tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82794784190162919252024-03-13T02:17:30.742-05:00Look What I MadeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-63445699837030571162016-06-14T16:56:00.002-05:002016-06-14T16:58:02.825-05:00Truly Victorian Elliptical Cage Crinoline TV103So a couple of months ago I decided I needed to have an 1860s ball gown. And the first step in realizing that dream was to make the foundation pieces. I already had an appropriate corset, so I set about making a crinoline. I chose the Truly Victorian 1865 Elliptical Cage Crinoline, or TV103 for short.<br />
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I finished with my cage crinoline a while back and finally got around
to taking pictures of it. Construction notes after the pics. Click on the pics to enlarge.<br />
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I wanted a jaunty look for my crinoline. I knew right away that if I had to make it out of white everything, I would get extremely bored and resentful. It's made from striped ticking, navy grosgrain ribbons that have a thin red edge, and boning casing that I dyed red.<br />
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I wanted stripes because it was hard for me to mark the boning channels accurately across all the pieces of the bag. Believe me, I tried. I actually started this with some unbleached drill (? I think) from my stash, and though I marked the channels very carefully, they did not line up when I sewed it together. That resulted in a fit of rage and a trip to the dumpster for my first bag attempt.<br />
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I got the idea to get striped fabric so I could follow the stripes and use those for my boning channel guides. Which required painstakingly laying out the pattern pieces and pinning them together ohhhh so carefully to make sure nothing was off by more than a millimeter, but damn does it look good. <br />
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It went together pretty quickly, actually. The hardest
part was measuring out the hoop steel and pinning the hoops to the
ribbon supports, but my awesome man friend helped with that and thus prevented many fits of rage.<br />
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Somehow I was short several inches of boning casing so I couldn't
install the fourth hoop down from the top. There is a noticeable gap
there in the back but hopefu<span class="text_exposed_show">lly not too
bad. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show">Somehow the grosgrain ribbons that form the vertical supports stretched? I have no idea. The instructions call for using grosgrain ribbon, and I hadn't thought it would stretch, but apparently it did so I had to take up the length of the crinoline. I just folded up
the ribbons where that fourth hoop was supposed to go and that closed up
the space a bit. </span>I still
think it's longer than it's supposed to be, but oh well. <br />
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What else... Oh, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to sew the hoops to the ribbon supports. Then I had a flash of inspiration and decided to sew the pieces together with an X inside of a box, which made it go very quickly. Like so:<br />
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I'm not sure if
I've tied the back ties enough, or if they're supposed to be tied that
loosely. From what I understand, they are supposed to help keep the back
of the crinoline from swinging forward under the weight of skirts and
petticoats, and thus maintain the elliptical shape.<br />
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Oh, I forgot
to mention the bag at the bottom was very loose and floppy all around.
Why do these things happen to me, I followed the pattern to the letter.
Anyway, it offended my sense of order so I had to sew lots of little
tucks in it to take up the slack.<br />
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The tucks aren't very noticeable and
thankfully didn't mess up the amazing job I did of lining up ALL THE
STRIPES across the seams.<br />
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I've had some moments of intense anxiety since I joined the Facebook group Civilian Civil War Reenactors, because the ladies there all insist that the hoops should be in proportion with a lady's height and build. This hoop measures 126" around, and I'm a mere 5' 3" so according to that reasoning this is Way Too Big for me. However, I've seen so many pictures of Victorian women wearing Big Ass Crinolines that I'm not too concerned anymore. <br />
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Time spent making the crinoline: No idea, I never remember to track my hours. It only took two afternoons to sew all the hoops to the vertical supports though.<br />
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Cost: $12 for the pattern, $73 for boning casing and hoop wire, $43 for wire cutters--I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE WIRE CUTTERS. Y'all. LISTEN. That hoop wire is REALLY HARD to cut. Like, impossible. Lots of people recommend aviation snips. I say f*ck that noise. I tried aviation snips, you know what they did? This:<br />
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Cue second fit of rage. I've never met a pair of aviation snips that was worth a damn.<br />
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This is what you need, right here:<br />
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I was going to just use them and return them because, well... they were expensive. But they were worth every penny, they cut that hoop steel like it was butter, so I fell in love with them and had to keep them. <br />
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Where was I? Oh, cost. I'm sure I spent around $30 on fabric and ribbons and dye, and another $40 on stuff from corsetmaking.com, most of which I didn't end up needing (like boning tips, boning connectors which ended up being way too big, but I did get a bunch of spring steel bc I will be needing it for bodices).<br />
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Cost: around $200. Good lord, there's a reason why I don't normally tally up my costs.<br />
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Fits of rage: Two. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-61549304927781176982016-01-05T11:29:00.003-06:002016-01-05T11:29:45.645-06:00Attempted recreation of the Furr Homespun DressI wore my pleated wrapper dress three times before washing it, and after I washed it I realized those beautiful pleats were going to make it a bitch to iron. Maybe it wouldn't have needed ironing if I'd put it in the dryer, but I was afraid the dress would shrink so I hung it dry and it was wrinkled all to hell and it was horrible to iron because manipulating all of that heavy fabric on the ironing board was really cumbersome.<br />
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So I made a second one with the gathered bodice/back style out of a lovely navy calico and it's so pretty! It should be much easier to iron, and cooler for warmer weather. The pleated back and bodice version is not only hard to iron, but those overlapping pleats make the bodice rather heavy because of the increased thickness of the fabric.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--M8_bX5QGiA/VovRHhvSy-I/AAAAAAAAcIY/2HJIudU3cjM/s1600/navy%2Bdress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--M8_bX5QGiA/VovRHhvSy-I/AAAAAAAAcIY/2HJIudU3cjM/s320/navy%2Bdress.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apologies for the terrible quality of the photo. The belt is just a temporary one. I've made a matching belt. Buttons are MoP.</td></tr>
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Around this same time, I went down an Internet wormhole starting at Pinterest, and ending with my discovery of the <a href="http://www.uttyler.edu/vbetts/furr_homespun_dress.htm">Furr Homespun Dress, analyzed in great detail</a>. I'd been looking for a pattern that I could use to make a dress with 5-6 yards of fabric, as opposed to the 8 yards of fabric required for the wrapper dress. Because it can be difficult to find 8 continuous yards of fabric, and expensive, too. Plus, I had this gorgeous yellow calico that I found at Walmart for $1 a yard, and I bought all they had, which was just barely 5 yards.<br />
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I was determined to make a dress out of this fabric somehow, and when I saw that the yardage for the Furr dress was 5 3/8 of 34" wide fabric, I thought surely I could get a dress out of a scant 5 yards of 45" wide fabric.<br />
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I bought a couple of patterns: Simplicity 3723, which <a href="https://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/one-pattern-to-rule-them-all-a-civil-war-era-dress-made-from-simplicity-3723-part-1/">The Pragmatic Costumer modified so spectacularly </a>for her 1850s dress, and McCalls 3669. In the end, I didn't want to spend time modifying these patterns to fit me (in one review I read, the McCalls 3669 was reportedly HUGE, and the Simplicity pattern needed an armscye adjustment, and then I wasn't sure if I would have to adjust the sleeve as well, and couldn't really find an answer and thought about it way too much and became overwhelmed and aaaauuuuggggghhhhh).<br />
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But, I knew that the wrapper pattern fit me quite nicely through the shoulder area, armscye, and sleeve, so I decided to spend time modifying that pattern instead.<br />
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Here's what I ended up with, followed by how I did it.<br />
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First, I joined the front and back yokes to the front and back bodice pieces, respectively. I aligned them at the armscye. Since the bodices are gathered, the bodice pattern pieces were significantly wider than the yokes, so when I redrew the pattern I simply ended the bodices in alignment with the center front and back of the shoulder yokes.<br />
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I made the bodice much longer than my natural waistline because I wanted to drape it on my dress form to accommodate my bust. I have never tried to do a full bust adjustment. Anyway, I figured it is supposed to be gathered under the bust rather than be a really fitted bodice.<br />
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The pattern ended up looking like this:<br />
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And fitting like this!<br />
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I put a belt around it to mark where the top of the waistband would go, then adjusted the pattern again.<br />
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I laid the pattern pieces out so that the center front edges used the selvedge. I had to face the CF edges to create the placket for the buttons/buttonholes. I had to place the back bodice pattern along the selvedges as well. Unfortunately I didn't have enough fabric to lay it all out in one piece. I redrew the pagoda sleeve pattern to have straight edges, and used the cuff pattern for the bishop sleeve. Then I managed to get three widths of fabric 39-40 inches long for the skirt. I will have to face the hem of the skirt.<br />
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As you can see from the finished result at the top, it turned out QUITE nicely, if I say so myself! I am really happy with the results. It looks even better when I try it on, than it does on the dress form.<br />
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That being said, it's not perfect. The neckline got all funky when I finished it with the binding, for one thing. UGGGGHHHH.<br />
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I used binding that was cut on the cross grain, but not bias. Is that why it lays all funny? The neckline on the original dress was finished with binding that was cut on the straight of grain, so I thought I'd be fine not making bias binding. Oh well, the crochet lace trim (which I haven't applied yet) should hide it well enough (I hope).<br />
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Also, not pictured, but the back somehow sits a little higher at the waist than the front! I was really really surprised at that. Usually it's the front that is higher, because I never plan for my boobs. I really hope it isn't terribly noticeable. It looks fine from the back, and from the front, but you can see it from the side. However, if I wear an apron, it won't really be noticeable. Since all these dresses I'm making are for my volunteer work at the pioneer farm, an apron will be perfectly appropriate.<br />
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I'll probably make a million of these gathered wrapper dresses. They're just so EASY and so flattering. I'm not sure it was worth the extra work to squeeze out a dress from less yardage using my modified pattern. I think I'd rather spend the extra money on fabric and make a quick and easy wrapper dress than save a few bucks and spend more time on the modified pattern. I am happy that I went to the trouble though. I just love this yellow fabric and the color looks really good on me. :D<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-64835072473006071372015-12-07T13:59:00.003-06:002015-12-07T13:59:56.194-06:00Victorian wrapper dressI started volunteering at a pioneer farm in October. I already had the appropriate underpinnings (chemise, corset, petticoats) but nothing to wear them with, so I was really excited to have an excuse to venture into the Victorian period. As a child, I was obsessed with pioneers and read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.<br />
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I'd been making due with some long, gathered skirts paired with a white blouse with white embroidery. It looked good, but wasn't all that comfortable to wear. Plus, I looked fat. So for the sake of my vanity, I decided I needed a dress.<br />
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I chose the <a href="http://www.lafnmoon.com/product_p/p120.htm">Laughing Moon #120, 1840s-1860s Pleated Wrapper</a>. Reasons for choosing it: unlined (except for the yoke), no darts to mess with, seemed straightforward and it's very pretty. The dress can be pleated or gathered; I pleated it because I used a medium-weight homespun fabric and I wasn't sure how well it would look gathered.<br />
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I was a little bit afraid that this dress would look dumpy but it doesn't. It looks amazing. I freaking love it.<br />
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The fabric is a lovely homespun plaid in shades of cream, olive, blue, and rose that had been in my mother's stash for over 20 years. I fell in love with it when I first saw it and took it for MY stash--a couple of years ago. I think it's perfect for this style of dress.<br />
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It was a bit of a challenge to find a big enough work space to lay out the pattern pieces, which are basically huge rectangles. I finally had to lay my cutting board and fabric out on my bed. My fabric is 60 inches wide; I can't remember how much of it I had, but I believe it was 5 yards. I had fabric leftover after cutting all the pieces out.<br />
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I was a bit stressed out about the pleats and transferring the markings to my fabric, and then I decided to just insert pins where the pleat markings were.<br />
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To make the pleats, I picked up one pin, brought it over to its partner and laid it on top, and pinned in place. It resulted in really beautiful, neat pleats.<br />
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The instructions said to stitch the pleats down along the waist line, but that was difficult for me, so I just stitched them down along their length. It keeps things nice and neat and looks more tailored.<br />
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I had an easy time putting this dress together, but the problems came with finishing the neckline and front. I'll edit this to show pictures of those instructions, but basically they were as follows:<br />
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1. Finish the neckline seam with piping (I didn't make piping, so I just made a strip of bias tape from the dress fabric to finish the neckline), stopping at the fold line for the front edges. The piping is long enough to extend to the front fold lines, but you are to leave it loose.<br />
