HSF 2014 #1

HSF #1: Make Do and Mend

I really wanted a hat to go along with my silk 18th century dress so I took a horribly inaccurate old 1860 hat I made out of cardboard and covered in silk, and used the silk to cover a new straw hat! Well a blue straw placemat that I molded to become a straw hat! 

Yes that is the finished 1780 dress but I'm really really trying to keep up with the HSF challenges this year so since this one was due, I think two days ago, I wanted to get it up! Pictures of the complete dress are coming though! 

Completely inaccurate but to help make it a tiny bit more stiff I ironed on interfacing. It actually ironed on well too.

The Challenge: Make Do and Mend

Fabric: White Silk and Lavender Silk

Pattern: None

Year: 18th Century

Notions:Velvet ribbon, thread

How historically accurate is it? It's a straw placemat molded to a hat shape and covered with silk. I read somewhere that they did cover straw hats with silk but they probably weren't blue straw... The fabric is accurate and I hand stitched it all down. There is some interfacing in it though to make it a little stiffer.

Hours to complete: 2 maybe

First worn: for pictures

Total cost: $6 maybe, since the majority of it is the white silk from the old hat

HSF: #18

HSF: #18, Re-make, Re-use, and Re-Fashion

This used to be a civil war dress I got a long time ago when I was interested in historical clothing but not sewing it yet. I wish I had taken a picture before I cut it to see how horribly inaccurate it was, but to get an idea, what I have left is the ruffle elastic neckline/sleeve thing that is off the shoulder.  I googled 'civil war dress' to try to find one that looked like it and couldn't find any that bad! Adding 'costume' found one though...

So that's an idea of what I started with. I actually used the same fabric to make a jacket for the HSF challenge Separates a few weeks back. For this challenge I used the remaining fabric to make an 18th century petticoat and matching stomacher. 

I'm not sure if I love the rounded stomacher, I think next time I'll try a pointed one and I think I want to try boning it next time so it has just a little more support to it. Also I got stingy on the fabric, cut the stomacher off center and refused to let myself take anymore from the skirt ( which of course I should have just re-made it, I ended up with more than enough from the skirt... oh well)

HSF #18

The Challenge: Re-make, Re-use, Re-Fashion

Fabric: Red and white cotton print

Pattern: none. I used these tutorials from here and here and here and here and there's even more out there. 

Year: 18th century. I'm trying more for around 1780

Notions: Thread 

How historically accurate is it? The stomacher was hand sewn and then I got lazy on the petticoat and machine sewed it because I didn't have much free time to work on it. 

Hours to complete: Not long, I did them both on different days though.

First worn: For pictures

Total cost: $0 

And now... here's the full outfit put together finally!

and a bonus cat picture. I tried to get a cute picture, he wasn't having it... 

HSF Challenge 16: Separates

I did finally finish the 18th century stays a week or two ago except for hand stitching the eyelets... which I keep putting off..  More importantly I finally finished my first completely hand stitched 18th century garment!

I just had a week vacation and I brought my sewing along with me and was able to finish completely the Costume Closeup jacket and I'm using it for the Historical Sew Fortnightly.

Instead of making eyelets to lace the front (I really really don't like to sew eyelets) I left it plain just to be pinned onto the stomacher I'll make for it soon.

I do have a shift but didn't have it with me for pictures

Fit: After making this, I'm not sure if the fit is wrong on the jacket or if my stays don't fit right. When I made the stays I thought the shoulder straps were already too far over but with this jacket they need to be further. I also wonder if maybe the jacket needs to be longer. I thought I was pretty short waisted but now I wonder if I'm not.  One of the sleeves is put in wrong, but I'll do it right next time I make this.  Finally I think the neckline is wrong... I think it should reach to the top of the stays? Once again I'm not sure about this either. 

I also have enough of the fabric to make a petticoat and am thinking of doing that but before that I need to make a bum-rump so that the length for the petticoat will be correct.

