Regency Picnic Dress Project - Dress

Second in my Regency outfit project series is the dress. Originally, I had wanted to make it based on Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction, c. 1660-1860, the 1806-2809 Frock and the 1797-1805 Morning Dress, but my attempt at a bodice muslin was a complete disaster, so I ended up making my own pattern from scratch for the bodice and sleeves, and only vaguely following POF1 1797-1805 Morning Dress for the skirt’s shape and measurements. It worked out much better than I expected. One of my fears was that my shift or stays would show, but in drafting my own pattern, I made sure this would not happen.

I made the front of the bodice gathered at neckline and under bust level, while the back lays flat. The back also has a princess line which I tried to place lower than is done on modern patterns, to make it look more period accurate (an hour of intense image Googling went into the placement of this seam). The neckline is finished with a self bias binding that doubles as a drawstring casing so the neckline can be pulled tighter (effectively avoiding me any wardrobe malfunctions).

Regency Dress - Front

The sleeves are elbow length, just like I wanted, and are ever so slightly gathered at the top.

The skirt is gathered all the way around with a 2:1 ratio. It is floor length at the front and has a train in the back. I will eventually add loops to bustle up the train (just as shown in POF1) to make it easier to wear out in the park or for general day wear; the train can be let down for the evening. I will also have to adjust the hem level once I loose my baby belly!

Regency Dress - Back

Since the skirt and bodice are gathered separately, it was difficult to keep the gathers tight enough to fit properly at the under bust level. My solution was to bind that seam in some bias tape and use this as a drawstring casing. This way, both the neckline and under bust seam can be tightened through hidden drawstrings. The visible closure consists four (real) shell nacre buttons down the centre back of the bodice.

Back closure and ties

The material I used is a tone on tone white printed cotton sheeting fabric that has been in my stash since my fashion school days. I had bought it to use in various draping, pattern making and sewing projects, but ended up only needing a little for a simple dress shirt. I remember finding it in the sale section for 3$/metre (so I had bought 5 metres), and being thrilled when I found out that this fabric was meant for bed sheets so it is 300 cm (about 90”) wide. The print on it is very small and subtle organic scrolls and is just enough to give a certain visual interest to the dress (I also have a Medievalite cotehardie cut from this fabric, to be finished eventually).

Because no project is complete without at least one major problem, I discovered after assembling my skirt panels that one of them had a toonie sized hole (about 1” for my non-Canadian readers). By that time, I no longer had enough fabric to cut a new skirt panel, so after much pondering and some support from my Facebook fans, my solution was to patch the whole and go out to buy a lace trim to cover my patch.

The hole

First I placed a piece of fabric bigger than my whole on the reverse of my fabric.

The Patch

Then, I used a piece of fusing bigger than the patch to cover it and I pressed the fusing to keep the patch in place

 Fusing on top of the patched hole

Finally, I covered the patched hole on the right side of the fabric with my lace trim.

Trim hiding the patched hole

I used the lace trim to create a design, adding a little visual interest to my skirt. I sewed a long line of lace trim from top to bottom on each back panel, at equal distances (based on the hole I had to cover), and added two more lines to the front panel, on either side. I have to say, I am happy with the result. It adds a little je ne sais quoi to the dress. As it turns out, this was a happy accident. Plus, that lace trim was just 1.29$/metre.

You already know what the end result looked like, but what the heck, here it is once more.

Regency Lady in the park

The great advantage of a plain white dress is I can accessorize however I want to create different looks! Maybe I’ll even wear it for Yule / Christmas with a red shawl!

Regency Picnic Dress Project - Underwear

As promised, here is (finally) a series of posts on the items making up my Regency outfit (now that you have seen pictures of the actual result as worn at the picnic). I know, I know, I should have posted progress pictures earlier, but hey, I’m pregnant, which is the best excuse to be lazy, whatever the situation!

First up, underwear.

