Search Results for "reticule"

Regency Reticule – HSF #4 (Embellish)
Accessories, Historical Sew Fortnightly, Regency

Regency Reticule – HSF #4 (Embellish)

I’m racing to the finish with this challenge, slipping in this blog post at the 11th hour! I’ll try to do better with my next one. For the Embellish challenge, I decided to finish an embroidery Regency reticule (drawstring purse) that I started at Costume College 2011. (Soon you’ll start noticing a theme with my HSF projects – I’m trying to use as many UnFinished Objects as possible!)

I love this project – I had wanted to learn embroidery for a long time but never found a book I liked on it, so when Beginning Embroidery was offered as a class at CoCo, I jumped at it. The purse is cute and easy to make, I love the off-white and green, and I’m a sucker for initials.

I embroidered both side of the purse so that I could have more practice with the stitches, and I think that was good – it wasn’t until halfway through the second side that I could pick up the project and start right in with the handstitching, my hands remembering what to do on their own.

The Challenge: #4 Embellish – Decorations make the historical garment glorious. Whether you use embroidery, trim, pleating, lace, buttons, bows, applique, quilting, jewels, fringe, or any other form of embellishment, this challenge is all about decorative detail.

Fabric: Silk Dupioni

Pattern: Embroidered Regency Reticule: A Kit for Beginners by Catherine Scholar

Year: 1810-1815

Notions: Embroidery floss, Tassels, Cording

How Historically Accurate is it: Good enough for me! As far as I know, slubby silk dupioni was considered inferior quality at this time, but I think it existed. I think the trim has rayon and/or poly, and the bag itself is 100% machine sewn – EVEN the one visible seam. (*gasp*)

Hours to Complete: Many good hours spent in front of the tv, 2 or 3 to make the bag.

First Worn: Maybe I’ll use it at Costume College this year? No other Regency events on my horizon.

Total Cost: The class and kit was $20 or less (can’t remember) — a STEAL!

Jane Austen Evening and Laughing Moon #138
19th Century, Historical Fashion, Jane Austen Evening, Regency, Sewing Pattern

Jane Austen Evening and Laughing Moon #138

Dancing is back! Last night I attended the Jane Austen Evening (my second large event in the same month!). Dances were danced, cookies were eaten, photos were took.

I used Laughing Moon pattern #138 for my dress, with long stays (#LM115) and a bodiced petticoat (#LM132) underneath. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with Laughing Moon Regency patterns! They are high quality with great instructions, they sew up beautifully and work together well.

I was aiming for c.1820 for this ensemble, and the pattern worked perfectly for that. It has the slightly lower waistline and the trapezoidal (a-line) skirt emblematic of the decade. I made Renaissance inspired puffy sleeves with sleeve puffs, which were really the only tricky part of the dress, but the instructions laid out the process clearly.

The sleeves get individually faced and turned, similar to bound buttonholes, and then the gathered puffs get whipped in by hand to the openings. I did add an additional flatlining of my thin taffeta after the puffs were inserted, both to act as more support and to protect the underside of the sleeve from getting my hands caught in the openings.

The backside of my main fabric has lots of delicate “floats” from the weave design and I needed a little more oomph to the body of the skirt, so rather than making a separate petticoat (in addition to the bodiced petticoat) I opted to fully line the skirt with more cream taffeta. I honestly hate dealing with how many layers are involved with historical costuming (oops? I don’t think I’m supposed to admit that) and a lining both protects the skirt and simplifies things for me. I prefer lining modern dresses and skirts to wearing slips, too.

Inspiration dress from c.1818-1822
https://agreeabletyrant.dar.org/gallery/1810s/figured-silk-sarsnet-dress/
Typical Undergarments for 1820s
https://agreeabletyrant.dar.org/gallery/1820s/undergarments/

Other details: I lowered the neckline of the “low” neckline an additional 1″, shortened the skirt 2″, and added drawstrings to the neckline and the waist. The bustpoint is a little high on me, so if I make this again I’ll lower the dart point 1″ and maybe split the dart into 2.