The Challenge: Challenge 16 Separates 

Fabric: Red and cream cotton print with a white cotton lining. The red and white design seem to me like they could possibly be similar to an 18th century pattern but I'm not sure 

Pattern: Costume Closeup Jacket

Year: 18th Century 

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it? Completely hand sewn with period techniques but the fabric isn't very accurate I don't think. 

Hours to complete: A whole week of sewing in my spare time

First worn: for pictures

Total cost: $0  lining fabric was in my stash and the red and cream was taken from one of my very earliest, very inaccurate civil war dresses. 

HSF Challenge 15: White

About a week ago I saw this Lucile dress from 1916. I've seen it before but this time I knew I had to recreate it. I loved that it was 18th century inspired! After I started it I realized I could finally use it for a Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge too!

I love the skirt bustled on it!

scalloped petticoat

It's not perfect... it has a lot of small flaws I'm annoyed about but I don't know how to drape patterns and this didn't turn out horrendously awful, so I feel like I got just a little bit better at sewing in this project. I really do love the original dress and after making it I love the skirt bustled up and showing the underskirt. I think this would actually make a really gorgeous wedding dress if you really spent time to put detail into it (obviously it was a wedding dress but it would be pretty today too!).

There was a blue sash for it but when I got my friend Cait to help me take pictures I forgot the sash at home! It's unfortunate because I love the blue with it! So here's a bad self phone pic to get an idea of the blue sash. 

Things I changed: The original has four skirt layers: a scalloped shorter skirt, a sheer skirt with a lace pattern on it and a loop around the skirt of one boning line, a sheer apron with a ruffle to cover the boning line, and the outer skirt attached to the bodice. I didn't have the right kind of boning to put into the skirt layer so I left it out and then didn't really need the apron with the ruffle to cover that boning line. I could have added it anyway for the added effect of a ruffle but on the original you can't even see the underskirt's lace and I like the lace.  A zipper instead of hooks and eyes (I have no good excuse I was just being lazy and once I see a project isn't going to be perfect I start to take short cuts). Finally I didn't put in the sort of under sleeve? that is sheer and is longer than the sleeve and peeks out. I don't like it, I think it looks weird so I left it out. I may go back and add the small sheer ruffle on the neckline behind the trim, but probably not. 

The Challenge: # 15 the color white

Fabric: I think a silk blend fabric for outer dress, voile for underskirt, and a white cotton  for scalloped petticoat, grey cotton fabric for lining.

Pattern:  draped on mannequin

Year: inspired by 1916 Lucile wedding dress with obvious 18th century influence

Notions: zipper, lace for skirt

How historically accurate is it? The fabric is not accurate to the original but could be accurate to the time. I guessed on construction of the dress so it could be accurate with the skirts separated from outer dress. The zipper isn't accurate but I didn't want hooks and eyes on the back though they did have zippers at the time so it's just not accurate to the inspiration dress. 

Hours to complete: 20+

First worn: For pictures

Total cost: everything was fabric from my stash except for voile which cost me maybe $10

And because the original dress was a wedding dress I had to try one picture with a makeshift veil from lace I had. I love the sharp look of the dress from the side  in this. 

Exciting Monday

Sometimes the best way for me to be sure to finish something is to just go at it right away and work like mad till I finish it. It's when I put things down and pick up other projects in between that it never gets done. Fortunately that didn't happen with the 1916 Lucile dress!  I'm so excited to say that I finished it tonight! I'm going to give it a whole post later this week when I can find someone to take real pictures of me in it! Here's  a preview-

I'm so excited about this dress and I have lots to say about it but I'll save that for it's own post!

And as a bonus! I finally finally completed something I can use for the Historical Sew Fortnightly because this dress is obviously perfect for the challenge 15 which is the color white and it's not due till July 29, so I'm early! This has inspired me to push myself to get some more historical things done before summer ends and I really want to do more of the challenges!