1790s Open Robe

I know I promised you updates weeks ago, but my life got a little crazy. My husband and I rather abruptly decided to move out of the apartment we've been in for the past few years and into a lovely and much larger house. The good news is I now have a much nicer sewing space; the bad news is my free time in the last few weeks has been taken up by all the fuss of packing, moving, unpacking and settling into our new home. No time for blogging!

As 2013 draws to a close, I want to catch up on all the sewing I've done since the summer so I can start fresh with regular blogging in the new year. My last proper post was just before Costume College, so let's start there!

Since I made the decision to attend Costume College rather late in the year, I didn't have much time to make clothes specifically for it. Luckily, I had made several new dresses earlier in the year that would work well for some of the events. My Gibson girl ball gown would be perfect for the Gala, my striped bustle day dress would be lovely for the Sunday Tea, and my red barmaid dress would be fun to wear during the day. The one event that I felt unprepared for was the Ice Cream Social. I wanted something somewhat formal, without being a ball gown. The only thing I had that was even close was my white muslin dress, but it wasn't quite right either. It was pretty, but a little bland. To dress it up a bit, I decided to make a sort of open robe to wear with it.

The vision in my head was for something along the lines of the following fashion plates:

1794

1797

I can't find a date for this one, but probably 1797-1800. 

1800

As you might recall from the post about my turban, I was lucky to find a great fabric for my robe at Discount Fabrics. 

Here's the fabric with my shoe again.

While researching the common shapes and construction of this style of garment, I came across an extant robe made from a textile that clearly evoked my chosen fabric:

Royal Ontario Museum, 1801

(I can't link directly to the item page. If you go to their image database page and search for accession #2004.33.1 you can view more images.)

Back detail

I modeled the cut and styling of my robe on this one, using the pattern from my muslin dress as a base. I lined the bodice and sleeves in a tan cotton/linen blend, but left the skirt/train unlined. I ended up cutting my train much shorter than the original garment, as I didn't want to be tripping on it all night. I also made wider straps for the front closure. 

Without further ado, here is the finished product:

This is also the first proper picture I have of the white dress with its long sleeves. My accessories include a draped turban, an embroidered reticule, and my turquoise Pemberley shoes. I'm rather pleased with the overall look, but there are a few details I would like to change if I decide to wear it again. The front straps need to be angled differently; they rode up as the night wore on and didn't sit smoothly. Also, the sleeves should be an inch or two shorter to make the proportions work. But for something I threw together in a week or so, I feel pretty good about it!

At the Ice Cream Social, I posed with a couple of other lovely ladies who showed up in similar styles: 

With Aubry and Jen

Jen and I even had matching shoes!

Costume College was a wonderful time. I can't wait for next year! But when I came back, I hit the ground running with several more costumes. Stick around to see what else I've been up to...

Regency Reticule

As I continue to build my Regency wardrobe, I have found myself in need of a reticule. Since those flimsy, figure-hugging Regency gowns leave no room for pockets, a girl needs a place to put her fan and handkerchief, to say nothing of the anachronistic necessities of cell phone, car keys, and such.

Small decorative bags were all the rage during this period. They tended to be rather fanciful in shape, their pointed, geometric outlines highlighted by embroidery, tassels, and other embellishment.

Early 19th century, MFA Boston

This particularly fabulous example is actually four-sided; each side has a different central motif. Click the link above to see pictures of the other sides. 

As I hunted for inspiration in online museum collections, I noticed a common theme in the reticules that I was drawn to: most of them were white/off-white and decorated with colorful embroidery. Certainly there are many examples of brightly colored reticules, but the white ones seem a bit more common and were the ones that caught my eye.

1800-1824, V&A 

This is one of my favorites. So many tassels!!

1790-1800, V&A

A slightly earlier example with very ornate embroidery. You can see how these little bags would have easily developed from 18th century pockets. 

1820-1830, V&A

Yes, this is a bit later, but I love the embroidery. 

After ogling all these pretties, I just knew my bag would be white. The current Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge happens to be a white theme — what a convenient coincidence!