For this project, I wanted to make period underwear for a change. As mentioned before, I love historical costuming, but other than some white t-tunics for my SCA wear, I have never bothered before with underpinnings, though I keep telling myself I will. And this time, I did! Since I am pregnant, I couldn’t go with a long corset or stays (which is also why I went for Regency instead of my favourite 1750’s look). Researching for this outfit, I discovered half stays, and I ended up buying Sense and Sensibility Regency Underthings pattern (in PDF format). I used it to make both my shift and half stays.

Shift

Shift & Short Stays

Another thing I should point out about this project is that I tried to use material from my stash as much as possible, to avoid spending too much on fabric. That is why my shift is made of poly cotton poplin, while I used draping muslin for the lining of my stays, some thickly woven polyester for the interlining and matte satin for the fashion layer (and I have no clue what these fabrics were used for originally – I just found them in one of my bins - though I think the matte satin is from the wedding dress I made a friend five years ago.

The boning used for my half stays is tie-wraps (I find they are the best – besides, it’s not like I get to wear these undies often anyways). I did “splurge” on bias tape for binding both my stays and the neckline of my shift, and I also bought plenty of cheap white ribbon to use as drawstrings, and even some shoe laces for the same purpose.

Not period accurate? I don’t care! I was going for proper shape, not historical accuracy – everything is machine sewn, and I even serged all the seams of my shift instead of making flat felled seams like the pattern suggested.

But hey, I did do the eyelets on my stays by hand; that must count for something! (It was my first attempt at making hand sewn eyelets, so not one of them looks like the other, but again, one learns through practice and experience).

Short Stays - Front 

Short Stays - Back

My biggest challenge for the stays was making it fit properly; try as I may to fit it tightly on myself, the end result is just slightly too big (but still wearable). And this is why I was happy I didn’t invest in expensive fabrics for my first attempt; you can’t feel too bad if you don’t do well with leftovers. Another thing is, those v-shaped inserts to make the cups terrified me - that is, until I figured out they were no more complicated than a welt pocket (of which I had to make many in fashion school), and then they became very easy.

All in all, I am satisfied with my first ever period underwear. And a plus: I can wear my shift with earlier styles as well! So my next period underwear project will be a pair of 18th century stays.

P.S. In case you wonder, I did not go commando under that shift. The half stays may have replaced a modern bra, but there was no way I was leaving the house without wearing some briefs. There is a limit (for me) to historical accuracy!

Costumer's Picnic 2012

You may recall me mentioning a while back that Nancy-Raven and I were planning a costumed picnic this summer. The picnic was held last Saturday. I was unable to post my costume progress along the way, but I will make item specific posts soon (basically once all the items have been laundered – it was hot, and sitting on grass will stain white dresses). For now, let me share pictures of the picnic itself.

There were only 5 of us at l’Île-des-Moulins: Nancy-Raven, her Sweetie (who does not wish for his picture to be published, so I blurred out his face in the photos he appears in) and 7 months old son, my 3 ½ years old daughter and myself. Other people had expressed the wish to come but unfortunately had to work on the weekend (maybe next year). As it was a lovely day, we got many requests for pictures (mostly from French tourists - I was surprised there were so many of them in my small town), and quite a few stares; there were also a few comments about our strollers not matching our outfits (too modern), but to hell with them. Strollers are practical and period ones are expensive!

 

My daughter

Looking at the lake

 

Here, ducky!

Regency Lady

Kneeling

33 weeks pregnant and showing

18th Century Family

Mother and Son

Birthday card! (with a certificate stating her gift is a pair of Black Pompadours from American Duchess)

Fencing with sticks

Mother & Daughter

Another Mother & Daughter pose

The Ladies of the Picnic

Cutesy!

Hitching a ride

On last adorable toddler picture for the road

Lets do this again soon!

Taking vintage to the next level

It was recently my birthday, and I received a most wondrous gift.

Janome Hand crank, model 131 - Boxed

It is a Janome Hand crank, model 131. I cannot find a date for it yet, but I am searching. Hand crank lockstitch machines, as I have found, date back to the second half of the 19th century. I have a feeling that this one was made relatively recently though. For one thing, it uses bobbins. Secondly, the company Janome only begun using that name in 1956. Since this name is printed in great big letters on the machine, I should imagine it is not older than 1956. But it is beautiful, all decorated like models from the early 20th century, so it is not all that important.

