Embroidered Linen Mitts

I broke through my sewing block last night. I finally came across my long-lost pattern from Kannik's Korner for mitts, pockets and stockings. I had been looking for it for quite some time. It was put into the wrong envelope so thus the reason for my confusion. (In passing, the state of organization of my patterns is quite horrific at present. I must go through them and organize them better very soon.)

These took me about four hours to sew. I made them completely by hand (yay!) and am pleased with how they came out.

I missed the last challenge from The Historic Sew Fortnightly. I meant to miss this one, too, since this challenge was "embellish" and I do not very often embellish anything I make. I prefer to make my statements, fashion wise, through lines and fit and color rather than embellishment details. Still, I decided to make this project count for both the regency monthly costume challenge (which I also missed last month) and the embellish challenge by embroidering a simple design on the mitts.

The embroidery design was inspired by these mitts from the Met Museum:

I used black silk thread for the embroidery. (And it must be said, I am not am embroiderer, either by desire or by ability, so the motifs are wobbly and not symmetrical since I used the very scientific method of eyeballing to embroider the design). But, I like how the black looks against the white. The embroidery is not centered properly on my hand when I put these on, though, so I think I will add another line or two of embroidery to even things out. It won't take long.

I am planning (actually have been planning for a very long time now!) to remake my green print regency gown. It has very long, full sleeves and I don't like how they look on my figure. I plan to remake the sleeves to be elbow length and tighter. I think the mitts will look very well with that dress once it is finished. I hope to finish remaking the dress by the end of the month so I can use it towards last months missed regency project!

Love,
Sarah

P.S. Thank you all so much for your awesome comments on my last post. It is so nice to know others feel the same way about things. I really liked the idea of finding old photographs with identifiable information and returning them to the family. David bought an old trunk recently and inside was a packet of pictures dated 1939. The envelope they are in is from the printing store and was addressed to a Mr. George Hurst in Peoria, IL. So, hopefully I can find someone to return this pictures to!

You all are great. Have I said that before? I will say it again. You're great!

Okay, challenge info:


The Challenge: Embellish! (yikes!)

Fabric: Plain medium weight linen.

Pattern: Kannik's Korner.

Year: Late 18th / Early 19th century

Notions: thread and needle for sewing, black silk thread for embroidery

How historically accurate is it? Pretty accurate. Correct cut and construction, because of the awesome pattern!

Hours to complete: About 4.

First worn: Not yet.

Total cost: Nothing. All from stash.

In Search of Richard Pippin

Apologies for not having any interesting blog posts lately! I have had a deep loathing for sewing. I like to think about things I want to make eventually (definitely the Moy Bog dress and I'm getting really interested in the 1920's again) but the thought of actually sewing anything right now is just overpoweringly unpleasant. Besides, the boys used my shears to attempt to cut a small branch in two (they were making "wands", apparently, as they are going through an obsessed-with-Harry-Potter phase) and the tip of the shears broke off. So until I obtain new ones I have a good excuse to not be sewing. And besides, honestly, I want to loose a few more lbs. before making much for myself. And also, to be very terribly honest, I just kind of feel depressed about living history right now. In the 1860's arena there a ton of politics. People bickering and fighting over stupid things. David doesn't want to do anything more with the SCA. I can see his point. It's fun while it is new but after that, it's like, um, where is the history in all this? We want to do more with regency/federal era reenacting but there are so few events for that around here. Rev. war is almost non existent. I like making historic clothes - I love researching, draping, sewing, and wearing the clothes, but I have been feeling lately like there is just no point to do it. There are hardly any events I feel happy about going to and why make something to just have it hang in the closet forever after? It's depressing and frustrating. I feel like I will just waste my time whenever I start to think about sewing something new. I have no friends who enjoy this kind of thing, either, so I don't think I'd be very successful trying to start a small costuming group of my own. Central IL is a lonely spot for costuming enthusiasts!

But, David is busy getting his details in place for a huge sewing project that will soon be necessary (he will be breaking from his long-embraced impression of a federal Asst. Surgeon to go on to full Surgeon in a Confederate impression) so I suppose I am taking a break now so I can jump into his project wholeheartedly and refreshed here in a few weeks or so. I am looking forward to it. Men's clothes are very enjoyable to make. I hope he does well in this impression. He will be doing it mostly alone.

