.) So that meant even more careful lines. There were also matching-points so all the panels met up properly at the seams, marks for the boning, and marks for the waist stay. Multiply this by 10 panels, and you might see why it took me a while. I'm admittedly a bit slow.<br />
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Anyway, here is the first side of the corset, cut out of the fabric:<br />
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As mentioned, I used these as pattern pieces for the left side. And also as mentioned, I added lines for where the seam should be. There I hit a problem. I started cutting, and instead of cutting along the cutting line, I cut along the <i>seam line</i>. There was much cursing. I couldn't scoot the piece left and redraw/recut, because it was at the edge of the fabric. I couldn't scoot it right because there was the next pattern piece (and the next one and the next one, all lines up in a row). Thankfully, because I took 2" off the bottom of every piece and was able to rearrange my placement of the pattern pieces on the fabric, I had some space left over, so I was able to redraw the shape there. I was supremely annoyed to have to go through that whole process of tracing and refining and adding all the necessary marks again, but I did.<br />
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In the end, this is all that was left of my fabric, so not much room for error:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOMLV1TgkKlmkj6HhoymNYYv0IMPYOIo5rDOFYUwFH_75kQ9i-p9dpTWIy4rK-QzcyUVTX6MYwYjLhoE4S8bM2Rtk2LyxFjiPiRr9aed0NWgzJjNqTmyBfT2LQa2jQwOToYuqu6Sax0ck/s1600/20200211_191615%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOMLV1TgkKlmkj6HhoymNYYv0IMPYOIo5rDOFYUwFH_75kQ9i-p9dpTWIy4rK-QzcyUVTX6MYwYjLhoE4S8bM2Rtk2LyxFjiPiRr9aed0NWgzJjNqTmyBfT2LQa2jQwOToYuqu6Sax0ck/s320/20200211_191615%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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With everything now prepared, it was pretty much all downhill from there. Before sewing all the panels together, I had to prepare the front and back panels with the closures. In the front, that meant the busk. In the back, that meant eyelets for the lacing.<br />
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First came the busk. In the picture below, you see the loop side inserted and the knob side sitting beside it. To insert the loop side, I carefully placed the busk (according to the pattern) and marked where the loops should poke out. As I sewed on the facing (which you can't see here, of course, because it's turned under and is on the other side of the fabric), I sewed a seam from the top of the panel down to where the first loop pokes out, sunk the needle, spun the fabric around, and sewed back up to the top in order to make a really strong seam. I did the same thing for the space between the first and second, second and third, and third and fourth loops (from there down I just sewed a straight seam). I now had gaps in the seam to poke my loops through, which I proceeded to do. I then hand-sewed the busk in place along its edges. I probably could've done it by machine if I had a zipper foot, but I don't have a zipper foot and, anyway, this is much more precise.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Iig7GytZePZ4sFZk2bjelVA7SO1PWPOzluqU7octxnomdTbN82Z_PQ2LKjkL_Lw5gJ2t294aTDAvRZMYmsGKuiuK6zGg2RvI2XiWG5TnOVmFYJiXMU6NFzhkPDXBO3gMIzoQGfHjRRQ/s1600/20200213_104955%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1Iig7GytZePZ4sFZk2bjelVA7SO1PWPOzluqU7octxnomdTbN82Z_PQ2LKjkL_Lw5gJ2t294aTDAvRZMYmsGKuiuK6zGg2RvI2XiWG5TnOVmFYJiXMU6NFzhkPDXBO3gMIzoQGfHjRRQ/s320/20200213_104955%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The other side, that is the wearer's left, I added the knob side. This time, I could sew in the facing with one straight seam. I then slipped the knob side between the facing and the front panel, lined everything up, and marked where the knobs needed to poke through the fabric to meet up with the loops. I then poked little holes int he fabric and pushed the knobs through. Again, I hand-sewed the piece in place so it wouldn't move up and down or side-to-side.<br />
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The result:<br />
