Spring Curtain-along check in

I've been lazy about blogging this spring, so I am well overdue for another Curtian-along post.  If you are scratching your head in confusion about what this whole "curtain-along" thing is about, you can read all of my posts about the topic here.  And now that we are all caught up, here are the latest developments in the online world of curtain costuming.

If you are going to Costume College this summer, I'd love to have your input on when we should have our Curtain-along meetup.  After looking over the class schedule, several of us curtain-costumers have decided that Saturday during the day might be the best time for us to wear our dresses and have a little gathering and photo op.  I'll wait until after the limited classes are assigned to set a time, but let me know if you are interested in participating and when would be the best time for you.

I've seen more and more AMAZING curtain projects popping up around the blogosphere lately.  I am trying to pin all of the curtain projects that I find on my Pinterest board, but I'm sure I've missed a ton.  If you see any others, or if you are working on your own project with the Felicite fabric, please let me know - I'd love to add it!  If you don't have a blog of your own, I'd also be thrilled to feature your work here.

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I wanted to give a quick shout-out to two amazing bloggers who have posted curtain-along projects this spring.  I have always had a special weakness for printed Françhaise gowns, so I was absolutely blown away when I saw Learning to Costume's Robe à la Française.  O.M.G.  Is that not the most drool-worthy thing ever?  

I was also ridiculously enamored with this "dress in a day" created by A Dedicated Follower of Fashion.  Yes, you read that correctly - three ladies made this gorgeous gown in ONE DAY!  I'm not sure which part impresses me the most - how quickly it was made or how beautiful it looks on Amanda.

There are also several other wonderful Curtain-along projects that I've seen on the Historical Sew Fortnightly Facebook page.  Unfortunately I can't link to those, but you might want to take a peek at the photo albums for the UFO challenge and the Flora and Fauna challenge to see a few more beautiful gowns, jackets, and cloaks.

And finally, here's a little fabric shopping tip thanks to Joni.  Have you seen the Hazelnut colorway of the Waverly Felicite fabric?  It has more neutral color palate than the curtain versions, and fabric.com has it on sale for $6.98 a yard.  You can't beat that!

shoe upcycle

Once again, I am horribly behind on posting this, but here is what I made for the Historical Sew Fortnightly "accessorize" challenge earlier in the month.  I took a pair of ugly suede pumps and repainted and trimmed them to look like some of the stenciled leather shoes from the late 18th c.

I started by looking for design inspiration.  Most of the stenciled shoes during this period are flat or have tiny little heels, but I did find some earlier examples with slightly taller heels that looked more like my shoes.  I also liked that a few of these shoes used gold metallic paint, so I decided to do something similar with mine.

Source: metmuseum.org via Jennifer on Pinterest

For the painted pattern, I based my design on these shoes with decorative stripes.

Source: arts.brighton.ac.uk via Jennifer on Pinterest

My shoes are painted with acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium. When you paint suede with acrylic paint, the surface gets smoother and looks more like regular leather, which is a nice bonus. After painting the base color, I used painter's tape to help me space the stripes and draw in the little sun shapes.  I used an oil-based paint pen to draw the designs on the shoes.  It took a while to cover the entire surface, but it wasn't very difficult work - just tedious.  I also painted the heels with the gold paint just to add a bit more contrast.

After the painting was finished, I sewed strips of gold colored silk around the edges and added false seams to the sides.  I tried gluing this binding on first, but the glue kept bleeding through my fabric and staining the outside, so I gave up and sewed it all on by hand.  I finished the shoes with a strip of pinked and pleated trim over the vamp.

Here is the "before"

And here is the "after"

I won't lie - this project was a LOT of work, but I'd definitely try these techniques again to make cheap, customized shoes for the 1780's or 90's.  But unfortunately, these particular shoes are too big and refuse to stay on my feet, even with thick insoles and a ton of stuffing in the toes.  I'm not sure if I'll ever wear them to an actual event or not, but at least it was a good learning experience.  

Oh well.  You win some, you lose some!

Striped mob cap

Last month, I made a late 18th c. mob cap for the Historical Sew Fortnightly Stripes challenge.  It goes along with a pair of painted shoes that I decorated for the HSF Accessories challenge.   I haven't posted anything about either one of these projects because I was waiting for a chance to get dressed up in my blue redingote with my new cap and shoes and take pictures of it all together... but... my brilliant plan isn't working out so well.  My life is so hectic right now that I haven't had the time for a decent photoshoot, so I've finally given up and decided to just do some quick posts about the construction of these projects and save the dress-up posts for the later.

This project was inspired by a beautiful striped cap in an 1787 portrait by Adélaïde Labille-Guiar.  My version is a 28" circle that I gathered around the edges and then bound into a narrow band of gold silk taffeta that is 30" around.  The sheer striped silk fabric was pretty limp at first, so I starched it heavily and lined it with a layer of tulle to give it a little more body.  The opening of the cap is so large that it only works with a hedgehog wig, but after experimenting with a variety of sizes, this is what seemed to work best for me.

