Pattern Collection: Historically Inspired

Happy Monday! Sorry if  your hopes were in having the final installment of my pattern collection up on the blog, but my weekend was quite busy and eventful.

 

I put this collection together by sorting the patterns by era. It's rather obvious which is my favorite, but I've been trying to reach out of my "comfort zone" and not dislike other eras.

 

Regency:

 



Don't ask why, but for some reason when I brightened up this picture, it cropped it too. And without my permission! But if anyone is familiar with Sense & Sensibility patterns, you'll recognize these. While I haven't picked up the Regency era much lately, several years ago that's all I did. Most of what was sewn was for selling on ebay and for awhile, they sold extremely well.

 

Turn of the Century/Edwardian:

These are my patterns that aren't from S&S. ;) The first one is from another favorite company (hi, Amanda!) who makes many fun patterns: Hint of History. At one point I had her 1912 dress pattern and I regrettably sold it, but years before doing so I made a dress out of it. It's an excellent pattern if you're wanting something Downton Abbey looking!

 

The second pattern in the top row is a reproduction of an actual pattern. I bought it online from a vintage fashion library website of some sort. It reminded me very much of Anne's "cow chasing dress" in the movie, "Anne of Avonlea." Someday I hope to recreate it. :)

 

Moving on to the Folkwear pattern, doesn't it look like something Diana Barry would wear? And who can put down a matching apron pattern for ladies and girls? The pattern comes with a few other tea-related things like maybe a teapot cover, napkins, and such.

 

And then the lovely wedding dress pattern put out by Sullivan Entertainment that is identical to Anne Shirley's dress when she married Gil. Many of you are waiting for a full photo shoot to replace the quick one taken on the veranda of me wearing my take on this pattern.

 

Here is another set of pattern from S&S. I've made something from all of these except for the Beatrix Potter jacket pattern.

 

One of the many things that I love about S&S patterns is that many of them come from or are adapted from original patterns. When making something, and stepping into a finished garment, you feel as if you are from that era. :) Once again, I've made something from all of these patterns. Most recognizable of course would be the 1910s tea gown made into a Titanic "Swim dress" shown here and here. Then of course I've made two dresses from the 1914 afternoon dress: my first one back in 2007 and then my second one made this year.

1930s - 1940s:

After the Edwardian era, the 1930s is probably my favorite though I'm growing a fondness to some of the 1920s fashions (thanks Downton Abbey!). The first pattern is a Vogue reproduction of a 1933 dress pattern. I saw this on etsy and immediately fell in love with the design and details. It somehow seemed familiar to me, and then it dawned on me that my friend Laura has this pattern. :) There is a dress cut out in this pattern that is sitting on my table waiting to be sewn, so hopefully before the year is out, you'll see pictures of it completed.

Earlier this year I made a dress out of the Decade's of Style pattern and really liked the way it turned out. Bias cuts aren't the most flattering on me at the present, so not long ago the dress was sold in my etsy shop.

Lastly, there is the 1940s Swing Dress pattern that I used this summer for my sister. You'll remember that the dress was made specifically for a special retro diner themed dinner, and now that it has taken place, she tells me that all she has to show her wearing the dress are a few head shots. I told her the other day that I have many blog readers who want to see the full length of it and on her! :) Hopefully soon I can take her out on a photo shoot for some pictures.

A Jane Austen Regency Dress

When I spotted this fabric well over a year ago at an estate sale, right away I knew that it would be perfect made in a Regency dress. On the selvages it says that it's from London, so "it was just destined to be" as the saying goes. :)

 

Using my favorite standby of the Elegant Ladies Closest pattern from Sense & Sensibility, it only took two days to complete. That said, I obviously didn't sew this one by hand, but it went together nicely.

 

 

It was purposely made not to fit me, since it is always to tempting for me to keep everything I sew. :) Instead of selling it on ebay as I have always done in the past, I now have it listed in my etsy shop right here!

A Christmas Ball!

Earlier this week I received a personal invitation to a 19th century Christmas ball! Now, the reasons why I'm so elated by it is because it's the first one I've ever been invited to (but only because there aren't very many of the kind around here) and a kindred spirit thought of the sweet idea to invite me!

But laying that aside, I've got all excited about it, sort of like a dreamy Cinderella feeling, or a giddy Lydia Bennet excitement, or an Anne Shirley ecstasy, while trying to figure out if it would fit into my super busy schedule these days. And if it would work out, what would I wear? The suggested appropriate attire was in the Jane Austen through Charles Dickens era, and since I have very little knowledge or skill in the Dickens wardrobe, and Regency is a favorite, I've come up with two dresses that I'm tossing back in forth for inspiration ideas.

Marianne Dashwood's teal blue silk evening gown,
or Emma Woodhouse's pink evening gown"Putting the cart before the horse" you may be whispering behind your computer screens, but it is fun to dream every once in awhile. =) If anything comes into fruition, you may depend upon details of the preparation and of the event itself!