Our mutual interest of late has been family research. We have been trying to do some research, on and off, the past few years but a few weeks ago David finally got a subscription to Ancestry.com and we have both been spending almost all our free time on that very interesting and addictive site. It is so fun to discover details about family members; to find new ones, to make connections.

One of David's recently-discovered ancestors was buried not far from here so last Saturday we dropped the boys off at my mom and dad's house and went looking for him. It was not hard to find the cemetery and it only took a little while of looking before we located the grave on a warm westerly slope with trees beyond and a creek running a bit to the north.

It was exhilirating, sad, strangely sweet. Buried beneath a few feet of earth was the body of a man who was my husbands great-great-great-great grandfather. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and moved his family from Maryland to Illinois sometime after the war. We know so little about him but what we know is more than we know about others. I find it so very sad that so much information is lost within such a short amount of time.

Later that day we went to an antique mall and I was even more saddened by the old photographs for sale, stuffed into baskets, thumbed through by strangers. It seemed to dawn on me for the first time that these people are someone's family. And now the pictures are being sold for a few dollars. History is lost. People are forgotten. So much is forgotten.

I am so grateful that David and I have been able to find out more information about our family. I want our children to know their heritage. I want them to know where they come from. I want them to have a physical connection to the past. I don't want their great-great-grandparents to be some vague shadowy thought in their mind. I want them to know that yes, they were real people, just like us. They were here! We have roots.

I want them to read about history and know who in their family was alive during that time. Busy making a living. Raising children. Living their life. It's so sad so many are forgotten! We have a very limited focus on life, don't we? Just the here and now.

And so we found Richard Pippin. His father was a Revolutionary War veteran, Robert Pippin. That has pushed David onwards in his desire to reenact that period of history. I think it all is a very good thing. (I have a Revolutionary War veteran ancestor, too. His name was Rueben Tucker. So yeah, that inspires me to make way more 18th c. things!)

Love,
Sarah

1860's Clothes for David

It is with a bit of shame I have gone through our reenacting clothes and have realized how sad a state the boys' wardrobes are in. There was a time, not even that long ago, when I took great pride in the tiny garments I fashioned for them. The boys always looked perfect and their clothes coordinated and David and Judah usually matched. I always received millions of compliments on how cute they looked. But now? They have been "getting by" with less and less the last year and a half or so. They have grown, and the once nicely fitted clothes now make them look like gangly scarecrows. The hand me downs Malachi has received are faded and, although in sound condition, just look worn. It's sad.

I have had to step back a little and reevaluate why I actually participate in 1860's reenactments. I have been very burned out so last year, when we did not do many events at all, was a sort of reflection year for me. It was nice to have that little break. This year we do not plan to do very many 60's events (quality over quantity!) but I do want the boys to be nicely dressed. They don't need tons of outfits but one nice outfit apiece will be sufficient and suitable.

Last October I started button suits for David and Judah. I never actually finished them. So, when we had the opportunity to visit a local historic site for a program celebrating A. Lincoln's birthday, I pulled out the nearly finished blouse and trousers and added the buttons and buttonholes they needed to be complete.

Basic white blouse or bodice. . .buttons to trouser waistband

David told me he wants to wear "big boy" clothes now. After all, he said, he is growing up. And that is true. I  draped and cut out a little vest for him on Sunday and sewed it up in some grey plaid wool he selected from the stash. The vest is lined with black cotton sateen and is, to all appearances, "just like Daddy's", with the exception of the pockets. I did not put any pockets in the little vest.

A little cap, made years ago and rather small now, but still fitting, he put on. I tied a bit of grosgrain ribbon around his collar for a simple tie and he was thrilled with his new outfit! He would not take it off all day and was very careful during meals to not spill any food on his clothes. He pinned a cockade to his vest for the party last evening and to all appearances is very well satisfied with himself. This came as something of a surprise to me, since he usually takes no interest in his clothes whatsoever.

 Judah was very upset that he had to wear a tunic last night. He wants a big boy outfit now, too. Malachi still prefers tunics. He very matter-of-factly informed me that it's better that he wears tunics (or even dresses) because he is "still a little boy. I'm not as big as David or Judah." Which is true.