I noticed that many of these caps that are illustrated in period artwork also have a falling veil in the back.  I didn't have much fabric left for the veil, so mine is less full that many of the examples that I have seen, but I thought that a little extra decoration in back would still be better than nothing.

I finished off the cap with a pair of blue bows to match my redingote and a spray of yellow feathers to add a bit of contrast.

This was a very fast and easy project.  It was hand-sewn and entirely made from materials in my stash.  I can't wait to wear it - it's huge and silly and fun, and I'm hoping it will give my redingote a very different look for the summer.

For more wonderfully over-the-top mob cap inspiration, check out the Ministry of Silly Hats page by Mode Historique or the Big Cap of DOOM by The Costumer's Closet.  Both of these ladies and their fabulous caps were a huge inspiration for me wanting to make one of my own.

first voyage of the pirate costume

Although I'm moving at a snail's pace on this costume, I finished one more piece of my new pirate outfit - the waistcoat - and was able to wear it to Scarborough Faire this past weekend.

My ultimate goal is to also make a jacket to wear over the this under-bodice.  My plan for the waistcoat and jacket is inspired by these two amazing waistcoat/jacket combos from around 1790.

Although most 18th c. women's waistcoats like this one would probably have a plain linen back and lacing to make it adjustable, I decided to use the wool fabric for the back so it would look more complete on its own.  While the long-sleeved jacket will make quite a dandy pirate look, it might not be the most comfortable thing to wear at blazing hot Texas faires.  It'll be nice to have the option of wearing this outfit either way depending on the weather.

The wool is a very fine grey and black stripe, and the bodice is lined with soft cotton canvas.  I used hook and eyes up the center front, and the cording and silver metal buttons on the front are mostly just decorative.  I used a combination of modern and period sewing techniques while making this bodice, but I made sure to include some visible topstitching with unbleached linen thread to give it a little more of a rustic look.

Like the hat and the petticoat, I made this project as a Historical Sew Fortnightly entry.  This one is for the "By the Sea" challenge, and I had so much fun posing by the pirate ship at the Renaissance festival to fit the nautical theme.  At some point, I still need to do some more distressing on the waistcoat and my under-petticoat.  Compared to the hat and the floral petticoat, these other garments look a little too perfect and new.  But other than that, I'm really happy with the way this outfit is coming along, and I can't wait to start working on the jacket so I can call it 100% finished!  

blogging va-cay

Sorry for disappearing on you all lately.  This is my insanely busy time of year at work, and sewing/blogging deadlines were adding too much stress to my already hectic life, so I decided to take a little internet hiatus until things calm down for me again.  But I think the worst of it is over now, so I have 3 new Historical Sew Fortnightly projects and a Curtain-Along post to share with you over the next week or two.  Yay!  :)

And in the meantime, I'm going to once again play the American Duchess shoe lottery.  Will I ever win?  Ha!  Not likely.  But I think her new Regency shoes are so pretty, so a girl can dream...

30s Beach Pajamas

For this week's Sew Historical Fortnightly challenge, we were supposed to make something that fit the theme "peasants and pioneers".  I decided to take a slightly less literal approach with this one and use it for a project that I've been dying to make for a few years now - a set of 1930's beach pajamas.

The "peasant" part of this challenge comes from the blouse, which I made out of a printed feedsack that I picked up in an antiques shop years ago.  The feedsack was only 46" long, so it took some very careful planning and piecing to make it work from just one bag.  Printed feedsacks like this one were a popular money-saving choice for home seamstresses during the Great Depression and WWII, so it seemed like a great choice for this challenge.  I'm no expert on dating feedsacks, but I'm guessing that this print with its happy little cherries is actually from the 40's instead of the 30's, but shhhh... let's keep that secret between ourselves!  ;)

I used a New York pattern with the blue eagle NRA stamp on it, which means that it was sold between 1933 and 1935 under the umbrella of Roosevelt's New Deal recovery programs.  I love finding little clues like this to help date patterns, and I thought that using an authentic depression-era pattern would also fit the peasant challenge perfectly.  The only change that I made to the pattern was to make the collar open instead of closed with a bow, which seemed a little prissy for beach-wear.

For the "pioneer" part of this project, I decided to honor the fashion pioneers of the 30's who finally began breaking the gender barriers that had always been associated with women's pants.  A few brave women had been experimenting with various forms of trousers since the bloomer era, but it was really the 1930's that marked a turning point for this article of clothing.  Although I like playing dress-up in pretty frocks for my costuming work, my real-life wardrobe is made up of slacks, capris, and jeans about 99.9% of the time, so this is my little tribute to those amazing fashion-forward women of the 30s who paved the way for a trouser-loving girl like me.