Regency Dress in Blue Toile

Up late finishing and posting another Regency dress on ebay. This one is in a lovely blue toile-looking cotton. ::sigh:: I do wish I could keep it!

Click right here to see more pictures!

A Dress like Jane Bennett

Perhaps not an identical match, but I do say that if you add a light blue sash to the waistline, you just might be mistaken for Jane Bennett!

Finished late last night and put up on ebay this morning, you can see more pictures and details here!

The Old-Fashioned Way

Yesterday I was lamenting to a friend of mine at church how I've gotten some pain and soreness in my wrists and forearms from all the sewing I've done lately (I know, because I took a day off, and as soon as I went back to it, the pain came back).

But stop sewing for awhile, and especially after being inspired by gowns worn by Elizabeth Bennett of Pride & Prejudice, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility, Emma Woodhouse of Emma, Anne Elliot of Persuasion, Catherine Moreland of Northanger Abbey, and Fanny Price of Mansfield Park?

And then this fabric?

I think it would look delicious made up into a Regency dress, don't you? I suppose I could go the old fashioned way and hand sew it up. T'would be more so authentic too, I think! Perhaps I'll give it a try.

If you don't hear from me for the rest of the week, it probably means that I'm lost in stitching, tea drinking, and watching Jane Austen films. =)

At long last, a Regency dress!

A springish Regency gown that buttons with vintage glass buttons is now for SALE.

Should I be happy or sad?

I have a whole kit and kaboodle of apparel on ebay: skirts, vintage inspired things, Prairie, Victorian, and Regency things...

Take a look this way, if you please, my ladies!

Contemplations in Regency

Today I grabbed one of my sisters and they politely consented to taking pictures of yours truly in Regency fashion. My hair was curled for church, so it was a perfect opportunity to attempt to do an updo of somesort.

I am having a very difficult time deciding as to whether I should sell my ensemble or keep it. I like it, but the gathers in the front of the skirt make me feel "poofy" and the bodice petticoat wasn't fitting as snugly like a glove as before (which is what I want for support). But when I think of the many hours and late night hand sewing each, I'm not so sure that I can give it up!

At any rate, I'm inspired to work on my Peach Robe so stay tuned later this week for either pictures or listings of the three on ebay.

The Making of a Bodiced Petticoat - Part 2

If there are any gentlemen reading my blog today, you might as well find another blog to visit, as today's post won't be of any interest to you whatsoever.

I was able to work on this a little bit more this afternoon, and found that hand-stitching does get faster with time and experience. Yay! =)

Reluctantly after I had everything enclosed, I added 3 boning channels where the darts were, per side, and tried it on. To my great surprise and delight, it fit me nearly like a glove! I say nearly, because there were a few things that I thought, "Hmm, lets see if we can get this any better..." So I added another channel to the front, and one farther out on the side.

Before I sewed the lining to the outer fabric, I used some some interfacing that I had, and had one long piece going horizontally (you can kind of see it in the picture below) and two going vertical on the sides of each set of darts and boning. Whether it lends any stiffness or not, I'm not sure. Oh well. =)
I almost think that I like the fit and comfortableness of this more than I do stays! I'm looking forward to sewing the skirts on next.

Before taking it off Arabella, I slipped the gown over to see how the necklines would match or if the petticoat shoulder straps would stick out or not...

It's about as perfect as one can get.

::happy sigh::

The Making of a Bodice Petticoat

If there are any gentlemen reading my blog today, you might as well find another blog to visit, as today's post won't be of any interest to you whatsoever.


Now that that is said and done, I was sketching out a picture and trying to play around with my patterns to come up with what I wanted. Didn't work. So I went back to the main instructions with a few alterations to the necklines since I would be wearing it with the ELC gown and not the basic one.

So far I've got the darts done in the front, and right now I need to hand sew my casing for the ribbon drawstring at the neckline. The instructions show it to be on the outside, but since my gown is sheer, I want any extra drawstrings to be inside and not showing through the gown!

After that, I'll add the boning to the front, add buttons to the back, and check the fit once again.

From a screen cap of the '95 version of Sense & Sensibility, you can see that Marianne is definitely wearing a bodiced petticoat underneath a sheer gown. This, and Lydia's famous petticoat from the '95 version of Pride and Prejudice are my inspirations.

It also appears that the top part is made out of sturdy stiff fabric. I didn't think of making the top part of mine out of stiffer fabric, unfortunately. I'm beginning to think that two layers of muslin isn't going to cut it. =P

Maybe if I were to go out in the rain my bodiced petticoat would magically come together. ::sigh::

Guess I'll just have to finish the bodice part of mine to see if it does what I want it to do, and then decide from there. Thankfully, muslin is cheap, and it's even cheaper using a coupon.

First of three projects done!

After hours and hours of hand sewing, poking my fingers, and so on, I am happy to say that it is wonderful to be finally finished with this dress! Well, at least everything is done except for the hem which I will do once the other garments are done.
Because of the sheerness of this fabric, I will need another garment underneath it. =) It was either a chemise and stays, or a bodiced petticoat to go along with it. Because the less bulk the better for a light summer gown, I have chosen to do the bodiced petticoat. Looking at the instructions for it, I think I might try to implement the actual stays pattern for the top part. Stays would offer the proper silhouette needed for this particular pattern, and so we'll see how it turns out.

