Modern Sewing: Arenite Pants & Plantain T-Shirt

One of my sewing goals this year is to learn how to sew with knit fabric. While I have attempted a few small projects in the past, I never really knew what I was doing and I didn't take time to learn proper techniques. For a long time, my goal in sewing was to sew as much as possible as fast as possible! I have really slowed down the past few years and that has been a really, really good thing. Quality over quantity! It really has been such a huge leap forward for me and I feel like my projects now are much better than they used to be back when I sewed like crazy all the time. Now, I feel ready to tackle this mysterious area of sewing and to try to do it slowly and thoroughly and to learn as much as I can about it.

I love the idea of a handmade wardrobe and over the last year or two I have been thinking about the concept of capsule wardrobes and having a few staple items that can be worn in different combinations for different looks. I haven't had time to focus much on my own day to day wear. I hate spending money on clothes and even going to second hand shops is rare these days as I always have a number of kids in tow and limited time to look and try things on! So, my wardrobe has been pared down again and again til now I have a half dozen leggings in dark neutral colors, a few shirts and cardigans and a couple of skirts or dresses that rarely come out these days. The majority of these things are all many years old!

I don't love any of my clothes with the exception of my kaftan dresses - I do wear those frequently! For the past few months I've known that I'm at the point where I really need to replace most of my garments. In the past I'd make vintage or historical style dresses for myself out of quilters cotton and while the outfits were sort of cute, I just. . .can't wear those anymore. I hate the feel of stiff cottons and I hate wearing anything remotely tight. I got used to leggings or yoga pants during my last few pregnancies and stretchy, soft, drapey fabrics are now what I love! haha ;)

I bought some material over the past few months and kept it on a shelf waiting for the days when I'd have enough historic sewing finished I could focus on modern sewing. I finally had time to make a few things this past week while the kids were on Easter break. These were pretty quick projects and it was nice to take a very necessary break from hand sewing since my finger tips have become so raw lately that they were bleeding at the slightest pin prick.

So, I made a pair of pants from the new Arenite Pants sewing pattern by Sew Liberated. I have followed Meg's blog since she was Montessori by Hand and I have loved and been inspired by all of her sewing over the years. I was thrilled when she announced she was releasing this pattern this spring and waited eagerly for it over the winter! The day it came out I got my copy, had it printed at Staples and then waited another week before I had time to trace off my size and get to work on the pants. I made these in sz. 4 with no modifications as my measurements matched that size. For next time, I am going to go up a size in width and a few in length, I think! While these pants still came out great (I love all of the wonderful seam finishing techniques described in the pattern!) they are a bit short in the leg and I think I'd prefer a baggier fit since these do pull at the knee a little when I'm squatting or kneeling (something I do a lot of with little ones in the house).

I really love these pants and allowed myself the joy of throwing out one of my older and worn out leggings after completing them. ;) Then, I decided I'd reuse the fabric of the leggings and used it to line a sports bra I made using the Noelle Halter Bralette.

Like some other sewers who have used this pattern, my measurements matched the size M but I ended up  making the XS since the M was far too large. Even the XS is a little big, especially in the band but definitely still useable. The outer fabric is a thin grey knit and the lining is made from my old leggings. I did not follow the instructions given on how to sew this together and made it more like a sports bra than a fancy one. . .it's perfectly suited for me and my very plain, fairly active lifestyle though, and will wear well, I think. Since I have a super small band (28"! olord its hard to find anything in that band size!) I had to add a piece of elastic at the bottom of it to make it fit me better. Next time I'll take an inch off each side of the pattern and see if that helps with the band size. The finished bra isn't super supportive but perfectly fine for working out, wear around the house or use as a sleeping bra.

