fashionthrougherstory

A Blue 18th century Redingote (Part 1)

Published on February 18, 2015September 30, 2015 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

I’ve been totally in love with Jens (from “Festive Attyre“) Redingote since I first saw it about a year ago. I knew at once I need something similar.

The problem was when…

A year ago I put the picture on my “to do in 2014“-list, and there it waited…

I found this fabric on sale last winter, and thought it perfect for this project.
But I had so many other things to make for the HSF14, and when I could have had time I was already longing for spring and thinner clothing.
So I pushed it forward to the HSF14 nr 15 – Outerwear.

I bought this pattern in July determent to get the ball rolling in good time for he challenge. But as work got really busy after summer that didn’t happened.

By then I had a new goal – to make it for the HSF14 nr 22 – Menswear.
Well, I did start working on it in October.

I traced the pattern and cut and stitched the mock-up.

I was really surprised of how well it fit straight out of the package.
It’s not usual to get a nice back like that on the first try.

But then life once again caught up with me, and I had to take a break from sewing.
I postponed the 22 challenge completely, deciding to try to finish it on my Christmas leave.

And between working on my two Christmas dresses, I actually got the fabric cut and the interlining basted.My creative chaos. This is how I sitting in my chair watching series while pinning, stitching and sorting the pieces in different piles.

Sometimes around December 26th, I realized I would never finish within 2014 – and I had so much new stuff I wanted to make for 2015.
Bummers.
I made a 18th century hat as a late entry for the menswear challenge, and felt rater like a failure.

But then the Dreamstress revealed the challenges for The HSM15, and there it was – challenge 2/2015 – Blue!
That was exactly what I needed to finally finish the long awaited Redingote.
(even though I got distracted by the much quicker Mars entry).

Anyhow, here is what I’ve been doing on the evenings for the past month.

Stitching the long seams together using my sewing machine.

I decided to make more rounded shape for the corner on the collar instead of the patterns more square one.Shaping the collar.

I also needed to lower the arm hole a bit to keep it riding up my armpit.

A first test on the dress-form

Once the lining and sleeves was attached, I put it on to try the fit. I can’t say enough how pleased I an with the sizing on this pattern.
The only thing I needed to change was the length of the sleeve.

The center front marking matched up perfectly.

I then spent a few evenings stitching all the reinforcing/decoration on the collars and cuffs.

Then I stitched the ling down.

I couldn’t find any metal buttons I liked (like the ones Jen have), so I decided on fabric covered ones instead.Covering regular buttons in fabric.

Once the buttons was finished, I needed to decide how to make the buttonholes. I tried a few ideas like, regular hand worked, piped or bound. Testing the hand worked button holes on a scrap piece.

And how to space the buttons

decisions, decisions…

To be continued…

18th century Redingote – Inspiration

Published on February 15, 2015February 15, 2015 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

This time of year we start to dream about spring, but until then we all need something to keep us warm. And whats better then some nice woolen overdresses and redingotes.

A Pile of Notions

Published on February 10, 2015 by fashionthrougherstory1 Comment

My favorite (and only) store for sewing notions have just declared bankruptcy.
They have been my go to store for ages, and even if they’r not the cheapest they are definable the most well stocked.

The most sad thing about it (apart from me not being able to shop there no more) is that they didn’t go bankrupt because of lack of costumers, but because the owner got arrested while traveling and shopping for more beautiful ribbons.

This week I (and every senior citizen who can hold a needle) lined up for the clearance sale.

And here are some of the thing I got…

Cotton ribbons perfect for laces and cording

Cotton velvet in brown and midnight blue

10 m of white and black pleated ribbon.

Many meters of lace

Pompon ribbon and more lace

Feather ribbon

Assorted colors of buttonhole thread

Belt buckles and butterfly patches

Buttons!

Inspiration overload….

1905s Layering

Published on February 7, 2015 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

It’s been a while since I last did one of these “layering posts”.
But this weekend when we finished the “winter fur” photoshoot, my sister helped me take a few pictures of the different pieces I wore for my 1900s ice skating costume.

