Oops! I forgot!!

My last post was so long that I forgot to discuss one more detail of my ensemble:  Gloves.

Regency women had a lot of gloves.  Long, elbow-length gloves for evening, short leather gloves for warmth outdoors, lacy little mitts to keep hands warm but fingers free, etc.  

I should wear gloves with my outfit.  But... I'm not a glover, even though I know how, and I can work with leather.  Being ambitious, I have ordered leather for making gloves, however... I only have a month!  So I have also bought a digital pattern to make lacy fingerless mitts.  I can work on those while watching TV at night, so it's more likely I will make those than real gloves.  But... we'll see!  

Here's a picture of the mitt pattern:

Keeping it short and sweet!  Back to cleaning my worktable....

Hair and Headwear

I'm a hat junkie.  I have an obsession with what people wore in the past, yes, but gorgeous hats are a major part of that obsession.  And I've been thinking about what I'm going to do for a topper, so to speak, for this project.  So... let me share my thoughts and ideas.

I think I may have mentioned in my last post that I ordered some more fabric today.  It's payday, and I had some things in my cart at Farmhouse Fabrics that I wanted to complete so that I can get them soon.  Many things to work on!!  I ordered some lovely, almost sheer cottons with which to make a kerchief and a cap, as well as silk for my bonnet.  I wanted to do an entire bonnet on a buckram frame, wired properly, then fulled and covered with silk.  However, time tells me that would be a bit more work than I have time for.  So... I'm going to do a straw and fabric bonnet.  These were common, and are easy to make.  Some examples:

A gorgeous vintage bonnet.

Silk-covered vintage bonnet.  I wanted to do something like this (stovepipe hat).

Gorgeous brown silk and velvet bonnet from the time period.

This is a French bonnet from a museum exhibit.

Another beauty, this one in straw with fancy ribbon as the decoration.

I also have saved pictures from the time period--fashion plates that were published in magazines for women to show them the latest styles.

 

 

 

Some of these illustrations include day caps, which I discussed in my last post.  I am more partial to a stovepipe shaped hat (kind of straight-sided, flat topped hat with a bonnet brim), but I may have to do a hat with a straw brim and a poufed fabric crown.  Some reproduction hats here:

 


I am more partial to the one on the right, but I don't like how short the brim is.  However, in the 1810s, smaller brims were often used.  

I do have another option:  The turban.  Turbans were not the kind that Sikhs or people in the middle east might wear... they were sort of like a poofy or carefully draped beret.  Some even had solid bases with draped fabric tacked down in strategic places.  Either way, most turbans were stitched into shape, and were not wound around the head.  Some examples:

This one looks a bit like a scary mushroom... not my style. And so... yellow!  Yellow was a popular color for evening wear (this is definitely a silk organza weave, fancy, for evening), as it was considered quite pretty in candlelight.

I love this one, but it's for evening wear, and made for 

the Empress Josephine.  I hope that's not real hair... 

makes me feel itchy just thinking about it!

Absolutely gorgeous, but my hair won't do that.

 


Sooo… no shroom caps for me!  Another factor is my hair.  As I said in my previous post, curls were the thing, with some exceptions.  I have a board on Pinterest that is all about Regency stuff (interested?  Click here), which I've broken into sub-sections for different things, like shoes, original garments, and one for hair.  Here are some examples of common hairstyles for the time:

Evening hairstyle

Short hairstyle, sporting the popular windswept style.

(is it just me, or does her head seem way too big for her body?)

modern example of Regency hairstyle

 
Two examples of short hairstyles.

This lady is rocking a turban.  She has also dressed rather exotically.  There was a fad for Indian-like "artistic" styles.

Not everybody wore curls.  This portrait shows a beautiful young woman with her hair in a simple, smooth style, and wearing a chemisette over her dress, which was another way of wearing them.  I think she'd fit right in these days, apart from the clothing.

So... I plan to put my hair up in back (somehow), wear curls around my face, wear a cap, and a silk and straw bonnet.  I have a finely woven straw hat I bought in Williamsburg many years ago that I think I can sacrifice for the cause (instead of buying one to cut up--the nicer ones are about $20).  I've ordered two lovely silks for a bonnet--both were remnants and on sale, so, a steal at less than 10 bucks each!  One is a soft rosy taupe, and the other is a gold and rose iridescent weave.  Leftover materials go to my doll clothing stash.  :)  

Now to get working.  Sort of.  

