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?

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.)

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.

The View from Olana

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.

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!

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?

New Year, New Goals

Apparently, I started this blog with every intent to complete the goals.  And then, I moved in the middle of it, uprooting my entire sewing room.  After that, I became so obsessed with The Sew Weekly, that I completely forgot that I had my own life before The Sew Weekly.  And that is where I have been.
I still obsess over clothing.  So, where were we?

Oh, yes.  Completing Edwardian underpinnings in order to build my own wardrobe.  Which brings me to the fantastic, black & grey striped ball gown petticoat.  More on that in a later post.

I've sewn a lot this year, and come to some conclusions about my weight.  Without going on and on about it, let's say the best thing that could happen to my sewing at this point isn't learning how to keep increasing my bust size by blowing huge holes thru my bodices, nor is it learning tailoring or how to hand-work a buttonhole.  It is absolutely about obtaining a better silhouette and a more satisfying completed garment by taking control of my eating and exercise habits.  So, there you go.

Sewing Goals for 2013:

1.) Complete Stratford Career Institute's Sewing & Dressmaking Course.  (I'm about half-way through)

2.) Complete every project in Stitch By Stitch by Deborah Moebes (I'm about 1/2 way through this too.  I've made the bag twice, and recommended to my boss that we order copies for the store.  Yay!)
                 
                                                                           

3.) Complete my first line of corsets.  Status: Designed, first fabric arrived today.  Well under way.

4.) To Not Forget that I have a life, aside from sewing.  And to not disappear from my own blog.

5.) Take control over my eating/exercise habits.  It's feeling very now or never.  I don't know why.

I spent the best part of today teaching a 7-year-old how to sew for the first time.  We made a pillowcase with stars and puppies on it.  She liked to go fast on the machine, and she was brutal with an iron.  The other good part of today was meeting a lady who had her version of Vogue 1136 published by Vogue Patterns Magazine.