So here it is:
1905s Winter LayeringLets start with the outerwear and accessorize: A fur muff, hat and shawl for cosy winter warmth.

Then there is the short jacket and the long gloves.
(sorry for the non-historical amount of hair, but I couldn’t fit a wig into the furhat ;-))

Striping of the outer garments we got an “in-door” outfit, with a high necked shirtwaist, a slim shirt and a Swiss-waist.

Under the skirt we find the obligatory petticoat.
You could use multiple layers of petticoats, and one or to in flannel was not unusual to help keep warm.

And beneath the shirtwaist we find the corset.
You should also wear a corset cover (but unfortunately mine have mysteriously shrunk in the closet),
and a wool shirt for warmth.

Beneath the petticoat I wear bloomers and high stockings. I’m not completely sure of the correct way to fasten the suspenders to the stockings while wearing bloomers, but fasting them on the inside worked pretty well for me, (something that probably would be even more difficult if you’r wearing combinations*).
And as usual the shoes are about the first thing on and last thing of.

*Combinations, are exactly what it sounds like – a combination of chemise and bloomers, which became really popular as underwear during the late 19th/early 20th century.

1900s Winter sports – photoshoot

Published on February 4, 2015 by fashionthrougherstory2 Comments

I’d intended to go to the yearly 19th century ice skating meeting, in the capital, the first week of the new year.

But even though life happened, and I was unable to attend, I still had a vision of how cute my outfit would look. So I made plans for doing a ice skating photoshoot instead.

Well, despite three weeks of daily snow, the ice haven’t settled on the river by my house.
So, no ice skating, but at leas I managed to get a winter shoot of the costume.
Maybe I can go skating next year instead….

I’m wearing: My Suffragett skirt and shirtwaist, 1901s corset, modern jacket, glowes, faux fur scarf and my new fur hat (decorated with feathers and suffraget brosch).

poor little faux fox, out in the cold…

Photo: Maria Petersson

Fluffy Fur Hat

Published on January 31, 2015 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been obsessing over beautiful fur garments for the last two months.
And more precise – fur hats.

My main inspiration.

Russian fabulousnes from the latest version of “Anna Karenina”

So, in the days after Christmas I dug a piece of left over faux fur out of my stash, and got to work.

I cut the pieces for the hat in fur, cotton batting and linen for lining.

Then I hand stitched the ends of the rectangle together,and attached the circle shaped crown.

When pinning the lining in, I realized the bating made it to bulky, so I decided to remove it.
Then I stitched the linen to the fur and turned it right side out.

The finished hat:

The Facts:

Pattern: N,one – I just drew one rectangle and one circle a few cm bigger then my head measurements.

Fabric: 0,3 m of faux fur and the same amount of linen.

Notions: Thread

Time: About two hours

Cost: Basically nothing. The linen was leftover scraps, and the fur have been in my stash for a year and a half just waiting to be used for some winters stuff.

Final Thougts: This was such a fun, quick and easy project. I would love to make some minor modifications to the pattern and then make several of these hats and sell (I already have a few interested buyers…)

A Skirt is a Skirt

Published on January 27, 2015 by fashionthrougherstory4 Comments

A skirt is a skirt by any other name…

Petticoat or not to petticoat – that is the question…

Ok, enough silliness.
Last weekend I’ve made a 18th century petticoat/skirt.
Here in Sweden “Petticoat” means – “under skirt” or hoop-skirt if you’r talking wedding dresses, and a skirt is just a skirt – nothing else.
But in historic sentence these two seems to be interchangeable (at least to me, since I’d always had a bit trouble keeping the two apart in English).
But I then I read in “Cut of womens clothes” that after 1660s “the underskirt was always called a petticoat”.
Does that mean you can call the same garment “skirt” or “petticoat” deepening on the way it is worn at the moment?

Anyhow,
I’t was such an easy and quick project even though I made it by hand.
One day in front of the computer watching series, and it was done.

I bought this brown fabric for a steal from an online fabric sale – convinced it was a striped cotton twill (as the website claimed).
But once delivered it was more like a heavy polyester made for suits and pants. Darn it.
Well, the price of sending it back would be more then the fabric itself, so I decided to go ahead and make my skirt anyway.

