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.

Slippery Fabric Cheat

I actually hand-basted this panel and it came out nicely except for one thing: I lost 1/4 to both top and bottom as the feed dog pulled the fabric through.

 Tomorrow I'm reworking it with some Stitch Witchery or Heat n' Bond, which ever works best, tucking it into the seams and pressing it before I stitch.  In a garment, 1/4 inch is too much to waste.  Things won't sit right or play nice together unless they match up and I'd spent a lot of time aiming for an accurate cut.

Have on Hand - Black Piano Shawl

This thing is amazing.  I found it at a very strange theatrical supply shop (here today, gone tomorrow) and I don't think they knew what they had, much less how to price it.  I grabbed this for a song, and quickly, least someone come in and also recognize it and snatch if from my warm fingers.  I've pressed it and it remains fairly wrinkled, but still beautiful.  It's all silk, with black on black embroidery along the edges and in each corner.  A couple small holes and some sun fading to dark brown: lovely!  It drapes unlike anything  else.

Couture Sewing Techniques

The Dressmaker’s Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques

Lynda Maynard  (Interweave: 2010)

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever…”

That saying goes for the clothes we are all striving to make, and also for this book.

I love the cover and the colors used on the cover.  I love the wire spiral binding so I can flip back the pages in the workroom to use each technique.  I love the large amount of actual runway pictures used as examples and photos of fabrics and how-tos.  

At first glance, I thought the content was a little heavy on hem/banding techniques, but on second run-through, I found that it’s divided between creating supporting structure, finishing techniques and decorative techniques.  Especially helpful was seeing how backing a luxury fabric with a differently weighted fabric can change the hand of the fashion fabric and make it behave in a different way, but there is much more here. 

In the near-future I will be using several new techniques and referring to this book especially for the discussion of lining fashion fabrics.

Happy Valentine's Day

'Erato'                                   from The Year of the Century, c. 1897

Have on Hand - Pin from Grandma

My grandmother had this tucked in her stash when she passed.  While I'd like to think that she'd received it from her great aunt or her mother, I can't be certain, as one of her tales of woe involved her entire train case containing the bulk of her jewelry being robbed from the train, at some point.  This putto with butterfly wings is making a sour face and has one thumb up (love me) and the other thumb pointing down (love me not?).  He is actually a bit grotesque, but the over-all style is nouveau in sentiment and execution.  It is marked faintly on the back "sterling" and it looks quite old.  I drag it out and polish it each Valentine's Day and think of my Grandma.  Polishing silver is one of the chores she taught me to do and I actually enjoy it because of her.

Beaded Victorian Cuff

This was made from period lace and tidbits from around my studio. I built it up, layer by layer doing most of the work by hand, using the machine when I could.  I really like how it came out, even though I know where all of the imperfections are.  It’s base is muslin with ivory silk charmeuse from an old shirt as the mounting.

 I covered the silk with a tiny tulle netting in black, dotted it with glass beads, added vintage lace and velvet gathered from garage sales throughout the years and topped it off with a huge jet bead medallion.  Add a black glass button and voila!  Finished!

HOH - The Black Ribbon Cincher

It's not exactly a corset per se, but it is a neat little cincher that I grabbed for a song a billion years ago at Hot Topic.  It's made by Versatile Fashions out of elastic and holds everything together fairly well.

While not my ultimate favorite, I still reach for it again and again.

Press On!

Before I can complete my second muslin fitting, I need to make my grommet panels for this and future fittings.  Ideally, there will be several panels, so if one set is in use, there will be back-ups available.  I finally got to use the new hand press.  My verdict is that the press sets the grommets much more evenly than the results I was getting with the hammer method. The edge of the grommet is less likely to split, mush and get beat up.  This method is faster and creates a smooth, rolled grommet edge.  Less headache all 'round.

Here is the first panel, in the works:

Osborne Hand Press

First Toile

From the front, it’s easy to see that I will need to make a full bust adjustment to the armscye keeping the space for the girls, but not increasing the armscye at all.  Not really sure what's going to flatten out all that.

From the back, it won’t even close, so back to the drawing board on that.  I’ll need at least 5 extra inches through the back of the shoulders for it to begin to look like something.

It’s sitting too high in front, as well.  Pulling it down makes it feel as though it will fall off, as there is not enough fabric in back.  I absolutely have to wear a full-support bra, even with a corset.  The only corset I’d attempt to not wear a bra with would be a well-fitted 1860’s.  When I tried this on without the bra, it was a disaster that I don’t wish to share in a photo.

Well, That Was As Much Fun As...

...trying on bathing suits under fluorescent lights, or perhaps sticking a finger in my eye.  The graceful lines of this 1776 pair of stays are, shall we say, elongated and widened considerably.  I have nothing more to say here except I'm annoyed and had to go do something else for a while.

The bottom line: my waist is short (8") and I had to hook my lower center back length full around to the side over my ample hips in a really stupid sweeping arc, which I rather don't like very much at all.

Then, I had to get the bust to equal at least 22" inches (up from what a negative 0?) and then pull the front where the strap is supposed to attach up from where it was (sitting in the middle of my bust line - uh, no) to sitting up at least 4' - 5" higher at my shoulder and re-draw the armscye and hope for the best.

  Essentially, I had to grade this ancient pattern up from about a size 6 or 8 to a size 18 and now I'd really like a glass of champagne as I toss the whole mess from the balcony, but I won't because now I'm headed off to make the toile...
Post Script: Could she have trued that line a little better?  No, she couldn't as she's lost her drafting ruler and the Fiestaware didn't prove quite large enough.  :-(

The Obvious Culprits

I hate starting a project with no way to finish it.  So, I tore through the studio last to hunt for this relic from the 1980's, a deep purple, reptile-print leather mini skirt.   (Doesn't everyone have one?)

This skirt was actually a Salvation Army find a few years ago, in brand new condition and has been in my stash ever since, since not every project calls for deep purple reptile-embossed leather.  It's ready to have a new life as a binding.  The question remains: will it suddenly become tasteful in small quantities, or will it completely overwhelm the soft, ivory, brocade draperies?

Most extant examples of period stays from the last quarter of the 18th c. had tabs that were covered in white kid leather of some sort.  I've never been a white leather sort of girl, but I do have this fencing glove ready to re-purpose.

Since there isn't quite enough leather here to cover all of the tabs, I'm also using the random leather strip.  I had a boyfriend once who told me to never waste any good, usable piece of leather, and I haven't!

The lining will be a remnant of linen.

It looks as though there is just enough for two layers, one to support my old drapes, one to act as the inner layer. I've read several times about there being a removable inner linen lining in period stays, but I've not yet seen one and have no idea how that would attach except for catch stitches all the way around.  Since there is already quite enough work to do, here, I think I'll leave a whole other linen lining for another time.

My Draperies - A Scarlet O'Hara Moment

This will mark the fourth started (and, as yet, unfinished) project within this month.  This particular project is off-era, being a pair of 18th century stays (we'll just have to pretend that I'm on my way to participate in Sheridan for the season).

This is the first project for February. (Yes, there is one more unfinished project for January left to start in order to keep up.  Whew!  This is rather exhausting!)

Here are my beloved (over-lov-ed) draperies:

From afar, not too bad.  But I've had them for too many years (I'm embarrassed to say how many) as you can see.

I can't even really blame this on the cats.  It's time.  (Also time for a paint job in here!)  Will the fabric hold up to stays? Is it sun-rotted? Who knows? I'll just have to find out.  Giving it a tug didn't destroy anything.

Perhaps here you can see why I love them so:

So down they come, and into the wash they go.