Janome Hand crank, model 131 - Front

It is cast iron and it is HEAVY! I have no clue how to thread it yet, but I will figure it out. And from now on, power outages will no longer slow down my progress when I'm rushing to finish a project!

 

Janome Hand crank, model 131 - Back

Actually, the first project I would like to make with it is a Victorian bathing suit. It would be so fitting!

Star Wars on a Dime (or my first/worse costume)

Today American Duchess posted about her first costume piece, and it made me realize I had never shared mine here!

I was in scouts for a long time. In 2000, the theme for the Beaver’s summer camp was Star Wars (and the fact that Episode 1 had just been released on DVD had nothing to do with it, I’m sure ). For the Saturday night evening, everyone was to have a costume. So I spent the week before the camp making costumes for most of the adults, as they were all family members and close friends. I only made robes though.

I made a total of six robes that week: three brown robes for Jedi, one short off-white robe for my dad to wear under his brown robe, one short black robe for our Darth Maul and a red Queen Amidala robe.

My Amidala costume consisted of a long red summer dress with tan floral motif and red hooded robe with gold trim. For my hair, I put them up in two buns and covered my forehead with an old black and gold lamé scarf that used to belong to my mother. Add the make-up et Voilà! An instant Amidala.

The Jedi costume was a brown robe worn over the guy’s own karate uniform. Those were the days before digital cameras, so the only picture I have was scanned back then.

Queen Amidala and a Jedi

All the robes were made with cheap poplin in the different colours I mentioned (red, brown, black and off-white).

The gold trim for my robe came from three different leftovers, previously used in art projects and Christmas decorations.

Simplicity 8311

I used Simplicity 8311 view A for the long robes and view B for the short ones. I added a hood from Butterick 4319 which I have had since I was a kid.

I used to have that picture of me in my notebook in CEGEP and everyone who saw it complimented me. To anyone who is not a costume addict, this was EXACTLY what the Queen wore in the movie!

This, people, is the proof that we all have to start somewhere. Usually, that somewhere is way down there on the quality and accuracy scale, but it is taking the first step that counts, and then continuing on walking.

P.S. The Jedi next to me in the picture did not give his permission for the picture to be posted so I cut out his face. And this has NOTHING to do with the fact that he's my ex!

Raggedy Rock Skirts

A friend of mine is preparing her second show at the Studio-Théâtre of Place des Arts with the Week-ends de la chanson Quebecor. As she is a fan of Amy Lee (Evanescence), she had asked me some time ago (I am too embarrassed to say how long, so don’t even ask) to make her a skirt in inspired by the singer’s style. She even gave me an old tulle skirt and some material to work with.

   

Amy Lee (Evanescence)

I finally delivered the promised skirt earlier this month.

  

 Raggedy Skirt

I am happy to say she loved it and told me she would wear it for the promo shoot (I can’t wait to see those pictures). It was a fun, creative project to work on. I even got to practice some distressing techniques on it! (The picture really doesn't do it justice.)

Because I felt so guilty about just how long it took me to get to that project, I decided to make her a second skirt, using an organza tutu as a base and my bag of fabric scraps for decorations. (I had made the tutu to go under my latest Irish dancing dress, only to decide it didn’t look good, meaning it had been in my closet, unused, for at least 2 years.)

  

 Fairy Skirt

I spent one evening pinning fabric pieces to the waistband (while watching Doctor Who) until I was satisfied with the look. Then I sewed everything on in crooked lines in different colours of thread, using the technique referred to as “Chaos stitching” in many early Threadbanger videos. She loved that skirt as well and said she would wear it to work! (She works in a magick store, so they have a different dress code). 

And yes, I still felt guilty… so I made her a hair fascinator.