It worked surprisingly well, if you don’t count the bump in my fingers from pressing the needle through, and the heaviness of the fabric gives the skirt and hem a nice drape.

The construction is really simple using two width of fabrics and cartridge-pleating them to a narrow waistband.

I also made sure to hem it quite short, to mimic the length of the fashion plate.

Finished:

Fabric: 2 m of brown polyester “twill”

Notions: thread, Hook and eye.

Cost: about 40Sek (6 Usd) all and all – I told you, a steal 🙂

Time: About 5 hours of hand stitching.

Final thought: I like the drape of the skirt and the pleating looks really nit, even though I would have wished for a thicker fabric.
I think the skirt will look great combined with the new bodice/jacket and accessories I’m working on, for the “peasant fiest” I’m hoping to attend in about two weeks.

Overload on beautiful Books

Published on January 16, 2015 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

The days after Christmas I treated myself to some costuming books.

And today they arrived!
Yay!
10,5 kg of costuming happiness!

From left to right:

In Fine Style – the Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion
by Anna Reynolds
I just found this book this winter and I don’t regret for a second my impulse to get it.
Its a real candy book with lots and lots of gorgeous photos of existing garments and paintings with lovely close-ups of details.

Fashion – a History from 18th century to 20th century (part 2 1900s to 2000s)
by Kyoto Institute of Fashion. This book series is classic for a reason. The beautiful pictures and the sheer size of the volumes are all reason you need to love it.

Fashion – a History from 18th century to 20th century (part 1 1700s to 1900s)
by Kyoto Institute of Fashion.

If you ever searched the internet for costume inspiration, you’r sure to have encountered several of the pics in this book. They are simply breath taking, and the book is a real treasure to study closely or to just flip through for inspiration.

The Victorian Tailor – Techniques and pattern
by Jason Maclochlainn
I’ve heard it said that if you only need one book about historic/Victorian tailoring, it is this one.
I can’t wait to really get in dept into this book, and hopes to be able to try some of the techniques in the near future.

The queens servants – Gentlewomen’s dress at the accession of Henry VIII
by Caroline Johnson
Since I love “The Tudor Tailor” I expect this close-up on women’s servants to be great.
So far I’ve seen some interesting dress styles and lots of information about cut and colors.

Elizabethan Costume – Design and Construction
by Helen Qizhi Huang, Kelsey Hunt and Emily Hoem

Considering I own and love the other three books in this costume series, I’m not that thrilled.
There seems to be some interesting stuff about construction and fabrics, but at a first gimps I’d expected more. Not to say that it won’t grow on me later on.

Now you might excuse me while I disappear in to theses goodies for about a month….

18th century skirt foundation (A.k.a Panniers of pain)

Published on January 14, 2015 by fashionthrougherstory2 Comments

For the HSM challenge 1/2015 – Foundation, I knew I wanted to make 18th century panniers to go under my in progress robe a la Franchise (more on that on a later note).

And since I already had all the material (fabric, metal boning and bias tape) in my stash I started by looking for patterns. 1740 panier waugh This pattern from “Corsets and Crinolines” looked good but seemed to be much bigger then I needed.
And I’ve heard from others who made it that it is in fact huge!

I was thinking something more along the lines of this picture. be103b0e94eebfb2dae8a3a825eb33b6 That seems easy enough. So I figured I didn’t need a pattern after all.

So on to the tapemeasure I whent, and started cutting the fabric.A green sort of linen/polyester kind of fabric, here cut in double pieces.

Once all seams was stitched together and felled, I started working on the boning bias tape for the channels I marked where I wanted the bones to be, and stitched the bias tape on top of the chalk lines.

Then I made a running stitch and gathered the top to be set in the waistband.

To get the oval shape on the panniers I attached rows of ribbons to be tied horizontal across the hoops.

Inside of the panniers before inserting the boning.