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And then, diSASter. I spilled water all over my directions. Okay, so that's not much of a disaster. It was fine, but still. Oops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrY3OoCWbHoZg83QH91XD30cJaBa1dnpYmddVdgZP9LCWl-rJI_PTQ1SZ-x82_tOD_YXfaweHOSnFTBnfDfiV-xWjo5bTp3yjoS0c_0EkiyT9WZEFWa9ezCIr7_x6xK12fd_N3L48Qungl/s1600/20200213_135900%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrY3OoCWbHoZg83QH91XD30cJaBa1dnpYmddVdgZP9LCWl-rJI_PTQ1SZ-x82_tOD_YXfaweHOSnFTBnfDfiV-xWjo5bTp3yjoS0c_0EkiyT9WZEFWa9ezCIr7_x6xK12fd_N3L48Qungl/s320/20200213_135900%255B1%255D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The back panels came next. Alas, I didn't really get pictures of the process, but there isn't a whole lot to tell. I marked out where all the holes should go (many thanks to the handy-dandy diagram included in the pattern), poked holes as small as possible through the fabric for the eyelets to pass through, and put in the eyelets. This involved the eyelets themselves, an eyelet-setting tool, and a hammer. The hardest part was pushing the eyelets through the tiny holes, trying to keep as much of the fabric's integrity as I could. It made the tips of my fingers sore for a day or so.<br />
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With the eyelets in, I sewed together all the panels, which was maybe the least time-consuming part of the project. Then I put in the lacing. You'll notice the bow partway down. That's actually at the waist (this is an under-bust corset), and that's how you tighten it. You loosen the lacing, fasten the busk in front, give the laces a pull to tighten appropriately, and tie off the laces.<br />
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Again, I didn't get many good pictures, but there were still a number of steps left. I trimmed down the seam allowances and sewed in the boning channels. (I bought pre-made boning tape--not cheap, but saved me oodles of time. It's simple enough to make--it's just flattened tubes of fabric--but it's time-consuming.) I hand-sewed the center of each boning channel very precisely in place about 1/16" away from each seam towards the back of the corset. I did it by hand so I could make sure they all sat just right. It took about a day's worth of hand-sewing to do that, because every single stitch had to be carefully placed from both sides. Luckily, with that done so carefully, I was able to machine sew the two sides of each channel without much trouble, and that was a fairly quick process.<br />
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I took a bit of a break to visit Mount Vernon on Monday (Presidents Day), then came back to trim down all my "bones" (plastic zip ties), place them, sew them in at top and bottom, secure the waist stay (twill tape running around the waist beneath the boning channels), and then sew binding to the top and bottom (using purple thread, because purple). And it was . . . done!<br />
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Overall, I love it, and I'm really proud of the work I did here.</div>
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A few things to note. First, I had been a bit concerned about the weight of the fabric I chose. It seemed like the whole thing might end up being too flimsy. But with the boning channels in and the binding around the top and bottom, it felt much more secure, and I'm really pleased with the fabric choice. </div>
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Second, the pattern calls for lace around the bust, but I didn't add that. I like it just fine as it is. </div>
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Third, you'll notice the lacing isn't entirely even in the back. I think this is partially imperfect tightening technique--I think the space is there to pull tight where I need to pull tight. In spite of my best efforts, the fit might also not be perfect, but, hey, it's not bad for my first corset, methinks. You can see here that I pulled the lacing loops at the waist around to the front to tie it off. Trying to tie it at the back was difficult and awkward, and I just couldn't make the knot stay put. This method works just fine. Also worth noting: tightening the corset thusly took 1" off my waist. </div>
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Fourth, I successfully solved that gap at the center front from the mock-up, so I'm pretty pleased about that. </div>
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Fifth, this pattern also calls for garters, which attach the bottom of the corset to the stockings with a clip. However, I haven't added those yet. It should be a fairly easy thing to add sometime soon.</div>
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Lastly . . . yes, I know one stocking isn't pulled up as high as the other. What can I say? I'm a hot mess.</div>
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Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-82688467451970331912020-02-13T19:22:00.000-08:002020-02-21T08:18:21.392-08:00. . . And a Great War Corset, Week 1<div>
<b><u>Introduction to the project:</u></b></div>