My work table is completely covered in beads, bottles of beads, bags of beads, beading tools, supplies, a couple of bead mats, a new pair of scissors, a special box for holding small beads (Christmas gift from my Mother-In-Law), and two rolls of duct tape.  Oh, and plain Christmas ornaments that I meant to bead as gifts, but ran out of time.  Gotta put those back in my closet for next year.  When I get that all cleaned up, then I can get started on actually sewing!  

I can't believe it's getting dark already (4:23 pm).  My husband is making a pecan pie (we didn't have time to do it at Christmas, so now it's a New Year's pie).  We are going to have our traditional New Year's Eve dinner:  fondue!  I forget when we started it... it was in the early years of our marriage, and has now become tradition.  I went to Freddy's this morning and got some Emmenthaler swiss, crusty breads (Mediterranean olive and a French baguette), a granny smith apple, and a few other things for meals for the next few days.  I think we'll while away the evening hours by playing Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit (family gift from Santa) with Ella, or playing some other game.  We also have a Sherlock Holmes puzzle we could do, too.  It's just the three of us tonight (my dad and niece went to Montana for my cousin's wedding, which is tomorrow), so we'll do something fun together.  I'm not sure if Ella will make it to midnight, but she's planning to try!

Well, see you next year!!

New Year's Eve Update

Hello, everyone!  I've been doing more research, and have things running through my head, so I feel it's time to get them out of my head and onto my blog.  So... here you go!

While researching headwear, I realized that as a married woman, I should be wearing a cap.  Unmarried women did not, unless they reached a certain age when they were considered old maids (out of the marriage market).  Jane Austen, who never married, started wearing caps in her late 20s.  I'm 49.95 plus tax, so I'm at a ripe old age, and would be wearing caps every day, so... something else to add to my outfit.

What are caps?  Not quite the same thing as a nightcap, day caps were made from fine linen or cotton, sometimes embroidered, sometimes lacy, sometimes puffier than you can imagine!  It depended on the woman and her style.  I'm not a particularly "fussy" dresser--I keep things pretty simple.  I'm thinking of a simple cap, maybe with a little embroidery, and a ruffle of lace around the front edging.  Some examples from the time period:

Very elaborate and foofy.

Simple, but ruffly.

More simple, but I don't care for the ties.

Women wore these all day.  I've read in a book that women wore different caps for different times of the day.  In the morning, for hanging around the house, ladies wore a fairly simple house cap.  For visiting or receiving visitors, women wore their nicer, fancier caps, possibly to show off some needlework or status.  There were widow's caps, too.  Caps were worn all day long.  They were kind of convenient, in some ways... bad hair day?  Hide it with your cap!  Going out?  No worries, just put your hat on over your cap.  

On the one hand, I don't like adding so much to my outfit, but on the other hand... my hairstyle is not exactly Regency-appropriate.  Women either had long hair or very short hair.  I don't have either.  So I've been trying to figure out how this is going to work.  I'm letting my hair grow a little longer so that I can more easily style it in the back--probably with hairpins and a short ponytail pinned down into a tiny bun.  Curls around the face were extremely popular, so I'll have those, of course.  But the cap will be perfect to hide what will probably be a rather messy and awkward back-of-the-head hair.  

As for style, well... I kind of like this one:

It's simple, but not elaborate.  And I can make something like that.  I just ordered fabric from my favorite online fabric store... different kinds of fine, almost sheer cottons for a cap and possibly a kerchief.  A kerchief was a large triangular scarf worn to add warmth and cover up one's bare neck, or to fill in an opening in one's spencer or pelisse.  The woman in the picture above is wearing a kerchief.  It is tucked into her neckline, and provides some modesty.  Hers is from a pretty solid cotton, while contemporary kerchiefs were of finer, sheerer fabric.  Women also wore chemisettes, which were sort of half-collar, half-shirt.  After all, you didn't want to freeze, nor did you want everyone to be able to check out one's décolletage (cleavage).  Some examples:

 

Sorry about the spacing...I tried to get them to go two by two, but... I lack blog knowledge.  Anyway... here is a different chemisette, and several kerchiefs.

Well, I think I've done enough for one day...  :)

Christmas update

I couldn't sleep tonight, even though I am physically tired.  My brain was running all kinds of stuff through my head, and I couldn't get it to settle.  So, I figured I'd do a quickie update and maybe a little research to get my brain off my mental treadmill.