I made some new panties from the hipster pattern by Make Bra. While I have made a few pairs of underwear for myself a few years back (and actually still wear and use them!) it is time for new ones. I detest shopping for panties. They never fit right at all. My current store-bought ones are okayish but are baggy in the butt and the elastic at the top edge is uncomfortable. These test pair from the hipster pattern came out great and fit perfectly. I was thilled! I used FOE to finish the leg openings and top opening and these were so fast to make. Full butt coverage that isn't baggy, a waist edge that hits a few inches below the belly button and a smooth fit.

The last thing I made was something I was terrified of trying - a t shirt. But I really want to learn to make a good, basic t shirt since I wear them almost every day. This one is the Plantain T Shirt by Deer and Doe. It is fitted at the top and flares out in a swingy shape around the waist and hips. I don't find this style especially flattering but I was really happy with how easy it was to make and especially like the neckband. The scoop neckline is also just perfect! I love this neckline shape. The pattern comes with long or 3/4 sleeve options and my next shirt will use the 3/4 sleeve length. Now that I've had a little practice with this one I feel less nervous about my next one!

So. . .now I have a few new items for my wardrobe and they cost very little to make and took very little time to sew. I am now feeling excited about thinking about a few more pieces that I can make and wear frequently. I just purchased the Otari Hoodie pattern by Scroop Patterns and I need to make 1 or more before baseball games start on the 24th! That one will be a challenge for me - knit fabrics, a separating zipper and lined pockets! But I'm so very much looking forward to trying it out!

Love,
Sarah

Seamed Stockings

I took a little break from my other sewing projects to make a pair of stockings for myself for this months Historical Sew Monthly challenge: Comfort at home. Make something to wear around the historical house! While this is not the project I first planned for this challenge, I am so pleased that I took the time to make these and they will be certainly be worn a lot. And even better, now I know that I can make stockings and can make more anytime I need some!

These stockings are sewn from The Dreamstress' Rosalie stocking pattern. The stockings are cut all in one piece, darts sewn to fit at the heel and they were fast (even for a novice to knit fabrics, like me) and easy to make. I think the fabric I chose for mine is a little thin, as it was fiddly and wiggly, but a thicker fabric with less lengthwise stretch should make these even easier next time.

This style of stocking can be convincingly worn with 18th-19th century fashions. While I plan to use mine mostly for 1860's, I will probably use these for 18th century too, once I get my outfit finished! (soon).

I finished the edge of these with elastic which seems like a good choice as they stay up quite well. Next time, though, I will just hem them plain and use garters at the knee.

What the Item Is: Sewn stockings
Material: Cotton blend knit fabric
Pattern: Rosalie pattern
Year: Early to mid Victorian for my purposes, but can go up or down a few decades!
Notions: Thin elastic
How historically accurate? Not really completely accurate in terms of construction and the synthetic content in my fabric, but they give a great historically accurate look and fit well.
Hours to complete: about 1
First worn: will be worn next weekend
Total cost: oh gee, less than a yards worth of fabric. . .a few dollars?

Now I need to not wear out these stockings by wearing them around the house all the time, but that will be hard since they are so comfortable!

Love,
Sarah

1860's Clothes for the Big Boys

Oh my goodness, it is already Easter week and it's already Tuesday! And the week after Easter is our first 1860's event. I have been sewing for the kids like crazy in every spare bit of time. Of course, it's frustrating when you don't really have a lot of spare time. And now we are a few weeks into baseball season and the little bit of spare time I used to have has vanished. So I gotta stay up late and get up early to get any sewing time in.

Spring has come so slowly and quietly this year. Winter is loathe to leave.
It is a beautiful transitional season.

The boys are mostly outfitted enough to get by til hot weather and this week I wanted to work on getting the girls kits rounded out. But I had counted on Judah being able to wear last years trousers and, well, it's not going to work. So a pair of half finished new trousers are in progress on the sewing table and I'm trying to convince myself that yes, I can make all the things the little girls will need in the few days after Easter. (honestly, they don't need much. . .new stays for Anne and possibly a new long sleeved dress and new chemise/drawers and possibly a itty bitty hoop for Rose as she will soon be 3. But a hoop isn't necessary at all and I can push that project off for later this spring if I have to.)

