Sunday, February 10, 2013

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!


13 comments:

bauhausfrau said...

Your pocket turned out so well, it really does echo the original in feel and colors.

Looking forward to the meet up!

Anonymous said...

I love your pocket, it's very nice!

The meet up should be fun! I want to go to Costume College but I won't be able to this summer...but I'm going to try to go to the marketplace again.

Jenni said...

Beautiful...you know what's funny to me, is not the size, but how colorful and pretty something like this was, considering no one would ever see it!

Julia B. said...

I really like your pocket! I actually just made one very similar to that recently- I used 8 different fabrics for the patchwork, and used triangle pieces to make a sort of star (I copied a historical design). I decided it seemed too big, and made it a lot smaller than the pattern. ;) I love your project, and the fabric is great!

lahbluebonnet said...

I walk in Colonial Williamsburg a lot, all day long, with my family...with kids...need I say more? I quickly learned the need for those huge pockets...to slip in my wallet, keys, cell phone, etc, etc, etc. Now I make my pockets based on what I need to carry and stuff into them. They are so practical!

MrsT said...

About a year ago I did an analysis of the dimensions of pockets in the Pockets of History exhibit in the UK (I used the online catalog). Not all of the pockets listed had dimensions, but of those that did: the average length was 14.88" and width was 10.42". The 1700s pocket average dimensions were: length 14.00", width 9.81". The 1800s average pocket length was 15.18", width was 10.62". Your slightly shorter pocket was actually pretty darn average!

Augustintytär said...

It looks exactly like the original! Fantastic job! Who ever wins it in the end is going to be one lucky seastress.

Chelsea said...

Oh man, I wish I could go to Costume College! I'd love to see all of the other Curtain-Along projects in person... I might make it to Dress U, if anyone is interested in meeting up there.

Chelsea said...

(Also, I have taken much better pictures of my finished cloak since the post you have pinned, if you'd like to see: http://asartorialstatement.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/curtain-along-cloak-photo-shoot.html)

Anonymous said...

Just got my fabric today-- the black colorway. I'm making a sacque gown for a craft demo I promised to do in April. I have not made any full-size (VERY full, unfortunately) 18th century garments for almost 20 years. First item on the agenda is to sort my stays. They're in the wash now. When dry, they have to be enlarged-- a lot.

CurmudgeonCouture said...

You are amazing! I've been following your posts since forever. Because of you I finally got off my butt and completed my Italian Courtesan costume and my 1870's Victorian. You inspire me every time I log on to your blog. Someday I will make it to costume college.

Curtain said...

This is a wonderful job that you have done. Thanks for contributing your important time to post such an interesting & useful collection.

chriselan said...

I love your pocket, it's actual great!

The get together ought to be entertaining! I need to go to Ensemble School yet I will not have the option to this summer...but I will attempt to go to the commercial center in the future. Abogado Invadiendo del Condado Somerset.Abogado de la Corte de Tráfico de Nueva Jersey.


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