I was lucky to pick up a half-yard remnant of creamy off-white silk taffeta for about $3 at Discount Fabrics a few weeks ago (there were tape marks along part of it, so they gave me a steep discount off the remnant pricing). Perfect for this project, since I can easily cut around them!

I chose a simple shape, typical of the period: basically a rectangle with a triangle at the bottom, like the one shown here:

The shape narrows at the top because of the drawstring. 

For the embroidery pattern, I poked around online to find a motif that evoked the style of embroidery seen on originals — something delicate, scrolling, and floral — and found one I quite like. I would share it here, but I can't seem to find either the image itself or the website I got it from. Sorry!

I chose embroidery floss colors that seemed period appropriate, then started stitching. I am a very inexperienced embroiderer, so I just made stuff up as I went along. The stems were done in split stitch, the flowers drawn with outline stitch, and most of the rest is some kind of satin stitch. I realized after the fact that chain stitch might have been more appropriate, but I'm still fairly pleased with the result:

The bag is lined in lightweight white cotton. The tassels are handmade from sz. 30 silk thread, and the drawstrings are 5/8" silk satin ribbon.

All in all, a very simple and satisfying project! 

The details:

The Challenge: #15 — Colour Challenge White

Fabric: Off-white silk taffeta, white cotton for lining

Pattern: improvised

Year: 1790s-1820s 

Notions: DMC cotton floss, sz. 30 silk thread, 1-1/2 yd 5/8" silk ribbon

How historically accurate is it? Fairly accurate, to the best of my knowledge. I know next to nothing about period embroidery, so the stitches or floss may be wrong. The farbics are good, the construction is plausible, and it is entirely hand-sewn. I would say at least 7 out of 10 for accuracy. 

Hours to complete: 4-5 hours for the embroidery, plus about 2 for construction. 

First worn: will be used at Costume College 2013

Total cost: around $12 (about $3 for the silk remnant of which I used only a tiny portion, $4.25 for the silk thread, and about $4 for the silk ribbon — cotton lining and embroidery floss were from my stash)

Long Sleeves for Mrs. Bennet

Months after making my Regency muslin dress, I went back and sewed a pair of long sleeves that can be attached to the dress for daywear, just like the ones that go with the dress from Patterns of Fashion 2 I used as a model. I sewed the sleeves back in May for a Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge, but couldn't very well post about them without posting about the dress first. So here is my very late entry for HSF Challenge #10 — Literature: a pair of long sleeves for Mrs. Bennet.

I don't have a picture of them with the dress yet — this will have to do!

Like pretty much every woman I've ever met, I'm a huge Jane Austen nut. I read Pride and Prejudice more often than I would care to admit, and am well on my way to knowing the whole book by heart. When I set out to make my long sleeves, my mind immediately jumped to one of the rare instances when Austen alludes to fashion in the book. It's such a minor reference that many people probably wouldn't notice it, but it tickles me every time I read it. Mrs. Bennet is complaining to her visiting sister about the disappointment of her daughter Elizabeth's recent refusal of an offer of marriage:

“I do not blame Jane," she continued, "for Jane would have got Mr. Bingley if she could. But Lizzy! Oh, sister! It is very hard to think that she might have been Mr. Collins's wife by this time, had it not been for her own perverseness. He made her an offer in this very room, and she refused him. The consequence of it is, that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before I have, and that the Longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever. The Lucases are very artful people indeed, sister. They are all for what they can get. I am sorry to say it of them, but so it is. It makes me very nervous and poorly, to be thwarted so in my own family, and to have neighbours who think of themselves before anybody else. However, your coming just at this time is the greatest of comforts, and I am very glad to hear what you tell us, of long sleeves.”

The abrupt transition at the end of the speech, Mrs. Bennet's ability to be comforted by something so trivial as the fashion for long sleeves, shows us that her nervous distress over her unmarried daughters is just as superficial as most of her other worries and complaints throughout the book. She is thoroughly vain and silly, without a serious thought in her head. Every time I wear these long sleeves, I will try to remember to be a little more grounded and sensible than Mrs. Bennet. Here are the details:

The Challenge: #10 — Literature

Fabric: spotted white muslin

Pattern: adapted from Patterns of Fashion 2

Year: the dress these were patterned from is dated 1798-1804

Notions: white cotton thread

How historically accurate is it? Very accurate. The pattern was taken from an original garment, the fabric is very similar to original textiles, and they were sewn by hand. 