Anyway, this post is about the clothes we've made for the oldest two boys. They are definitely not little anymore. While it's sad to see how fast they grow and to look back on photos from only a few years ago when they were tiny, it's exciting to see them develop new interests in the reenacting community and to be able to really get into researching and developing their impressions! I really have enjoyed sewing for them lately and look forward to seeing what they do in their reenacting roles this year.

David and Judah almost 9 years ago! Oh how fast time goes. . .

For David, who is now 11, we decided together on a linen suit. If he isn't comfortable, he isn't happy. He is very sensitive to how his clothes feel and this area of his impression can make or break his event experience. Therefore, it is extremely important to make sure he is 100% involved in every part of his outfit! It was a lot of fun working on this with him.

Linen was what he decided upon as it isn't scratchy like wool (even wool suitings bother him!), it isn't coarse and stiff like heavier cottons and he likes how it's drapey. I found a great deal on some plaid linen on eBay and ordered several yards to make him new trousers and a coat. We made both unlined, for comfort. While he doesn't mind being a little too cool he surely does mind being too warm.

These trousers were not terribly fun to sew. Uneven plaid + wobbly fabric
= difficulty matching everything up decently!

The trousers are from Past Patterns Light Summer Trouser and made a size bigger than what he currently wears. He likes his clothes to be baggy. Plus, they will fit longer this way! The coat is one we draped. He doesn't like having to do up fasteners but agreed to have a few buttons on his coat. Easy to put on or take off. The necktie is sewn into shape and attached to a thin elastic cord that hooks in the front so he can take it off easily if he needs to.

And to finish it off, we made a new wool hat lined in soft cotton sateen (not done in time for these pictures though) and I found a soft red wool/silk blend shawl at a local antique mall that he can use as an extra layer when its cooler out. Shawls were a very common accessory for men and women alike in the 1860's!

The most recent things I've finished have been for Judah, who is now 10. I was thrilled to score a few yards of red wool flannel on Etsy and made some of it up into a warm overshirt for him. The shirt is square cut, like Malachi's, and has 2 pockets based on original images. It closes with white china buttons.

He got a new necktie upcycled from a favorite button-down shirt he wore when he was little and will have the in-progress new trousers as soon as I'm done sewing them. I also made him a knitted wool cap for both warmth and to try out the proper way to knit and purl! The finished hat is a little loose and rumply looking but my tension will improve with practice (I hope!) and Judah likes it just fine as it is.

I wish I had more time for all the sewing project ideas I have for them, but, alas, I do not! Have a happy Easter!

Love,
Sarah

Benjamin's First Tunic

I've been working on getting the kids clothes ready for this living history season and although I was hopeful I wouldn't have to make many new things, well, my kids got tall! (who wouldda thought?) When I made Malachi his clothes and took pictures Benjamin wanted to try on his clothes, too. And that made me very aware of the fact his dress skirts were just a little too short and his bodices just a little too tight. 

Little Rose has also grown tall and she needed new dresses. Passing down Benjamins gowns is a practical and period appropriate solution as they fit her very nicely (hooray for non-gendered childrens clothing no matter the time in history!) That left me having to decide whether to put Benjamin in dresses for another year or to have him go into trousers. Since he is almost four trousers are a reasonable and appropriate clothing option for him.

We looked at various styles for young boys his age. At his age, his clothing options in the 1860's can be divided into 3 basic outfit styles: 

1. A dress

2. A "skeleton suit" that has the top buttoning to trousers all around the waist, and

3. A tunic/overshirt worn loose or belted over trousers. 

I considered Benjamins preferences in his daily life (for instance, he is very independent, having to go to the potty by himself and wanting to dress himself without help) so we ended up going with the third option. He needs a little help with the buttons and buckling his belt but otherwise can dress himself and perform all the activities he needs to do on his own. 