Anne is well supplied with all of Malachi's old baby clothes. . .they still look quite new, for the most part, so I do not feel very guilty putting her in old things. Here she is with David:

And by herself, with her Christmas dolly. (no, I haven't put fasteners on the doll dress yet - I am so afraid she will chew off hook and eyes or buttons! I may deviate from historical accuracy and just put some velcro on there, at least temporarily).

Love,
Sarah

I Finished The Dirndl

It was the most annoying thing to finish. I kept having to redo little bits here and there. Then I had to make a blouse, even though I didn't want to, because none of the other shirts I have really work with this style. Then I took the boning out of the front because I thought it was too stiff and rigid and then I figured I'd put half the boning back in. I cartridge pleated the skirt but then decided I didn't like the way it looked and the bodice was really way too short so I had to take it apart again and add a waistband to the bodice to lengthen it and then I pleated the skirt instead.

The blouse is a short blouse, thanks to great info from The Bohemian Belle. I made it using a modern peasant blouse pattern and just shortening it so it hits below the bust. I put elastic in the hem and there ya go. The fabric is leftover curtain fabric from the eyelet curtain I made Anne's eyelet dress from last year. Here you can see the blouse and the petticoat:

The pictures David took were just awful. He wasn't in the mood to take pictures so his all came out weird. Judah took a few for me and his are better but still I don't have any really good ones of the whole outfit altogether.

This one shows the bodice pretty well. There are slight stress marks where the bodice is laced but I am not too worried about it. I think those sorts of things are inevitable with bodices like this. My medieval dresses do the same thing.

And a back view:

It is a warm and cozy dress to wear. If I make more I will omit the waistband and just lengthen the bodice pieces. I may lengthen the skirt more for the next ones. .. I like the length of this one and the petticoat makes it poufy but I feel kind of 1950's-little-girl-with-pigtails while wearing it. Not a bad feeling once in a while but its not something I want all the time, you know?

All in all this was a fun experimental project! And it's great to have something different to wear besides my standard sweaters and peasant skirts or jeans. . .

I have no clue what I will be sewing next. The Historical Sew Fortnightly has the next challenge due by next week. . .some sort of undergarment. . .and I really don't know what to make or if I will even make anything at all. I think I may need a sewing break.

Love,
Sarah

Making a Wool Dirndl

I was going to work on a dress for my brothers wedding this week. Well, a mock up dress. But a few nights ago I was lying awake, after a nighttime feeding with the baby, and thinking of all sorts of different dress designs. For some reason the thought of a simple jersey dress made in a drapey Greek-style appealed to me.  The next morning I did a google search and found this dress, and it is just what I want. So that is taken care of. I'll make mine in either blue or green. Or if I can find it, a bluish-green. Maybe I will just buy white jersey and dye it myself. It's a perfect style. Breastfeeding friendly, slimming, modest. (okay I despise the word "modest", but you know what I mean. It's good for a conservative wedding.) My mom, who is not a fan of historic styles, likes it. My husband, who is not a fan of modern styles, likes it. So we'll go with it.

So I have been working on this dirndl instead. I have never made a dirndl and I found it very, very hard to find out much information on how these things are cut or constructed. I came across a few blogs that showed other's versions of the dirndl; one of the most helpful is here: How to Sew a Dirndl. Some defining features that stood out to me included the V neck at the back bodice, the skirt cartridge pleated to the waistline of the bodice and a center front opening with either zippers, hooks, buttons or lacing. The basic style is a closely fitted bodice with or without sleeves and with a full skirt attached, often worn with a peasant-blouse-type shirt and an apron. Modern dirndls show lots of cleavage and extreme versions look to be more seductive in appearance. I'm not going for that, but I do like the lower cut neckline worn with a white blouse look. It works great for nursing! The image below is from wikepedia.

I found this vintage pattern for a dirndl.

The pic of the pattern pieces gave me a clue as to how the bodice ought to be shaped (princess seams) for this particular style of dirndl.

I used the pattern I draped for my 1910's brassiere as a starting point. I did not have to modify it much and here is the finished pattern:

I plan to use these fabrics. I have had them a while and there is not enough yardage of any of them to make a complete dress but since dirndls can be made of a variety of fabrics it is the perfect style to utilize these odd lengths and scraps of fabric!