Hours to complete: 2 hours

First worn: Will be worn to some unknown future Regency event

Total cost: Cut from the leftover fabric from the dress, so a couple of dollars

Regency Muslin Dress

As I continue to play catch-up on blogging about my recent sewing projects, let's take a look at my Regency muslin dress:

Front 

(Yes, that's my blue late 1830s ballgown hanging in the back again. Anyone else have issues with costume storage?)

Back 

I made this dress back in February/March to wear to a Jane Austen ball, but never got around to posting about it. As I mentioned in my planning post, I based my dress on the 1798-1804 Morning Dress in Patterns of Fashion 2. When I scaled up the pattern, I found that the original dress was made for a tiny person, so I had to add quite a lot to every piece of the bodice to get it to fit me. 

Here you can see my pattern pieces with the tiny original pattern pieces on top (note that my pieces have seam allowance added, the original pieces do not):

You can see I had to enlarge the pieces quite a bit!

My fabric is a spotted muslin from Britex Fabrics. The bodice is lined with the same medium-weight linen I used for my Regency shift. 

I knew from the beginning that I would sew my dress completely by hand. My feeling was that the lightness and delicacy of the original muslin dresses could not be captured with machine sewing. Besides, I wanted to learn about the construction of garments from this period, and the particular way the seams are sewn would have been impossible by machine. I gleaned as much as I could from my costume books, and relied heavily on the various sewing techniques shared by Katherine at The Fashionable Past. In the end, it didn't take as long as I thought it would, it was very pleasant sewing, and the results were just as I hoped. I think I'll stick with hand-sewing for all my future Regency projects. 

I wore the dress over my shift and stays, along with a bodiced petticoat that I don't have photos of yet. I also wore my Pemberley shoes, a matching vintage taffeta ribbon as a sash, and some coordinating costume jewelry. 

Here it is in action:

Photo courtesy of Kim Yasuda (you can see more of her pictures from the evening here)

The dress was comfortable and easy to wear, though getting into it was not as simple as I had hoped. Pinning the bib in place was a real challenge, especially trying to keep the pins from showing on the outside. There was an aesthetic issue with the bib as well: the thin, sheer fabric, while very delicate and pretty, allowed every wrinkle and seam from my underpinnings to show through in the tight bust area. Was this just part of the look in the period, or should I re-make the bib in some way to give it more opacity? I am thinking some fullness and gathers would help a little. 

Also, the dress needs to be shortened before I try dancing in it again. It just grazes the floor when I move, which is very pretty, but not very convenient on a modern dance floor. At the ball, while I was being escorted off the floor after a dance, someone following too close behind me trod on my hem and pulled most of those tight gathers out of the back of my skirt! Luckily a kind stranger was able to pin me back together in the dressing room, but I learned my lesson. I think hacking off an inch or so will prevent that problem from occurring again.

Regency Hat

A little late in posting, I present to you my submission for HSF Challenge #8: By the Sea. I'm so caught up in finishing my Gibson Girl evening gown for this weekend that I've had very little time for other sewing. I struggled to come up with something that would meet the requirements of the challenge, but not take up too much of my valuable sewing time. Then I had a sudden inspiration: the silk I am using for the dress is a lovely blue-green that reminds me of the sea. I have plenty of extra fabric, so I decided to use some of it for a quick and easy seaside project.

I happened to read this lovely blog post on Austenprose after following a link posted to the HSF Facebook group, and decided that a Regency era hat would be just the thing. Fashionable headgear would have been de rigeur for any lady visiting a watering place such as Brighton. What else would she wear while strolling along the shore? Something jaunty and a bit sporty would suit the seaside mood perfectly. 

In my internet-surfing search for inspiration, I came upon this post by Catherine at Koshka the Cat detailing the construction of her adorable red silk capote. Scrounging about in my stash, I procured all the other necessary materials, then whipped up my own version. 