I drafted a loose tunic based on his measurements and inspired by this original cotton tunic from the Met:

The fabric came from an XL mens dress shirt I picked up at Goodwill during a 99 cent sale a few months ago. It's a really high quality woven plaid and the green color looks fantastic on Benjamin! I had *just* enough room on the shirt to cut out the pieces of his tunic with nothing left over. I had to face the front opening with scrap fabric instead of doing a turned facing and had to piece the under-collar but it all worked out in the end. The tunic is very large and roomy now but will fit for a long time, which is the goal!

Benjamin really, really wanted something red on his tunic so I used some cotton cut from a dress shirt that belonged to my Grampie to trim the front opening, hem, collar and sleeves. While the current general opinion is that it is uncommon for "wash" garments to be trimmed with contrasting cotton I liked the look well enough to go with it and it made my little boy quite happy. 

My favorite part of the tunic is the buttons. I got these little antique green glass buttons a while ago and have been waiting for the perfect project to use them on. I used some of them on this tunic and am so happy with how they look! 

His trousers are made of green cotton leftover from Malachi's new trousers and are pleated at the waist and at the legs. They should fit him for a while. 

For these pictures he is wearing his big brothers hat but since then we have made him a new one that has no brim and is smaller all around. Anne's shoes from last year fit him this year and he likes that he can put them on by himself and there are no laces to tie!

Lastly, his belt is plain black leather with a roller buckle. It's actually a blanket-roll strap but who needs to know, right? ;) 

Love,

Sarah

Trousers and Overshirt for Malachi

Malachi turned 9 earlier this year and he sat on his birthday money for a while before deciding to buy something with it. Meanwhile, I've been slowly adding a few things to our family impression and Malachi liked the replica of an 1848 dragoon I got for us so well, that he decided to use some of his money to get an 1849 pocket pistol for himself. (Both of our reproductions are from Denix and while they have the appearance of the originals they are based off of, they are non firing and cannot be altered to be firing. This makes me feel a lot better about having them around our living history area.)

It arrived in the mail earlier this week, just in time for some pictures with the new trousers and overshirt I made for him to wear at our first event in a few weeks.

His trousers are made of a single layer of medium weight cotton twill. The dark green fabric was described as a corded twill online and has the appearance of a fine corduroy. It seems very sturdy and I hope it will work well for this boy who is very hard on his clothes.

We went with an overshirt for additional warmth for our first few early-spring events. His coat still fits but is cut to be open in the front. An overshirt is more practical for us and were commonly worn in the period either under a coat or in place of one. From what I've been able to observe, I think that an overshirt can either be worn untucked over the shirt/trousers/braces either loose or belted, or worn tucked into the trousers with a belt used to hold up the trousers. Malachi is very slim so it's hard to find a belt in his size that looks period enough. For these pictures he's using an enormous leather belt I got from someone who made it themselves for mountain-man-type history events. I hope to find a more appropriate belt for him before we start this season.

The overshirt is made of a yard of wool flannel I've had for the past few years. I didn't have enough to do a full shirt from the wool so I made the collar, placket and cuffs out of scraps of brown cotton twill. With the sleeves, gussets and body cut on the square there was just enough fabric to eek this out. The placket closes with little white china buttons. The shape and location of the single pocket is inspired by the 1850's wool overshirt from the steamship Arabia as detailed in Thoughts on Men's Shirts by William Brown.

I made him new braces of ticking with leather ends and with that, I think he will be set for a while. Luckily his shirts from last year still fit nicely and so does his vest, now that he has new trousers with an appropriately high waist!

He had a lot of fun taking a few pictures, though it was bitterly cold outside!

Love,
Sarah

An Early Victorian Under-Petticoat

I made this a few weeks ago for the HSM challenge for February. I need to post about it before the month is over! Thankfully there isn't a lot to say about it. It's a petticoat. ;)

This particular one is made to be worn beneath all other skirt supports. It goes on over the chemise, drawers and corset and is narrow and short. Mine is about 80" at the hem and goes to mid calf length. Since it's tucked it doesn't easily get caught between my legs when I walk. I am so glad I finally made one of these!