So far I have made the bodice. I puzzled over how to put this thing together. I ended up using 1860's corset construction methods. I decided to use the royal blue wool for the bodice and it is lined with linen and interlined with cotton/linen blend. The construction method covers all the seam allowances with one swipe through the sewing machine so its a quick, good, sturdy method of construction. The pattern is fitted with "negative ease" since I wanted a self supporting bodice. Actually, the fit is quite similar to my hobbit bodice only with a front opening instead of a back opening.

For the front opening I inserted metal grommets and boned either side of the grommets. I wanted a laced opening as it seems that works the best for negative ease garments. There is no boning anywhere else in the bodice. The armholes and neckline I finished with binding.

The bodice came out a tad short, I think. I think I will just leave it a tad short for now, though. I don't want to add a waistband to the bottom of the bodice since I haven't seen any examples with separate waistbands. Besides, I can always tie the apron a bit low to extend the look of the waist.

I hope to finish this soon as it is totally freezing outside right now. My body is screaming for wool. Wool is just awesome. The skirt will be the stripey wool and the apron will be the blue and white printed cotton.

Love,
Sarah

Finished 1830's Christmas Dress

I finished my dress last night. I even did things I don't normally do when I'm rushing, like neatly bind the armscyes and whip down the seam allowances in the bodice. It still finished up in plenty of time to make supper and while I sewed in the pleasant afternoon light of the west windows David sat with me and planned out what I suppose will be one of my projects later in the spring, a Confederate surgeons uniform. I'm ready for another detailed menswear project. It;s been a while.

I really love this dress. The things I don't particularly like about it include the upper sleeves (they still came out a bit too loose for my liking) and the fit of the bodice is not as snug as I would have wished. I suppose I must have lost a bit more weight between cutting this out before Christmas and sewing it together. I can make the back overlap a bit more by moving the hooks over and that will help with pulling the bodice in a bit. My stays for some reason did not keep me up as much as I would have wished and gave a rather droopy appearance to the bustline (I think the bust kept slipping out from the busk channel since I didn't have it tied in!) but I know that is a temporary problem and will go away once Anne is weaned.

I am wearing the dress with the same undergarments I used for my 1840's Christmas Dress last year; my corded stays, square cut shift, corded petticoat, and three plain petticoats. Oh and the bum pad. Can't forget the bum pad. Or as the boys inelegantly term it, "Mommy's Butt Pillow".

It's easy to nurse in. I nursed the baby twice while wearing it today. The combination of a back opening and partial front opening make this dress very easy to put on as well. Hook the upper half of the back shut, put on the bodice, then reach around the hook up the rest of the back and then hook up the front. Lots of hooks, but it makes getting dressed very easy compared to some dresses I've made in the past!

I am not totally happy with  my hair. I tried 2 different styles. My hair is just above bra length and my bangs are growing out so its hard to do much with it at the moment.

Late 30's hairstyles usually have a high bun at the back and the front hair is either curled or smoothly combed down over the ears. When my bangs have grown out more I'd love to try the curled style. . .it's so distinctly 30's, not rather generic mid-19th century like the parted-in-the-middle-pulled-into-a-low-bun style that can, theoretically, work for a span of about forty years. . .

The skirt is 3 panels of 45" fabric. It gives a nice fullness. I pleated it into 1.5" pleats and that seemed to work perfectly. The hem is faced with a 9" wide hem facing.

Now to make one of those rad 1830's poke bonnets. Those are so utterly awesome. I probably will not have a reason to wear this dress again until later this year so hopefully by then I will have a proper bonnet made!

Speaking of bonnets, I did finish another UFO for this challenge. Remember that Victorian Sunbonnet Tutorial I was working on? Well, I never did finish the bonnet! It was almost done, but lacked ties. So I made the ties.

Now that February is nearly upon us and my brother is getting married in about two and half months (less!) I need to start working on a dress for his wedding. Something - yikes - modern. I have a few ideas so I plan to try one of them out this week. I have some fun vintage cherry printed cotton that will work great for a mock up dress!

Love,
Sarah

The Challenge: #2, UFO. Finish an unfinished project.

Fabric: Printed cotton. Green with a viney print and purple flowers.

Pattern: Draped.

Year: Late 1830's to Very Early 1840's

Notions: Hook and eyes, thread.

How Historically Accurate Is It: As far as I can tell the cut is accurate. The design is taken straight from period sources and the pattern shapes are correct. All exposed stitching was done by hand and interior seams (that will not show) were sewn with straight stitch on the sewing machine. To be totally accurate the stitching should have been completely done by hand.