My husband has always been very supportive of my creative pursuits, and Christmas was no exception.  The one thing I really wanted this year was a dress form.  In order to really be able to sew for myself, I have to be able to accurately fit the clothing to my body, which is really difficult to do when you have to try it on yourself and figure out the fitting while it is on you.  It's one reason why, even though I'm a seamstress, I've never really made myself clothes.  Or, at least, not since I was in my 20s.

This is the form.  I will need to customize it, of course.  It also has a stand.  

This is the pic from Amazon... it's still in it's box behind me as I type...

My husband was clever about it.  I would've known what it was if I saw a ginormous box next to the tree (Ok, maybe a little exaggeration), so he hid it from me.  He wrapped it in an exceptionally large bag he bought specifically for the purpose, and tucked it into a corner of the dining room (which, right now, is kind of a "no man's land" of storage... Rob has been storing survival foods and military rations in there, and there is a lot of my mom's stuff in there, as well.  More on the rations later...).  After all the presents were unwrapped, he got up and went towards the dining room, quoting "A Christmas Story"... "Hey, what's that box in the corner?"  I jokingly asked if it was a gun (in this house, it is a distinct possibility).  He then proceeded to bring it out and plant it in front of me.  I was very surprised and pleased.  He knows me pretty well!  And it was on my Amazon list.  :)

My dad came out from Idaho to stay with us for Christmas, and then he and Millie will fly out to the boondocks of Montana to attend my cousin's wedding on the 1st.  They will fly back later, and then he'll go back to Idaho.  My nephew and his girlfriend came for Christmas as well.  They live just outside of Anacortes, as they both work at the Naval base there.  For once, they both had Christmas off.  I made a ton of cookies and other goodies, and my husband did a bit of cooking as well, making fudge, Chex Mix, homemade rolls, quiche, etc.  We worked our butts off to get the house ready for guests, and it was worth it.  My kitchen is clean, things are put away, and the living room is clutter-free.  Well, right now there are a bunch of opened gifts in piles, but those things can be moved.  It was nice to be with loved ones, even though we were one short this year.

Ella fared the best this Christmas, and got all kinds of stuff she wanted and loved, and several things she was not expecting.  I got new speakers for my computer (because mine are ancient and terrible), so now I'll finally be able to listen to things on my computer without hearing static and buzzing!  Woot!  My husband also got me an Instant Pot--something I've been thinking about getting, but balking because of the price for a good one, and because I'm not sure where to store it, nor how to use it.  But... I get to look for recipes on Pinterest, and that's half the fun.

Oh--the military rations...  My husband has been watching YouTube videos of people who buy military rations from all over the place and then eat them and evaluate them.  Apparently, it's quite entertaining.  Anyway, it inspired him to try some, too.  So he has been buying MREs from all around the world:  England, Australia, France, Eastern Europe, Russia, etc.  He will sometimes have one or two for lunch on the weekends, frequently including Ella.  She always wants the sweet things, but does try different foods, which is kind of nice, as she's not normally very adventurous when it comes to food.  I swear, this kid is made of Ranch, nuggets, peanut butter, and Goldfish crackers!  Even I try some of it, although nothing too old (some of these are rations from a few decades ago...).  I liked the biscuits/cookies in some English rations, and so did Rob, so he bought a small case of them.  They are excellent with tea, and are very popular, especially in England.  This, of course, makes them expensive.  So I don't eat them often!  When they arrive, I tell him he's OOC (out of control)… it's his current obsession.

Ok, well... this post is longer than I planned.  I hope you all had a great Christmas, filled with family, special treats/food, and fun.

FABRIC!!!

I slept in this morning...oh, glorious no-alarm vacation mornings! My husband had checked UPS yesterday, and we were expecting my fabric to arrive by 8 last night, but it didn't. So I was very happy to come downstairs this morning to have two boxes waiting for me! Woohoo!

Later in the day, I took a break from working to unbox my goodies. The first one was almost as tall as me, and narrow. That one had my 15 yards of white muslin rolled on a heavy paper tube. Most fabric comes rolled this way.  The fabric stores usually have their bolts folded onto a rectangular cardboard core, mostly because it's easier to display and shelve. When I went to the San Francisco garment district, all the warehouses had their fabric on long roll bolts.

Ooh... my husband just made a double batch of fudge, and brought the bowl and the spoon (and spatula) to the living room for licking! Ahhh... Christmas!