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I am working on putting together a full get-up from the time of the Great War (that's World War I to those of us who are aware that there was a second world war--which nobody knew at the time of the First World War). First, the underthings, and yes, the underthings are always necessary. They are maybe slightly less necessary with this era than, say, mid-Victorian. You can't do a mid-Victorian look without a hoop skirt, and you can't do a hoop skirt without a corset, and anyway the dresses won't fit right in the bodice if you wear--shudder--a modern bra with it.<br />
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The 1910s silhouette was very different. By this point, corsets had gone through some various shapes and had ended up being long and hip-slimming. Instead of creating an hour-glass shape like the mid-Victorian corset or an exaggerated S-bend shape like later Victorian corsets, the corsets of this era started below the bust and extended over the hips, to create a longer, more columnar shape. This presaged the even slimmer, more columnar shape of the '20s. Also, it's worth noting that at about this time, some women started ditching corsets for brassieres.</div>
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All of which is to say that while maybe (<i>maybe</i>, I emphasize doubtfully) I could get by without a corset, it simply wouldn't suit my artistic sensibilities or my sense of the rightness of things. If I'm going to go to the trouble of sewing all this sh!t, I'm going to do it right, 'kay?</div>
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So there is my justification for wanting a proper 1910s corset. (I often refer to it as Edwardian, but really it isn't; it's just easier to say that. See, the corset works for the middle of the 1910s, and King Edward died in 1910. However, because the Great War began in 1914, the "Edwardian Age" is usually extended just a bit to that year since the war was such a bright, clear dividing line between "then" and "now". This corset would work from slightly before the war to slightly after the war.)</div>
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You may be wondering what the heck made me think I could and should try to <i>make my own</i> corset. I'd been glancing over the costs of corset supplies, and when I added them all up, it was kind of expensive. The alternative was to buy one, but that's *very* expensive. Of course, paying someone to put in the time and effort--and to create something of professional quality--might be worth that money. But then I came across a few things. </div>
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First, I came across a pillowcase that an old roommate had left behind. Just the single pillowcase. It had a cute design of grayish-blue flowers and was made of a sturdy cotton. I puzzled over what I could make out of it--a blouse of some kind?--and then it hit me: it could be material for a corset! It would probably be *just* enough. (Spoiler alert, it was *just enough*.)</div>
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Second, I found out that it is a legitimate costuming practice to use zip ties as boning. Zip ties are dirt cheap, which would save me some money, so I was all for this. And the ladies of American Duchess use zip ties, and they're hard-core, so I figured I was good to use them. Of course, there is synthetic boning, but it's . . . well, plastic. Just like zip ties. And you wanna know which is cheaper? It's zip ties. Zip ties are cheaper.</div>
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There's metal boning, too, but it's expensive and, as I understand it, plastic actually is more similar to the boning that was used back in the day. I should explain: while some boning was metal (steal), a lot of boning was made of baleen. This come from the cartilage of whales. For obvious reasons, actual baleen is no longer legal to use. Plastic is lightweight like baleen and will shape to your body with warmth, like baleen. So. Zip ties.</div>
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Thusly, my vague plan for a 1910s corset began to coalesce. The last step was to figure out how to make this mysterious, intimidating garment. It helped IMMENSELY to watch Bernadette Banner make a corset on YouTube, and I found a few blog posts talking about the process. With these examples came the realization that corsets are made by people, and I am a people. If other people can do it, why not me?</div>
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But how exactly would I figure out the right shapes in the right size? I found a diagram online that showed the proper shapes for the various panels, but that would have required a lot of adjusting and fitting, and I knew I wasn't up to that. Luckily, I found <a href="https://www.scrooppatterns.com/products/rilla-corset-1913-1921" target="_blank">the Rilla Corset pattern by Scroop Patterns</a>. It seemed to be just what I was looking for, with decent directions (it's always a bit hard to tell what, if any, instructions come with a pattern...it turns out the directions were even better than I had hoped). On some of the Facebook groups I'm a part of, I found comments saying what a great pattern it is. I was sold. I bought the pattern, then went ahead and bought the items that I didn't already have:</div>
