Saturday, June 8, 2013

Oldest Known Photographs


Have a happy Saturday night looking at old photos.  My favorites are this handsome gentleman, John Johnson (1813-1871) and the shot of the Louvre.  What are yours?

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Treadle Sewing



She is cranky and fun, and it really takes a little practice.  Pretty stitches, though, once you get it.  The wood is all original, down to the fading measuring stick painted in front.  The decals are rubbed off in the center of the machine head, but are clear on the end.

 The bobbin winder is kind of steampunk-crazy.  (I've yet to figure it out.)

Monday, June 3, 2013

The Mary Francis Sewing Book: Adventures Among the Thimble People



I’ve recently acquired a re-print of a book published in 1913 that includes patterns for an entire doll’s wardrobe from the era.  Wow!  

This book has actually been on my wish-list for the last 3.5 years.  So, I’ve finally ordered it and opened it up.

The book is gorgeous, with tons of illustrations, instructions, and rhymes.  The story is about a little girl learning to sew from a group of sewing tools that talk and a magic sewing fairy. 

 Mary Francis learns to make clothes for her dolly, but she has to keep it a secret, for some reason.  (Most likely because little girls just love secrets, and the author wrote it in.)  The story is really sweet, and there is tons of practical (now almost lost) sewing information.

 My copy is a hard cover edition and came with the sewing patterns.  I haven’t been able to put it down since it arrived.  (Except to hunt for a suitable 16” dolly.)  I'd recommend this book for everyone who even thinks they want to sew, regardless of age or ability.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Edwardian Corset



I built this corset initially as an exercise, then completed it for Foundations Revealed.  Then, I dismantled some of the external decoration, which seemed like too much.  It's my first foundation wear piece in a series of Edwardian undergarments.


Hopefully, I'll be able to wear it soon.  In the meantime, my notes on it are as follows:
Carve a sweetheart into the bust line.  I've made several straight-across pieces now, and feel like I need to get a bit bolder.  Use cotton in the next one, not silk, so it can stand as an undergarment.  No crystals.  Double-stitch the seams.  Cut 8 yards of lacing, not 7.  Measure my waist before cutting instead of cutting to some random number.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

This Week 2/9/2013

I've been thinking and thinking about what to do about my corsets and my (current) weight.  I know they don't fit the way they used to,  I know I have at least 80 pounds to lose (or more) and I also know I've not been taking myself as seriously with this goal as I need to be.  I stumbled on this article about increased risk for Type II Diabetes last night.

The study cited increased risk in French women around a meager 16.9 ounces of soda a week.  That's about 2 (small) cans.  Who drinks two cans of soda a week?  I drink about 2 full glasses of diet soda per day.  On a good day, I try to limit myself to one diet soda serving a day.  On a light week, I drink about 3 servings.  It really must be close to 'addiction' on some level, because quitting drinking soda is a little bit harder than I'd imagined.  (Not a lot, just a little.)
Since there are 52 weeks in the year, and I have at least that number of things I can think of to help me toward my goal of fitting healthily into my 29" corsets by the end of the year, I figured if I add one positive habit per week, at least that's finite and measurable.
Today is Saturday.  So for this week, I will work on replacing soda intake with water, juice and tea.  So far, today, I've had one glass of orange juice and no soda.
I'm choosing small, attainable goals.  At the end of the week, month, and year, I've either added healthy habits and eliminated poor ones, or I haven't.
Here's to a good year!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Black & White Petticoat

We all know that a wardrobe begins with a good foundation, which is why I chose to start this blog with the Waugh's corset girdle (soon to be completed and I'll post about that soon).   I recently obtained a period petticat, or underskirt to what was listed as an "Edwardian Ballgown".  I'm not too certain about the "ball gown" part of that statement.  The silk itself is pretty- a grey-ish with black stripes.  But the underside looks as if it was hand-overcast in a real hurry by someone learning the process.  Look:


Then again, it could just be me being hyper-critical as this light-weight silk couldn't have been easy to work on.  I've been dismantling the piece and turning it into flowers:


But I'm torn about leaving it just as it is, trimming off the rough edge, giving it a new waistband, and wearing it as-is.  There really isn't a pattern to speak of, it's just two rectangles gathered in a bunch and given a wide hem.  I'm also thinking of using it to make a skirt or for a pair of bloomers.  If I make it a skirt, it will need an under-lining of some sort.  Perhaps a cotton flannel.  What do you think?