Ok, where was I? Oh, yeah, fabric. So, the smaller box had linen, batiste, sateen, twill tape, printed cotton, a paisley double border print, and cotton twill. The linen is a woven flax and cotton blend in a fairly fine weave. The finest linen is soft and used for handkerchiefs. This is not as fine a weave, and is for lining in the stays (corset). Batiste is a super fine cotton plain weave fabric, suitable for baby garments and delicate ladies' nightgowns, slips, and blouses. For me, this material will be for my base garment, the chemise (pronounced "shem-eese"). It's a loose, simple garment worn underneath the stays, and usually reaches to below the knees.  The neckline is very loose, and you adjust the neck size with a fine cotton ribbon all the way around. The sateen is for the outer part of the stays. It's cotton, which breathes nicely, and has a subtle sheen to it, kind of like satin. The inner lining of the stays will be white muslin. I will also use the muslin to make my petticoat (slip), as well as the mockup of the dress itself, to check for fitting and sizing. The dress uses about 6 1/2 yards of fabric, so that's why I had to order so much of it, as well as for the Spencer fitting.

My printed muslin is the dress fabric. I had to research what kind of prints were used in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Finding modern fabrics that are similar in texture and print for the time period is rather challenging. They didn't have man-made fibers back then, so the materials were natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, and silk. Silk is pretty, but extremely expensive per yard, and that's for cheap dupioni, a weave that has slubs, or lumpy and irregular width silk in the weave. That is what can commonly be found in silk today. But in the period, a fine taffeta was the good stuff, with a smooth weave and a certain amount of crispness, and still is today. My budget does not allow for a silk dress, so I went for a cotton print. I found a perfect reproduction print in colors I liked, and which would be appropriate for daywear in late winter. White dresses were preferred most of the time, but because laundering white was challenging, it was frequently worn indoors for morning wear.

I needed to find a material for the Spencer that would be warm, but not too warm. I am allergic to wool, so even superfine wool will make me itch like crazy. Eczema sucks. I've outgrown most of it, but I still have it. Ever noticed how rosy my cheeks are? Rosacea, part of eczema. If it is hot and humid, I get itchy in my elbows and behind my knees. Anyway, wool was out. So I looked for a nice, all cotton twill. Twill is a firm woven fabric that has a diagonal pattern that makes it soft and smooth to the touch. Denim is essentially a heavy twill. It's  used for pants and jackets, bags, etc. the twill I ordered is a dark dusty rose.

Finally, as I was browsing fabrics, I came across a floral paisley double border print. The border runs lengthwise on both edges of the fabric. It's a dark navy with peachy-pinky flowers and cream lacy, paisley print. Paisley was a popular print, as it was imported from India, and could be expensive. Sometimes they made dresses out of it, but most of the time it was used for long shawls. This material is only 60" wide, so not as long as they used to make it. I got a yard of it, and plan to cut it in half, sew it in the middle, and thus get a good length. I will decide on a fringe later.

So... here are the three main fabrics. I think they coordinate nicely without being too matchy.

Supplies for Bracelet

First day of Winter Break, and I spent it running errands and doing major Christmas grocery shopping.  Ran to the West Side to get books at Barnes and Noble (because I forgot about them until it was too late to order from Amazon), and to pick up some kitchen items for my dad.  Then went to WinCo.  Got home just in time to take  my daughter to the doctor after her school got out.  As suspected, she has a sinus infection.  So... afterwards, ran to Safeway and Costco to pick up things that I chose not to get at WinCo, and came home with very sore feet.  Surprisingly, Costco was far less crowded than I expected.  It was about 5, so I'm guessing people were on their way home, having dinner, etc.  I had a breakfast sandwich at 11:30 (but didn't finish it... stress nausea) and then didn't eat anything until 7:30.  Christmas and stress have been making me eat a lot less, so, unlike some people, I've been losing weight over the holidays!

Ok, enough about my personal life.  I wanted to show you my materials for the bracelet I posted about last time.  I had to order a clasp online... multi-strand box clasps are hard to find.  I can't get one that looks like Jane's, but I got a nice one--gold-filled filigree.  Very petite.  It arrived Thursday.  So, I took a picture of all my supplies earlier in the morning today.  I'm looking forward to working on it!

I'm waiting for UPS to deliver my 7-lb box of fabric!  It was supposed to arrive today, but it has not... hoping it arrives soon...