Wig: Styled by me; Jewelry: Monet; Reticule, Shoes, Gloves: Amazon

One Step at a Time
*, 19th Century, Jane Austen Evening, Sewing

One Step at a Time

I’m in the middle of sewing a new Regency dress right now for our local Jane Austen Evening. (Yay, it’s back after the world’s multi-year hiatus!) I’m excited to have a new dress for one of my favorite events, it’s coming along ok, but I keep getting overwhelmed by it. It’s not the biggest project and I haven’t hit any major problems, but I do need to have it finished in the next 10 days and I hate sewing to deadlines. (When I wrote that sentence I almost jumped up from my computer to go work on it again because it stressed me out.)

It’s REALLY REALLY easy to get overwhelmed working on a big costume project. Not only is there lots of sewing to do, but you have to think of all the other styling elements – hair, shoes, jewelry, makeup, stockings, gloves, a fan, a reticule…my mind is spinning. And like I said, this isn’t even the biggest costume project. How to handle all that?

I like lists. A lot. In fact, I’m going to grab a 3×5 card in a second to write down that list of things I need to have. It’s easy to let those little things sit until the last second, but then it’s too late to, say, replace your worn out gloves or get a new fan. So I need to check on all those things while I still have time to do something about them and chuck them all in a box to keep them together until the event.

Then it’s back to sewing. It’s stressing me out, and I’ve put together loads of garments that are similar to this. The problem isn’t the project, it’s my brain. I’m trying to do the project on Easy Mode – I’m working with a great pattern (Laughing Moon #138) and not deviating from the pattern too much. I know which steps are likely to take much longer than one would expect (sleeves, I’m looking at you), and trying to budget enough time for those. But still, my mind keeps jumping ahead to all the zillion little steps that go into a project like this.

The thing is, though, you can only work on one thing at a time. It’s silly to worry about the sleeves while working on the bodice, or about the skirt while working on the sleeves. I can’t do anything about those sections yet and I’ll get to them in time. The thing that is helping me the most is to put those future parts out of my mind and to focus on what’s in front of me RIGHT NOW. Gather the sleeve caps. Sew the underarm. Attach the cuff. Finish the cuff. Attach sleeve to dress. Each of these steps will take as long as they take, and I can’t do the next thing until the last one is finished. So don’t worry about all that. Just do one step at a time.

Laughing Moon #138, under construction
2018 Year of Sewing Recap
Historical Fashion

2018 Year of Sewing Recap

2018 was probably my more prolific sewing year yet! I actually have enough to do a year-end sewing recap, which I don’t think I’ve ever done before. (Before anyone gets too envious of all my sewing time, I’ve had some major crap go down in the last few years. Sewing has basically been my art therapy, and luckily is has been healing.)

One of my first projects of the year was resizing my dress form! I put on a lot of weight in the last couple years, and then last fall (2017) managed to lose a significant amount. I had not long before gotten an new Uniquely You foam dress form, and couldn’t afford to replace it with a smaller one. I could, however, afford an electric turkey carver! So I chopped her down a few sizes, refit the cover, and rechristened her Luna.

The first costume event of the year I attended was the annual Jane Austen Evening in Pasadena. Originally I was hoping to wear a dress that I had made several years ago, but I did want to make a new set of stays. And then those stays didn’t work with the dress. So then I needed a new dress. And accessories. Have you ever read the children’s book “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”? That’s what this project felt like! For this outfit I made new stays, and new dress, sleeveless spencer (the vest thingy), and the turban. And bought new accessories to match my color scheme. ::facepalm::

  • I like this photo especially because your can see i’m not wearing a petticoat and where my shift ends at my knees. SCANDALOUS! The petticoat situation has since been fixed, but not yet worn.

I think my next costumed event wasn’t until Costume College. Friday night I rewore the same white regency dress with new accessories for my a la victim costume. The scandalous no-petticoat look was actually very appropriate for this version! I also used my hand-embroidered reticule for the FIRST TIME since I finished it in 2013.

This Robe a la Francaise was my big project for the year and took most of my spring/summer sewing time. Other than a pair of pocket hoops that I made at my very first Costume College, I had to make all the undergarments in addition to the gown itself. New stays, several petticoats, gown, stomacher, sleeve ruffles, wig styling…. it goes on and on. I liked wearing it more than I thought I would, though! This was my first time wearing a REALLY BIG gown, and I’m not a “take up all the space in the room” kind of person, so I was kind of nervous, but it worked out. Next year I want to tweak a few minor things and do a “real” photoshoot for it.

Next up is this sad little circle skirt that I made for Halloween/October but never wore. Oh well. At least Halloween comes every year. Around this time I also did a little modern wardrobe sewing (woven t-shirt, jogger sweatpants), but I don’t have pics of those.

My final costume is my c.1917 outfit for the Great War Gallop. Any regular reader of the blog should be sick of this one by now. I am!

  • Wearing History Combinations – Front

All in all, I think I finished about 20 new garments and handmade accessories. Not including mockups and failed muslins that never got made properly! I doubt (and kind of hope) that I’ll never have as much sewing time again as I did in 2018, but I am proud of what I’ve created. And I’m crossing my fingers that I won’t have any more wild weight changes in the near future. I made 3 new corsets/stays this year, and it would be a shame if they no longer fit!

Costume College 2011 – Classes

I only took 4 classes at Costume College – despite signing up rather late, somehow I got into 3 of the 4 limited classes I requested (limiteds are the hand-on workshops, and unlimiteds are lectures). Each class was long and took up most of each day, but I didn’t mind – I got to make some new pieces and try things I’d wanted to learn about for a long time.
I think that most of these classes will be offered again in the future, so I’m going to recap them in case you want to know more. I know I’m a bit effusive about them, but they were all great – the teachers all volunteered (many MANY) hours on their classes, and their hard work showed.
Friday I was in an all-day class on Pocket Hoops. J.P. Ryan herself came out from the East Coast to teach the class, and we used her pattern. It’s an excellent pattern and went together quickly, but there were a couple parts that I didn’t understand from the instructions, and I’m glad she was there to answer questions. The pattern is correct, but a couple of the construction illustrations could be reworked for clarity. IMO, the best part of the class was that she brought all the materials for us, so I didn’t have to worry about which weight of linen or reed to buy, or how to handle the reed in the hoops. That saved me many hours of research and guesswork! (And yes, they do collapse for storage.)

On Saturday, I got into a very popular limited class on Regency Bodiced Petticoats, taught by Mela Hoyt-Heydon & Martha Davis. The first part was an unlimited lecture on the construction & materials, and they primarily referenced Hunnisett’s Period Costume for Stage & Screen. In the second part they did fittings on us and made a bodice pattern so that we can make our own at home. I’m very curious to see how the shape will compare with my Regency Stays…once all those projects are finished. 😉 We sent our measurements in advance and they had muslins ready for us, and tag-teamed the fitting & pattern work. They worked really hard, and I’m looking forward to having proper undergarments for the next Jane Austen Evening!

Finished bodice pattern after fitting – it’s tiny! High waisted AND low-cut.
Gusset size, shape and placement were determined during the fitting –
so much smarter than using the generic placement in a pattern.

Sunday I took a 3rd limited – Beginning Embroidery with Catherine Scholar. I’ve tried to teach myself embroidery several times previously, but there’s no substitute for a real person showing you technique and giving tips. When it’s finished, I’ll stitch this up into a little Regency-style reticule (purse). I was so excited when I saw the project – it’s exactly the kind of purse I’d pick to make. Have I ever mentioned how much I love monograms? And did you notice that it’s GREEN? 🙂

Sunday afternoon I attended the unlimited lecture “What Real People Wore – 1930’s and 1940’s” by Lauren – she had a ton of info, and I just wish the lecture had been longer! I think she’s going to post some of her research material on her blog, so keep an eye out!