I used my regular go-to metal pipe cleaners for boning. The shape of the panniers whit the bones are somewhat circular…

And the edges of the top most bones makes a slight worrisome edge.

Finished in one night, yay!

Eh, no….

Once tied together the top hoop made the worst shape ever.

Darn it.
How to solve this?
I posted a quick question on my facebook page and in the HSM facebook group, and over night got lots of great suggestions.

Then I started experimenting.

I removed the diagonal bones at the top. Better, but a long way from perfect.

Once he bones was removed I noticed a excess of fabric at the top front and back. I played with pinning it into a giant dart thous removing the upper bones ability to push out. There was lots of width to take out.

But once pinned in darts and tied into place the pannier keeps the desired shape.

The problem was I thought of the whole panniers like a big circle/crinoline tied into shape. But what I failed to grasp was that to keep the top hoop close to the body at front/back and wide at the sides I needed to shape the top of the fabric. – just like in Waughs pattern….

Once decisive on the actions on how to save and finish the panniers I also decided that the pale green color was a bot bland. So I turned it inside out and stitched the darts from the opposite side to give it a ore interesting look (including removing all the ties and re-attached them on the new inside).

The finished panniers: (Yay)

Just the facts:

Challenge: nr 1/2015 – Foundation

What: A pair of 18th century panniers.

Pattern: None, I just measured and cut.

Fabric: 1,5 m of green linen from stash.

Notions: Thread, 7 m of metal boning, 7 m of brown bias-tape and 5 m of white cotton ribbon.

How historical accurate: Not much. The fabric is wrong, the boning is metal and I sewed most of it on my sewing machine. It looks pretty good though.

Time: About 8 hours – 2 of which I worked on correcting the upper hoop.

Cost: I would guess about 100 Sek (16 Usd) but everything came from stash so I’m not sure.

First worn: Only around the house for photos. But I intend to wear it with my up-coming Robe a la Franchise at the first chance I get.

Final thoughts: This was meant as a quick project, and as usual those are the ones which causes most trouble. But thanks to some minor experimenting and tips from the HSM hive mind I managed to complete them without to much bad words.

2015 Sewing Wishlist

Published on January 6, 2015 by fashionthrougherstory4 Comments

Apart from the HSM15, I have some (many) dresses and outfits I would love to try to make.

Here are a list of what inspires me right now and what I will be longing to making during the year to come.

(In chronological order) I would like to venture a bit furter into the middle ages, and make another cotehardie and a 15th century gown complete with fur and judiciously huge headwear.

Some cool middle class Renaissance wear can never go wrong.

I would live to dip into the 17th century Mantua, perhaps I even get the chance to make a fountang (stovepipe headwear).

My very own Robe a la Francaise are well on its way (cut and pinned) at the moment. I just need to find the time to finish it of.

I love to make a version of this french gown from “Belle” for my sister. I allready have the perfect fabric.

You can never go wrong with a white regency gown, and the dotted organza are already resting in my stash.

With so many sheer regency gowns I need a proper bodiced petticoat too.

Oh sweet 1830s, the age of hideousness. Maybe I can overcome the huge sleeves and make myself a gown from this decade. The fabric I have in mind are bedsheets I bought this summer.

Huge sleeves needs huge foundations, and a quilted petticoat is something every costumer should have.

I’m dreaming of a 1860s daydress in a vivid color, like blue or purple, maybe this will be the year.

This 1880s plaid daydress have been on my list since I found the fashion plate last summer. The fabric in mind are a 5 m blue and white upholstery cotton.

I just love the vivid colors of this flowery velvet. I already have the perfect pattern, just to find the fabric…

Gorgeous – may be a bit to flimsy for my taste but if I do find the right fabric, I’m soo making this.

1880s Christmas party anyone? I love the green velvet against the beige silk and golden trim.

This 1890s-1900s bicycle outfit are both chic and functional at the same time. I think it would be so fun to make and take or a tour through the park.

Both the dress and the cape are fabulous and I want another try at this stylish decade.

I have no illusions of ever making all of these outfits, but is consider it more like a wishlist and inspiration for the year of 2015.

What are you dreaming of making in 2015?