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.

In The Nouveau Style - Malcolm Haslam

Found this out of print book a few weeks ago at a used book store and was so happy!  It's a heavy coffee table book full of this era, blending Arts & Crafts into the more flowing Art Nouveau.  It's an examination of the style with examples through to modern times.  Very pretty and informative.

Sagrada Familia, Spain                                    Wiki Commons Photo

I learned all sorts of tidbits, such as there is a cathedral in Spain designed by Antoni Gaudi at the height of the Nouveau style that hasn't been completed yet.  Gaudi's been dead for well over 80 years, so while I studied him briefly in school, I  always thought his oeuvre was complete.

I thought Frank Lloyd Wright was a little obssessive for creating and then making sure the furniture at Falling Water remains there, but that design micro-management seems to have been a trend.  For example, 40 years or so earlier, Henri van de Velde not only designed his home Bloemenwerf, but then designed the furniture, wallpaper and even the clothing that the women wore in its interior.

Black Velvet Jacket - HOH

I purchased this black velvet Lane Bryant jacket at least 5 years ago.  It's held up fairly well.  Initially, I switched out the original buttons for some vintage black glass buttons.

Wow!  What a difference a button makes!  Now, I love wearing this jacket more than ever.  Need I say it?  It goes with everything.

The Carine Roitfeld Skirt

 

Lately, I've been obsessed with this Frenchwoman's style, and so has everyone else, apparently.  I scrutinized at least 40 or so pictures that I could find of her.  What I found is that she is always dressed to the nines, she likes to push limits with edgy things but always pulls whatever-it-is just (barely) back from some over-the-top danger zone by being conservative & tasteful someplace else.  Also, her individual pieces always have some element of the fabulous.  The most often-sighted (by me) piece that she relies on again and again is some form of black pencil skirt.  So, here is the start of the Carine Roitfeld skirt.

What makes it Edwardian?  I'm going to add some black velvet trim to the bottom with a sprinkle of vintage jet beading at the knees.  What makes it Edwardian is also what makes it fabulous is also what makes it Carine.

In a mad dash to get something completed, I'm selecting a See & Sew from my pattern stash: B5169.

Off With Her...(Droopy) Yoke!

First, I'd like to say, there was an actual sunny day this week, with shiny black crows in the trees and everything:

So, to work:  I did shear off a good portion of the yoke of M5659 because the Newport News dress didn't have such a droopy yoke and I liked it better.  I also extended the dress front up into the armscye because it looked awkward just stopping so randomly in the middle of the yoke at the dots.  Not sure what that will do to the dots, I'm guessing it will just eliminate them and I'll slide the dress front up into the remodeled yoke with less fussing.  By the time I was finished slicing and dicing to a better shape, I'd lopped off any intended seam allowance, so I slapped the yoke to a cardboard box and added the allowance back in.  Now it looks exactly the same as when I started. 

After staring at it, chopping it to bits, re-adhering it's allowance and finally photographing it, I do realize that this pattern has an oval yoke, while the dress I'm in love with as a neat, higher, circular yoke.  An oval is just a droopy circle, so you see the dilemma.
The Newport News trapeze dress also had three front pleats as opposed to the one large center pleat in the commercial pattern.  To create more space for the additional two pleats, I cut the front of the dress larger on the center line by 4" (adding 2" to each side, which in my world makes more space for bust line) and intend to pleat it twice more hanging from the center bust on each side, ie, the princess lines.  I also played with the idea of cutting the pattern on those princess lines and adding the fabric in there.  Perhaps that would be more technically correct?  I really don't know, but not sure that it will make much difference.  (And yes, I've run into trouble with that thought before!)
Regardless, I think she's had enough for one night, don't you?

Lost New Year's Dress

Around October or November (last) I received my much-anticipated Newport News Holiday catalog.  I love just about everything that they make and if I was very wealthy I'd simply call them and order one of everything in black and wait for the delivery truck.  Since that's not an option, I decided to make this neat dress, which I loved so hard (ripped out of the catalog and wrinkled to death) that I couldn't even scan it, so here is the dress from the site:

I thought about this dress a whole lot.  It's hard to see the jewels and crystals on the yoke, but they are delightful!  Then I decided, (about a week before Christmas) hey!  why not make this dress for Christmas Eve dinner and service!  And that didn't happen for about nine-hundred very good reasons.
And then New Year's Eve also came and went, and by gum, I'm going to have me this dress regardless of holiday or no holiday.   I found the near-exact crystals at Michael's and I found this McCall's pattern:

Similar, but not identical, so out came the scissors, tape and paper.  (Yeah, I want this dress that bad.  I also love a good challenge.)

'So, what's so Edwardian about this dress?' you might ask: Hand applied beading and working with silk.  While I cut the bulk of this from a gorgeous black rayon from my stash, I did end up buying 1 yard of black silk dupioni on sale.

'Wait!,'  you say.  You bought something?!  What household bill did you pay?!  I paid on my dental bill and negotiated a more do-able payment arrangement.  Black silk is worth all that.  Yes.