  

Gothic Black Fascinator

 I made it following this Craftovision tutorial:

  

My sweetheart couldn’t help himself. As soon as he saw it, her asked what kind of a dead thing it was this time (in reference to my Funky Feather Fascinator which he nicknamed “The dead Parrot”, and the Gothic Phoenix Feather Fascinator I made Nancy-Raven, renamed “The dead Rooster”). What I was calling the Gothic Black Fascinator became “The dead crow”. Why thank you honey! 

Those were the projects I just HAD to work on (really) before starting anything else. But now they are done, and I can focus on Regency wear to my heart’s content!

Regency Picnic Dress Project - Research

Nancy-Raven and I are planning a sort of Time Traveller’s Picnic for this summer. This means of course that I get an excuse to make a new costume since I’ll be around 7 month pregnant by then! I intend to make my first Regency outfit for the event; I would rather wear something loose fitting around my baby belly. As with any new project, I start with a ton of research – it is the best part of any project. My first source of inspiration for a regency outfit was Lis’ Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’ costume.

Lis’ Pride & Prejudice & Zombies Dress

 

Since I know very little about Regency period garb, I was glad to discover that I could make myself some half-corset that will adapt to my pregnant shape. Lis used Simplicity 4052 which is now out of print, but I am considering getting the Sense and Sensibility Regency Underthings pattern in PDF format.

Sense and Sensibility Regency Underthings pattern

This way I’ll be covered for undies. It will be my first project ever with period underwear (other than the under tunics I wear with Medieval garb). I have some cotton poplin I can use for the shift and some canvas leftover for the stays.

For the dress, I looked at many models, but the one I fell in love with is Goldenspring’s Regency Muslin Gown.

Goldenspring’s Regency Muslin Gown

I love the pleated back, the train, and the sleeves! I am quite self conscious about my figure (as I may or may not have stated many times before) and my upper arms are no exception. Short cap sleeves as we usually see on dresses inspired by that era are not really my thing, but above the elbow sleeves are quite perfect. To make the pattern, I am aiming to use patterns from Patterns of Fashion 1, the bottom of the 1797-1805 Morning Dress and the bodice and sleeves of the 1806-2809 Frock (pages 48-49 of Patterns of Fashion 1), combined with Simplicity 4055 as a base and MacGyver something out of all of this. Let’s hope the results are good.

 

Janet Arnold, 1797-1805 Morning Dress, Patterns of Fashion 1, page 48

Janet Arnold, 1806-2809 Frock, Patterns of Fashion 1, page 48

Fabric wise, I wanted some sort of cotton, maybe English Lace, but I discovered that I have enough leftover of this white cotton sheeting with tiny white organic print to make that dress, so I won’t even have to spend on fabric.

 Cotton Sheeting for Regency dress

I used to think bonnets were ridiculous, but now I find myself itching to make many. I found this video tutorial on how to make a poke bonnet through  Lis’ Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’ page, made by the Oregon Regency Society.

I know someone who is going to get a couple of straw hats the next time she is at Magie du Dollar! (I want to make one for my daughter also).

Next I’ll need shoes. I found these on Etsy which look awesome.

 Original Design Black Leather Regency Shoes

What I intend to do though is find a pair of cheap ballet flats and add satin ribbons to them so I can lace them up like period shoes.

The last item I’ll need to make is a reticule purse. This seems fairly easy so I am not worrying about it yet (meaning, knowing me, that I’ll be making it the day of – just you watch me!).

Now for the really hard decision: what colour should I go for for the accessories? I have a beautiful Pashmina shawl in purple and olive green which would look lovely...

Purple and Olive Green Pashmina Shawl

...but I was also thinking of using this steel blue pin tucked taffeta I have leftover for my bonnet. 

 Steel Blue Pin Tucked Taffeta

Which colour should I choose? If I match to the Pashmina, I could look for gold or green fabric for my bonnet, trim it with purple gros grain ribbon, and wear my gold flats. If I choose the taffeta, I would add light pink ribbons and flowers to my bonnet, and I could probably find a similar Pashmina in blue and silver. Plus, I was thinking of eventually making a Spencer type jacket out of that taffeta. 

Decisions, decisions…