These are also called "modesty petticoats" in the 1860's reenacting circle but that term is a present-day one, not one that is documented to be used in period. When wearing cages or hoop skirts a little petticoat worn under the hoop does help prevent flashing your undermost undies but since I wear my chemise untucked I've never had a huge need for this petticoat for modesty reasons alone.

But an underpettioat used sensibly to help keep the much bigger skirt supporting petticoats from folding between your legs is so enormously helpful. In the past I've used modern full pleated or gathered to a waistband skirts as an under petti when needed but it was high time to make a proper one! So this months challenge to create something to wear under your historic attire was perfect for this project.

I used a big flat cotton sheet for my petticoat so the construction was very simple, especially as I used the hem on the sheet for the hem of the petticoat! I sewed the panel into a big tube and sewed tucks til I decided it looked good enough. I hemmed a little placket in the seam at the back, hand gathered the waist and whipped it to the waistband and made a buttonhole and sewed on a button. It only took a few hours and I am very happy with my finished project!

The details:

The Challenge: Under
What the item is: A short, narrow under-petticoat, sometimes called a "modest petticoat" in reenacting circles.
Material: Thrifted cotton sheet, scrap of cotton for waistband.
Pattern: Based on rectangular construction, no pattern needed.
Year: Can work for 1840's-mid 1860's
Notions: Button
How historically accurate is it? The pattern, construction and look are correct for the period though there are a few things not so accurate. These are:
1. The petticoat is made from a sheet using a full width of fabric, therefore it has only one seam instead of several seams and narrower fabric widths.
2. The sheet has a woven-in subtle stripe. Have not seen an original with a woven stripe on white fabric like this.
3. I used the existing sheet hem for the petticoat hem. While the sewing is pretty, I am fairly sure the thread content of the hem isn't 100% natural fiber. But, it saved me a lot of work so I kept it.
Hours to complete: Less than 3. This was a super quick project! Sew a tube, run some tucks, gather to a waistband.
First worn: Not yet, but will wear this will all my 1860's living history events this year!
Total cost: The sheet was about $3 from the thrift store a few months ago. Can't get much cheaper than that!

Love Day Smock Dresses

Happy Valentine's Day! It's a warm, rainy, muddy holiday for us here and my house is drowning in candy and strawberry cake and a flurry of paper hearts. ;) 

For Valentine's Day this year we went with quick, simple, easy fitting dresses. Anne drew a design on paper that she liked (surplice bodice with short sleeves and a ruffle skirt) and I was lucky enough to find a pattern on the bargain rack for a very similar dress. Simplicity's New Look 6442 was exactly what we wanted!

New Look 6442

I used size 7 for Anne and size 4 for Rose, to allow them a little extra room so they can wear these dresses through the summer. The crossover style also allows a lot of size flexibility just by moving the position of the ties or buttons. I really love this pattern and will be using it frequently!

I had just 2 yards of the heart printed cotton so we made each dress a little differently, pairing the heart fabric with a length of vintage calico I have had in my stash since before I had children! The "Peter Pan" fabric in subdued shades of pink and green and robins egg blue went surprisingly well with the bold, bright colors of the new fabric. 

Anne chose her design off the pattern cover with a contrast ruffle and Rosie was very determined to have "poggets". ;) I made Rosie's dress with the Peter Pan fabric for her skirt and from the scraps leftover from the heart fabric sewed on two deep, roomy patch pockets. There was just enough left to make a matching heart skirt for her beloved Baby Margaret plushie. 

The dresses are meant to be sewn with a self fabric lining that finishes off the bodice. For these dresses I lined the bodices and sleeves with part of a cotton sheet, trimmed off the neckline and sleeve hem seam allowances and bound the edges with the calico. Next time I may try the plain bag lining. It would certainly be quicker. The skirts are sewn with french seams and are unlined. For cooler weather they can wear leggings beneath them for warmth. 

These would also be cute in shorter lengths for tunic style dresses. Such a versatile design! It was nice to sew from a real, modern pattern again and to have it work up so well. 

Love,

Sarah

Godey's 1862 Opera Hood

Last Sunday night I cast on 90 stitches on a whim, wondering if I had enough green yarn leftover to make the contrast stripes from the 1862 Opera Hood from Godey's. 

I worked on it here and there over the week and since it is a basic pattern that alternates every 5 rows it was fast and mindless work. I worked on it more than doing any kind of sewing since I could put it down and pick it up whenever I needed and it made me feel like I was making progress on something! 

The instructions call for 9 finished stripes of magneta and 8 of white. For my version the green was used in place of the magneta and light grey in place of the white. All went without mishap until I was working on the 8th stripe of green. Thanks to a certain little kitty, who ruined a good few yards of this yarn early one morning by using the yarn ball as a toy, I ran completely out of yarn about 20 stitches too soon. I was determined to finish that 8th row, though, and unwilling to make the opera hood shorter than it was supposed to be. I ended up cutting off a few of the tails that I left when joining the grey to the green and piecing them to the yarn so I had enough to finish that last row. UGH. Not fun. 

Finished stripes, before blocking. 

After blocking. 

So I had only 8 stripes of green. I knit another grey stripe and so had 8 stripes of green and 8 of grey. I wished then that I had started the knitting with grey so as to have 9 stripes of grey and 8 of green. I came to the conclusion that I could add a little border to the top of the cap, to take the place of a knitted grey stripe. That way, I'd end up with 9 grey stripes. I added a shell border to the edge and I was pleased with the look. 

The last thing to do was to add ties. I hemmed the last of my light green silk into ribbon ties and fastened them to the gathered sides of the cap. I added a little bow of 3 loops at the top of the ties, as per the illustration of the similar Godey's 1858 Sortie Cap.  

Now, my finished hood does NOT perfectly represent the hood in the original pattern. For one thing, of course, the crocheted border is my own deviation from the instructions. But I found that the illustration shows 10 dark stripes and 9 light ones on the cap instead of the 9/8 it calls for in the written text. Oh well - a quirk? Perhaps the pattern assumed you would already have knit one light and dark stripe before starting to count the next 9 and 8. 

I'm still vastly pleased with my finished hood and think this is the one I will reach for most often when doing living history. It's warm, it's subdued, and it is more flattering, I think, than other styles of hoods and bonnets. 

I did discover while making this that I am knitting my stitches wrong! I have often had problems with items coming out a little bit small and now that I know I am making crossed stitches my problem is explained. 

 I hate doing full front photos since it always makes me feel awkward
and put on the spot, but I wanted to show how the hood looks from the direct front.
So often a design that looks one way from a side or back view looks so
different from the front. 

Side!

I struggled and struggled to teach myself to knit as a young teen, holing myself up in my bedroom for hours at a time and poring over a rather outdated knitting how-to book from the library. I still remember those baby blue aluminum knitting needles I bought back then! Haha. Knitting just *did not* make sense to me and it was months of trying here and there before I finally managed to figure it out. Or so I thought. I wrap my thread clockwise instead of counter clockwise, resulting in twisted stitches and garments that pull slightly and are a little small!

Good to know, though. Thanks to huge advances in information sharing since those years in the early 2000's I have a whole internet full of videos and step by step tutorials on how to make stitches the correct way. I'm very excited about making some more things and seeing how the new techniques work out for me!

My sewing this week was a bit underwhelming. Mainly patching jeans for the boys and making a set of new seersucker curtains for my 8 year olds room (and a matching pillowcase! there was just enough fabric for it). I ordered some linen for boys 1860's summer suits and that should come in this week. I have some modern stuff I want to do for daily wear which isn't as cool as historic clothing but still enjoyable to work on. 

Love,

Sarah