Without further ado, here it is, my sea-blue promenade capote:

The details:

The Challenge: #8 — By the Sea

Fabric: Blue-green silk taffeta leftover from my Gibson Girl dress

Pattern: This wonderful tutorial from Koshka the Cat

Year: 1790s-1810s

Notions: buckram, millinery wire, and cotton flannel interlining for brim; tarlatan interlining and cotton voile lining for crown; beautiful vintage ribbon, white and sheer with pale seafoam picot edge

How historically accurate is it? I must confess, I have not done extensive research for this project, so I cannot attest to its accuracy. I trust Catherine's accuracy standards, and Timely Tresses sells a pattern for a very similar hat, and I trust their research standards as well. My best guess is that this is fairly accurate. 

Hours to complete: 6 hours

First worn: Will be worn to some unknown, hopefully seaside, future Regency event

Total cost: I spent about $20 on the ribbon, everything else came from my stash

Painted Pemberleys

I present to you my submission for HSF Challenge #4 - Embellish: my new American Duchess "Pemberley" shoes, painted in the style of the late 1790s.

I guess technically there's not much "sew" in this Historical Sew Fortnightly entry. It still counts, right?



The Challenge: #4 —Embellish

Fabric: none

Pattern: No pattern, but I based my design on historical examples

Year: 1790-1810

Notions: Angelus leather paints, deglazer, and finisher (available from American Duchess or Dharma Trading Company); 5/8" rayon petersham ribbon for binding; 1/4" rayon petersham for covering the seams (available from Britex Fabrics); 30 wt. silk thread for pompoms (also available from Britex Fabrics); shoe clips; antique metal buttons

How historically accurate is it? I would say pretty good. The shoes are painstakingly designed to be as close as possible to originals in appearance, though they are obviously made with modern materials and techniques. My trims were pretty good — the ribbon is rayon instead of silk, but the silk thread and buttons are as accurate as can be. The shoe clip hardware is obviously inaccurate, but was much simpler than trying to sew through the shoes. The style of embellishment was based closely on historical examples, as you will see below.

Hours to complete: around 7

First worn: will be worn Saturday March 2 to the PEERS Jane Austen Ball

Total cost: $75 for the shoes, $20 for the trimming, and $30 for the paints and supplies to a grand total of $125

Here's some more information on the planning and execution:

As soon as I started planning my Regency dress, I knew that I would need appropriate footwear, and where else can one procure such things besides American Duchess? I've had my eye on the Pemberleys for awhile, since they are literally the only available option for an historically accurate early 19th century shoe. I had a hard time getting excited about them, however, until I came across Lauren's excellent tutorial on decorating them. In white, the shoe is rather bland and looks a bit like a 1980s bridal slipper, but with some paint and creativity, I could turn this plain (though elegant) little white shoe into something truly spectacular.

I immediately immersed myself in researching period examples. As lovely as these shoes look in solid colors, I soon discovered that bold stenciled patterns were all the rage in the late 1790s and early 1800s. These intricate patterns were usually executed in black over soft pastels, lending the delicate, flowerlike colors some depth and sophistication. Here are a few period examples that inspired me:

1780-1800 V&A

These are my favorites. When I saw these, I knew that my shoes absolutely must have floppy silk pompom-tassels. The black trim is super chic and makes the bubblegum color surprisingly sophisticated.

1790-1800 Manchester Art Gallery

I preferred the color palette of these, however, since I tend to wear a lot more greens and blues. You can also see my inspiration for the tiny stripes, though in this case they are actually leather applique instead of paint. 

1785-1805 Metropolitan Museum

Here's another variation on the pastel-with-black color scheme, in a slipper that is very close to the Pemberley in shape. 

1795-1810 Metropolitan Museum

One last example to show that my stripes are plausible. Again, notice how close the shape is to the Pemberley. 

Initially I wanted to do an allover stenciled motif like the pink and yellow shoes above, maybe small flowers or something geometric. I soon realized, however, that this plan would a) take forever and b) leave a lot of room for error. The period examples I was so enamored with were made from leather that had been painted and stenciled while flat -- trying to replicate the look on all the curved surfaces of an already-made shoe would be treacherous. With encouragement from my husband, whose taste I always trust in such matters, I decided that a simple stripe pattern would be easier, faster, and safer, without sacrificing any style.

Here are some pictures of the process:

The white shoes, stripped of their factory finish and awaiting their first coat of paint.

This picture shows the color saturation after one coat. As Lauren demonstrated in her tutorial, I applied the paint in thin coats, allowing each to dry before applying the next. That first coat looked awfully streaky and splotchy, but don't worry, the additional coats smooth it out!

Here are the shoes with two more coats of blue. See, smooth even color!

After the blue paint dried thoroughly, I used narrow painter's tape from the craft store to mark off my stripes,

then applied the black paint.

While the paint was still wet, I carefully peeled off the tape, which unfortunately let in lots of paint under the edges, and pulled off some spots of the base paint :(

About an hour's worth of retouching made the stripes look sharper.

I next painted the heels and the edges of the soles.

After the paint dried overnight, I applied a clear finisher to seal it in, then bound the edges in black petersham, which also covered the side and back seams. The ribbon was applied with Fabri-Tac.

The tassels were interesting to make. At first, I thought I would make a classic pompom, like you might put on a knitted hat. The period examples that I saw, however, were flatter and more drapey than a true pompom. After some experimentation, I decided on the following method:

I wrapped a goodly bit of 30 wt. silk thread around 3 fingers,

then tied a piece firmly around the middle, leaving a cluster of thread loops,

which I then cut to release the fringe.

I made two bundles for each shoe, stacking them thus,

stitched them to a shoe clip, and added an antique metal button. Voila!

I couldn't be happier with these shoes. They turned out just the way I wanted them. Now I need to hurry up and sew my dress so I have something to wear them with!


Here's an extra tidbit for the challenge: you may have noticed another pair of shoes in the background of some of these pictures. While waiting for coats of paint to dry on my Pemberleys, I was also painting a pair of Astorias that I ordered at the same time. I wanted them in black, but they were sold out in my size. I was worried about painting an ivory shoe such a dark color, so I decided on a soft dove grey instead.

Cute, don't you think? I wore them to work today, and they were very comfortable. All my coworkers at the fabric store loved them!

I have been sewing this week, I promise. I'll post a few pictures in a day or two once my dress is looking more dress-like. I have to hustle if I'm going to have it done by Saturday!!

Regency Dress Planning

I've been busy this week!

My Regency white muslin dress is well underway. I decided some time ago that I wanted it to be a drop-front dress. Also known as a bib-front, this style of dress was popular from around 1795 to 1812 or so. The construction allows the dress to close in the front (making it easier to dress oneself) without a visible closure to interfere with the smooth Grecian silhouette that was popular in those years. One of my inspiration dresses from a previous post is a nice example of the style:

Lovely muslin dress from the Metropolitan Museum (more pictures)

For a good explanation of how this dress style works, and some excellent illustrations, take a look at this post from The Hungarian Chick. This extant dress at Vintage Textile also shows the style in action.

Once I decided on the general style, I spent hours poring over Costume in Detail and Patterns of Fashion to pin down exactly what I wanted my dress to do. My favorite inspiration dress is this one from the Snowshill Collection, documented in Costume in Detail on pg 89-90:

From the National Trust Collections (more details here)

There is nothing spectacular about this dress — it is perfectly typical. It has a bit of interest added with drawn-thread work on the bib, but is otherwise very simple. The shape of the bodice pieces is very close to the 1798-1804 Morning Dress in Patterns of Fashion, so I decided to base my bodice on that pattern. The pattern also has the sleeve I want: a short puff sleeve that is suitable for evening wear with a detachable long undersleeve for day wear. The skirt, however, will be more like the dress pictured above (less full, no train).

For fabric, I found a lovely spotted muslin at Britex. I am lining the bodice and sleeve puffs with the white linen leftover from my shift. Here are the two fabrics side-by-side:

Since I have no experience with drawn thread work, I will probably use lace insertion to decorate the bib instead. For now, I am working on putting together the bodice. Did I mention that I will be sewing the entire dress by hand? As soon as I have the bodice finished, I'll post some pictures.

I've spent a lot of time this week on another project: my Gibson Girl evening gown, but I'll save that for another post.