After I make that, my peach robe will be next.

Making progress

Still have an insecure and pregnant mama cat, and so I've been using my time of sitting near her, by doing a lot of hand sewing and I just added the sleeves to the bodice this morning (a backview):
I just love how the sleeves fit into the armholes like a glove! In previous makings of this dress, I felt like the sleeve wasn't in there properly or something. Turns out that the pattern did indeed have a couple of wrong markings, but they have been remedied, and now I can actually enjoy putting these sleeves in!

Now to just figure out how to do french seams on the armcycle of the sleeves...

EDIT: Okay, never mind. Apparently what I'm doing is called "flat-felled" seams, and not french seams. As they say, "you learn something new every day!" =) And I think I'm going to make some same-fabric bias tape, and use that to bind the inside of sleeves.

No kittens = sewing for Cheri

Cats must have false labors, as so far we have no kittens.

Instead of just waiting around, I decided to finally pull my fabrics out that I'm using to make Marianne's picnic outfit from the 1995 version of Sense & Sensibility. Because the sheer voile gown will take longer with doing half of it sewn by hand, I decided to start working on it first. I am using the Elegant Ladies Closet pattern for this. Click here to view more details about getting an e-pattern for yourself!
Because it being so light, I have decided to take on the task of doing french seams on everything. Because of my lack of lots of experience, does it look right, to those who have done it?

Getting ready to hand sew the "shoulder" seams down:

Upon taking these pictures, I now have the inside neck facing sewn on and am currently working hand stitching it down. Will keep everyone updated with pictures as time allows.

Marianne's "Wild Flower" Dress - EDITED

"I've always preferred wild flowers!"

quotes Marianne Dashwood from the 1995 Sense & Sensibility

And I am currently working on a dress similar to the one above. I've long admired it, and searched high and low for some fabric that would resemble her's and this is the closest that I could come up with.

EDITED TO ADD:

It is done! =) Take a look at more pictures here. Yes, I'm poorer than a church mouse right now, so I'm having to sell it. Believe me, I'd keep it if I had money growing on trees!

I could have done it in the Elegant Ladies Closet pattern for a more authentic look, but the majority of people who buy my gowns on ebay do not have period correct stays, and with this dress pattern, regualr foundations work fine. And besides, I altered the basic pattern quite a bit in the neckline area to resemble the ELC pattern.

Another Regency dress

I was planning on sewing & selling another Regency dress before I leave in a couple of weeks, but the more I cut into this fabric, the more I am convinced that I cannot sell it. ::wink::

It's being made using the Elegant Ladies Closet pattern from Sense & Sensibility. Earlier this year I had in mind to make Marianne's picnic outfit and made the peach robe; pictures here and here, and though I've had the white sheer voile fabric, it hasn't been until now that I've pulled it out of my stash to start working on it.

It's not even all the way cut out yet, and am I 99% sure that it will be a keeper. As much as I can, I'm going to attempt to do french seams on the inside instead of a serger, and hand sew all the outer (visible) seams. As much as I dislike handsewing, I think it would be worth it in the long run.

My apologies to anyone who was secretly wishing for it themselves. =)

Slate Blue Cotton Regency dress

I can't remember the last time I made a Regency dress. It is always a good feeling to finish one. Whether it is a beginner or an experienced seamstress sewing one, they always have an air of gracefulness and femininity about them.

I especially like the vintage buttons on this one. They almost match the fabric perfectly!

Want to see more pictures?

Happy Sewing

Ahhh .... it always feels so good to get something done! And yes, I have stayed up late again to finish the above Regency Robe. I like it better than my green ones I sold. Of course, it probably has nothing to do with blue being my favorite color.

See more pictures here.

A little bit of early 19th century sewing

I have everything done except for the buttons/buttonholes and the hem of this period correct Regency dress. I have been oh-so-tempted to keep it, but I really don't need another one.

Navy linen yet to be cut out and sewn into a Regency Robe. The color looks really weird, and the buttons look strangley dusty, but they aren't, honestly! =)

I had hoped to have both listed on ebay in a day or two, but now that I have parted with some of my Edwardian clothes for a ladies tea, I'm going to have to sew a dress for me to wear! Either that or not go.

Ladies Tea and Literary Social

The Ladies Tea and Literary Social made for such a delightful and splendid afternoon! Everyone had the request of dressing up in period costume and bring a piece of 19th century (or before)poetry/prose to read.

It was fun to see a span of periods represented from the 19th century, but I couldn't help but notice the "Victorian" style that screams "made in the 1970s!!!" =) Here are a few pictures:

A few of the ladies

Our sweet hostess and her daughter

And a bunch of yours truly with featuring the Regency peach half-robe... =)

*Photo credits to Leah