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<b>Pattern</b>: $12</div>
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<b>Fabric</b>: already had it</div>
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<b>Twill tape for waist stay</b>: already had it</div>
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<b>Zip ties</b> (bought at Home Depot): about $4</div>
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<b>9" busk</b>: about $15</div>
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<b>Bone casing</b> (because I wanted to save myself time, rather than make it myself): 6 yards at $3.50/yard= $21</div>
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<b>Lacing</b>: 8 yards at $0.69/yard= about $5</div>
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<b>Eyelets and eyelet tool</b>: about $7.50</div>
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<b>Twill tape binding</b>: 4 yards at $0.69/yard=$3</div>
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Grand total=$62.50.</div>
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That would be less if I hadn't been too lazy to make my own casing for the bones, but in this case it was worth the money not to have to do that difficult, tedious, time-consuming task.</div>
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Wanna know how much a professionally made corset will run you? It's well into the hundreds of dollars. Check out <a href="https://redthreaded.com/" target="_blank">Red Threaded</a>. I'm not saying those corsets aren't worth the money--they most certainly ARE. But I simply couldn't bring myself to spend that much. Hence . . .</div>
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<b><u>THE CORSET</u></b></div>
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<b><u>WEEK 1: </u></b><b><u>The Mock-Up</u></b></div>
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The first step is, always, to mock up the thing you're about to sew. This is probably doubly important for me, who is weirdly shaped. I'm 4'11", with oddly broad shoulders, a good-sized bust, and fairly narrow hips. Basically, nothing EVER fits right unless it's specifically a petite size, and even then it doesn't always fit all that well.</div>
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The weekend before last (that is, the weekend of the 1-2, Superbowl weekend), I got in the mail my order with all the stuff listed above, except for the fabric and zip ties (which I already had). I was giddy with delight. Along with my corset things, there were three different kinds of trim that I was excited to get in my goody bag (I mean, I paid for them, it wasn't, like, trick-or-treating). I was so excited that it took me a while to realize that something was missing: the busk. The busk is the front closure. And without the front closure, I couldn't <i>really</i> test the corset. Without the busk, I couldn't pull it snug and tight like it was meant to be, so how could I know how well it fit?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zsjRYE7VgmF9IQqEElnt9HtzFWF57CbvVTokwt4Nb72uQVcovXTT8OZS92vS8fflPUYcUzr9aZQLKvsHSUoLDeArV5xBlPR4010Q66CyaqJ4iNOERvy0iqk9vBFvTJdYcwA_BTAWbJBw/s1600/20200201_113523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zsjRYE7VgmF9IQqEElnt9HtzFWF57CbvVTokwt4Nb72uQVcovXTT8OZS92vS8fflPUYcUzr9aZQLKvsHSUoLDeArV5xBlPR4010Q66CyaqJ4iNOERvy0iqk9vBFvTJdYcwA_BTAWbJBw/s320/20200201_113523.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hm. Something's missing....</td></tr>
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Well, I had done exactly zero thus far, so I contacted customer service and got started in the meantime on a mock-up. Luckily, the directions for the Rilla** corset were fabulous. Each size was based on the bust measurement, but the directions also indicated the waist and hip measurements that each pattern size corresponded to. So the 38 pattern was based on a 38" bust, X waist, and Y hips. I used this to help me figure out what size(s) to use (not the 38"...). As it turned out, my bust was between two sizes, my waist was between two different sizes, and my hips were yet another size. So, my bust was between sizes A and B, my waist was between B and C, and my hips were size D.</div>
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Which was . . . awesome.</div>