Hours to Complete: Not sure. From draping to finishing maybe 30 hours or so?

First Worn: Today. Hopefully for a "real" event sometime this spring!

Total Cost: The fabric was an early Christmas gift from David. Everything else came from my stash. So, personal expense for this was nothing.

Making my 1830's Sleeves

The dress is coming along. Slowly, but surely. The sleeves have ended up taking me an ungodly long time to do. Why?? I used to whip out a whole dress in a day or two. Sleeves took me a few hours. But then, the baby has been sick this week and I have felt rather indifferent to sewing and have been utterly depressed because of current events. (political stuff, but I won't go there.) But then, sometimes it is nice to sit down and not feel rushed to work on something. I put the last stitches in my sleeves just this evening and now they await to be attached to the bodice, as soon as I can scrounge enough scraps to make the self piping needed for the armscye seam!

These particular sleeves are made with a fitted upper sleeve that reach to just above the elbow. The bottom sleeve is gathered to a narrow, piped cuff. The seam between the upper and lower sleeve is trimmed with a little flounce that is gathered on a narrow cord and then tacked to the seam.

Oftentimes sleeves of the late 30's were just gathered or pleated and banded down to the upper arm. That was a very practical and easy way to convert the fluffy gigot sleeves of the early 30's to the fashionable silhouette of the later 30's. However, for this dress, I did decide to cut separate upper sleeves since they take so much less fabric and I did not have a whole lot of fabric to work with.

The upper sleeves were problematic to fit. To fit the armscye, the sleeve head needed to measure about 17". To fit my arm just above the elbow the bottom edge of the sleeve needed to be 13". I ended up having to take two small pleats at the bottom edge of the upper sleeve to fit my arm at the back of the arm. A nicely fitted upper sleeve does look so much better than a loose and baggy one (at least in this period of history) but I didn't think it would be so much trouble to fit it!

I added two piped bands at the neckline to shape the neckline. I really like how it looks and am looking forward to completing the dress, hopefully this weekend! I still have the entire skirt to make but since that is just straight seams and pleating I do not think it will take that long.

Love,
Sarah

1830's Christmas Dress

Or the Remember-the-Alamo dress. A dear friend of mine, Kevin Young, who loved the era of history the Alamo took place in, passed away last spring. I can never think of this era of history without thinking of him and I know I will always remember him when I wear this dress. He loved the Texas Revolution, he loved the 30's and the 40's and was an all around great guy. We miss him so. I have always loved the dress pictured below and decided to use that as my inspiration image for my Christmas frock.

Late 1830's Dress

Because, of course, I intended to make this dress for Christmas. The fabric was an early Christmas present from David. Besides draping a pattern and fitting the mock up and cutting it out, though, I didn't get much done. I finally decided to speed sew it 5 days before Christmas but that afternoon our power went out. I spent much of that day getting out the kerosene heater, filling the oil lamps, finding candles and matches, making food and converting our long, narrow living room into a kind of one-room cabin where we could hang out and keep warm. Obviously, the dress did not get made.

It's getting made now, though. I am sick of regency stuff at present (even though I do have a 1790's-ish gown I want to make soon) and I need to get back to *me*. This dress is not for any challenge or sew along, but it's what I want to make, so, by gosh, I'm gonna make it! (although, technically, it could work for the UFO challenge for the Historical Sew Fortnightly. It might be a stretch, but it *could* work!)

The basic design is fairly simple. I really like the late 30's silhouette. I like the round, elongated waist. It is slimming. I like the sleeves that are tight at the top and still fluffy at the bottom. I like the necklines and I like the skirt fullness. I like the full hips. I like almost everything about the late 30's. It's a very feminine era, without looking ridiculous!

The dress I am using for my inspiration image has a crossover, or surplice, bodice. I debated a while about whether or not to make the crossover actually part of the main bodice or to just cut separate strips of fabric to mimic the crossover look. For a long time I was actually going to do a front opening, crossover bodice dress but at the last minute I remembered Jessamyn's early 1840's dress that has a front opening and a back opening and has separate drapey crossover panels. This clicked for me, and I decided to go with it.