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2. Fold down the top edge of the center front 5/8 inch. I'm presuming this is referring to the unpiped part of the neck line, but... How the hell do you do that? I consulted with two sewing friends and they were baffled as well. If you fold that part down, it folds down into a triangle. I ended up snipping the fabric at the edge of the piping so that I could do the fold.<br />
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3. Press the raw edge of the center front in 1/4 inch, then fold the front edge along the fold line and stitch down. That's straightforward, except... What am I supposed to do with the piping that's still dangling from the neckline? It's never resolved. I just ended up cutting it off with pinking shears.<br />
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4. Finishing the closures--it's simple enough if you want to put buttons all the way down, which I didn't. Buttons are expensive! That's a lot of buttons! I chose to go with the option of stitching down the center front from just below the waist to the hem. The instructions made zero sense to me. So the center front edges are completely finished at this point. You are supposed to overlap them at the center front line, then flip the overlap over the top of the underlap and sew along the fold line... How can that possibly look right. When you put hooks and eyes or buttons in the bodice, the front edges will overlap, but below the waist they are sewn together like a normal seam. I gave up and just plonked one edge over another and top-stitched it down.<br />
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It's not perfect--the plaids don't match up perfectly, but it's hard to tell unless you're looking closely. This isn't my fault. I marked the pattern pieces all along the edge where the cream strip in the plaid starts and stops, and I cut them out one layer of fabric at a time. But the stripes didn't match up with my markings when I laid them out on the second layer of fabric, and I have no idea why.<br />
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The hemline is shorter in the front than the back because: boobs. I hadn't thought to take that into consideration. It's really not very noticeable though, and it does make it easier to walk in the dress.<br />
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The hem was also slightly longer on one side of the front, so when I lined up the front edges to sew them together, I had to try to ease in the extra length on that side. I didn't do the best job at that, but after fussing with it for so long I finally just stopped caring and decided my next dress would be better. :D<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-58918164534201662062015-09-25T09:17:00.000-05:002015-09-25T09:17:26.914-05:0018th Century Riding Habit ShirtI finished my waistcoat for my pirate costume a few weeks ago and just haven't taken the time to update. I did end up putting buttonholes in it, and I am kicking myself for avoiding anything needing buttonholes in the three years since I started sewing. My sewing friends told me that buttonholes were easy, and OMG THEY WERE SO RIGHT. That little attachment is awesome and the machine does all the work. I was surprised that it was so easy to do the buttonholes through all that gimp trim, and I had no problem cutting through that either.<br />
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I made the riding habit shirt following the measurements given by <a href="http://indifferentcentury.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-riding-habit-shirt.html">Saltpetre and Pins</a> when she was making her blouse. Aaaand I did it all by hand! <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(okay, I'll admit that I hemmed it by machine because by then I was so very sick of the project and ready to move on)</span> It was very pleasant and went surprisingly quickly. There are times when I just don't want to sit at the machine, especially since the lighting in my sewing room is terrible.<br />
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It isn't perfect.<br />
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<li>I believe I should have made the collar wider, so I could fold it over. I'm thinking of adding an extension to it, because when I put on the cravat, the collar gets crumpled underneath and I have to fiddle with it a lot to get it to show above the cravat. </li>
<li>Also, I think the collar is too big. </li>
<li>And I should have left a vent in the sides of the shirt towards the hem so that when I tied it the back and front would overlap a bit. But no one is going to see that. </li>
<li>It's possibly too short in the back, but again, no one is going to see it.</li>
<li>I wasn't able to flat fold the seams because I'd screwed up on the width of the shirt and had to fix it by cutting off an extension I had put in it to make it wider, which turned out not to be necessary at all and would have made the shoulder seams come halfway down my arms. </li>
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I had a stressful week trying to figure out how to attach the lace at the neckline and wrists so that the raw edges wouldn't show. In the end, I just gathered it, folded a piece of bias tape along the gathered edge to hide the raw edges, and then stitched it into place.<br />
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The lace at the neckline is modern and partially synthetic, so it's heavy and slippery. I worry that it's too much and will make the neck opening gape, but I think I could just use a brooch to hold it closed if needed. Maybe not historically accurate, but this is for a pirate costume so I think I can take some liberties.<br />
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The lace at the cuffs is vintage, and I purchased it on ebay. I worry that it's not fluffy enough at the cuffs but there's nothing I can do about it now. I am not worried about it enough to redo it at this point, and I can possibly use the leftover yardage to embellish the collar of the shirt? Again, I know it's not historically accurate but as I said, pirate costume.<br />
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Oh, and I used mother of pearl buttons at the collar and wrists. I had collected quite a few over the years, don't ask me why, and was really happy I could finally use some.<br />
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NOW FOR THE ENSEMBLE<br />
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The cravat is this really cool looking synthetic paisley jaquard, but it's really thick and I think will be really hot, so I bought some dark red silk dupioni to make another one.<br />
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I would like to make a new, lighter weight petticoat to go underneath. The one I've been wearing is just so bulky. I have a pattern for a gathered skirt set on a yoke that I think I'm going to use. Not historically correct, but I think it will be very comfortable and provide the fullness I need for the skirt.<br />
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I haven't even attempted the jacket yet. Now I'm realizing it's almost October and I only have 6 weeks to make and embellish it. This sounds like a long time, but I am such a slow sewer, I'm not sure if it's enough time. <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-77262359362896694972015-08-24T16:29:00.000-05:002015-08-24T16:29:35.248-05:0018th century riding habit -- WaistcoatI've been working on my pirate costume for the Texas Renaissance Festival, which I will be attending with my sister in November. My goal this year was to actually put together an OUTFIT, not just pieces, and to use historically correct patterns.<br />
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So I bought the <a href="http://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/millfarmridinghabitpattern.aspx">Mill Farm riding habit pattern</a> to help me accomplish my goals. I already had stays from the Sherwood Forest Faire, which I posted about in March. But they are a little large, and I wanted to have something that fits a little better. I may still use them, and just overlap the lacing grommets at front or back. I've tried it, and it works.<br />
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But I also finished up my costume closeup stays, which I'd worked on over Christmas. When I first tried them on, they were wayyyyyy too small, because I hadn't taken into account the fact that putting all that boning in would shrink the panels. So I made a stomacher for it so I could adjust them a bit better, and now they fit, and they feel wonderfully comfortable... However. They stick out from my shoulder blades if I slouch the tiniest bit. Here are some examples:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcahYq4_OMk/VduI4y5QhQI/AAAAAAAAaxI/-rpnWSunRiU/s1600/back%2Bof%2Bstays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcahYq4_OMk/VduI4y5QhQI/AAAAAAAAaxI/-rpnWSunRiU/s320/back%2Bof%2Bstays.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div>
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See what I mean? I know several bloggers have made these stays, and they haven't mentioned this as a problem. If anyone reading this has experience with these stays, can you tell me what I'm doing wrong? I am slouching with a bit of exaggeration in these photos to illustrate the point I'm making, but this does seem a problem. How can I fit it? Is this just a common thing with fully boned, strapless stays?<br />
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Onto the riding habit. I made the waistcoat first, since it may be too hot to wear the jacket when I go to the fair. You never know, in early November. Could be 80 degrees, could be 45. If I have a waistcoat, I will have a workable outfit.<br />
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First came fitting the pattern to my dress form. The way I did it was by pinning the side seams of the paper pieces to the sides of my form, and then studying it to see what I'd need to do to fit it.<br />
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You can see that the main thing I needed to do was add a couple inches to either side of the center back. Oh, and I always need to take the waist up a couple of inches on every pattern. <br />
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The front was very large at the top, so I had to pinch away the excess material. I also took it in a little bit at the center back.<br />
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Sorry about the shitty pictures, but I didn't have anyone home to help me. I am wearing those blue stays underneath this. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'd actually made up the waistcoat once already at this point, and it didn't fit AT ALL NO MATTER WHAT I DID. I finally tore it up in a fit of rage and it felt AWESOME. Turns out, I didn't fit the paper pattern to my dress form after all, though I could have SWORN that I did. Maybe I just fitted it to see if I had the waist in the right place and forgot to check everything else. </span><br />
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I wanted it to look a bit rustic, so I used a sort of homespunny looking linen from Joann's, lined it with olive green silk from a 100% silk curtain I found at Goodwill, and trimmed it with this awesome antique gold colored gimp trim. I sewed up the vest by machine, but of course tacked all the trim on by hand which took FOREVER. I used plain gold buttons from Walmart.<br />
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I can't close the vest properly on my form because the boobs aren't in the right place.<br />
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I still haven't learned how to use my buttonhole attachment. And I don't know how to do a buttonhole stitch. I've watched YouTube videos on it a hundred thousand times and still can't manage it. So I decided to just do loops of coordinating trim to button up the vest.<br />
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I think that looks really cool. So I need to sew the button loops on, and I've been making a riding habit shirt a la <a href="http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2014/03/1740s-riding-habit-waistcoat-and-shirt.html">American Duchess</a> and <a href="http://indifferentcentury.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-riding-habit-shirt.html">Saltpetre and Pins</a>, and I am sewing it by hand! All I need to do on it is put buttons on the cuffs and collar and add the lace trim. Then it will be ready to put up here. I almost have an outfit!!!!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-14039855130641846302015-03-30T15:30:00.001-05:002017-05-16T09:37:26.529-05:001776 stays FINALLY DONE!!Whew!! I spent every spare minute of the last two weeks sewing, alternating between Melissa's costume and mine. I finally finished binding my stays last Thursday, just in time for Sherwood Forest on Saturday. It was so much fun. I had a glass of mead, a shredded troll sandwich, and frozen chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick. I really wanted another glass of mead, but my allergies and sinuses were really bad, which often triggers my migraines. I already had a slight headache, and it was a super windy day with loads of dust and pollen in the air. I learned the hard way not to drink too much mead when my sinuses are acting up.<br />
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We got tons of compliments. In the previous two years, we've gotten precisely two compliments (one per year). Actually, those compliments were directed at Melissa, even though our costumes were the same (except made from different fabric) because I made them. But Melissa is beautiful and carries herself with confidence whereas I feel like a shy little mouse.<br />
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So I counted at least seven compliments this year, and many of them were from ladies who said they were experienced seamstresses. Many of them asked questions about the boning and a couple of them even called them stays, which is when you know someone knows their stuff. Others called them bodices or corsets, but I didn't care. It made all that hard, tedious work so worthwhile.<br />
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Here are a few pics.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqsrItrqBok/VRmtvrDC3cI/AAAAAAAAarg/y1crOQBG7jo/s1600/me%2Band%2Bmelissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqsrItrqBok/VRmtvrDC3cI/AAAAAAAAarg/y1crOQBG7jo/s1600/me%2Band%2Bmelissa.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hate my face. Why couldn't God have blessed me with a nice jawline?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmfjTmWP-Hk/VRmungrIuvI/AAAAAAAAars/PCqROpB6Hk8/s1600/me%2Bfront%2Bcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmfjTmWP-Hk/VRmungrIuvI/AAAAAAAAars/PCqROpB6Hk8/s1600/me%2Bfront%2Bcloseup.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My stays... </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-g-6GEEN2k/VRmup_nJFQI/AAAAAAAAar0/TzyxROC92GA/s1600/melissa%2Bfront%2Bcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-g-6GEEN2k/VRmup_nJFQI/AAAAAAAAar0/TzyxROC92GA/s1600/melissa%2Bfront%2Bcloseup.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa's stays...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TE87brK2oE/VRmvAa_zOII/AAAAAAAAar8/Bpf94UABFWw/s1600/me%2Bback%2Bcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TE87brK2oE/VRmvAa_zOII/AAAAAAAAar8/Bpf94UABFWw/s1600/me%2Bback%2Bcloseup.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the lacing on these. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiOVyZBhKbw/VRmvDOH1EPI/AAAAAAAAasE/DNhpeFM22Po/s1600/melissa%2Bback%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiOVyZBhKbw/VRmvDOH1EPI/AAAAAAAAasE/DNhpeFM22Po/s1600/melissa%2Bback%2B2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that pattern matching!</td></tr>
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A few construction notes... For each pair of stays, I used 3/16" half-oval basketry reed for the boning, and just put two in each boning channel, flat sides together. Boning channels were 1/2" wide. For the front lacing strips, I used 1/4" heavy duty steel boning. For the back lacing strips, I used regular 1/4" spring steel boning. <br />
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I bound my stays using very thin, soft, flexible leather. Melissa used narrow bias tape, but I can't remember if it was single- or double-fold. I made Melissa's stays but she did the binding on them and did a great job! She's never even done it before!<br />