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But first I needed to test something. I needed to be sure my pillowcase was going to have enough fabric. So I printed out my pattern pieces, taped them together, cut them out, and placed them on the pillowcase. And . . . it was close. I spent twenty minutes trying to make it work, but it just didn't. Then inspiration hit. The hem was very wide, so if I unpicked it, I would have about 10 or so more inches of useable fabric. Success! Proof of concept:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It fits!</td></tr>
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Now I knew I didn't need to go buy fabric or rethink the whole project. And I should note that, yes, I know that this is a fairly sturdy cotton but it isn't really the sturdy fabric usually used in corsets, like coutil. I am okay with this. This will be for very occasional use, and I want it to be fairly light and breathable anyway.<br />
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Step one was to cut out new pattern pieces based on the sizes from the directions. I bought some tracing paper, taped it together, and traced the lines for the various sizes. Then I freehanded the lines between the respective sizes for my bust, hips, and waist and cut out the new pieces. Wisely, I actually cut the fabric using the largest of the sizes and just traced the smaller shapes onto those. That way, if I found it was too tight, I had a little leeway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt5gW_nai9h-3RDv5KGBjqIgVws6j5DvnX9sC0MlWvSFHB_u3nvOlWqkBCH3q1HjipGu1ElMN31V59IHKXY4t5Ltd8yl6RbuFuskKYvpQbQ79w97VFIgFhQaN064NQgDZbS0QDk7uJ1-0/s1600/20200204_101514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt5gW_nai9h-3RDv5KGBjqIgVws6j5DvnX9sC0MlWvSFHB_u3nvOlWqkBCH3q1HjipGu1ElMN31V59IHKXY4t5Ltd8yl6RbuFuskKYvpQbQ79w97VFIgFhQaN064NQgDZbS0QDk7uJ1-0/s320/20200204_101514.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tracing and reshaping.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wFt3ZpIPsH-gBl9lidaABjDZ85VQJH8FyoeZjLzAuiUw2Q7wlSspCqYtnLF7mY3Wp3P47X3R02141EIYnyWTi-51nIeykFmdsNFk6aeHHj1QJHrEmEnwaiECTCHEqW95zQdm3418Q9qf/s1600/20200202_152509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wFt3ZpIPsH-gBl9lidaABjDZ85VQJH8FyoeZjLzAuiUw2Q7wlSspCqYtnLF7mY3Wp3P47X3R02141EIYnyWTi-51nIeykFmdsNFk6aeHHj1QJHrEmEnwaiECTCHEqW95zQdm3418Q9qf/s320/20200202_152509.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 12 pattern pieces for this corset. The two at the ends and the two in<br />
the middle are facings.</td></tr>
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I sewed all the panels together. For the back panels, I turned the facing inwards, then ran a line of stitching about 3/8" from the edge, a 1/2" in from that line, and then another 3/8" in from <i>that </i>line, thus creating three channels. The two on either side were for boning. The area in the middle wouldn't be used for boning at all but as the zone for eyelets for lacing up the back. Instead of wasting the time and the eyelets on a mock-up, I just cut little holes where the eyelets will go in the final version. I laced her up, and I taped on the zip ties, two at each seam (oh, and I slipped zip ties into those channels I'd just made in the back panels).</div>
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So, we had, roughly, a corset. Excitedly, I wrapped it around myself, and it almost magically unfolded itself two a floppy two-dimensional thing into a lovely three-dimensional shape that formed to my body. Well, mostly. At first glance, it looked awfully small. But of course, with a busk, I would be able to pull it all nice and snug.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9KaOY3doMyARLSvKUwMncdjIEX5l2IS1rPGOtZa9krz0vB58OBi03216fqVlZTGMBGGMJN7oUx5Geb2t9-_jgxctg0kRKe9HhA2_-E4hQsXFJePHwlqsNO_LJvt7CsAXClMOWs6eYKi1/s1600/20200206_150029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9KaOY3doMyARLSvKUwMncdjIEX5l2IS1rPGOtZa9krz0vB58OBi03216fqVlZTGMBGGMJN7oUx5Geb2t9-_jgxctg0kRKe9HhA2_-E4hQsXFJePHwlqsNO_LJvt7CsAXClMOWs6eYKi1/s320/20200206_150029.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All mocked up with no way to close...</td></tr>
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But the busk was still in the mail. It didn't arrive until this past weekend, i.e. a week after everything else. Luckily, all the above steps took up most that week.</div>
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As soon as I got the busk, I got to work inserting it.</div>
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Now, there is a whole, proper way to insert the busk, but again this is a mock-up. So I just ripped the stitches in the center-front seam between the front panel and the facing. That is, I ripped those holes on the <i>right</i> center-front panel, so there were slots to poke those loops through. On the left side, I lined up the knobbed side of the busk, marked where the knobs needed to go, and ripped little holes to push the knobs through.</div>
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And like that, I had a mock-up. And it did fit. However, I realized I'd made a mistake. At some point long ago, I had measured my hips, and I used that measurement without re-measuring. This was a mistake, because that measurement was wrong, and I don't quite know why. It was off by 2". So I traced out more shapes, trying to do what I had done before by using the various sizes as a guide. But it didn't seem to be adding any actual width to the hips. So I abandoned that method and did the prudent thing: I kept the shapes I had but added about 3/8" to each side of each piece. Also, the mock-up was about two inches too long, so I pinned up the hem.</div>
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And the result:</div>
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This is overtop<a href="http://www.elizabethhuhn.com/2020/01/and-a-pair-of-edwardian-combinations.html" target="_blank"> the combinations</a> I recently made. Now, there are a few issues. It's a little wibbly-wobbly. That, I think, it largely due to the fact that the bones are taped in and the fabric isn't very sturdy (I'm really hoping this is solved by sewn-in bones and sturdier fabric). You can see the zip ties poking out the top because they aren't trimmed to size. I don't have a pic of the back, but the lacing is a little wonky, mostly because I need to learn how to tie it off well at the center. But the key is that the lacing IS even all the way down once everything is pulled in tight. You can also see that it still gaps open a tad at the center front. It looks like more than it is because I'm standing with my hips at an angle, and also a small gap is fine. Even so, for the final product I will be adding just a little width to the front panels.</div>
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**Just a note that the "Rilla" corset was just "meant to be", for multiple reasons. Aside from being a lovely pattern with good reviews, it also is clearly name after Rilla Blythe from Rilla of Ingelside, a novel I love that is set during the Great War. Seriously, go out and read this one if you haven't (and most people haven't). It's a sequel to Anne of Green Gables and is about her daughter, Rilla. But it's really about the war on the Canadian home front, and it's beautifully done.</div>
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Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2723981786403936562.post-88994606048458852462020-01-31T12:05:00.002-08:002020-01-31T12:05:38.894-08:00...And a Pair of Edwardian Combinations<b>Materials:</b> white cotton lawn, cotton lace, ribbon (yeah, yeah, cheap polyester ribbon; I don't care), three bone buttons<br />
<b>Pattern: </b>Wearing History 1917 Combinations, plus a good deal of improvisation<br />
<b>Time to complete: </b>about two weeks of off-and-on work.<br />
<b>Cost: </b>including pattern and not including lace and buttons I already had hanging around: about $30-$35<br />
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Combinations are Edwardian underwear. They're the first layer and go under the corset and are made of cotton. I say "are" but maybe should say "were", since of course they aren't worn today except by costumers like myself. (I count myself a costumer, by the way.) They are "combinations" because they combine the chemise and drawers of the Victorian era. There are, of course, different styles of combinations. I didn't, until fairly recently, have much design on making myself combinations, and at some point I purchased this pattern from Wearing History with the vague idea that maybe at some point I would think about doing so: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/223815973/e-pattern-circa-1917-combination?ref=shop_home_active_14&source=aw&utm_source=affiliate_window&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=us_location_buyer&utm_term=139687&awc=6220_1574978866_3bbbe323f4e164524ffa58db7416e8a3&utm_content=143113" target="_blank">1917 Combinations</a>. Recently, in a flush of creative fervor, I decided to tackle this project. After some consideration, I decided the pattern wasn't quite what I wanted. It's basically a chemise, with the option of adding a tab that comes up between the legs and buttons in front.<br />
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I wanted something more like this:<br />
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<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157185?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=pin&utm_campaign=weddingboard">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157185?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=pin&utm_campaign=weddingboard</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/157185/335667/restricted" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="409" height="320" src="https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/157185/335667/restricted" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Met Museum.</td></tr>
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Okay, I don't have the skill to make something quite so frilly and lacy. But I thought about it and figured I could jury-rig something with the same basic shape. I could start with the pattern above, which gave me the basic shape I wanted on top. I just needed to figure a way to make a skirt into a pair of open drawers (which is what we have above). To help me out, I used the pattern for a pair of Victorian drawers that I had made and really liked. Looking at the pattern pieces helped me visualize how to make the shapes work.<br />
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I started with the 1917 Combinations pattern, cutting out the two simple pieces for front and back, sewing them together, sewing on the lace, and creating and adding straps. (The straps took forever, by the way! I created a narrow tube of my fabric and then had to turn it inside-out so the seam was on the inside, and that legit took an hour; then I had to press it flat, which took some time. It took half a day just to do that straps, and I hadn't bargained on that.)<br />
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The basic plan I came up with to alter this chemise-combinations thing was simple: slit the skirt at the center front and center back and add two strips connecting the front and back to go between the legs. I would therefore have two legs to step through and, well, an open crotch (this was how drawers were made in the Victorian and Edwardian age; and you better believe that I always wear modern underpants underneath when wearing split drawers). Because your back is longer than your front (due to, you know, your butt), the slit in the back would need to be longer than in the front. The fabric between the front and back would need to be straight along the bottom and curved along the top. Hence I came up with this shape, which I just free-handed:<br />
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You'll see that I shortened the width of this piece. I had pinned it in place and realized it sagged, which was weird, so I pinched it, pinned it, and sewed it in place; you can see the resulting seam there in the middle. Once I did that, I was happy with the shape and with the height of the slit in the front and back. It wasn't too high up in the front of too low in the back.<br />
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Next, I made a copy of this shape so I had one for each leg, then sewed them in place. I made it a wide, 1/2" seam because narrow little seams drive me nutters. The problem with that was the top of the slits I had cut. I now had a 1" wide gap, because of the 1/2" seam allowance at the top of each attached leg piece. So I added a placket (I suppose that's what you call it) to the right side of the cloth just above this gap, sewed a line just to either side of the center, then snipped along that center line. Then I could push through that placket from the right side to the wrong side of the garment, which left me with a nice finished edge on the right side of the garment.<br />
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I tried it on after all this and found that it looked good, except that there was a wee gap in the crotch-ular area that just wouldn't do at all. So I really quickly cut out a triangular patch and sewed it into place. Ta-da, problem solved!<br />
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Next, I switched out the blue ribbon at the neckline and waist with the same pale pink ribbon, rather than blue on top and white at the waist. This was straightforward: I just sewed the very ends of the ribbon together; as I pulled the old ribbon through the holes, it carried the new ribbon with it. I also secured the ends of the lace (though not the ribbon, which I used to tie the combinations closed) by hand-stitching them (machine-sewing wasn't quite precise enough for to finish it off, though I used it to do the bulk of the stitching).<br />
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Next, I wanted to add an opening to the center front at the top. This is a common aspect of combinations, and I like the look. I had to think pretty hard about how to create the placket and where to place it. It's too complicated for me to explain here, but suffice it to say that I did something similar to what I did above with the edge of the slits for the legs. One side of the placket I created was twice as wide as the other so that I could fold it over itself to create a sturdy base for buttons. The other side I folded back against the garment so it was, also, double-thickness to take buttonholes. I realized as I was doing this that I would have to unpick some of the hand-sewing I had done to the lace, because the slit for this placket would have to be off-center for reasons of geometry and math. So I unpicked that, then sewed the placket in place, put on the buttons (some bone buttons I had lying about), made buttonholes, and voila! Center-front opening!<br />
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The next step was to sew that lace back in place, then secure the ribbon on both sides of the opening. By securing the ribbon in place at the right length for my particular measurements, I wouldn't have to pulled the ribbon and tie it closed every time; I would just button it. (The waist I still pull tight and tie off; I step into the combinations, so it has to go over my hips.) I did leave some ribbon so I could tie a bow, just for the sake of having a bow rather than for the purpose of closing up the combinations.<br />
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The only step left was to add a ruffle along the bottom.<br />
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That was a fairly simple matter of cutting out a strip of my cotton lawn fabric about 3.5" wide. In retrospect, I wish I'd made it wider, or made two ruffles, but what I did works. In any case, I actually cut out three strips at 3.5" wide: two were the width of the fabric, and one was half the width of the fabric (which was 60"). I then sewed together those long strips and hemmed that new, very long strip (150") with a tiny hem. I cut the length in half so I had a strip for each leg. Then I ran two gathering stitches across the top, pausing at the halfway point of each strip. This way I wouldn't be gathering the whole length for each leg at once but rather one-half at a time. With that done, I sewed together the ends of both strips so I had two long loops. I pinned the top of the strips (the edge with the gathering stitches that ran from the seam to the midpoint of the circle) to the bottom of the legs: I pinned it at the side seam and the inside of the leg, then pulled the ends of my gathering threads until my ruffle was gathered to the right length. This sounds simple, but it took forever, and even so my ruffles aren't as even like I want them to be. I really just don't have the knack for making pretty gathers. You're supposed to stroke them, and I stroked them for all I was worth (wow, that sounds really dirty). Still, it turned out well enough; they look like ruffles, and gosh darn it, they <i>are </i>ruffles. So I'm satisfied.<br />
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And with that, the only thing left to do is to finish off the seams on the inside, which is too boring to chronicle here. But it will be done.<br />
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Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how this turned out, especially since I was pretty much making it up as I went along. It still reads more as a chemise and less as a pair of split-drawer combinations than I would like, but it's cute, and I'm pleased with it.<br />
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Next up: a corset! Now THAT will be an adventure.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good look at the pale pink ribbon, placket, and buttons.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3E_yMJ7WvQTQeZD_kRlz47qeY6W2p1faMSnPxcrJqCppRhuCz73OiTWlP7Ye_M59nGgHKvOlsRliiK8rhyBz0HgSqpW3M0ITyPGQ___MTY2RtmzrRLjOH-YB0ngX15d7FKjILZzmUcDL/s1600/20200130_143717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3E_yMJ7WvQTQeZD_kRlz47qeY6W2p1faMSnPxcrJqCppRhuCz73OiTWlP7Ye_M59nGgHKvOlsRliiK8rhyBz0HgSqpW3M0ITyPGQ___MTY2RtmzrRLjOH-YB0ngX15d7FKjILZzmUcDL/s320/20200130_143717.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging on my closet door from the "cat hook of destiny."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIFBPzljQG8sxfeIyzc-Jnltr_mOA8BhTkX9iLax-Zwf25qxOoOkexUFKRrWPREb9uyeguHcOfjfX6Fx4dRlB_omWFTUW7TY0I89FeDL9DOwc5Km1nGYV-AENLz1MVSSgmXCoWOM3Ei7V/s1600/20200130_155635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIFBPzljQG8sxfeIyzc-Jnltr_mOA8BhTkX9iLax-Zwf25qxOoOkexUFKRrWPREb9uyeguHcOfjfX6Fx4dRlB_omWFTUW7TY0I89FeDL9DOwc5Km1nGYV-AENLz1MVSSgmXCoWOM3Ei7V/s320/20200130_155635.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My combinations in action! Ignore the socks, if you can.</td></tr>
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<br />Elizabeth Huhnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534782174946231740noreply@blogger.com0