1770's and 1780's day wear

Today was a busy day! I finished up the whitework apron I was working on and embroidered the fichu.

This is the first really large fichu I’ve made. I used my Civil War Bosom Friend (aka Sontag) as the pattern, cutting the entire thing in one oddly shaped piece. The center is semi-triangular with two very long angled skinny arms that wrap around the front of my body and then tie in back. I just LOVE the look!

Adding a little something extra, I decided to cut it using my rotary tool and a scalloped blade, to approximate the look of my inspiration piece:

1780s scalloped fichu

The photo isn’t high res, so I can’t tell if the scalloped edges are bound or not. Mine aren’t…for now. I’m still trying to decide if they need to be.

I borrowed a second idea from this photo: the notion of tying a pretty ribbon around the fichu’s ends. That looks just so precious!

Close up of whitework

Note the ribbon tyed over the fichu's ends.

1780's whitework fichu

Pix!

• Late 1890's Harper Gown I've decided I need to make a late-summer-weather-appropriate gown for a local Victorian Days parade/festival. Last year, I wore a wool traveling gown and roasted. Not this year.Not ever again. I am going to wear cotton. After spending hundreds of hours scouring the web, I stumbled upon this picture. Around......
• Progress Update: 1860's sheer dress and the fine art of accessorizing THE DRESS IS FINISHED!WHOO HOOO! I spent a few hours last night finishing up the handwork and am happy to report my 1860's sheer cotton day dress is finished. Pix below (note: the front of my half high is slightly wrinkled due to the fact that my dress form isn't......
• 18th Century Whitework Apron This weekend is Colonial Kensington, and I am so looking forward to it! I have a lot of 18th century middle class clothes, but I still like to make something new for every event I attend. I decided I needed to make two new accessories for my Rococo/Rev War garb:......
• 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress For my next project, I'm planning on recreating this dress, which I found on www.antiquedress.com. It is an actual period garment, not a reproduction. Pix for reference: [/caption] Isn't it just GORGEOUS? The description: #4161 - c. 1867 Lovely Summer White Cotton Print Gown! Crisp, white cotton one piece voile......
• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......

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This weekend is Colonial Kensington, and I am so looking forward to it! I have a lot of 18th century middle class clothes, but I still like to make something new for every event I attend. I decided I needed to make two new accessories for my Rococo/Rev War garb: A new embroidered muslin apron and a new muslin fichu.

For the apron, I used this picture as my inspiration.

First, can I say this about that skirt…drrrrrrrooooooool! Someday I’ll make that skirt. But not this year.

Now, back to the apron: It’s hard to see in this photo, but the apron is whiteworked around the perimeter. There may be more embroidery in the body of the apron, but I can’t tell. I decided I’d put the new whitework designs I just bought to the test.

Pics:

Close up of border (the white is the stabilizer showing through)

The embroidery is finished!

Center element (almost centered right...*sigh*)

Left to do: hem three sides and stitch to waistband. The final step will be adding the ties.

• Update: Late 1890's (La Belle Epoque) Gown With my garb finished and ready for July's Silverleaf Renaissance Festival, I am ready to turn my attention to the gown for this summer's next event: Northville's Victorian Days Parade/festival. As you'll recall, I'm making a gown with two layers: the first is an antique lace under-dress, lined in cream......
• Elizabethan Blackwork Jacket--Almost There! This past week, I finished up braiding and applying the trim, tweaked the skirting godets (I cut them too wide at first), hemmed the skirting, and applied the lace. I also sewed some ribbons to the front center to close the jacket. I did a trial fitting. It JUST fits.......
• Late 1890's Harper Gown I've decided I need to make a late-summer-weather-appropriate gown for a local Victorian Days parade/festival. Last year, I wore a wool traveling gown and roasted. Not this year.Not ever again. I am going to wear cotton. After spending hundreds of hours scouring the web, I stumbled upon this picture. Around......
• Problem Solved! So far, this year is looking like the exact opposite of last. I wore heavy cotton brocade in July. The temps that day were MAYBE low to mid 70's. This past weekend, temperatures soared to the upper 80's, and this weekend--originally forecasted to be in the low-to-mid 70's--is now looking......
• Memorial Day Weekend I took the kids to a local Civil War event, hoping they'd learn a little about Memorial Day, why we celebrate it, and how it started. I donned my Civil War gown, put the boys in their altered shirts and home sewn twill pants and headed out, prepared to have......

