Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge - Tops and Toes

I haven't been able to meet any of the HSF challenges yet this year, but was excited when a few current projects aligned with the category Tops and Toes. I've been playing with tweaking a new boys cap pattern and girls bonnet pattern and here are two of the results. Stay tuned for tutorials!









Challenge: Tops and Toes
What It Is: Early Victorian Boys Wheel Cap
Year: 1830s - 1860s
Fabric: Wool flannel for the outside and cotton lining
Pattern: My own, adapted from Workwoman's Guide
Notions: thread, needle
How historically accurate is it?: Fairly accurate. The shape and materials are correct and all visible stitching is hand done. The cap lacks interior structure that period caps might have had (stiffening such as whalebone, etc).
Hours to Complete: 1 hour project!
First Worn: Sold to a customer
Total Cost: all from stash!







Challenge: Tops and Toes
What it Is: Mid Victorian Quilted Sunbonnet
Year: 1850s-1870s
Fabric: Striped green cotton voile
Pattern: My own, based on an original
Notions: Cotton batting, needle, thread
How historically accurate is it? The cut and shape are period, though most of the stitching is machine done (not a big issue for 1860s onward)
Hours to complete: 1.5
First worn: sold to a customer
Total cost: everything was from my stash!

These were very fun to make and very "instant gratification" since they were so simple and quick. Gotta love that! A great use for smaller pieces if fabric, too.

Love,
Sarah

1930's St. Patrick's Day Dress!

The last thing to do was to sew on the ribbons, and they were the first things Anne managed to yank off. I'm glad they were just lightly tacked on.



This is the first 1930's style dress I have made for Anne. Though honestly the generic toddler/little girl silhouette remained quite similar from the 20's through the 70's; short, often waistless and easy fitting. Patterns for little girls frocks during these decades often included shorts or elasticized panties. Quite necessary beneath the short dress hem, especially for active little girls.



I didn't have a pattern for this dress so I drafted my own using an original dress as a guide for style and seam placement and a basic sleeveless bodice from a commercial pattern as a starting point for size. I ended up with an A-line dress and a sleeve and collar, as seen below. I drew the desired seam lines on this master pattern, then it was just a matter of cutting the pieces apart, adding seam allowance, and some width to the skirt gores for a more twirly skirt. (For an everyday "play" dress, I would not have needed to add much width...dresses of the 30's could still be quite narrow compared to later full skirted styles).





I made it up unlined in green linen. Most of the interior seams were French seamed and then topstitched from the outside. The side center gore pieces were finished with a bias cut white cotton welt (since I couldn't find my piping foot for piping) and topstitched to the yoke.



The hem was finished with a wide self fabric bias facing. It weights the skirt nicely.



The little puff sleeves were finished with a band of white cotton and the neckline with an itty bitty white collar. Three white buttons are sewn to the front for decoration. The actual closure is in the back, with two little hook and eyes.



I made it a bit big, since I'm hoping it will still fit Anne for the Erin Feis later this year. She loved running around in it, though its nearly impossible to get her to hold still for pictures. Out of the fifty or so I took, here are the only tolerable ones:



I thought I'd have better luck taking her outside. All she wanted to do was run!





Happy baby though! Its good to be out after a very cold and long winter!



Love,
Sarah

A Hobbit Christmas Dress for Anne

For Christmas Sunday Anne wore her new Christmas dress to church and some what unwilling allowed me to take a few photos to share. She is now 17 months old and standing still for pictures is utterly distasteful to her. Still, we managed a few decent ones.

After planning a fluffy princess style dress, I changed my plans last minute to a Hobbit style dress in wools and linens. The reason? Pure practicality. Before these pictures were taken the dress had already endured a full frontal dousing with milk, smeared oatmeal and smashed banana. Also a cookie or two which left chocolate streaks on both dress and baby. (You can still see tenants of cookie on her face...but the dress hides it all!) Wool is a go to fabric for garments that see hard use...and a 17 month old baby us definitely hard on clothes! 

All the fabrics came from my stash so the dress cost me nothing to make. The bodice is of heavy green wool coating with a faux inset of red wool bunting. The sleeves are yellow linen. The underskirt is black linen with a woven stripe and the overskirt s silvery grey wool suiting. I wasn't sure at first how all the colors would work together but now I really like the whimsical effect. 

I used the Sense and Sensibility Girls Regency Gown Pattern for the bodice. A size 2 now! Anne is growing. The skirts are rectangular panels and the sleeves loose elbow length puffs.

The bodice is decorated with rows of antique lace and green silk ribbon. It looked rather plain so I worked a bit of simple free hand embroidery along the edges of the faux inset. My embroidery is crude at best (let's call it folky, shall we?) But it definitely helped dress up the bodice just enough to make it festive.

The little cap (Anne calls it a bunnit) was a last minute addition. It is made of black cotton velvet and lined in black linen with grosgrain ties. I embroidered it differently than I did the dress as I did not want the two items to appear as though they were intentionally made to go together.

I am not sure if Hobbits celebrate Christmas but if they do, I think Anne would fit in quite well. Hobbits are fond of bright colors (chiefly green and yellow) and Anne's dress has both.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Sarah

Sneak Peek!

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! My sewing has pretty much been at a standstill for the last month but I have been working on a special Christmas dress for my Anne-girl. I am nearly finished with it and hope to get some photos of her in it quite soon. In the meantime here is a little preview. I hope you all are having a wonderful and happy Christmas season.