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I know the edges aren't supposed to touch.<br />
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I shaved a little off the side back seam for Melissa's stays and she loved how snug they were. I accidentally cut the armholes of her stays too big. Mine felt snug but I could breath in them easily, and I wished I could have laced them tighter.<br />
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They were extremely comfortable, the reed boning held up beautifully, and the style is just gorgeous. Only two pattern pieces (okay, three if you could the shoulder strap), but I couldn't imagine achieving a better fit with a pattern that has more pieces. They can really cinch in your waist, and they make your bust area look amazing. I highly recommend the 1776 stays pattern from Corsets and Crinolines. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-62706895937074616892015-03-02T14:15:00.001-06:002015-03-02T14:15:27.438-06:001776 Stays - First try-on and a few notesIsabella's comment about front-lacing stays making it easier to get dressed reminded me that I didn't have to wait for someone to lace me up so that I could try on my stays and see how they fit. So I duly pulled on my chemise, petticoat, and skirt, took a deep breath and said some prayers, and slipped on the stays and laced them up. Then looked in the mirror and felt like jumping up and down with excitement.<br />
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The fit is AMAZING. The silhouette they give is AMAZING! I believe it would look good on anyone, any body type, any size. And being that this was the first pattern I've ever gotten from a book, scaled up, and then took the time to fit it to my figure, it felt like a MIRACLE that my efforts actually WORKED!! Can I be considered a sewist of intermediate skill level now???<br />
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They aren't perfect. For one thing, somehow I made them too big and the front and back lacing channels close completely, which is a bummer because I like to lace tight because the stays always loosen up after a few hours. They are tight, don't get me wrong. But I could stand to lace them a lot tighter. I expected either the front or the back to close completely, but not both. I can't think how to fix this at this point because taking the stays in at the side seam would move the shoulder straps/armscye back too much, and that part is already borderline about-to-not-fit. But that's easily fixed in the pattern and in fact I've traced Melissa's pattern to move the shoulder straps a little more towards center front and have taken in the side-back seam a bit. For myself, perhaps I can make a stomacher with a busk to take up some space so that when they are all laced up, it will help keep them snug as they loosen up.<br />
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Also, I have no idea if these two tabs at the side are supposed to be touching or not, nor do I know how to fix it. But I don't think it's a glaring mistake.<br />
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I bought a lovely piece of soft, thin leather off of ebay to use for binding. It's a little thicker than chamois, not much, but it's just a little bit more difficult to get a pin into to hold it in place while I'm sewing it on.<br />
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These little clips from Dritz (or was it Clover?), which I found in the quilting section at Joann's, are PERFECT for this job.<br />
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My needle wasn't doing a very great job at piercing the binding, so I bought some leather needles and some embroidery needles. A couple of bloggers I read mentioned not wanting to use leather needles because they leave too big a hole, but I wanted to try them anyway.<br />
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This bit was done entirely with a leather needle. I've taken as good of a close-up as I can, and I see nothing to concern me re: size of the hole left by a leather needle. I used Dritz leather needles and I used the smallest one in the package:<br />
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I was very happy with the leather needles as they go through the leather quite easily. That being the case, they also go through FLESH quite easily and I got a couple of nasty cuts in my fingers until I got used to using the needle.<br />
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Last night I bound a tab with a new embroidery needle and it worked just fine. I don't know what kind of needle my old one was (a dull one. Haha!) but I threw it away and I think I'll just use the embroidery needle for now because I don't want to get blood on my white stays due to carelessness with the leather needles.<br />
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Oh, and it seems to take me about an hour to bind each tab. At this rate it's going to take me right up till the last week of Sherwood Forest before my costume is ready! I am quite relieved to know that my skirt and chemise are now done (except to sew ribbon ties onto the cuffs of the chemise) and that the stays fit. Now I just need to make Melissa's stuff, but I think I'm going to have to teach her to bind the stays herself because of timing issues. I did try my stays on her and they fit her perfectly, so at least I don't have to make muslins to fit her.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-35501437015414436512015-02-26T15:42:00.000-06:002015-02-26T15:45:35.303-06:001776 Stays from Corsets and Crinolines - ConstructionI'm extremely excited about my 1776 stays. I have finished the construction with the exception of binding them and I love the way they look. So feminine! I made them front-lacing and back-lacing. I laced them up with some leftover ribbon just so I could slip them over my head and check the fit. I haven't laced them up yet because I need help with that, but so far I think they're going to fit perfectly. I'm really proud of myself!<br />
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I boned them throughout with 3/16" half oval reed, two per channel with flat sides together. For the cross-wise boning in the bust area I just used 1/4" cable ties because I couldn't get the reed through the twill tape that I used for the horizontal boning channels, and when I trimmed it down to slide through more easily it kept breaking. The center front lacing channels are boned with heavy-duty 1/4" spring steel (to hold the tummy in), the back boning channels with one reed and one regular 1/4" spring steel in each channel, and the curved side channels with spiral steel.<br />
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To trace the boning channels, I took a tip from my sister, who practices Sashiko embroidery, and traced the pattern onto very lightweight, sheer interfacing, then ironed the interfacing onto the fabric that was going to be on the innermost part of the stays. I traced only the outside line of each boning channel and drew an arrow in the direction of where the other line should be sewn. Then I used my sewing machine foot to gauge the depth of the channels. Measuring stuff gives me anxiety and nothing ever turns out right when I measure, so this was the easiest way for me to figure out how thick to make the boning channels and took the stress right out of tracing them to the fabric.<br />
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I didn't really intend to make these front lacing, but I had to because I'd cut out all the pattern pieces before I realized I meant to put the center front on a fold. So I had to add an extra boning channel on the edge of the center front of each piece to accommodate the grommets. This added an extra inch to the girth of the stays. When I slipped them over my head to briefly check the fit, I noticed that the center back edges will meet more closely than I had anticipated, and I think this is why. It's still going to fit just fine, and I don't mind if the center back edges meet because my silhouette is still going to look awesome even if I don't lace super tightly.<br />
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I've got 1/2 of my skirt pleated up and should finish pleating the other half tonight. Then I'll sew it up the sides and be done with it. I'm expecting a nice big piece of super soft, thin leather in the mail today to use for binding the corset. I'm almost done! Then I have to start on Melissa's costume. I think I'm going to have to teach her how to sew the binding on her stays because I may not have time to do ALL of that plus my own before the end of March when we go to Sherwood.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-78946326949247935882015-02-17T08:46:00.001-06:002015-02-17T08:46:49.792-06:00Victorian corset part 3: I think this will doOver Christmas break, I decided to give Simplicity 2890 one last try, and I think this one will work. I meant to raise the upper edge of the corset to give my bust a little more coverage but I forgot. I think it'll still be okay even though I really wanted a corset that cupped my bust more than this. I might try another Victorian corset pattern, but definitely not doing one with gussets again no matter how pretty I think they are.<br />
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I had a sobering realization some time after making the pink corset of doom that I needed to lose some weight. That perhaps the corset wasn't working because I was no longer the pattern size I'd always been. I looked at the pictures, and I took a good hard look at myself in the mirror. I started counting calories on Feb. 7 and I've since lost 6 pounds (though I gained back two pounds last week after too many indulgences). Hooray for me! These pictures were taken after I'd lost about four pounds. It doesn't sound like much, but I'm short, so five pounds is an entire clothing size on me. Five pounds makes a huge difference in how my clothes fit.<br />
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Without further ado, here is my latest corset. Click on the pictures to enlarge. <br />
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I wonder if anyone can weigh in to let me know if my bust looks right in this? Is it too much like shelf-boob? My bust gets pushed up when I sit unless I'm sitting stick straight. Is that normal? I'm sure the bust fit will improve as I lose weight. I don't tighten the laces much on top, to avoid squishing my bust. <br />
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I didn't really try for any waist reduction. I just wanted my waist measurement when laced up to be the same as when it's unlaced, which required enough tightening to make me uncomfortable because the corset adds girth. I'm happy with the way my waist looks in the pics. I don't know how people can stand lacing tight enough for waist reduction of the standard 2 inches, but maybe I'm being a wimp. <br />
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I probably should just get one made by Kay Gnagey while she's still doing custom corsets, but I don't have the money for it right now and I'd already spent the money on the supplies for this pattern so I felt like I had to keep trying to get it right. Boning and busks are expensive, mainly because of shipping costs. I didn't want to have thrown my money away.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-83411690573397452892015-01-29T10:34:00.003-06:002015-02-26T15:18:02.774-06:001776 stays from Corsets and Crinolines - Patterning & FittingI never finished the Diderot stays. The day I tried to put grommets in them, I discovered that the hopsack linen and the sturdy cotton twill I used as lining were, together, too thick to be able to make the big holes for my size 0 grommets. The weave of the hopsack was too loose and after I pierced it with my awl, it would immediately start to close back up. I gave up.<br />
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Instead I'm trying to make the 1776 stays from Nora Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines. It's only a two-piece pattern so I hope it will go quickly because Sherwood Forest starts next weekend. But Melissa and I probably won't go until March, so I have time to scramble together our costumes, but I'm a slow sewer so it will still be a crunch.<br />
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This is the first pair of stays that I have actually tried to fit to my figure, and I'm really, really glad I've taken the time to make several muslins, as irritating as it is.<br />
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The right side of this picture (viewer's right) shows how this pattern first fit me after scaling it up but without making any other changes. I think the original wearer had very slender hips because there was a nine-inch gap between the lacing holes at my hips but only a two-inch gap at the lacing holes at the top.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5NAX0XRojUE/VMpbBPMPUlI/AAAAAAAAalg/sKC-yeclHZ0/s1600/1st%2Band%2B2nd%2Bmuslin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5NAX0XRojUE/VMpbBPMPUlI/AAAAAAAAalg/sKC-yeclHZ0/s1600/1st%2Band%2B2nd%2Bmuslin.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
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I took in a little bit at the top of the center back, and then put in an extra tab on the side-back piece, adding a little to the waist as well. The new mock-up fit my dress form much better.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PWiIr4TZ_UI/VMpbxoFI1fI/AAAAAAAAalo/Yl6k7IBGDx8/s1600/alterations1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PWiIr4TZ_UI/VMpbxoFI1fI/AAAAAAAAalo/Yl6k7IBGDx8/s1600/alterations1.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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I felt that it was still a bit long in the waist at the back, so I pinned up the excess and transferred the changes to my pattern piece. Even though, to my eyes, the center back looks straight on the dress form, it was clearly NOT straight on the pattern when laid flat.<br />
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I fixed the center back pattern piece and sewed up a new mockup. I haven't made any changes to the front pattern piece at this point. It fit my dress form quite nicely and I thought I was ready to go, but a little voice at the back of my mind kept whispering, "But everything you've read on the costume blogs says that the seam is supposed to be curved at the side FRONT, not the side back." I tried to convince myself that it wouldn't make any difference on a stays pattern that consisted of two pieces, and only one seam anyway, but I just had to retrace the pattern. I transferred the side-back curve to the side-front and straightened out the side back.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XQdKBndYGbM/VMpddWfWntI/AAAAAAAAal8/zytanzB7kC8/s1600/redrafted%2Bback%2Bpieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XQdKBndYGbM/VMpddWfWntI/AAAAAAAAal8/zytanzB7kC8/s1600/redrafted%2Bback%2Bpieces.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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Sewed up a fourth muslin and pinned it to my dress form. I honestly couldn't tell any difference in the fit, but I suppose I'll keep it like this just for my own piece of mind since I don't know if it's okay to keep the side front seam straight and curve the side back.<br />
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One last change I am making to this pattern--and I won't bother with a muslin for this small change--is to take out that extra tab at the side-back. You can see on the dress form how it sticks out.<br />
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It was easy to just fold it back and tape it down on the pattern to get it out of the way. The line of the seam wasn't affected at all.<br />
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Now I just need to decide on what fabric to make this out of. I have some beautiful vintage silk brocade, supposedly hand-woven, that I bought specifically to make stays. But I feel like it should be part of a fabulous fantasy costume and I am having trouble visualizing how I want it to look. So I think I'll save it until I have a clear idea of the look I want. I'm leaning towards just using some white linen in my stash and making a peasanty-looking skirt. For some reason I've always liked the peasant look even more than high-class lady. But in my everyday life, I'm a bit of a plain jane. I can't tolerate heels and I can't stand the way fashionistas in this city dress. So my love of peasant looks is really a reflection of my natural tastes in fashion, I guess. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-5127137147203879552014-12-03T14:04:00.000-06:002014-12-03T14:04:01.409-06:00Simplicity 2890 Victorian corset - My cups runneth overThere are so many costumes I want to make, and I need the proper foundation garments for all of them. So I've been trying to get at least my corsets and stays done because those are the most important things for fitting historical patterns.<br />
