Finished Just in Time! 1790's Jacket

Well, I have been reconfirmed in my opinion that people are like fabric.  You can see it and it looks good at first but once you start working with it, it goes the wrong way, does everything except what you want it to and tries to thwart your best-laid plans and you end up despising it.

Thus was the case with my fabric. I have had it for a few months. I fell in love with it when I saw it. It was so pretty and silky and soft and such a lovely silvery-blue color. I was so excited to use it for my 1790's jacket. But I found out quickly that this fabric is evil. The label said 100% cotton but I swear there is something else in there. The fabric does not hold a crease well yet wrinkles easily. It moves and grows and shortens and expands and does not stay in place with the normal amount of pins. Instead of acting as 1 with my lining fabric it acts as its own separate thing. It was horrible to work with.

I had to ditch the style I originally wanted since the pleats looked very odd in this fabric. They stuck out from the back very weirdly indeed. To salvage it I had to cut the jacket off at waist length. I gathered and attached a peplum to the back of the jacket instead of having a peplum cut as part of the bodice pieces. I was inspired by this 1780-1795 era jacket, from Williamsburg:

I had to sew everything on the jacket at least twice except for the eyelet holes. For some reason nothing came out right the first time. The double ruffle I wanted to add around the neckline came out looking very clownish so I had to redo that and ended up just using ruching at the neckline.

In the end though, I am pretty happy with how it looks. Since the fabric has almost zero "give", it is very tight to wear even though the sleeves are cut on the bias. But since the cut is close to the body it is still comfortable to move in.

The center front edges are boned because I meant the jacket to close edge to edge. For some reason the waist came out a bit large so the front edges overlap a bit at the waist but it is not that noticeable from a distance.

For the pictures I am wearing it with my 1840's corded petticoat, my bum pad and my brown cotton hobbit petticoat.

I discovered that the petticoat bands sit around my natural waist which is a bit longer than the waist on this jacket.

I'd like to eventually make a sheer airy white petticoat to wear with this jacket and I will attach suspender straps to it to keep it up at the right level so you don't get glimpses of the waistband!

Anne is wearing one of Malachi's baby caps and the little gown I made Malachi for the Jane Austen festival last year. It is really *not* that big on her! She is growing quickly.

This was my last sewing project of 2012! It is hard to believe. I wish all you darlings a very wonderful and happy New Year!! May this coming one be the best yet!

Love,
Sarah

A Very Small Regency Gentleman

One week to go, and all I have left is to make my ball gown before then. I can definitely do that - dresses are pieces of cake - so, I can relax a bit, breathe a little more slowly and deeply, and enjoy seeing Mr. Munchkin stomp around in his new gown.

I thought his gown would be quite easy to make. And, in some ways, it was. But now that it is finally done and hung up and ready to be packed for our trip next weekend I look back upon the past 24 hours and shudder. Talk about tiny pieces! The bodice was soooo small. The fabric was so light and sheer, and I was ghastly afraid of the fabric shredding while the needle I used to finish the seams seemed too big. At last, however, it was done.

The bodice pattern was draped right on him, and the sleeve a basic short sleeve of the period, similar to the sleeve I used for my white gown. The neckline and sleeve hems are gathered with a drawstring. There is also a drawstring at the waist, to adjust the fit.

The skirt has a few pleats at the side front and the rest is tightly gathered at the back. There are 2 tucks and a small ruffle at the hem, just like on his pantaloons/pantalettes/drawers/things.

Malachi seems to be happy with his new dress. He came with me to the fabric store on Monday and helped me pick out this fabric (he got to choose between white, and this) and watched me intensely while I fitted him, and was extremely interested in seeing me sew it up. Whilst I was working on it David and Judah would come it at times and ask me if I was making a "shirt for Daddy" or "a skirt for Mommy", etc. and Malachi would always savagely reply, "No! It's MINE!"

If I have time I may make the pinafore. But maybe not. I love the gathers at the waistline of the bodice and a pinafore would cover those all up. Who wants that?

Love,
Sarah

Regency Toddler Undergarments

I went out last night and bought several yards of white cotton as well as a few yards of sheer sage green cotton for Malachi's regency ensemble.

I decided to go with a gown for Malachi instead of attempting to make a trouser-ed suit, like a skeleton suit or tunic/trouser set. Reasoning? I have less than two weeks to get this done and I know I can whiz through a dress in no time. Making something I have never made before would be majorly stressful to me right now.

I posted a question about the appropriateness of a two and half year old child wearing a gown on the Sense and Sensibility message board. I was totally blown away by the amazing responses I got. Check it out for yourself!

Two images were posted that were very inspiring to me. One is this portrait of the Nathenson family:

And the other this painting entitled "Blind Man's Bluff":

The toddler children in both pictures are wearing similar style garments, along the same lines as what I envisioned for Malachi.

A pattern for an original child's dress can be found here: Child's Gown Pattern

Today I got the boring work out of the way - I am seriously getting sick of square cut things at the moment. I made Malachi's little shift exactly the same as mine, except I found I did not need a drawstring at the neckline since it isn't so large as to need one.

The pantalettes, or pantaloons, or trousers, or whatever you wish to call them, are made of two tubes of cotton. I added a rectangular band in the center of the tubes to accommodate the crutch area and put an elastic casing at the waistline for ease of potty use. The hems are tucked with 2 tucks per leg and finished off with a white ruffle at the ankle. I used the selvedge edge of the fabric for the hem of the ruffle. Period correct, and SO convenient! :)

The little cap is one I made for Judah several years ago when Judah was a little baby. This particular one was copied from an original 1840-1860s era cap but I have seen similar styled caps in regency images as well. I think this one will work very well for Malachi and I am grateful I have one less thing to sew. The cap is adjustable with drawstrings around the face and at the neck and is finished off with a ruffle. It is sadly wrinkled, due to its habitation in a drawer the past few years, but a good starching should bring it to life once again.

Malachi does look quite girly, I will admit, but, what can one expect with a golden-haired, blue-eyed, pink-cheeked child all in white and ruffles? The green gown will be quite manly in color and hopefully will hide the inevitable dirt, grass stains and food spills that will be a part of its existence.

I am so sick of sewing. I really, really am. But I must press on. Malachi's gown  must be made, his pinafore made (although I am honestly thinking of just skipping it) and my ball gown still has not been made. : / After the JA fest I think I will take at LEAST a few weeks during which time I shall not even LOOK at a piece of fabric. (can I physically do that, though?)

Sigh. At least I have coffee. Coffee helps a lot.

Love,
Sarah