Love,

Sarah

Green Plaid 1860's Dress for Winter Quarters

Last week we had the opportunity to attend an event at a local park and I was quite excited about going! However, I was sorely disappointed when I tried on my dresses and found that they no longer fit very well - I have lost some weight with this pregnancy so far (due to extreme morning sickness) and decided I needed to make a new gown!

The problem was the time - I had about three days in which to get one made! (Lesson: Never wait til a few days before an event to try on your outfit!) I made a complete mess of my sewing room in my chaos and stress to churn this dress out but I did get it done the morning of the event and was so glad to have a nicely fitting, warm wool dress to wear to the living history.

It is a very simple dress. I had much grander plans for this fabric when I first bought it but one must adjust their priorities when time is short. I draped a new bodice pattern and the only extra effort I put into the bodice was the design of the sleeves.

I took a basic coat sleeve and slashed and spread one side of it to gather into the piped seam between the front and back sleeve. It is a subtle style but does seem fancier, somehow, than a plain sleeve.

Tucks to create faux curved back "seams" on the bodice back, and a full pleated skirt. The waistband is topstitched to the bodice on the top and piped at the bottom edge and the skirt top edge whip stitched to the bodice just inside the piping.

I put a hem facing of scrap cotton on the skirt - which I was very glad of! It was quite muddy and my hem was filthy by the end of the event. Thankfully a gentle wash got out the dirt on the fashion fabric and the hem facing took the majority of wear and staining! I was so glad I did take the extra time to put it in.

Darted bodice. It was fun to match the plaid. I made a quick white collar to baste in at the neck and wore my mourning brooch. Grampie has been gone now for just over six months, so my period of mourning is over. . .though I do not think I will ever *not* be in some degree of mourning for him. I wore my necklace of black glass beads for these photos though I did not wear the necklace to the event last week.

It was nice to get back into historic sewing. I've taken an (unplanned!) break from sewing for a while now and it was good to get the creative juices flowing again, even if I *did* have a very short deadline!

Love,
Sarah

1776 Half-Boned Stays!

Last week I finally finished stitching in the lining on my stays and now they are done!

And then - try on time. While I did make a few mock ups before cutting out the final stays, you never really know for sure how a corset will fit until it is all done and you can lace it up for real.

I was quite amazed at how much shaping these give, considering there only four pieces to the torso (two fronts and two backs). The direction of the boning certainly aids enormously in molding the torso to the proper shape. If I would make these again I'd go for a bit more waist reduction as these do not reduce all that much, but they are a vast improvement over my last stays.

Here is a view of the back. I did not have a cord that was long enough so the last few eyelets are unlaced.

The binding job did not come out very well. I think a thinner material and narrower binding would have helped give a neater appearance. But overall, I am really pleased with how these turned out. Now if only I had everything else I need to finish off a late 18th century impression. . .I think I should start with a proper shift! And petticoats. But I may wait til after the new baby is born before starting on that.

In the meantime I can work on a hobbit outfit for the next movie coming out in December. Though my son Judah did tell me that "you look like a Hobbit, Mommy" when I tried on the stays. The costumes from the The Hobbit do seem to reflect more of an 18th century look than the ones from Lord of the Rings.

Love,
Sarah

8th Anniversary at Starved Rock

September 30th was our 8th wedding anniversary and David and I spent the day at Starved Rock. I packed a basket with a picnic lunch and we ate at noon by the river, but all the other hours of the day we spent plunged into the woods.

It was a day of dreamful beauty for me. It seemed every turn in the trail led to another scene more beautiful than the last; the afternoon sun was drowsy and warm and the woods full of the dropping of acorns and quick dashings of chipmunks and fat grey squirrels.

We stood on high overlooks above the river and went down to explore deep canyons. David found shallow caves hollowed from the rock.

I felt as if I had stepped back in time or even to a different world. Can you imagine Gollum swimming here in the forbidden pool? Or finding yourself stumbling into the hidden valley of Rivendell?

We decided to dress 1840's-ish for our outing. I wanted an opportunity to wear my dress again, as I haven't worn it since I made it for Christmas nearly two years ago! David looked very dashing in his black frock suit and plaid waistcoat. He is starting to grow a beard again.

Though after lunch, his coat and hat came off and I cast away my shoes and stockings.

We both agreed our favorite places were the canyons. We were able to visit four of them. Someday we will go back and see the rest. These photos are of Wildcat Canyon, which we reached by way of a very steep wooden stair. Despite the drought, there were still pools of water and the rocks were damp with growing green things.

We ended our day by stopping in late at a little locally owned Italian restaurant and eating far too much homemade pasta and sausages and bread and fried mushrooms. No room for dessert and we both had to ask to have our leftovers boxed up to take home! The portions at Caponi's are enormous. If any of you are ever in the itty bitty out of the way town of Toluca, IL. . .go there. Just do it.

I can't believe we have been married for 8 years! When I think back to our beginning and remember how young we were, how we barely knew each other, how we had absolutely nothing when we started out, and then I look at what we have now, it amazes me. God surely works all things together for good! Our adventure together has had its many ups and downs. Sometimes I wonder how it is possible we have managed to stay together - we are both so headstrong and opinionated and independent! - but I see God's hand continually molding and changing us. Chiseling raw rock into perfectly fitted pieces as we learn to let go of ourselves and strive to serve the other. He has blessed us so much.

Love,
Sarah

P.S. - my stays are *almost* done - just have to finish whipping in the lining! I WILL finish them before I get a baby bump! Haha. I am so pleased with how they have come out.