Gathering materials

Ahh... the joys of anticipation have begun!  Last week, I ordered fabric for my ensemble, and now I'm waiting for it to arrive.  I think I got all I need for the outfit, spencer, underthings, and dress.  I got the boning in the mail today.

Boning?  Yep... to make a corset, you have to have boning.  It's what gives the corset shape and support.  There are many kids, including plastic stuff you can get at JoAnn's, but I know that is not authentic material for the early 1800s.  So, I did some research.  I could have got spring-steel circular boning (see picture), but you also have to buy a $45 tool to cut it, plus the little metal tips to prevent the steel from shredding the fabric and your skin.  So I opted for reed.  Reed is a natural material that is stripped into a specific shape, then coiled and boiled in that shape, and then allowed to dry.  It was $25 for the coil of reed, but you can't buy it in any other quantity than a coil.  It is also used to make hoop skirt supports... maybe another project somewhere down the road?

The cane is larger and more rigid than I expected.  I think it will be perfect for my corset/stays.

Reed Boning--easy to cut and shape, with sanded edges.

Spring Steel boning...I don't want those pointy bits poking me!!  These are the end caps for cut steel.  Bleah.

I have also been thinking about things I can work on in class.  I can do hand sewing, which I will do for some of the outfit (I will machine sew the parts that won't really show--skirt seams, etc.).  I am going to make a reticule to go with the outfit.  I haven't decided on the material for the outside of the bag... something soft but sturdy.  Not leather, although soft leathers do exist.  Not satin--I don't want something too fancy.  I was thinking I could dye leftover sateen from my corset material... I did order extra!  :)

The historic example of a reticule is fairly simple.  I can imitate the muted paillettes (sequins, which were metal in the 1800s) with some matte silver sequins I have in my sequins box.  Yes, I have a box of sequins!  Harville is an omnicrafter, and I use sequins in all kinds of stuff.

I've found a pattern that is very similar to this one, which I will alter a little so that it has the longer point on it than the pattern I've found.  It will be lined, of course, and TASSELS!!!

I am also going to make myself a replica bracelet.  I found a picture of this bracelet online, and it is part of the Jane Austen collection, which includes an amber cross and a turquoise ring.  I can't make things like that, but I can work with seed beads!  Looking at the details of this bracelet, I can totally make it.  I had to order a nice box clasp for it, though.  I bought vintage Venetian glass beads at Shipwreck, and have milky white glass beads, as well as gold beads.  It is simple--Right angle weave and netting.  No problem!!  Just a bit tedious, as the beads are small, and that takes time.  But I can also work on that in class on Fridays.

Here is the bracelet:

Well, it's bedtime, so... see you soon!

The Genesis of a Plan

Inspired by the "genius hour" projects my daughter was doing in 4th and 5th grade, I decided to introduce the same concept to my Senior English students.  So, this quarter, we are all working on independent learning projects that also include a language arts connection.  

Me?  I'm a Jane Austen addict.  I'm also a seamstress, and have been fascinated by fashion through the ages since I was a teenager.  I've designed and sewn many doll outfits based on various ages for years, but never made one for myself.  I follow several people who do this kind of thing as their hobby, so that is another inspiration.  So... I'm creating a reproduction Regency period ensemble, from the underwear to the hat.  

I did present my plan to my students, partly to show that I am doing this along with them, and partly to model what I expect their presentations to the rest of the class look like.

Today is our first 20 Time work day, so I am setting up this Blog so that I can share my progress with my students (and anyone else who wants to check it out).  

Outside of class, I have received the two main patterns I will be using to create much of my ensemble, and using the fabric requirements on the patterns, I've ordered the materials to make the chemise, corset/stays, slip, muslin (the "first draft" of the outfit to test for fit and and any adjustments to be made for the final garment), dress, spencer (short jacket), and possibly the pocket.  

I also ordered reed boning, a busk, lacing, and binding for the corset.  Details to come later!  :)  

So I'm waiting for fabric to arrive (ordered online...local shops don't carry the kind of thing I need).  Over Winter Break, I hope to get started!  I've asked Santa for a dress form, so that I can have a body double to use for fitting and adjustments.  We'll see if I have to buy it for myself....

Here are the patterns I will be using for the main parts of the ensemble.  They are created by Laughing Moon Mercantile, who have many patterns for the historic costume enthusiast.  If you are interested, you can check out their website:  http://www.lafnmoon.com/  I am still deciding which spencer I want to make, but I know which dress, a combination of the red one and floral one.  It kind of depends on how the front part fits.