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It’s almost complete! I added the sleeves, the hooks and eyes at the waistband and three rows of pleating around the perimeter of the skirt. Even with the pleating, the hem looks a little too long for me. I’m hoping my boot heels will help a little (I’m barefooted in this pic). All that’s left to do is sew the buttons on the sleeve cuffs. In addition, I trimmed a simple straw hat to match, adding some silk flowers and a silver satin ribbon to tie it.

A pic (please excuse my sunburned face–we went to the airshow this past weekend).

1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress

• Late 1890's Harper Gown I've decided I need to make a late-summer-weather-appropriate gown for a local Victorian Days parade/festival. Last year, I wore a wool traveling gown and roasted. Not this year.Not ever again. I am going to wear cotton. After spending hundreds of hours scouring the web, I stumbled upon this picture. Around......
• Elizabethan Jacket 2: Day 1 After running my embroidery machine for 14 hours--almost continuously--and hooping, rehooping, and hooping fabric dozens of times this is what I have: One front panel *nearly* complete to the waist. There's on spot up toward the top that needs to be finished up. And I'm trying to decide whether I......
• Progress Update: 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress Thanks to the experimentation I did with the sheer dress, this one is coming together much more quickly (and easily). The material is also much easier to work with. The cotton I used for the sheer dress became very gauzy after I dyed it. It unraveled very easily, stretched out......
• Silver Leaf Ren Faire This past weekend, I took Child Number Three to the Silver Leaf Ren Faire (Battle Creek, MI0. We had a wonderful time! I found a bodice chiller (YAY!), and bought a Bosom Friend for my Civil War era garb (not sure the color is appropriate...but we'll see...). With this heat,......
• Construction Diary: 1860's Sheer Dress Because this is my first attempt at making a sheer dress, and I'm draping a new pattern, I thought I'd make my first sheer dress out of inexpensive material. I was fortunate enough to find a sheer cotton drapery fabric at JoAnn's for $5 yard. It was white. I wasn't......

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Thanks to the experimentation I did with the sheer dress, this one is coming together much more quickly (and easily). The material is also much easier to work with. The cotton I used for the sheer dress became very gauzy after I dyed it. It unraveled very easily, stretched out of shape…it was just a nightmare to work with. This crisp lawn is such a dream, compared to that.

What have I accomplished so far?

I’ve cut and sewn the skirt, applied the hemguard and gathered the waist on a ribbon. I’ll later hand sew the waist to the bodice.

I’ve cut and sewn the half high under bodice, though there’s still more work to do on it. I need to finish the neck, the center front and add sleeves. I’m not sure yet what kind of closure I’ll use. I know hooks and eyes are period appropriate, but I don’t like the lumpy appearance they give. I’d rather use something that will lie flatter, like buttons. Finally, I need to finish the waistband. At this point, I’m tempted to make the half high a completely separate garment from the sheer lawn outer bodice, rather than join them. I think it’ll work okay because there won’t be any stress on the lawn bodice at the center front closure because the only closure point is at the waist. Not sure yet what I’ll do. I sure wish I had access to extant garments, so I could look inside and see how they’re constructed.

I’ve cut and sewn the bodice back, pleated the front panels and sewn them to the back/sides at the side seam, and added the waistband. Still to do: pipe the shoulder seam (the original had piping there) and armscye. Cut, trim and sew sleeves. And add hooks and eyes to the waistband.

So far, it fits my dressform like a dream. I hope it fits me as well! We’re not shaped exactly alike.

Pix

The skirt is longer in the back than in front

Muslin half high under bodice

Draping the pleated panel for the bodice front

Both front panels sewn at side seams

Close up of hand stitching on waistband (Isn't the clearest shot, sorry)

• Progress Update: 1860's Sheer Dress I've been steadily working on this project, between visits to our local library with the kids, hauling the youngest back and forth to summer school, and writing Blood of Eden. It's almost finished. Yay! Yet to do: Complete the collar Sew hooks and eyes on the bodice front, sleeves and......
• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......
• 18th Century Whitework Fichu Today was a busy day! I finished up the whitework apron I was working on and embroidered the fichu. This is the first really large fichu I've made. I used my Civil War Bosom Friend (aka Sontag) as the pattern, cutting the entire thing in one oddly shaped piece.......
• Elizabethan Jacket 2: Yet another update Things are moving along very well, despite some minor catastrophes during the embroidery process. I don't know whether it's me, my machine, or just plain bad luck, but I can't seem to create a garment without things going a little wonky. I broke six needles while embroidering this jacket. And......
• Research: Civil War Sheer Dress [/caption] This weekend, we've been drowning in humidity and stifling heat, and I'm beginning to think we're going to have weather in the upper 80's through October. There is a huge Civil War muster in Jackson in August, and I am NOT going to swelter. I'm making a hot-weather-friendly......

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For my next project, I’m planning on recreating this dress, which I found on www.antiquedress.com. It is an actual period garment, not a reproduction.

Pix for reference:

Bodice Details

Sleeve Detail 1

Sleeve Detail 2

Isn’t it just GORGEOUS?

The description:

#4161 – c. 1867 Lovely Summer White Cotton Print Gown! Crisp, white cotton one piece voile dress is printed with light aqua and brown fuchsia flowers in Amazing condition!!! The gown is all hand stitched and trimmed with linen bobbin lace. The bodice is lined in white linen and comes with a separate modesty neckline insert (very sexy to wear without the panel! . There is a deep side pocket in the skirt & a small watch pocket at the waist. One small brown stain in front, 2 pin holes in skirt, a few period mends but truly Excellent condition.. hard to believe it’s this great for age!! You’ll believe you stepped back in time as the material is as crisp and clean as new! Shown with hoop and slip under, but doesn’t come with that. Sorry! Just the great sheer dress! Measures: 33/34″ bust, 26″ waist (but it’s short waisted, but hooks can be moved a bit to fit), Measures: 44″ long from waist to hem in front, 55″ long from waist to hem in back., 12″ across back between armseams, so no wide backs. I have a fairly small back, but wear a normal size 6.. and it’s do-able for me.. if I stand up straight!

My dress will be made out of this lovely cotton lawn fabric, which I found on the Fashionfabricsclub.com. It’s cute on the site, but I have to say, now that I have it in hand, it’s even lovelier in person. There is a white-on-white print underlying the blue and tan that makes it look that much more delicate and special.

Status: It process of draping half high under bodice (will post pix soon)

• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......
• Pretty Civil War era Sheer Dress Because so many of our Civil War events occur during the steamy summer months, I am so in need of a nice sheer dress. Because I know so little about period construction, and because people who are active in the hobby are so aware of details, I am doing my......
• Progress Update: 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress It's almost complete! I added the sleeves, the hooks and eyes at the waistband and three rows of pleating around the perimeter of the skirt. Even with the pleating, the hem looks a little too long for me. I'm hoping my boot heels will help a little (I'm barefooted in......
• Progress Update: 1860's sheer dress and the fine art of accessorizing THE DRESS IS FINISHED!WHOO HOOO! I spent a few hours last night finishing up the handwork and am happy to report my 1860's sheer cotton day dress is finished. Pix below (note: the front of my half high is slightly wrinkled due to the fact that my dress form isn't......
• Update: Late 1890's (La Belle Epoque) Gown With my garb finished and ready for July's Silverleaf Renaissance Festival, I am ready to turn my attention to the gown for this summer's next event: Northville's Victorian Days Parade/festival. As you'll recall, I'm making a gown with two layers: the first is an antique lace under-dress, lined in cream......

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For those of you who haven’t heard of this item, like I hadn’t a week ago, a Sontag (aka Bosom Friend/Bosom Buddy) is a knitted or crocheted shawl-like garment that crosses across the front of the body and ties around the waist. The first time I saw one (without realizing what it was) was while watching a BBC filming of Little Dorrit.

After rummaging around the internet, I found the following photos:

Movie still from BBC's Little Dorrit

Disc Cover

I think it’s adorable.

Next step: figuring out how to make one of these sweet little garments. Luckily, I stumbled upon a website that gives the precise instructions for both a knitted and crocheted garment. Because I don’t know how to knit, I’m opting for the crocheted version.

Click HERE for full instructions, including needle size and yarn requirements.

Click HERE for full instructions for a knitted Sontag.

This book contains instructions for sontags and many other items

Because websites like these tend to disappear, I copied the directions and saved them on my computer’s hard drive. Should this link ever die, I’ll post them on this blog.

Of course, for those who prefer to purchase finished items, there are plenty of sutlers who sell bosom friends/Sontags.

http://www.landysforgifts.com/catalog/item/2476423/2902714.htm

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=902502

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1231092

For practicality purposes, I’m making mine out of black wool yarn. At least it’ll match just about anything I might wear in the future. However, depending upon how this first one turns out, I might like to make a second one out of a soft heather gray, like Little Dorrit’s.

As of right now, I have completed 12 rows of the back panel. I haven’t worked on it long, maybe an hour or two. It’s going fairly quickly.

Will keep you posted, with pix.

• Research: Civil War Sheer Dress [/caption] This weekend, we've been drowning in humidity and stifling heat, and I'm beginning to think we're going to have weather in the upper 80's through October. There is a huge Civil War muster in Jackson in August, and I am NOT going to swelter. I'm making a hot-weather-friendly......
• Elizabethan Jacket 1 While perusing a few sites, I found a link to the London Jacket I am trying to re-create! I am so excited to see an actual photograph, although the illustration was a very good representation. Take a look for yourself: Museum of London I don't have any progress to report.......
• Silver Leaf Ren Faire This past weekend, I took Child Number Three to the Silver Leaf Ren Faire (Battle Creek, MI0. We had a wonderful time! I found a bodice chiller (YAY!), and bought a Bosom Friend for my Civil War era garb (not sure the color is appropriate...but we'll see...). With this heat,......
• 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress For my next project, I'm planning on recreating this dress, which I found on www.antiquedress.com. It is an actual period garment, not a reproduction. Pix for reference: [/caption] Isn't it just GORGEOUS? The description: #4161 - c. 1867 Lovely Summer White Cotton Print Gown! Crisp, white cotton one piece voile......
• Progress Update: 1860's sheer dress and the fine art of accessorizing THE DRESS IS FINISHED!WHOO HOOO! I spent a few hours last night finishing up the handwork and am happy to report my 1860's sheer cotton day dress is finished. Pix below (note: the front of my half high is slightly wrinkled due to the fact that my dress form isn't......

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THE DRESS IS FINISHED!WHOO HOOO!

I spent a few hours last night finishing up the handwork and am happy to report my 1860’s sheer cotton day dress is finished. Pix below (note: the front of my half high is slightly wrinkled due to the fact that my dress form isn’t shaped exactly like I am. I didn’t pad it for the photos). I couldn’t estimate the total time it took to research and construct this garment, but I’d say it was several hundred. I am not big in documenting my research, but I still do a great deal of it.

The final step: researching the appropriate accessories to complete my impression. Whenever possible, I prefer to use genuine antique items. Better yet, items that belonged to a deceased family member. I’ve learned in researching this topic that accessories make a great deal of difference in the impression you create. A cotton dress can be worn as either a camp dress or a visiting/Sunday Best, depending upon the accessories. Thus, I’ve determined it’s important to take my time looking into what accessories I should use and which I shouldn’t. My goal is to create a middle class visiting/walking impression.

The accessories I’ve found recommended in How To articles on the internet are:

Belt and buckle (antique mother of pearl buckle purchased on eBay)

Gloves (my hubby’s grandmother left behind dozens of gloves and other items. I found a perfect pair among them!)

Brooch (I found my genuine cameo on eBay)

Pocket Watch (Left behind by my aunt)

Shawl (antique Chantilly lace shawl purchased on eBay)

Parasol (purchased a reworked antique from an online Sutler)

Bonnet/hat (purchased last year from a Sutler’s tent)

Reticule (I don’t have one of these yet. I carry my things in a small egg basket)

Earrings (genuine pearl dangle earrings purchased on eBay)

My foundation garments:

Chemise (I’m cheating a little, wearing a simple sleeveless camisole under my corset and no corset cover)

Under petticoat

Crinoline (hoop)

Corset

Over pettincoat

Linen drawers

Socks

• Progress Update: 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress It's almost complete! I added the sleeves, the hooks and eyes at the waistband and three rows of pleating around the perimeter of the skirt. Even with the pleating, the hem looks a little too long for me. I'm hoping my boot heels will help a little (I'm barefooted in......
• A 1530's Saxon dress that makes me green with envy One of my favorite pastimes is surfing the web, searching for inspiration for new projects. I thought I'd share some of my favorite finds once a week. This week's featured gown is like none I've ever seen at our local Renaissance festivals. It's a Saxon gown, based upon the artwork......
• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......
• 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress For my next project, I'm planning on recreating this dress, which I found on www.antiquedress.com. It is an actual period garment, not a reproduction. Pix for reference: [/caption] Isn't it just GORGEOUS? The description: #4161 - c. 1867 Lovely Summer White Cotton Print Gown! Crisp, white cotton one piece voile......
• Pretty Civil War era Sheer Dress Because so many of our Civil War events occur during the steamy summer months, I am so in need of a nice sheer dress. Because I know so little about period construction, and because people who are active in the hobby are so aware of details, I am doing my......

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• How to Determine Civil War Rare Coins Value There are several coins which were minted and used during the Civil War. Some of these rare coins value at very high prices while others do not. There are also several fake Civil War coins which entered the market once people realized that these coins were of value to collectors.......
• US Civil War Stamps Stamps -> Topic & Specialty -> War The United Postal Service issued a sheet of 20 stamps in 1995 with the theme of the US Civil War. The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the death of 620,000 soldiers and an untold number of civilians.......
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I’ve been steadily working on this project, between visits to our local library with the kids, hauling the youngest back and forth to summer school, and writing Blood of Eden. It’s almost finished. Yay! Yet to do:

Complete the collar

Sew hooks and eyes on the bodice front, sleeves and skirt waistband.

And…THAT’S IT! I’ll be adding this one to the Most Recent Completed Projects soon!

Pix:

Antique mother of pearl belt buckle

Center front is still pinned.

Sleeve detail

My first attempt at a collar (not yet completed)

• Memorial Day Weekend I took the kids to a local Civil War event, hoping they'd learn a little about Memorial Day, why we celebrate it, and how it started. I donned my Civil War gown, put the boys in their altered shirts and home sewn twill pants and headed out, prepared to have......
• Elizabethan Jacket 2: Day 1 After running my embroidery machine for 14 hours--almost continuously--and hooping, rehooping, and hooping fabric dozens of times this is what I have: One front panel *nearly* complete to the waist. There's on spot up toward the top that needs to be finished up. And I'm trying to decide whether I......
• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......
• Silver Leaf Ren Faire This past weekend, I took Child Number Three to the Silver Leaf Ren Faire (Battle Creek, MI0. We had a wonderful time! I found a bodice chiller (YAY!), and bought a Bosom Friend for my Civil War era garb (not sure the color is appropriate...but we'll see...). With this heat,......
• Late 1890's Harper Gown I've decided I need to make a late-summer-weather-appropriate gown for a local Victorian Days parade/festival. Last year, I wore a wool traveling gown and roasted. Not this year.Not ever again. I am going to wear cotton. After spending hundreds of hours scouring the web, I stumbled upon this picture. Around......

• Celebrity Corpse of the Week - Civil War This week we have multiple corpses. We can't see all of the 623,026 American Civil War dead, but some intrepid photographers like Mathew Brady and his proteges took a couple of thousand snaps for posterity. Some in 3-D, no less. At the time, many of these grainy, out of focus,......
• How to Determine Civil War Rare Coins Value There are several coins which were minted and used during the Civil War. Some of these rare coins value at very high prices while others do not. There are also several fake Civil War coins which entered the market once people realized that these coins were of value to collectors.......
• Not Your Mother’s Civil War Romance… by Susan Macatee, guest blogger Thanks Keira and Love Romance Passion for having me (and the rest of the Victorians) here today! Why did I join this anthology? I guess you could say, since I already write Civil War romance and love the period, I couldn't resist an invite to be......
• Celebrity Corpse of the Week - Iraq and Afghanistan [/caption]Last week when we reviewed the corpse count of America's Civil War, we noted the recent American death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan as "a comparatively minuscule 5,000-and-counting." We find even a single death in an immoral war appalling (are there any moral wars?), and we certainly do not mean......
• Bushnell Tour V2 Series Pinseeker Rangefinder User Reviews Send this to a friend Bushnell Tour V2 Series Pinseeker Rangefinder Manufacturer: Bushnell Customer Rating: List Price: Varies based on product options Sale Price: View Sale Price Availibility: View Product Availability Buy Now Product Description The ultimate laser rangefinder for tournament play and avid golfers, the Bushnell......

This past weekend, I took Child Number Three to the Silver Leaf Ren Faire (Battle Creek, MI). We had a wonderful time! I found a bodice chiller (YAY!), and bought a Bosom Friend for my Civil War era garb (not sure the color is appropriate…but we’ll see…). With this heat, the bodice chiller didn’t chill me much (thank goodness the site had running water. And that water was ICE-cold). Man Child bought a Pirates of the Caribbean card game and some little gifts for his sister and brother.

What a way to enjoy some quality mom-son time

Pix!

Man Child and His Entourage

The Fries were delicious!

• A pinking/slashing tutorial I have been wanting to make a pinked silk doublet for eons, but I had NO CLUE how to pink fabric using modern tools.  Until today. While cruising the web, I stumbled upon this tutorial, by costume designer, Alyxx Iannetta. The tools she recommends: Wooden or rawhide mallet Steel leather......
• Hello world! Welcome to my new costuming blog! I'm *hoping* I'll be updating daily, and including a LOT of pix. I just love to Google-search images of garb for inspiration. Hopefully a few of my pix will inspire you! Today, I'll be working on my late Elizabethan jacket. It's going to be......
• Elizabethan Jacket 1 While perusing a few sites, I found a link to the London Jacket I am trying to re-create! I am so excited to see an actual photograph, although the illustration was a very good representation. Take a look for yourself: Museum of London I don't have any progress to report.......
• Decisions, decisions... Last night, I worked on my Elizabethan jacket. It's going slow but steady. I gotta admit, this project's going to teach me some patience :) That's something I have in very limited supply. In the meantime, I've been doing some research, trying to figure out what to do with this......
• Elizabethan Movie Costume Wish List For kicks, I thought it would be fun to list some of my fave Elizabethan movie costumes. Someday, I may make them. Then again, I may not. It all depends upon whether I stumble upon The Perfect material for each one--at a reasonable price. Like most everyone, the budget tends......

• Fishing Report: January 1, 2010 Striped Bass, Crab and Halibut At Berkeley/Emeryville, sturgeon trips are getting ready to go out in full force starting on Saturday, January 2nd, so get your reservations in now. Since the end of crabbing, sturgeon have slowly been improving and the hope is that in the next week the bite......
• Review: The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer This novel is definitely one of my overall favorites of Heyer’s so far. It’s easy to read and follow despite the language and research. I loved all the side characters and Rule most of all. The leads were very well matched for each other. Lizzie Winwood, the Beauty, is......
• Choose the Best Pressure Washer for Your Needs The best pressure washer for you needs is the one that's affordable and does everything you need it to do. Pressure washers come in two types--those designed for residential use, and commercial models. Unless you plan to run a pressure washing business, you don't need a commercial model. And in......
• Do One Thing: Keep Water In The Fridge To Avoid Running The Tap. Drink a lot of water at home? (I hope it's tap and not bottled!) Instead of turning the faucet on and running it until you get cold water, why not keep a pitcher in the fridge at all times so you always have an ice-cold beverage? This will reduce the......

Because this is my first attempt at making a sheer dress, and I’m draping a new pattern, I thought I’d make my first sheer dress out of inexpensive material. I was fortunate enough to find a sheer cotton drapery fabric at JoAnn’s for $5 yard. It was white. I wasn’t crazy about making an all-white dress, although I have seen photos of all white dresses. So, I grabbed a bottle of dark brown dye and headed home. Let me emphasize something–I have not done a lot of fabric dyeing. And the dye was not recommended for Dry Clean Only fabric, which this is/was. I wasn’t sure how well it was going to turn out.

The first step of course, was dyeing the fabric. Slightly reluctantly, I filled my washing machine with water, salt and very dark brown dye. I put the wet fabric in, following the directions, ran it on the wash cycle four times then rinsed. Voila. I had brown fabric. And with the exception of a few funky striped areas where the fabric twisted, the color was fairly even. I was pleasantly surprised. Note to self: next time, pull the fabric out and untwist a few times during the dyeing process.

The next step: sewing the white petticoat/underskirt. Because I didn’t have a huge stash of muslin, I dug into my stash of better cottons and scored some white cotton sateen. I merely cut a length of roughly 180 inches, sewed the two ends together and turned over the top edge to gather the waist on a ribbon. I then measured the hem turned the raw edge and machine sewed the hem, figuring it won’t be seen. Underskirt: done.

The third step: constructing the cotton over-skirt. Because the sheer drapery fabric was wider than the sateen, I cut four widths of the material for the over-skirt, which would produce a skirt roughly 200 inches around when completed. I sewed all four panels together, leaving about six inches of the last seam open, to allow the skirt to slide over my hips. Like I had with the under-skirt, I turned over the upper edge and gathered it on a ribbon, with the intention of hand-sewing the gathered edge to the bodice later. I cut lengths of muslin for the hem guard, sewed them together and machine stitched them to the bottom edge of the fashion fabric, before turning the guard to the inside. Finally, I folded over the raw edge of the muslin and hand-stitched the muslin to the fashion fabric, using the smallest stitches I could manage. It was a tedious job, but I really like how the guard gives the fabric a little body and weight.

The fourth step: constructing the fitted muslin half-high under bodice. Rather than start from scratch, I used Simplicity pattern 3727 as the basis for my under bodice. I had to tweak the pattern slightly, changing the neckline and cutting off the bottom of the bodice to accommodate a waistband. Fortunately, the tweaks weren’t particularly challenging. I made the under bodice out of a very thin/light muslin, reinforced the seams with some decorative stitching, finished the neckline raw edge with some white bias tape, added some cotton lace to the neckline and cap sleeves and added some iron-on interfacing to the front center placket to reinforce the hooks and eyes that will eventually close the garment. For now, I pinned it to my dressform, preparing to drape the sheer fabric over it.

The fifth step: constructing the gathered sheer over bodice. This was by far the most challenging step of this project. I started with the back of the bodice first, pinning the fabric to the dressform, gathering the fabric at the center waist. I cut the fabric, allowing some extra length in case I made a mistake and moved on to the front of the bodice. Draping the front was a little more challenging, because of the center front closure. I pinned a series of pleats along the front lower edge, cut the waistband and sewed it to both the under bodice and the sheer over bodice. After I had the over bodice back and front sewn at the shoulder and side seam, I had to make several adjustments to both seams, to get the gathers to lay flatter, appear less blousy. I finished the neckline with black bias tape, turning it inside and hand-stitching it to the fashion fabric with a simple but tiny running seam.

The sixth step: Sewing the over-skirt to the bodice. I adjusted the gathers on the ribbon to create the dogleg closure and hand stitched the upper edge of the gathered fabric to the bottom edge of the bodice waistband.

Photos:

Sheer dress lining

Reinforced lining seams

Outer skirt hem guard (skirt turned inside out for photo)

Skirt and bodice stitched together

To do yet: outer sleeves, collar, sash and hook/eye closure

That’s as far as I’ve gotten thus far. Yet to do: Cut, trim and sew the sleeves, sew the hooks and eyes, sew or buy a collar, sew a decorative belt/sash and purchase a brooch or buckle. Assuming I get this dress in a wearable state, I may make another one out of  this lovely printed cotton lawn I found:

• Progress Update: 1860's Cotton Lawn Day Dress Thanks to the experimentation I did with the sheer dress, this one is coming together much more quickly (and easily). The material is also much easier to work with. The cotton I used for the sheer dress became very gauzy after I dyed it. It unraveled very easily, stretched out......
• Late 1890's Harper Gown I've decided I need to make a late-summer-weather-appropriate gown for a local Victorian Days parade/festival. Last year, I wore a wool traveling gown and roasted. Not this year.Not ever again. I am going to wear cotton. After spending hundreds of hours scouring the web, I stumbled upon this picture. Around......
• Elizabethan Jacket 2: Day 1 After running my embroidery machine for 14 hours--almost continuously--and hooping, rehooping, and hooping fabric dozens of times this is what I have: One front panel *nearly* complete to the waist. There's on spot up toward the top that needs to be finished up. And I'm trying to decide whether I......
• Progress Update: 1860's sheer dress and the fine art of accessorizing THE DRESS IS FINISHED!WHOO HOOO! I spent a few hours last night finishing up the handwork and am happy to report my 1860's sheer cotton day dress is finished. Pix below (note: the front of my half high is slightly wrinkled due to the fact that my dress form isn't......
• 18th Century Whitework Fichu Today was a busy day! I finished up the whitework apron I was working on and embroidered the fichu. This is the first really large fichu I've made. I used my Civil War Bosom Friend (aka Sontag) as the pattern, cutting the entire thing in one oddly shaped piece.......

• Snowboarding 101 - Switching the Edge Another one of the most important tips and techniques that you can learn when it comes to learning how to snowboard is switching edges. If you should happen to find that you are on the wrong edge of your snowboard, then what you normally have to do is to unfasten......
• Vote for Me! KISS ACROSS TIME Is Up For Book Of The Week. My Teal Ceagh erotic paranormal romance, Kiss Across Time, was tapped for Book Of the Week at Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews late on Friday, along with a 4.5 Star review that caught me completely by surprise.  Voting is open only for today (Saturday) and Sunday.  If you're feeling kindly,......
• How to Safely Cook a Turkey Ah, turkey!  Each person (in the U.S.) eats almost 18 pounds of it every year!  A delicious turkey is often the priority for the Thanksgiving meal, so knowing how to prepare, cook, and serve the bird is paramount. No need to feel the pressure, though! Achieving turkey success is actually quite simple, especially......