Despite any evidence to the contrary, I maintain that I do not do embroidery.
Self-lined linen canvas bags, combination of crewel wool outlining and felt appliqué. Crowns are filled with convent stitch (aka klosterstich), which is a pretty neat stitch. Racaire's posts on it are very helpful (and include some jaw-dropping work).
27 June 2012
26 December 2010
Housecleaning
I recently lost my access to a small webhosting account where I had just a few images. I've gone through the ones that I know were broken and fixed them, but if you see any other placeholders indicating a missing image, leave a comment so that I can replace it. Unfortunately, I have nothing else to report - my new job keeps me quite busy, and I haven't had time to pick up the needle in months.
29 August 2010
Sleeves for the Robe Anglais
I decided that I wanted really simple sleeves to go with this dress, so I drafted these from one of the examples in Arnold's Patterns of Fashion. They came together really nicely and happened to fit well with only the most minor of adjustments (I needed a little more flare at the top of the seam). They're lined in a lightweight linen, a bit nicer and finer than the medium-weight I used for the bodice lining.
01 August 2010
Project déjà vu
At first glance, this progress photo on my 18th c. dress looks a lot like the previous one that I posted last year. But in the details, there's actually been some progress. The petticoat is hemmed, and many of the bodice seams are sewn rather than pinned or basted. I turned up a deep seam allowance on the lower edge of the bodice, which helps the waist-to-hip transition not seem so severe. (These gowns do have low waists, significantly bellow the natural waist, but it's still possible to make them too low.)
In the photo, the skirt pleats are pinned in but not sewn, and only draped into place under the bodice edge. Also, the front opening is just messily pinned to the stays to hold it in place temporarily. I've since sewn down the pleats and pinned the whole section to where it will attach to the bodice (interior exterior). Because I got ahead of myself and finished the lining and outer fabric of the bodice together at the lower edge, that leaves the top of the skirt with raw edges exposed on the inside of the dress, but I'm not going to re-do it just so that I can hide them between the bodice layers - this is technically just my practice gown, and no one will see!
I'm pretty confident about the fit of it at this point, so the next steps will be putting in hidden hooks and eyes for front closure, making minor adjustments around the neckline and shoulders, and adding sleeves.
In the photo, the skirt pleats are pinned in but not sewn, and only draped into place under the bodice edge. Also, the front opening is just messily pinned to the stays to hold it in place temporarily. I've since sewn down the pleats and pinned the whole section to where it will attach to the bodice (interior exterior). Because I got ahead of myself and finished the lining and outer fabric of the bodice together at the lower edge, that leaves the top of the skirt with raw edges exposed on the inside of the dress, but I'm not going to re-do it just so that I can hide them between the bodice layers - this is technically just my practice gown, and no one will see!
I'm pretty confident about the fit of it at this point, so the next steps will be putting in hidden hooks and eyes for front closure, making minor adjustments around the neckline and shoulders, and adding sleeves.
29 June 2010
Accessories: Partlet Edition
I recently finished a simple partlet that I hope to wear with my Kampfrau dress. It's a lightweight coating-style black wool, lined with lightweight white linen because I can be very sensitive to wool around my neck. I'm not really going to talk about the design of it, since I used someone else's pattern rather than doing my own research, but there are a couple finishing details that are worth mentioning.
The first is that the linen ties that are used for the side fastenings extend under the hem all the way around the bottom edge, both front and back. This should reduce the danger of stress on the corners pulling the partlet out of shape, since the tabby tape is quite sturdy and unlikely to stretch.
The second thing is the way that the lining is attached. With a garment like this, you really don't want the lining to shift around or peek out at the sides, which can happen with a simple bag lining. After assembling the outer fabric, I attached the lining pieces one-by-one, directly to the outer fabric. To get them lined up correctly, start by laying the matching pieces out flat, wrong sides together. Pin outwards from the center, allowing the edges to be uneven if matching them would cause the lining to pucker. Once you've pinned to within a couple centimeters of the edge, then you can turn the two raw edges toward each other and pin together, and any slack is taken up by simply allowing it to have a deeper seam allowance. You do this all around the edges, and also possibly at the internal seams, but I choose to leave the seams until both lining pieces were in, and then sew those pieces together while simultaneously catching them down to the seam allowances from the outer fabric. There's a photo of the stitches I used, but I should note that they're just what seemed to work at the time, rather than being especially documentable.
The first is that the linen ties that are used for the side fastenings extend under the hem all the way around the bottom edge, both front and back. This should reduce the danger of stress on the corners pulling the partlet out of shape, since the tabby tape is quite sturdy and unlikely to stretch.
The second thing is the way that the lining is attached. With a garment like this, you really don't want the lining to shift around or peek out at the sides, which can happen with a simple bag lining. After assembling the outer fabric, I attached the lining pieces one-by-one, directly to the outer fabric. To get them lined up correctly, start by laying the matching pieces out flat, wrong sides together. Pin outwards from the center, allowing the edges to be uneven if matching them would cause the lining to pucker. Once you've pinned to within a couple centimeters of the edge, then you can turn the two raw edges toward each other and pin together, and any slack is taken up by simply allowing it to have a deeper seam allowance. You do this all around the edges, and also possibly at the internal seams, but I choose to leave the seams until both lining pieces were in, and then sew those pieces together while simultaneously catching them down to the seam allowances from the outer fabric. There's a photo of the stitches I used, but I should note that they're just what seemed to work at the time, rather than being especially documentable.
14 June 2010
Off-topic: where I've been
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this important announcement:
It's been very quiet here, but there's a good reason for that. Last week, I successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis, completing many years of hard work to earn my degree. My professional field is unrelated to historical clothing, so I'm not going to go into details here, but with that finished, I may have more time to return to my hobbies. I've got a little time off before I start my new job, so I hope to get back in the swing of things soon!
It's been very quiet here, but there's a good reason for that. Last week, I successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis, completing many years of hard work to earn my degree. My professional field is unrelated to historical clothing, so I'm not going to go into details here, but with that finished, I may have more time to return to my hobbies. I've got a little time off before I start my new job, so I hope to get back in the swing of things soon!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)