I have always adored the super-wide legged look of the 30's.  I think they are so glamorous and fun, and I've been dying to make a pair for myself.  I used an Anne Adams pajamas pattern from the mid-1930s for my pants, and luckily, they fit me perfectly with no alterations needed except for the length.  Some modern costumers seem to be a bit freaked out by the fit of 30's pants, but I really love the way these look on me.  I admit that the crotch is crazy low and the waist is crazy high, but somehow it all works.  I made these out of linen canvas from my stash, and I used vintage mother-of-peal buttons for the sides.

The only problem is that it is hard for me to decide whether to wear the blouse tucked in or out.  I think it looks a little more leisure pajama-ish with the shirt out, and more beach pajama-ish with it tucked in.   I have to admit that I'm more comfortable and less self-conscious with the shirt out (did I mention how crazy high those pants are?), but I miss seeing the buttons on the pants when I wear it that way.  But I'm sure I'll wear it both ways from time to time just depending on my mood.  It's good to have variety.

For more beach pajama inspiration, check out two of my favorite photo blogs - Giant Pants of the 30s and La Mode Pyjama.  I also have a few additional photos of this outfit on my flickr.

a pirate bicorn

The latest Historical sew fortnightly challenge was "embellish".  Since this is a busy time of year for me, I decided to keep things simple and just decorate a hat.  I bought a bunch of wide-brimmed wool hats from Target last year, and I thought these would make a wonderful pirate hats.  All they need is some wire around the edge and a bit of trimming.

Before: floppy and boring...

After: piratey and AWESOME!

I bought the vintage trim that I used around the edges at the Antique Elegance show two weekends ago, but everything else came from my stash.  After I wired and bound the edges, I folded the brim up and stitched the edges together at the sides to keep it in place.  I also added tassels to the ends like you see in some period bicorns, but I chose tassels that were raggedy and worn to make it look more pirate-ish.  I decorated the front with a ribbon cockade made with the wonderful instructions on the blog Idle Hands (part 1 and part 2).  I also added a bunch of feathers to the top based on two 1780's fashion plates from Galerie des modes et costumes français showing women wearing heavily embellished bicorns.

And that's pretty much it!  All of the embellishment was hand-sewn, and it probably only took me 3 hours from start to finish.  Here are a few more pics to show how it looks for other sides.

Curtain-Along Pocket, Meetup, and Give-away

It's been a while since I've posted anything about the Curtain-Along, but I definitely haven't forgotten about it.  In fact, I've just been waiting to make sure of a few things before making this announcement:

We are going to have a Curtain-Along meetup at Costume College this summer!  

I am SO excited to be able to attend Costume College again this year, and I've been consulting with some of my friends about a good day to do a meetup for this project.  Most of the people that I've talked to have voted for Friday or Saturday during the day, and personally, I'm learning toward Friday so we can meet everybody and make some new friends early in the conference.   But I'm still open to changing that to Saturday if you all know of any big conflicts that I'm not aware of.  We still have until August to nail down an actual time and location for our gathering, and I'll keep you updated with more info later in the spring.  :)

And while I still haven't found the time to make my Curtain-Along jacket, I was able to sneak in a smaller curtain project for the Historical Sew Fortnightly undies challenge this week.  I made a patchwork pocket inspired by this one from the Winterthur Museum.

I used one of the curtain tie-backs to cut blocks of the printed fabric, and then I dug out some scraps from my ikat open robe for the blue pieces.  The striped binding and backing fabrics are also from my scrap bin.   I cheated a little and machine-sewed the piecework, but the binding is sewn by hand.

The most noteworthy thing about this project was discovering how HUGE 18th c. pockets were!  The original pocket that I based mine on is 16" long.  When I blew it up to full size to make a pattern, I thought it must be a mistake because it looked so crazy big.  I even made one of my students model it so you can see the scale.   But it is definitely not a mistake.  When I looked at other examples I discovered that this size is actually quite average.  I had no idea!   We decided that 18th c. women must have been carrying whole chickens around in these things.  For my own version of this pocket, I reduced the length to 14", which is still quite large, but at least my hands can reach the bottom of it now.

Just for a bit of fun when I wrap up the Curtain-Along in September, I thought I would do a giveaway with this pocket as the prize. We can make a final list of all the Curtain-Along projects that people have made this past year, and then I'll hold a random drawing and send this pocket to one lucky person as a little thank-you for participating.

And just as a reminder, check out my Pinterest board for all of the pin-able Curtain-Along projects that I know of so far.  If you have seen others or have made something yourself, please let me know so we can all check them out.  And remember, if you don't have a blog, I am happy to feature your work or let you do a guest post here too.  If you are new to this project or just looking for inspiration, I also have a board of Georgian Indienne print inspiration pics to get you started.

Happy curtaining!