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I made <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-1802-misses-costumes.aspx">Simplicity 2890</a> in May. It went together very easily. I was excited about it. I loved the fabric--a vintage tablecloth that a friend had given me, with dogwoods printed on a pale yellow background. I thought the bust cups were going to be too big but they were actually perfect. Then came the moment to try it on, and that's when two of the grommets ripped out during lacing. I guess the fabric was too old and brittle. I was completely and utterly bummed out.<br />
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I made version two in last month (November) and from the get-go it was a whole different beast. I had lots of problems this time. I installed the bust and hip gores the same way I did for the first version, but the bust didn't flare out as much as the first one. I am rather top-heavy, so I need that flare.<br />
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I plugged away at it. I folded the back edge to the inside to form the back lacing strips, and for some reason, the facing ended up coming to the middle of the back hip gores. Wtf??? So I had to put a facing on the back to form the lacing strips, which I knew was almost certainly going to make the corset too big.<br />
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I plugged away at it. I'd chosen a supposedly 100% cotton, tightly woven home decor fabric for the corset. It was pink. As I began working on the corset, I realized I loathed that color. Once, when I was 12, I had the flu really bad. Fever, chills, etc. My parents got me a strawberry shake from McDonald's to make me feel better. I drank the entire shake, and then a few minutes later, barfed it all right back up into my Strawberry Shortcake trash can by the bed. The barf was the same exact shade of pink as this corset fabric. That's all I could think of. So I dyed it. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTbqQGwLXbs/VH9n-4TKq6I/AAAAAAAAXtQ/68ZVyxzy0t4/s1600/fabric%2Bcontrast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTbqQGwLXbs/VH9n-4TKq6I/AAAAAAAAXtQ/68ZVyxzy0t4/s1600/fabric%2Bcontrast.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That pale pink is the back facing for the back lacing panels. That's the original color of my corset fabric. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I dyed the corset a beautiful dark wine color. Most of which ran out as I was rinsing the corset. Son of a bitch. I am GUESSING that the fabric wasn't 100% cotton as had been advertised when I bought it from Fabric Mart, because wouldn't 100% cotton have held the dye better? I stopped the rinsing when I realized all the dye was going to come out if I kept going and accepted the fact that the dye was going to bleed on my chemise if I ever wore this.<br />
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I plugged away at it. One fine day, I went to my parents' house to pound the grommets in using my dad's nice work table. The fabric got all warped and fucked up looking with each hole I made with the awl. I don't think I have pictures of that.<br />
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ANYWAY, to make a short story long, I finished the corset, tried it on, and the bust is too small and somehow the sits too low and I can't make it work after all that. Here's some damn pictures of the damn corset anyway.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cRnms4jPZtM/VH9pIOafQCI/AAAAAAAAXtc/UDvhSNBdLWM/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cRnms4jPZtM/VH9pIOafQCI/AAAAAAAAXtc/UDvhSNBdLWM/s1600/front.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how the bust sits too low? </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7yoH_UA-io/VH9pJRG6nsI/AAAAAAAAXtk/3oTPfDaof_4/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7yoH_UA-io/VH9pJRG6nsI/AAAAAAAAXtk/3oTPfDaof_4/s1600/side.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view showing how my boobs are about to fall out of the corset.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHKwWCNZW_4/VH9pK2BrA9I/AAAAAAAAXts/HnlFfiy3OjE/s1600/back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wHKwWCNZW_4/VH9pK2BrA9I/AAAAAAAAXts/HnlFfiy3OjE/s1600/back.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back showing how the corset ended up being too big because of the facing I had to add to the back.</td></tr>
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Amount of waist reduction: 0 inches, thanks to the facing I had to add to the back. I could have tightened the bust area but I was trying to see if this corset was at all wearable. So I went about the house, threw some clothes in the washer, unloaded the dishwasher, put up the dirty dishes, and cleaned the litter box, then came back for one more set of pics.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2R1VnoidiQ/VH9p9X5c0RI/AAAAAAAAXt4/nmX9rR1rixM/s1600/side%2Bafter%2Bactivity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2R1VnoidiQ/VH9p9X5c0RI/AAAAAAAAXt4/nmX9rR1rixM/s1600/side%2Bafter%2Bactivity.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QlW2YY9M62Y/VH9qgWR5fMI/AAAAAAAAXuA/9oBcXd_1ZNE/s1600/side%2Bfront%2Bafter%2Bactivity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QlW2YY9M62Y/VH9qgWR5fMI/AAAAAAAAXuA/9oBcXd_1ZNE/s1600/side%2Bfront%2Bafter%2Bactivity.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmmm.... Nope.</td></tr>
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So not only is the bust too small, but it also sits too low. How did that happen? I am very short-waisted. I didn't have this problem with the first version, but unfortunately I deleted all the pics of me wearing the first version because I was so disappointed at the grommets ripping out.<br />
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Also, there is major wrinkling at the waist. How does this happen, and what would I need to do to fix it IF I was going to gut this corset for the boning and busk and try this pattern again?<br />
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Fitting advice would be much appreciated, if anyone has some. Also, has this taught me to start making muslins? Yes, it has.<br />
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I am thinking of just having one custom made by Kay Gnagey. Hers are around $120-$130, so very reasonably priced. I had one once, years ago when I had a job doing living history from time to time, and I loved it. The only drawback is that her ETA is 3-4 months from date of order.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-57250155791805788452014-11-20T11:16:00.001-06:002014-11-20T11:16:30.830-06:00Diderot stays FINALLY (almost)I finally made these (almost). By almost I mean that I haven't put the grommets in or made the shoulder straps yet, but they are almost functional. <br />
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These stays were hell for me to do. It's because of having to mark the boning channels on the pattern pieces. That always gives me terrible anxiety. <br />
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Are these even the Diderot stays? I actually just remembered that I made them from Ralph Pink's free pattern. Did he base that on the Diderot stays?<br />
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As per my usual approach to these kinds of things, I didn't do anything to size these to fit me. Well I made one muslin about two years ago, which was just from the printed pattern. It was slightly too big, so for these I just traced the pattern pieces out without the included seam allowance and hoped for the best. I actually think they're going to work out well. <br />
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I boned them with narrow cable ties. I like the way it looks, but I'm not sure how much shaping it's going to provide. I actually finished binding this a couple of months ago, but then started thinking it was too flimsy, and that the hopsack fabric I used was just going to fray to little bits when I started poking holes for the grommets and the grommets were going to tear out like they did on my first Victorian corset, and then I thought I would make a stomacher and have these front lacing as well as back lacing, but then realized I had accidentally used up the rest of my hopsack fabric on my dog's Halloween costume and I'd totally forgotten that I was also going to need to make shoulder straps and OH GOD WHYYYYY.<br />
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So I had a meltdown.<br />
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But I recently started working on my friend Melissa's stays from Costume Close-Up, and then started stressing out about how to connect the panels together because I'm trying to make them using historically correct techniques (except for machine sewing the boning channels). So I decided to use my hopsack stays to practice.<br />
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Costume Close-Up says the panels of the stays in the book were butted together and whip-stitched. I read somewhere else online regarding some other extant stays that they were butted together and sewn together using a joining stitch.<br />
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So I did this, and it wasn't difficult at all!<br />
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I also decided to line it with this sturdy cotton fabric I found at Saver's. I don't know what you'd call it.<br />
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See, how the writing says "81.5 m"? I don't think it's ever been cut. My conversion calculator says 81.5 m = 89 yds. I haven't been able to unfold it all the way to measure it out because it's a huge heavy pile of fabric and if I try to lay it out on the sewing table, my cat will sit on it and will keep trying to sit on it every time I move her, and if I lay it out on the floor the dog will want to play with it. <br />
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It was only $7.99! Did I really need 90 yards of Japanese (or is it Chinese?) sailcloth (or whatever it is)? No. But it was a hell of a deal.<br />
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So being that I'm impatient to get this damn thing done so I can order my Anglaise pattern from Larkin and Smith, I decided to just lay the stays out on a length of this fabric and trace the outline rather than cut out and sew up the pattern again.<br />
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Will this work? I don't know. I'm not going to line the tabs.<br />
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I clipped the curves, pinned it to the inside, and started to slip-stitch it to the edges of the stays while watching The Paradise.<br />
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I think this lining is going to make the stays a lot more sturdy. <br />
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I'm hoping I can get it done by this weekend so I can set the grommets. My dad has an awesome work table in his garage and the weather should be warm enough that my hands won't go numb while working on it. Mayhaps I can also set the grommets in my Victorian corset so that I can model both next week.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-24018738481337855152014-11-17T08:50:00.000-06:002014-11-17T13:50:12.040-06:00Semi-annual blog post: Simplicity 7541, the most perfect dress pattern EVERI logged into Blogger last week to check my favorite blogs and was appalled to see that my last post was at the end of July. Not that anyone has noticed, but I still felt bad about it. I need to do some more "Old Letters" because I've got some really juicy ones, I need to do some dress pattern write-ups, and I need to talk about the stays I've been working on. Oh, and my Victorian corset. <br />
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But for right now, I give to you the most perfect dress pattern in the world: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simplicity-Sleeveless-Pullover-Top-stitched-2-lengths/dp/B008TYCAZC">Simplicity 7541</a>, a vintage 1997 pattern for a pullover a-line dress. It had been in my stash for about a year before I finally made it up, and since then, I've made FOUR of these in different fabrics. I only have pics of one of the dresses--no wait, I made one for my Galveston beach weekend with my sister and she snapped a pic when I wasn't looking.<br />
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Let's take a look:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CO47nKpZGk0/VGoE8alAGwI/AAAAAAAAWu0/zWenyUVHM4o/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CO47nKpZGk0/VGoE8alAGwI/AAAAAAAAWu0/zWenyUVHM4o/s1600/front.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front, obviously. That little buckle in the neckline isn't a sewing mishap. The dress just got hung up on m'lady and I didn't notice while I was taking the pictures.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wbrsdx6hb8I/VGoE9ga-jvI/AAAAAAAAWu8/yUrKJuWzJ54/s1600/side%2Bfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wbrsdx6hb8I/VGoE9ga-jvI/AAAAAAAAWu8/yUrKJuWzJ54/s1600/side%2Bfront.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side front.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JQWxBPkL9eo/VGoE-q9JclI/AAAAAAAAWvE/mP6cPHt8GiM/s1600/back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JQWxBPkL9eo/VGoE-q9JclI/AAAAAAAAWvE/mP6cPHt8GiM/s1600/back.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfIChVgoL4/VGoE__cn-yI/AAAAAAAAWvM/vs1Bw9clsO4/s1600/beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfIChVgoL4/VGoE__cn-yI/AAAAAAAAWvM/vs1Bw9clsO4/s1600/beach.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't really see the dress but isn't the beach GORGEOUS in the morning? My sister and I have decided to buy condos next door to each other on the beach when we retire and wear muumuus and drink cocktails on our porches every evening while watching the sun set over the ocean. We will be known as "you mean those old ladies that are always outside drinking?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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These pictures may not show the awesomeness of this pattern, but I assure you, it is the best for the following reasons:<br />
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1. It's only two pattern pieces.<br />
2. No darts, no gathers, no zippers.<br />
3. It's loose yet skims the figure for a most flattering look.<br />
4. The a-line style would look good on ANYone, any size, any figure type.<br />
5. Cool and comfy in summer. Could make it in wool or flannel and wear it with a cute blouse and tights for winter.<br />
6. It's a perfect "eatin' dress." Meaning, you can pig out and your food baby won't show. That's why I made several for the beach, because my sister and I planned on eating fancy cheeses, salty meats, tiny pickles, crackers, and desserts all weekend, washed down with plenty of whisky, wine, and vodka.***<br />
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The pattern comes in two lengths. I made the shorter one and I made it without the pockets. I don't have time for pockets.<br />
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The neckline and armholes are supposed to be finished with facings. I didn't use facings.<br />
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In my first version of this dress, I used a very lightweight cotton lawn and did a self-fabric lining.<br />
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In the yellow version, I lined it with a cotton gauze but I think that was overkill. I just didn't want to do facings.<br />
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On the black dress above, I used bias binding for the neck and armholes, which ended up taking longer than putting the dress together.<br />
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In retrospect, I think that facings are best if you are using a heavier fabric for this dress. If you're using a lightweight fabric, lining it works best.<br />
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The only change I made to the pattern was to shorten the waist by about an inch and a half, because I'm very short-waisted. The pattern does have a slightly fitted bodice in that there's a waist indentation on the pattern, so I felt it would have looked "off" if I hadn't shortened the waist.<br />
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I love styles like this because as someone who has tummy issues and frequently has to deal with sudden bouts of bloating (more like inflating, to be honest), I appreciate being able to wear comfortable clothing that's still cute and flattering. A dress doesn't have to hug the body or emphasize any particular part of it to still be cute.<br />
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***that lasted about 18 hours and then all we wanted to eat was salad and boiled shrimp.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-63024814299883986432014-07-28T11:41:00.001-05:002014-07-28T11:41:27.429-05:00Early 20th century bodiceThis is the second antique bodice that I found at the City Wide Garage sale back in June. It's tattered all to hell but I still had to have it. I've had it gracing my vintage Dritz My Double dress form for a while now. I squished the dress form down as small as I could and I could barely hook the waist closed.<br />
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It's pretty obviously a pigeon-front waist from the early 1900s. The sleeve style is so distinctive to me, with the fullness gathered at the cuff, and I knew I'd seen examples of that somewhere--probably on Isabella's blog. I managed to find this image from 1904 that is just exactly the style of my red plaid waist:<br />
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<img alt="https://img0.etsystatic.com/017/0/6264337/il_340x270.471145048_szm5.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://img0.etsystatic.com/017/0/6264337/il_340x270.471145048_szm5.jpg" /> </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_GMXptL1MpA/U9Z7vOQwOWI/AAAAAAAANZA/sR0y1cOdjlw/s1600/waist+pleats+and+belt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_GMXptL1MpA/U9Z7vOQwOWI/AAAAAAAANZA/sR0y1cOdjlw/s1600/waist+pleats+and+belt.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IzTbuMw2Evo/U9Z7wCNe3rI/AAAAAAAANZI/4Cw-COkz-Ts/s1600/shattered+silk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IzTbuMw2Evo/U9Z7wCNe3rI/AAAAAAAANZI/4Cw-COkz-Ts/s1600/shattered+silk.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="228" /></a></div>
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Every time I look at it I wonder who wore it. How old was the
original owner when she wore this? Was she a young teen or a lady of a
certain age? Was she a young mother? A wife? What was she like? I'd like to think this bold red plaid with the jaunty black buttons reflected the vivacious spirit of its owner. <br />
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That's why I love these things. I'll never make a pattern from it, because I think the pigeon-breasted styles were ugly to the extreme--who ever thought it would be a good idea to purposefully try to look sway-backed and pot-bellied??? But I just love to imagine who might have worn it. I don't feel like it's haunted, but I do feel like I get a little bit of a feeling of its previous owner. I also like to think that it was handed down in her family through the decades as a treasured reminder of her. I don't know how it ended up in the rag seller's hands but I'm glad it got into my hands after that. I don't care that it's shattered and torn to shreds in places. I just love the fact that 110 years later, this former beauty is still hanging around. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-68036739133534523232014-07-16T09:02:00.002-05:002014-07-16T09:02:47.932-05:001911 Edwardian corset properly photographed and sewing woesLots of uneventful things have happened in my life lately. I'd hoped to have my 18th century stays completed by now and the Larkin & Smith English Gown pattern in my hands, but for some reason I just can't figure the stays out. This confuses me. I know how to make a corset. I know how to make an Elizabethan corset. This should not be a problem for me.<br />
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But it's the boning channels. I get massive anxiety any time I have to transfer pattern markings to fabric. I've traced the pattern out four times and thrown it away in a fit of rage every time because I always mess up drawing the boning channels. <br />
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Like this:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ktFPr8f05k/U8aDMnlTV1I/AAAAAAAANXg/f4LTISA_5IU/s1600/fucked+up+boning+channels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8ktFPr8f05k/U8aDMnlTV1I/AAAAAAAANXg/f4LTISA_5IU/s1600/fucked+up+boning+channels.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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I thought last night that I was drawing the boning channels in wrong compared to its mirror image piece. now I'm not sure. Part of my problem is that I have trouble with spatially imagining it or viewing it backwards in my head or however you would word that.<br />
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So after my fit of rage, I taped the remaining pattern pieces to my window and drew the boning channels in from the back side so I would have something physically in front of me to guide me, rather than in my head. Yes, I know I marked the top and bottom of the channels on the piece shown, but that didn't help me. <br />
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Instead of dwelling on the lack of progress I've made in sewing anything, I'm going to post pics of my 1911 corset, which I was able to finally photograph properly because I got a new dress form.<br />
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Here she is:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9C2YpvAXLM/U8aELl5lsvI/AAAAAAAANX0/CrgqyS4_bCc/s1600/side+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9C2YpvAXLM/U8aELl5lsvI/AAAAAAAANX0/CrgqyS4_bCc/s1600/side+back.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhg19zDog40/U8aEIvBW-UI/AAAAAAAANXs/Gdbz8eZTVbs/s1600/corset+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhg19zDog40/U8aEIvBW-UI/AAAAAAAANXs/Gdbz8eZTVbs/s1600/corset+back.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0ug3hTkDm8/U8aEPNjtvDI/AAAAAAAANYE/OBRR9xwKorQ/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0ug3hTkDm8/U8aEPNjtvDI/AAAAAAAANYE/OBRR9xwKorQ/s1600/front.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y-LCz8fGj-M/U8aENiYE8xI/AAAAAAAANX8/dd7gKB55MiY/s1600/side+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y-LCz8fGj-M/U8aENiYE8xI/AAAAAAAANX8/dd7gKB55MiY/s1600/side+front.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TNUUfIRSO0E/U8aEQhy5OxI/AAAAAAAANYM/gul6NDAH188/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TNUUfIRSO0E/U8aEQhy5OxI/AAAAAAAANYM/gul6NDAH188/s1600/side.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I LOVE HER. I am so happy with the way she looks. The gap in the back is slightly bigger than it is on my body, since I have lots of squish and m'lady is firmer of flesh than I am. It's still a bigger gap than I wanted it to be, but lots of costumers have made this corset and many of them have a comparably large gap in the back, so I'm just going to go with it.<br />
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The only thing I don't like about this corset is that I get major back fat muffin top when she's laced tightly. That's why I didn't have my corset lacing pal take pics of the corset on my body. And which makes me think she's not meant to be laced as tightly as she was when I was trying her on properly. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-76179598683247600392014-06-24T17:02:00.003-05:002014-07-28T11:21:16.854-05:00Antique bodice - early 1900sThis weekend I went to the City Wide Garage Sale and was thrilled to find a couple of very antique bodices, as well as some Edwardian unmentionables and an interesting old nightgown. I'm going to post pictures of all of these things but one at a time, since the posts are going to be picture heavy.<br />
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My favorite vendor had this bodice. I about died when I saw it. I know it's been hacked up but I just loved it. The fabric is a thick, deep black silk with a lovely sheen, and it's in incredibly good condition. Just a couple of tears on the front of the bodice. It's lined with black polished cotton (I think), and the boning is secured with black petersham ribbon. Fastens with hooks on the back. Without further ado...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S4hvL8F4hr4/U6nw-2cwLMI/AAAAAAAANVM/ehx0LG7xizY/s1600/bodice+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S4hvL8F4hr4/U6nw-2cwLMI/AAAAAAAANVM/ehx0LG7xizY/s1600/bodice+front.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodice <strike>front</strike> back. The creases from the pleats are still crisp, even though the trim was cut away. Hopefully long ago. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDY7ll_98sY/U6nxKDGZd7I/AAAAAAAANVU/FvKAm7_yfuA/s1600/bodice+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDY7ll_98sY/U6nxKDGZd7I/AAAAAAAANVU/FvKAm7_yfuA/s1600/bodice+back.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodice spread out, looking at it from the <strike>back</strike> front. The fabric from the back of the bodice has been hacked away but the lining is intact and in amazing condition. Look at those sleeves!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-spCJnX7OZDQ/U6nxP762uMI/AAAAAAAANVc/OWM6csXD9VU/s1600/back1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-spCJnX7OZDQ/U6nxP762uMI/AAAAAAAANVc/OWM6csXD9VU/s1600/back1.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodice <strike>back</strike> front.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGSDwtPZNik/U6nyIrkolVI/AAAAAAAANVo/45ITnGmK9TY/s1600/bodice+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGSDwtPZNik/U6nyIrkolVI/AAAAAAAANVo/45ITnGmK9TY/s1600/bodice+interior.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodice interior.</td></tr>
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There is a lot of hand sewing in this bodice, but there also appears to be machine stitching too. For instance, the sleeves were pieced. When I looked inside the sleeves, they appeared to have originally been machine stitched, and then the fullness was taken in at some point, and that was done by hand.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sd-Mg679gpo/U6nyfUvCPPI/AAAAAAAANVw/ggOWYotQ33w/s1600/pieced+sleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sd-Mg679gpo/U6nyfUvCPPI/AAAAAAAANVw/ggOWYotQ33w/s1600/pieced+sleeves.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exterior of pieced sleeves. God, fluorescent lighting is awful. The color of the fabric is nothing like this. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_-_3zmnkRI/U6nyitToDKI/AAAAAAAANV4/p_5YhF09TpA/s1600/inside+sleeve+pieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_-_3zmnkRI/U6nyitToDKI/AAAAAAAANV4/p_5YhF09TpA/s1600/inside+sleeve+pieces.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of the pieced sleeves. Do you see the stitching at the bottom, which is machine stitching, and the stitching at the top where the sleeve was taken in is obviously hand stitching.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GXi_6RL2Np4/U6n1Hl_AOAI/AAAAAAAANWo/EpqXuDpLFf8/s1600/machine+and+hand+stitching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GXi_6RL2Np4/U6n1Hl_AOAI/AAAAAAAANWo/EpqXuDpLFf8/s1600/machine+and+hand+stitching.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Machine and hand stitching.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJxiggT82HU/U6nzMn4ShRI/AAAAAAAANWE/8yW_NnUTvXI/s1600/undersleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJxiggT82HU/U6nzMn4ShRI/AAAAAAAANWE/8yW_NnUTvXI/s1600/undersleeves.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undersleeve.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lJxiggT82HU/U6nzMn4ShRI/AAAAAAAANWA/sjwSLOJhA0o/s1600/undersleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kHPoGjeYhY/U6nzrErJiqI/AAAAAAAANWI/WAFNQihKiuA/s1600/this+is+machine+stitching+right.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kHPoGjeYhY/U6nzrErJiqI/AAAAAAAANWI/WAFNQihKiuA/s1600/this+is+machine+stitching+right.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the inside of the undersleeve. This is machine stitching, right?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Construction of the bodice wasn't as meticulous as I'd thought it would be! But that makes me happy, because then I don't have to be so critical of my own craftsmanship. Although that doesn't mean I don't continuously try to improve.<br />
<br />
But look at the way this lace was attached at the back shoulder--it was too long, so the maker folded the excess underneath and basted it down.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCE1x5IHTFE/U6n0Wlv1e_I/AAAAAAAANWQ/FQRoZ_tWvsw/s1600/left+sleeve+back+underside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCE1x5IHTFE/U6n0Wlv1e_I/AAAAAAAANWQ/FQRoZ_tWvsw/s1600/left+sleeve+back+underside.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look how this excess trim was dealt with. I wonder if this trim came from another gown, and that's why it was too long for this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ChAzDHi5JcI/U6n03eFQC_I/AAAAAAAANWg/m-VbqTIo-KQ/s1600/neckline+tuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ChAzDHi5JcI/U6n03eFQC_I/AAAAAAAANWg/m-VbqTIo-KQ/s1600/neckline+tuck.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oops, the neckline was too wide. I love that little tuck to take it in. I have to do stuff like that a lot. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I really wish the neckline trim was still there. What are the hooks on the back of the bodice neckline for? What are the hooks on the inside back of the bodice for? <br />
<br />
<strike>Is my guess correct, that this is an 1860s bodice? It doesn't appear to have dropped shoulders though. But pagoda sleeves were popular in the 1850s-1860s, and I think the pleated front was too. Isabel, if you're reading this, would you weigh in?</strike><br />
<br />
ETA: No, my guess was not correct! It was off by several decades! Isabella from All the Pretty Dresses kindly educated me and provided lots of links in her comment that helped me see what she was seeing.<br />
<br />
And then I saw this picture from the Barrington House web page and it makes me think my bodice must have looked very much like this one: <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="thumb_1086_4" src="http://www.bartoscollection.com/images/236_1890_006a.jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can just picture my bodice with fitted lower sleeves like this and flounces down the front.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-81360075511299986702014-06-02T09:13:00.002-05:002014-06-03T10:57:22.131-05:00Simplicity 7454 vintage maxi dressI finally made up my vintage Simplicity 7454 maxi dress pattern that <a href="http://what-i-made.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-need-help-compulsive-pattern-buying.html">I mentioned</a> way back in November. I was inspired by <a href="http://christinehaynes.blogspot.com/2013/06/oona-and-derby-dress-guest-post.html">Oonaballoona's post from June 2013</a>. As soon as I saw her beautifully bold, summery, amazing dress, I knew I had to have one of my own. I finally found the perfect fabric for my dress from... where did I order it from? Denver Fabrics, I think.<br />
<br />
Loud, splashy tropical print + vintage maxi dress pattern = BRING IT.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3El6D8r6LkA/U4x-yr_fR2I/AAAAAAAANRw/4ShcyjX0B5k/s1600/Simplicity+7454+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3El6D8r6LkA/U4x-yr_fR2I/AAAAAAAANRw/4ShcyjX0B5k/s1600/Simplicity+7454+front.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loooove the colors of this fabric. Also, this style makes me look tall and slim. No complaints here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-21SYGHzWrK0/U4x-06tcnEI/AAAAAAAANR8/E5rhKX0ww-8/s1600/Simplicity+7454+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-21SYGHzWrK0/U4x-06tcnEI/AAAAAAAANR8/E5rhKX0ww-8/s1600/Simplicity+7454+back.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the straps ended up closer to the center back than I'd intended. I have the worst problems with placing shoulder straps. I'm happy to see that the flaw isn't really noticeable. Also, the back has a string tie. I was going to use a zipper instead because I thought the string ties were stupid. Then I decided to just go with the string ties. They really are stupid. Next time, I'm using a zipper. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bs-9x0Bxz2U/U4x-0sEiV1I/AAAAAAAANR4/U2oNe2vlu4w/s1600/Simplicity+7454+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bs-9x0Bxz2U/U4x-0sEiV1I/AAAAAAAANR4/U2oNe2vlu4w/s1600/Simplicity+7454+side.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love how this fabric drapes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJvlPCX3AE8/U4x-3W83exI/AAAAAAAANSI/-AK2PrlD5E8/s1600/Simplicity+7454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJvlPCX3AE8/U4x-3W83exI/AAAAAAAANSI/-AK2PrlD5E8/s1600/Simplicity+7454.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't go wrong with an A-line dress. They're always flattering, even when they're in the form of vintage maxi muumuu dresses.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I was surprised at how much fabric this pattern does NOT require. I bought five yards of this fabric (it was only like $2.00 a yard) thinking it had a directional print, but when it arrived I realized it doesn't. Since it's 60 inches wide, I made this dress out of barely over 2 yards of fabric. I still have 3 yards left to make something else fabulous with.<br />
<br />
A few brief notes about making up the dress: <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I had to shorten the pattern by about four inches, and I still feel like it's a bit too long. Perfect for lounging out on the balcony on a sweltering early summer evening with a cocktail though. </li>
<li>The pattern comes with a knee-length version as well, which I'm definitely going to make up. </li>
<li>This pattern was so easy. </li>
<li>The straps and the front band didn't even require interfacing, which made me happy. </li>
<li>No darts, no gathers, no tucks, no princess seams. Just straight lines. </li>
<li>I forgot to add the patch pockets. </li>
<li>It was a size medium, 12-14, but there was only one cutting line on the pattern (i.e., there wasn't a line for size 12 and another line for size 14). That corresponded to a 34"-36" bust. </li>
<li>My bust is 37" and I always pick the size that goes with a 36" bust and never have problems, but I had to grade the upper bodice of the dress down by about an inch total on each side, and I think it still gapes a bit but it's not really noticeable at all. </li>
</ul>
<br />
This pattern has such a wonderful drape, I really did feel regal as I swished around the apartment in my new dress.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jhC_biBewjY/U4yB298UBYI/AAAAAAAANSU/eOfXJqOd7pA/s1600/swish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jhC_biBewjY/U4yB298UBYI/AAAAAAAANSU/eOfXJqOd7pA/s1600/swish.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can kind of see how the fabric moves in this picture, where I turned around too quickly trying to get a shot of the back of the dress. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In conclusion, I love this pattern. The <a href="http://tessuti.blogspot.com/2012/03/pattern-review-vintage-simplicity-7454.html">other</a> <a href="http://thanksimadethem.blogspot.com/2013/04/vinatge-simplicity-7454-dress.html">bloggers </a>who made up this pattern were not just whistling Dixie when they praised it. <br />
<br />
Finally, a couple pictures of my amiga Lulu, who loves to photobomb my crappy photoshoots.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQSDynYeoU4/U4yEthigZHI/AAAAAAAANSk/Vr3zuDc1YnY/s1600/Lulu+photobomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQSDynYeoU4/U4yEthigZHI/AAAAAAAANSk/Vr3zuDc1YnY/s1600/Lulu+photobomb.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's such a beautiful dog. I got really lucky with her. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-geT90NHBO9Q/U4yEwlCEUCI/AAAAAAAANSs/XEYOsuK_DHA/s1600/Lulu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-geT90NHBO9Q/U4yEwlCEUCI/AAAAAAAANSs/XEYOsuK_DHA/s1600/Lulu.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That face!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-77511135118645288302014-05-15T16:17:00.000-05:002014-05-15T16:17:06.020-05:00Simplicity 3809 - A cautionary tale, or Why you should always make a muslinOne of my friend's finally helped me to shape my dress form to my figure, so I thought I'd dress it up with my last pirate costume, Simplicity 3809 (which I never wore). I put the grommets in the bodice this weekend just so it wouldn't be a UFO.<br />
<br />
Simplicity 3809 was a great pattern. Very easy to make, but very time consuming to construct because you have to cut the bodice pattern in triplicate (fashion fabric, interlining, lining). The instructions were very clear and I had no problem following them. It may have helped that I've sewn princess-seamed bodices before--my favorite sundress pattern is New Look 6457, which has a fitted bodice. I've made up that pattern five times!<br />
<br />
Other reviewers have also praised this pattern, but have noted that the shoulder straps are too long. They're right about that. The shoulder straps overlapped by a couple of inches on my bodice. Since they are supposed to be set with grommets and held together with a ribbon, this would be a problem.<br />
<br />
I'd like to note that one blogger who made this pattern stated that there was a mistake in the instructions, because Simplicity said to cut out three panels for the skirt. She said you only need to cut out two. She is mistaken though, because if you cut out only two panels for the skirt, you don't have the fullness to make this skirt look right. It just looks cheap and flimsy if you only cut out two panels for the skirt. So please follow the instructions as given with the pattern.<br />
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Here's how it worked out for me. It looks fine, I suppose. I just pushed myself too hard to finish it and ended up hating it. It also doesn't look like a pirate or musketeer outfit like I'd envisioned.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-813CHK90OWs/U3UrIGsr11I/AAAAAAAANQs/qZxS9c1vkWA/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-813CHK90OWs/U3UrIGsr11I/AAAAAAAANQs/qZxS9c1vkWA/s1600/front.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-86ggpcxsE08/U3UrLvz7KGI/AAAAAAAANQ0/BH3wh0a5ejw/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-86ggpcxsE08/U3UrLvz7KGI/AAAAAAAANQ0/BH3wh0a5ejw/s1600/side.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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<br />
Looking good so far! But...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WPhS5i5Qmq8/U3Urk5ugDzI/AAAAAAAANQ8/Lx4ajn3T3vE/s1600/back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WPhS5i5Qmq8/U3Urk5ugDzI/AAAAAAAANQ8/Lx4ajn3T3vE/s1600/back.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shiiiiiit...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sigh. Damn it. I'm assuming the neckline got stretched out in the back. I swear I stay-stitched every piece, so I don't know how this happened. But <a href="http://what-i-made.blogspot.com/2014/03/simplicity-3809-all-dressed-up-and-no.html">it tends to happen to me</a> <a href="http://what-i-made.blogspot.com/2013/11/simplicity-jiffy-5959-update.html">a lot</a> when I'm sewing things--usually it's on a V-neck. Anyway, there's no way to reverse engineer this to fix it without it being obvious.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGx69ClRrlY/U3UsOGepC2I/AAAAAAAANRE/aYjzz2OrCcQ/s1600/back+neckline+fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGx69ClRrlY/U3UsOGepC2I/AAAAAAAANRE/aYjzz2OrCcQ/s1600/back+neckline+fix.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
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<br />
And the back waist is too long. I'm very short waisted. The bodice fits perfectly in the front, so I didn't expect it to be too long in the back, but there you have it. There's also no fix for this that doesn't involve taking apart the bodice, and I don't love this enough to do that. It would have looked so much better if I'd shortened the back waist, which I would have known I needed to do IF I'D JUST MADE A MUSLIN FIRST.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkR6AHBNrUM/U3Usx6FVKRI/AAAAAAAANRM/3o7b0k8N1aY/s1600/back+waistline+fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkR6AHBNrUM/U3Usx6FVKRI/AAAAAAAANRM/3o7b0k8N1aY/s1600/back+waistline+fix.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
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<br />
I'm totally bummed that I spent so much money on the trim for this costume, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Maybe I can use it on an 18th century riding habit. If I'm going to spend this much time and effort on costumes, I'm going to start using historical patterns.<br />
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The skirt on this pattern is awesome and it looks so nice made up in this burgundy poly-silk fabric. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hqAH8fK0Y4w/U3UttI9YlVI/AAAAAAAANRU/a3P8GmG8SRQ/s1600/fabric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hqAH8fK0Y4w/U3UttI9YlVI/AAAAAAAANRU/a3P8GmG8SRQ/s1600/fabric.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm really glad I didn't trim the skirt. I can use it for something
else. I have a beautiful golden-tan cotton tapestry fabric with floral
trim in pinks and burgundies, and I think it would look amazing made up
into a curaco jacket and paired with this skirt. The skirt isn't made in
a historically accurate fashion, but it will do for a Renaissance
festival and at least it won't go to waste. <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-61810066421888085232014-05-12T10:25:00.002-05:002014-05-12T10:25:48.729-05:00Mystery skirts: Part the second - Drawnwork embroidery on Mystery Skirt 1?I was thrilled when Isabella of <a href="http://extantgowns.blogspot.com/">All the Pretty Dresses</a> commented on my post about the mystery skirts. Isabella is an expert historical costumer and I've probably learned more about 19th century clothing from her blog than anywhere else.<br />
<br />
Isabella thinks Mystery Skirt #1 might be from the teens, but there's a chance it could be a 1970s Edwardian revival piece. She needed more pics to really be able to assess it, so I unpinned the skirt this weekend and took lots of pictures.<br />
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I never seem to notice small details of anything until I'm photographing it. As I was taking pictures of the lace details on this skirt panel, I started to notice how the threads of the lace were actually part of the fabric of the skirt. I believe this lace is actually drawnwork embroidery and I think it was done by hand. <br />
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These pictures were taken of the front of the skirt.<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WWkMOLdcMs/U3DhKNGqFPI/AAAAAAAANPc/X-t_UpnzzGs/s1600/skirt+unpinned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WWkMOLdcMs/U3DhKNGqFPI/AAAAAAAANPc/X-t_UpnzzGs/s1600/skirt+unpinned.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a full-length view of the skirt with the pleats unpinned.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--deBhhDDcks/U3DkY4ILlGI/AAAAAAAANPo/A6ijF2FJrUo/s1600/embroidery+detail+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--deBhhDDcks/U3DkY4ILlGI/AAAAAAAANPo/A6ijF2FJrUo/s1600/embroidery+detail+1.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of one of the side pieces of embroidery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRlZkeg9gHc/U3DkZ1QqcFI/AAAAAAAANPw/BFBEp8N5fmA/s1600/embroidery+detail+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mRlZkeg9gHc/U3DkZ1QqcFI/AAAAAAAANPw/BFBEp8N5fmA/s1600/embroidery+detail+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of center panel of embroidery.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-juWSlbDCHPM/U3DlpOTOQiI/AAAAAAAANP8/uaFXbzWuVac/s1600/embroidery+detail+3+hem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-juWSlbDCHPM/U3DlpOTOQiI/AAAAAAAANP8/uaFXbzWuVac/s1600/embroidery+detail+3+hem.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Embroidery along the hem.</td></tr>
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This next series of pictures are from the back of the skirt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpF7kJhSbEM/U3DlvW3ZqTI/AAAAAAAANQc/MqWRG6XmGMU/s1600/hem+detail+reverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpF7kJhSbEM/U3DlvW3ZqTI/AAAAAAAANQc/MqWRG6XmGMU/s1600/hem+detail+reverse.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hem from the back of the skirt. It's come undone by the selvedge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Au97xO67zmk/U3DlrBOeo-I/AAAAAAAANQE/WLVVL4bV0GI/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Au97xO67zmk/U3DlrBOeo-I/AAAAAAAANQE/WLVVL4bV0GI/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Embroidery of the main panel from the back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XPe9et6Vlhc/U3DlsRjkFgI/AAAAAAAANQM/90Aqr0fpVvg/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XPe9et6Vlhc/U3DlsRjkFgI/AAAAAAAANQM/90Aqr0fpVvg/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse+3.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of the side pieces of embroidery from the back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzfbqYWl7iQ/U3DltQTvKwI/AAAAAAAANQU/mSM6DZtuueM/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzfbqYWl7iQ/U3DltQTvKwI/AAAAAAAANQU/mSM6DZtuueM/s1600/embroidery+detail+reverse.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little more detail from the main panel of embroidery.</td></tr>
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Isabella, I hope these pictures are more helpful than the ones I included in my previous post. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on this. :-)<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-53886081430925053742014-05-08T15:17:00.001-05:002014-05-08T15:17:12.754-05:00Mystery skirtsI found a couple of very interesting skirts at the City Wide Garage Sale recently. I thought I knew what their general time period was, but now I'm not so sure.<br />
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I know this blog doesn't have much of an audience, but if any of my three followers knows someone who knows about historical clothing and can show them the following pictures to help me date these skirts, I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER.<br />
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<u><b>SKIRT 1</b></u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieeVfNrYZKc/U2vMp045kcI/AAAAAAAANNc/Ikn-otDlhQ0/s1600/skirt+hanging+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieeVfNrYZKc/U2vMp045kcI/AAAAAAAANNc/Ikn-otDlhQ0/s1600/skirt+hanging+up.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skirt 1</td></tr>
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I found Skirt 1 in a pile of "small, mixed linens" at a vendor who sells linens by the pound. It's actually a skirt panel. I'm certain that it's a skirt because there's a little notch in the center front and creases from pleats that had been picked out at some point.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zc044kbo4ic/U2vNAa9atuI/AAAAAAAANNk/Zawc0RmX96I/s1600/pleat+marks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zc044kbo4ic/U2vNAa9atuI/AAAAAAAANNk/Zawc0RmX96I/s1600/pleat+marks.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pleat creases.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BozHa70QN0Q/U2vNDGo2r8I/AAAAAAAANNs/Zjzl1U4pamI/s1600/pinned+pleats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BozHa70QN0Q/U2vNDGo2r8I/AAAAAAAANNs/Zjzl1U4pamI/s1600/pinned+pleats.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Repinning the original pleats.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e94Gl1MJyBU/U2vOk-t0wjI/AAAAAAAANOI/8Z61HqNl_R4/s1600/pinned+pleats+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e94Gl1MJyBU/U2vOk-t0wjI/AAAAAAAANOI/8Z61HqNl_R4/s1600/pinned+pleats+2.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All pleats repinned.</td></tr>
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The selvedge edges are preserved and it measures 29" wide.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2h51cYqQ6JI/U2vOUd7xOqI/AAAAAAAANN4/mZ4yqiAJjoQ/s1600/selvedge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2h51cYqQ6JI/U2vOUd7xOqI/AAAAAAAANN4/mZ4yqiAJjoQ/s1600/selvedge.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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I can't find a whole lot of info on historical fabric widths. I know that fabric came in a standard 36" width for a very long time, at least from the 1920s-1960s. I found a vendor of antique fabric online and most of her turn of the century fabrics are 29" wide.<br />
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I thought this style of skirt was Edwardian, with the lace insets. But I don't think this lace is considered insertion lace.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gebi-IYuKKs/U2vObZ1cL-I/AAAAAAAANOA/Txe0DsDUS9k/s1600/lace+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gebi-IYuKKs/U2vObZ1cL-I/AAAAAAAANOA/Txe0DsDUS9k/s1600/lace+detail.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lace inset on Skirt 1.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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And the Edwardian summer dresses with the beautiful insertion lace are usually made of lawn, and this fabric is a sturdy twill-like fabric. <br />
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I'd like to restore this skirt panel as a fully functional skirt to be part of a historical costume, but I just can't seem to find anything quite like it, so I'm not sure what time frame to put it in.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>SKIRT 2 </b></u></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--XgPvpLfoeo/U2vcAPf6NqI/AAAAAAAANOY/FPLjbVOCqTc/s1600/skirt+side+panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--XgPvpLfoeo/U2vcAPf6NqI/AAAAAAAANOY/FPLjbVOCqTc/s1600/skirt+side+panel.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JZJCKjsWHh4/U2vcZ0YhHwI/AAAAAAAANOs/nNNOb9hlkJs/s1600/IMG_5642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JZJCKjsWHh4/U2vcZ0YhHwI/AAAAAAAANOs/nNNOb9hlkJs/s1600/IMG_5642.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Skirt 2 is a silk chiffon number with a stunning panel of lace down one side. What kind of lace is this? Is it Venice lace? I know nothing except that I love it. </div>
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There are traces of black net that once backed the lace. I didn't see any traces of this black net anywhere else on the skirt (i.e. at the waistband). </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcK6YODUMV0/U2vehfwoADI/AAAAAAAANO0/8imjpP_bjPc/s1600/black+net+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcK6YODUMV0/U2vehfwoADI/AAAAAAAANO0/8imjpP_bjPc/s1600/black+net+detail.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyoRjltScJc/U2veiCe1iDI/AAAAAAAANO4/WPlpPBar3FQ/s1600/black+net+detail+at+bottom+of+sash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyoRjltScJc/U2veiCe1iDI/AAAAAAAANO4/WPlpPBar3FQ/s1600/black+net+detail+at+bottom+of+sash.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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The lace sash is mounted on a silk panel with the center cut out, and then attached to the waistband. It's not tacked down on the skirt. There is a silk panel behind the lace sash that is sewn as part of the skirt. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EtL57E8fRx4/U2vcDBQtJjI/AAAAAAAANOk/K8gM0HbFOsg/s1600/silk+panel+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EtL57E8fRx4/U2vcDBQtJjI/AAAAAAAANOk/K8gM0HbFOsg/s1600/silk+panel+detail.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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The chiffon skirt is gathered and mounted on a silk waistband that fastens with hooks and eyes at the side. </div>
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Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm wondering--what side were skirts usually fastened in the "old days"? Could the skirt actually close in the back, with the lace sash hanging down the center front instead of the side? </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-axcmuq2DxfY/U2vfITQSOUI/AAAAAAAANPE/N_uaqJL3sWI/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-axcmuq2DxfY/U2vfITQSOUI/AAAAAAAANPE/N_uaqJL3sWI/s1600/front.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rgcWAWlIOVY/U2vfJ13P8gI/AAAAAAAANPM/FqT-q2qKHJQ/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rgcWAWlIOVY/U2vfJ13P8gI/AAAAAAAANPM/FqT-q2qKHJQ/s1600/side.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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As you can see, the silk hem along the border is completely shattered. It's as brittle as old paper and crumbles if you even look at it. The same can be said for the silk panel behind the lace sash. Interestingly, the silk fabric of the waistband and the sash and the chiffon of the skirt are in excellent condition. </div>
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I'd love to be able to recreate this skirt using that beautiful lace sash and make a whole outfit from it. </div>
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When I saw this skirt I immediately thought "flapper skirt!!" but... This would be part of an evening ensemble, wouldn't it? I don't think separates were worn very much in the 20s, at least not in evening wear. Could this be from the teens? Am I anywhere close to the ballpark in guessing its age?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-77321231374928678502014-04-16T15:15:00.000-05:002014-04-16T15:15:12.357-05:00Gratuitous pictures of my dogI love my dog. I love her SO MUCH!! She is spirited and sometimes willful and pushy, sweet, funny, loving, affectionate, smart, beautiful, unusual looking, and above all, HAPPY.<br />
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She's changed my life in such a positive way since I first got her on August 1, 2012. I used to be shy and feel very awkward around people, but with Lulu, I immediately have something to talk about with the people I meet. People will often initiate conversations with me about her, but incredibly, if I have Lulu with me, I find myself chatting people up ALL THE TIME without even thinking about it!<br />
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I've made friends since I've had her and hang out with them regularly at the dog park and really truly enjoy their company. I almost never feel like, "Oh, god, when can I go home?" I get an hour to an hour and a half of exercise every day because Lulu likes her walks and keeps me on a pretty strict schedule. If it wasn't for her, I doubt I'd get much exercise at all because it's too cold in the winter, too windy in the spring, too hot in the summer... And I hate working out in a gym.<br />
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Lulu sleeps with me at night and cuddles with me in the mornings, she licks the tears off my face when I'm having a meltdown, she comes to check on me every time I swear. She brings me her toys when I'm sitting on the couch, not so that I'll toss them for her, but simply because she seems to want me to have them, like she enjoys her toys so much and wants me to experience how awesome they are too. She melts my heart when she brushes her nose with her paws and looks at me with puppy eyes when she's feeling utterly content and happy, and makes me laugh when she does her "pretzel puppy" routine (rubbing her face and body along the bed or the couch, and then lays sideways on her face with her rump sticking straight up in the air and looking at me with wild eyes and doing that excited panting that dogs do).<br />
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In conclusion, I love and am in love with my dog. She turned two years old on April 10, and to celebrate, I took her to work to take pictures of her in the bluebonnets. Here are a few of my favorite. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wdTmRJjcLCU/U07ZHeyck3I/AAAAAAAANLo/Tr-YC13xt1Y/s1600/lulu+paintbrushes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cHt1qs_pW0U/U07ZTRN5dFI/AAAAAAAANL0/bPwYY5PzOII/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cHt1qs_pW0U/U07ZTRN5dFI/AAAAAAAANL0/bPwYY5PzOII/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+1.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's got a beautiful build. So streamlined and elegant. I love to watch her run.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CVWWQ5KZYTQ/U07ZTQQ_B1I/AAAAAAAANLw/xvehow6fwLc/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CVWWQ5KZYTQ/U07ZTQQ_B1I/AAAAAAAANLw/xvehow6fwLc/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+2.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8h-CXevr6_M/U07ZUCa2VVI/AAAAAAAANMM/zObt0BoRlPs/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8h-CXevr6_M/U07ZUCa2VVI/AAAAAAAANMM/zObt0BoRlPs/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+5.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone stopped us in PetSmart one day and said, "She should be on TV!" And I thought... WHERE CAN I FIND AN AGENT</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vrXpcMLfxm8/U07ZmFbQ2yI/AAAAAAAANM0/vhww7aF_-Sk/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vrXpcMLfxm8/U07ZmFbQ2yI/AAAAAAAANM0/vhww7aF_-Sk/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+6.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is my favorite!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGWYK-Dj6WE/U07ZmTrihZI/AAAAAAAANMs/9fcvJSoRkYA/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jGWYK-Dj6WE/U07ZmTrihZI/AAAAAAAANMs/9fcvJSoRkYA/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+7.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always staring off into the distance, looking for something to chase. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StFIKYEGra0/U07ZmQN-58I/AAAAAAAANMw/n2rAsuUFLx0/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StFIKYEGra0/U07ZmQN-58I/AAAAAAAANMw/n2rAsuUFLx0/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+8.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't eat the bluebonnets!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v3ptDfeNJNM/U07ZnCWh9II/AAAAAAAANNA/tWOOCutzKRQ/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v3ptDfeNJNM/U07ZnCWh9II/AAAAAAAANNA/tWOOCutzKRQ/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+9.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pretty girl. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruQmrxS-Ip4/U07ZlY3F9mI/AAAAAAAANMY/fH8zi905XK8/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruQmrxS-Ip4/U07ZlY3F9mI/AAAAAAAANMY/fH8zi905XK8/s1600/lulu+bluebonnets+11.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think she has a noble profile. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IBQxhd-FvIw/U07ZGADPv-I/AAAAAAAANLk/PMo60c0G-HE/s1600/lulu+birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IBQxhd-FvIw/U07ZGADPv-I/AAAAAAAANLk/PMo60c0G-HE/s1600/lulu+birds.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Time to go home and get a trea-- Look, BIRDS!!"</td></tr>
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I think we can all agree that she's the cutest dog in the world. :-)<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-86035711400357164192014-04-08T09:05:00.000-05:002014-04-08T09:05:27.808-05:00Edwardian corset finally finished!!!This weekend I finally finished my Edwardian corset!! I didn't end up using any of my antique lace because I didn't have enough of the Irish crochet lace (it was about half an inch too short to go across the top), but I found this cream-colored pleated lace at Hobby Lobby and immediately knew it would be perfect. <br />
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I'm very happy with the way it looks on me, though I did learn a few things in the process of trying to tighten the laces by myself.<br />
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1. I only set every other grommet, except for at the waist. When I was tightening the corset, the edges of the lacing strips bowed out around the curve between my waist and hip. I think I now know why the grommets are so closely spaced on the pattern--because it helps the distribute the tension on those areas more evenly.<br />
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Now, this could be because I couldn't tighten it evenly from top to bottom, but I really think I need to go back and put more grommets in. I'm thinking this shouldn't be a problem, I'll just undo the stitching on the bias binding on the bottom, take out those two bones on either side of the grommets, and stick a few more in there. <br />
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2. If you lace the corset to have those loops on either side of the waist, you really can't tighten the corset yourself because there's no way to hold the loops and tighten at the same time.<br />
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3. If you've torn your rotator cuff in the last six months and are trying not to put too much stress on the joint so that it can heal, trying to tighten a corset by yourself is a really good way to aggravate the injury. My shoulder had been feeling almost all better, and I've screwed it up again because I couldn't wait to try the corset on. But what can I do, since I don't have anyone to help me. My ex said he would have helped me, but I think that would be weird.<br />
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So I only have a few pics from the front, since I couldn't lace the back properly. Like I said, I'm really happy with how it looks. I was afraid I would look like a chunky sausage in this thing. <br />
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The underbust and waist fit quite well. I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain parallel edges of the lacing strips all the way down though. I just can't get a feel for how it will fit over my hips when it's laced properly.<br />
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I can see that this style of corset isn't meant for waist training or creating any kind of an hourglass figure. It's meant to create a columnar silhouette for those long, lean styles of the 1910s-onward.<br />
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I think it's very interesting that girdles in the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s kept the same form as the Edwardian corset. I'd kind of like to experiment with making some girdles of my own because I like that kind of thing and I have a problem with getting very bloated sometimes--I can never predict when--and I have to wear loose clothes all the time because of that. I would love to have a corset/girdle to wear under my work clothes so that I don't have to worry about looking okay in my dress in the morning, only to appear to be 5 months pregnant later in the afternoon because my GI tract is so touchy.<br />
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Too much information? I'm sorry. But, it is a problem that a lot of women have.<br />
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Anyway, yay for my first REAL corset being finished!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-14213699625394463502014-03-31T09:56:00.002-05:002014-04-07T09:28:03.491-05:00Simplicity 3809: All dressed up and no where to goWell, I almost finished my new pirate costume in time for the last weekend of Sherwood Forest--which was this weekend. Pretty good considering I started it on a Saturday and took a day off of work to try and finish it. Instead, I wore my trusty red and brown outfit that I've worn to the last three Renaissance festivals including the one this past weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gps4q_WLHK8/UzmPyxEGppI/AAAAAAAANKM/mjE4fYuHwgA/s1600/Me+and+Melissa+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gps4q_WLHK8/UzmPyxEGppI/AAAAAAAANKM/mjE4fYuHwgA/s1600/Me+and+Melissa+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa is so gorgeous! Why can't I be gorgeous too! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6EKjkaXajqw/UzmBJFM144I/AAAAAAAANJ8/TBG5_KzXYNo/s1600/back+of+my+outfit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6EKjkaXajqw/UzmBJFM144I/AAAAAAAANJ8/TBG5_KzXYNo/s1600/back+of+my+outfit.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I do think my back view is rather nice though. :-)</td></tr>
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Back to the new pirate costume: I pushed myself too hard. I know better than to do that, but I did it anyway. I had a complete meltdown on Friday night after it took me a stupid hour and a half to put the trim on the chemise sleeves, and then had to take my dog out again, and then came back at 8:45 and the thought of installing the grommets on the bodice was too much, because I can't pound grommets at my apartment since I live on the third floor, so I would have had to pack everything up including Lulu and schlep it over to Kenneth's first-floor apartment to deal with the grommets with Lulu horsing around and me in a terrible mood.<br />
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I used a burgundy poly-silk blend duvet that I'd bought a couple of years ago for my stash. It took me all day to cut the pieces of the bodice out on Saturday. There are four pieces for each side of the bodice, and you have to cut interlining and lining for each one, so it was a marathon of pinning pattern pieces to fabric, cutting fabric out, unpinning pattern pieces from fabric and pinning them to different fabric, rinse, and repeat. It was so tedious.<br />
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The silk is a changeable silk, which is burgundy but shines black in certain lights. I cried a bucket of tears Saturday night when I got ready to start sewing the pieces together, because one of them shined burgundy and the other shined blackish-burgundy in my crappy light, and I thought somehow I'd folded the fabric wrong and cut two clones of each pattern piece rather than mirror images. Does that make sense?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGpJncRGwYw/Uzl3LPLkhMI/AAAAAAAANIs/8lCQHaejWHs/s1600/duvet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGpJncRGwYw/Uzl3LPLkhMI/AAAAAAAANIs/8lCQHaejWHs/s1600/duvet.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The duvet...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how the piece on the left is a different shade than the piece on the right? I thought I'd totally screwed up.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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In the morning I realized it was all okay, that you can't fold fabric wrong in such a way that one piece will be right side up and the other will be wrong side up. But my meltdown did result in a fun conversation with my downstairs neighbor, who was sitting on the steps outside while her dog pooped. She is a creative person too and we had a lot of fun talking about project fails and trials and tribulations and the whole creative process, and in the end we were both laughing. <br />
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Well, here are some pics of milady wearing the almost finished outfit (sans grommets in the bodice).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at how well I matched the seamlines of the front and back pieces!</td></tr>
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It turned out nicely, despite my meltdown. I am really proud of my craftsmanship on this outfit, except for the chemise for reasons which will be obvious when you see the picture. I'm not sure I ever want to work with sheer handkerchief weight linen again. It was a nightmare--it stretched out way too easily even on the grain, kept snagging in my scissors and I even bought new scissors to cut it. Snagged in the machine, though I changed my needle to an extra fine needle. My friend Kristine kindly gathered the bodice to the yoke for me after I tried twice and the thread broke on me or came loose both times. I've never had that happen before, even when gathering lots of yardage of heavier weight fabric.<br />
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So Kristine gathered the chemise to the yoke, and then I attached the facing to the yoke and cut the slit in the front and... I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twxYycQIr1s/Uzl5Ir403vI/AAAAAAAANJc/hIqFqKdNqoY/s1600/chemise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twxYycQIr1s/Uzl5Ir403vI/AAAAAAAANJc/hIqFqKdNqoY/s1600/chemise.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The edges of the split yoke got stretched as I was stitching them...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rQgrFUerv3s/Uzl5L6ihRRI/AAAAAAAANJk/wn_tin05KxQ/s1600/chemise+fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rQgrFUerv3s/Uzl5L6ihRRI/AAAAAAAANJk/wn_tin05KxQ/s1600/chemise+fail.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and in a spectacularly glaring fail, the points of the split and the yoke don't match up.</td></tr>
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But in the end, I just didn't like it. I'm glad I didn't buy fabric for it. I decided I'd go for more of a musketeer look, but now that I've (almost) finished it, I think the bodice is wrong for musketeer.<br />
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I'm glad I decided not to trim the skirt. I still plan to use it in a musketeer costume. I just have to find a good pattern for the bodice or jacket that I will pair with it. It's not a total loss. It's just the bodice I ended up not liking. <br />
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In conclusion:<br />
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<i><b>The Challenge: </b></i>Make a new pirate/musketeer costume<br />
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<b><i>Fabric: </i></b>Chemise - handkerchief-weight linen swag from Goodwill Outlet; bodice and skirt - poly-silk blend duvet from Goodwill<br />
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<b><i>Pattern:</i></b><i> </i>Simplicity 3809 for bodice and skirt, vintage McCall's 6359 for chemise. <span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<i><b>Notions: </b></i>Gutermann thread, cable ties for boning, zipper, lace trim for bodice and chemise.<br />
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<i><b>Hours to complete: </b></i>Three full days and four evenings after work before meltdown stopped project on the brink of completion.<br />
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<i><b>Total cost:</b></i>
<u> Duvet:</u> $7.99; <u>Trim:</u> 10 yds gold Venice lace, $27.00, lace trim for chemise, $13.00. <u>Notions:</u> gold thread, burgundy thread, and zipper, $9.00, cable ties for bodice boning, $2.75. <u>Pattern: </u>$1.00. Total cost was around $60.00. It's amazing how much more expensive it is when you add trim. <br />
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<b><i>Fits of rage: </i></b>At least one per day of work on this project. However, I just swore and cursed up a storm to get myself through them, rather than throwing the project into a crumpled heap in the corner. Two complete meltdowns complete with ugly sobbing and dog licking tears away from face. <br />
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<i><b>Was it worth it:</b></i> Yes, because it takes a long time to get good at sewing and everything I make is a chance to improve my craftsmanship and a step towards getting better. Not crazy about the money I had to spend on trim and notions, but that's part of it. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. I'm extra glad that I didn't buy fabric for this project. The project is still salvageable because I really like the skirt. I don't know what I'm going to do with all that leftover Venice lace trim though!<br />
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I might make a skirt to go with the bodice, and finish the bodice up, and try to sell it in my etsy store to help recoup the costs of this project. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-48327644788748452702014-03-28T16:29:00.002-05:002014-03-28T16:30:03.902-05:00Old letters: Bit writes to her MotherI have been sewing my fingers off for a week trying frantically to get my new Renaissance costume ready for closing weekend of Sherwood Forest. Which is this weekend. My friend Melissa and I are going to dress up together and head out there with her boys tomorrow. My dress still needs trim on the skirt, trim on the chemise cuffs, elastic in the chemise cuffs, and grommets in the bodice. I have to get it all done tonight.<br />
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So in order to get my mind off of the costume for a bit, I've decided it's time for a new Old Letters post. In this one, Bit writes to her Mother. Where Bit is writing from and where Mother lives, I don't know. The envelope didn't come with the letter. But I can guess that Bit is writing from Virginia, since she's sending her mother a card of Mount Vernon. And there's no date on the postcard, but Bit mentions rain from Camille, and my friend Google tells me that Hurricane Camille happened in August of 1969. BRILLIANT. THAT'S WHAT I AM. BRILLIANT.<br />
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[FROM: Bit, somewhere in Virginia; TO: Mother, location unknown / August 1969]<br />
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<i>Dear Mother:</i><br />
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<i>Thanks so very much for the $15 for the trivets and spoons. Needless to say, I haven't gotten around to purchasing them, but will when things settle down a little bit. </i><br />
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<i>I surely did enjoy having you visit, and hated to see you go, but I guess you had to. The weather has been very pleasant except for 2 weeks of Camille rain. It's bright and in the upper eighties. </i><br />
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<i>Mrs. Stratton will work on the Henry line if you'll send a copy of Grandma's [?] letter. She keeps asking for some dope. </i><br />
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<i> I guess everybody is back in school now which is a relief. I guess I told you we're going to a convention (Shrine) in Baltimore Sept 11, 12, & 13. That will be about the time of our anniversary, so it should be fun!</i><br />
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<i>David will go to Governor's Island for 3 months to Storekeeper's school, and then to OCS in Feb. if everything goes according to his plan. </i><br />
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<i>Roy is doing fine. This is his good time of year business wise, so his spirits are good. Has anybody been given their moving papers yet? I hope you can get what you need to get re-established. Isn't Sonny helping you find another place? Looks as if you should be able to find something in University Hills. I still think you should try to build a duplex. Call Hawks [?] Campbell when you get ready. Thanks again.</i><br />
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<i>Love, Bit</i> <br />
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Aww, how sweet of her mom to give her money for spoons and trivets. When I first read this letter, I got the impression of a young wife trying to make a nice home for herself and her family. Not a newly wed, but in her first few years of marriage. Yet, in transcribing it here, I started to wonder if David and Roy are her sons, or if one is her husband and the other her son. Either way, it sounds like she has grown kids, so I suppose she's been married for a while.<br />
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Okay, let's talk about that $15 for trivets and spoons. I checked the inflation calculator and $15 from 1969 would be around $95 today! Wow. That's a lot of trivets and spoons. How many could a girl possibly need??<br />
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Mrs. Stratton asking for dope all the time, hahahaha. Sign of the times for 1969, I suppose. <br />
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I wonder what the Henry line is. I wonder what happened that Bit's mother needs to find a new place to live and get re-established. I wonder if University Hills is the University Hills in Austin. <br />
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Well, those are my really bland observations on a pretty bland letter. After the drama of Freddie and Mattie Cagle, everything else seems to pale a bit in comparison. Let's hope the next old letter will be more exciting. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8279478419016291925.post-32414915553553351692014-03-14T10:39:00.000-05:002014-03-19T10:26:58.645-05:00Sensory overload in the fabric storeSo I found this antique postcard the other day and I had to buy it because it pretty much describes me in every fabric store ever, online or on the street.<br />
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If fabric stores these days were full-service, I have no doubt I'd be this woman. My approach to fabric stores is this:<br />
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1. Head over to Joann's. Enter the store full of anticipation.<br />
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2. Look at every bolt of fabric at least twice.<br />
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3. Choose one or two bolts of fabric and spend 30 minutes studying each one, trying to imagine how it will look all made up.<br />
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4. Pick one.<br />
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5. Look at every bolt of fabric again, just to make sure I didn't overlook something.<br />
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6. Start thinking maybe the one I chose isn't really the best one for the project. <br />
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7. Look at every bolt of fabric again.<br />
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8. Find one that would be PERFECT OMG THIS WOULD LOOK SOOOO GOOD.<br />
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9. Check the price and get mad because it's $16.99 a yard and too expensive even with a 40% off coupon. I want a new pirate costume, but not for $75!<br />
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10. Decide to look online for something cheaper.<br />
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11. Head over to the trims section and spend an hour looking at all the different kinds of lace.<br />
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12. Find something that would be PERFECT and then cringe at the price tag. This costume is going to be expensive.<br />
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13. Go home and look online for hours. Pick some great stuff and let it sit in my online shopping cart for three days while I think about it.<br />
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14. Decide to purchase it, only to find out the sale ended while I was being indecisive.<br />
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15. Decide to just get the cheaper of the two fabrics I liked at Joann's, because I got a 50% off coupon from them for signing up for text alerts. It's as good a deal as I'm going to get.<br />
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16. Go back to Joann's. Enter the store, full of anticipation.<br />
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17. Find out that all the fabric I liked is now on sale for 30% off, so I can't use my coupon. Refuse to purchase ANYTHING because I'd be paying $2.00 per yard than I would have if I could have used my coupon.<br />
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18. Leave store in a fit of rage.<br />
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19. Come crawling back two days later and grudgingly buy fabric I wanted even though I think it was a shitty move for Joann's to issue a 50% coupon during a week when they were going to have almost everything in the whole damn store on sale. <br />
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20. Make new pirate costume for the Renaissance fest and feel totally fabulous and infinitely talented when it's all done and I look amazing.<br />
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21. Start planning next project, and go through this whole thing again. <br />
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It's exhausting just thinking about it.<br />
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Going back to the postcard, the postmark on the back dates it to 1915. It's almost 100 years old. Here's a picture of the back:<br />
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<i>Danville, June 11, 1915, 4:00 pm</i><br />
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<i>TO: Miss Maggie Houghton, Cabot, VT</i><br />
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<i>"Hello M I may be over Sat. night our Sunday anyway we plain to come over tonight but Rofe could not go everything is fine. I.S."</i><br />
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June 11, 1915 was a Friday. So the sender expected Maggie to get this postcard the next day. That's really efficient postal service! Especially when you look at the address. How on earth could anything be delivered with an address like that? Was the world really that small back in 1915 in Cabot, VT?<br />
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Well I guess it must have been. According to a Wikipedia entry, the population of Cabot Village, VT in 2010 was just 233 souls. But there's another Wiki entry for Cabot Town, which includes Cabot Village, that says the population was 1,433 in 2010. Confusing. But, according to the <a href="http://vermonthistory.org/images/stories/census-records/1910.pdf">census records of 1910</a>, the population really hasn't changed very much in 100 years. <br />
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Either way, it's a small town. And my goodness, is it rural and ever so beautiful. Look at the Google images. It's just lovely. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745132814193825447noreply@blogger.com0