After I knew how I was going to cut the bodice I dove in and got started. The basic "foundation bodice" was easy. It is very similar to many of the dresses I have made before. It has a fitted back with curved seams between the center back and side back pieces. Since I have a large difference between bust and waist I had to fit the front bodice with 2 darts per side, rather than the 1 dart per side that is more common. The waistline is slightly high, to allow for a wide waistband. All the seams are piped with self fabric piping. The shoulders are slightly dropped and the neckline is finished with piping. The front bodice opening was piped and sewn shut about half way to the neckline. This gives me double piping along the front seam which is seen in several examples from Nancy Bradfield's Costume in Detail. The part of the front seam that I left open is for nursing access. It will close edge-to-edge with hook and eyes once the bodice is complete. Here you can see the darted bodice:

sorry for the poor quality of the pics. . .yet again. . .I am lazy and did the infamous "mirror shot"

I hemmed and pleated two strips of fabric to become the drapey crossover bits. I sewed one pleated end into the shoulder seam. While wearing the bodice, I pinned and pleated the other ends of the fabric strips to the darted bodice. Here you can see one side crossed over and pinned into place:

And here it is with both crossover pieces pinned into place:

After that, I trimmed off the excess fabric at the waist and sewed the waistband to the bodice. The waistband is slightly wide as the waistline was in transition at this point in history from the higher waistline of earlier years and the very long, pointed, low waistline of the 1840's.

There will be piped tabs lower on the shoulder, holding the pleated panel in  to make a sort of sweetheart neckline shape.

I am as pleased as anything with how it is coming out so far! I do love this style so much. I can't wait to see what it will look like with sleeves!

Love,
Sarah

1910's Foundation Garments

Well, I didn't get my chemise or drawers made, but I did at least finish my corset and brassiere for Challenge #1 of the Historical Sew Fortnightly. And since I originally intended to just make a corset, I figure I met my goal. (even though I really wanted to make an actual dress or blouse/skirt outfit! But that will be made. In time.) 

Since you all have seen pictures of the corset I will not burden you with additional ones. Here is the finished brassiere. 

It is made of two layers of white linen and is topstitched on the seams. The bones are inserted between the layers of fabric and the brassiere is boned at sides, front princess seams (up to the fullest point of the bust) and down the center front. 

I found a bit of lace in my stash that seemed suitable to trim the neckline with. I did not have enough to go around the whole neckline but I had enough to at least do the front neckline. 

I sewed this mostly by machine. It's so nice to be able to use the machine and not feel guilty about doing so. The only bit of handwork I did was some binding finishing and I hand sewed the hook and eyes to the front opening. 

For these pictures I am wearing my regency chemise, since I did not have time to make a period 1910's style one, and an antique petticoat that was given to me by the lovely Natalie of A Frolic Through Time. 

The petticoat is exactly the right size for me and I have taken a pattern off it (it is a 5 gore style with a subtle flounce) to make a repro petticoat to wear for the final outfit. I still have to make drawers. 

Here you can see how the foundation layer looks with a dress on over top. I made this white dress over five years ago from the Sense and Sensibility 1914 Afternoon Dress pattern. I do not often wear this dress as I have felt it is not very flattering but it does look better when worn with the proper underpinnings. 

So that is that! The next challenge is due in two weeks time and is for a UFO (an unfinished sewing project) so I think I will finally finishing David's plaid wool fall front trousers. . .they have been *so* close to being done for *so long* (needing only hemming and buttons at the moment) but I have procrastinated. I will get those done!

Love,

Sarah

The Challenge: Something from a year ending in "13". (So, this could have been worn in 1913)

Fabric: White linen for both corset and brassiere. Corset is lined with white cotton duck. 

Pattern: Corset is from the 1911 corset in Corsets and Crinolines by Nora Waugh. The brassiere pattern was draped using originals for inspiration. 

Year: 1913-ish

Notions: I used zip ties for boning, brass grommets for the corset and hook and eyes for the brassiere. I used a steel busk for the corset. 

How historically accurate is it? I hope it is fairly accurate. The corset is taken from an original so I think it is accurate in cut. In materials, it is possibly accurate (although coutil was usually used). In construction, I am fairly sure I used an atypical method (I used an 1860s method of construction) but it was a compromise I didn't mind as this is just a "for fun" outfit. 

Hours to complete: I don't really know. . .I worked on these fairly steadily for two weeks. Maybe 1-2 hrs per day? Probably 25-30 hours. 

First worn: Not yet, except for try-on. 

Total cost: