New Project: 1860-65 Peignoir

In the fall, Victoria and I are going to be doing Pioneer Farms again, and this time I want to be much better prepared.  Last year, it had been so long since I'd done an event that I only had two dresses and I barely eeked out the second one.  This year, I really would like to have a few new things and one of those items is this lovely peignoir, or wrapper.

Check out more images of the original here.

Sometime last year I found this reproduction stripe which I felt would be a fairly close approximation to the original, and here the other day, I pulled it - along with a plain, cream colored cotton which I already owned - out of my closet and decided the time had come.  Now, I could have sprung bigger bucks on a high-end cotton, but to be honest, I am trying to use more of my stash wherever possible, and this project fit the bill.  I comfort myself with the knowledge that it is just wrapper, and plain cotton will suit it just as well as a fancy cotton would.

I've already got my printed stripes cut out.  Next up is cutting bias strips out of the cream for all that piping and cut strips for facing the vertical trim on the bodice.  I'm going to cheat and only face the trim to about 2" below the waistband, which is where the trim appears to attach on both sides.  From the shoulder to that point below the waistband, the trim is only attached on the inside, or center, edge.

I truly hope to post more as this thing comes together, so stay tuned.

Light French Corset - 1860

My corset adventure fizzled.  I decided to go back to an old favorite.  This is the first corset I ever tried when I started reenacting.  But this one is way better than that first try.  It fits!  It's pretty!  Yay me!  Drinks all around!

This is the "Light French Corset (1860) from CORSETS & CRINOLINES by Norah Waugh.  I digitized it, graded it up to full size (it had a waist measure of like 20"!), then graded it to my measurements, which -- in large part -- were fairly proportionate to the original.  I did tweak the very top of the bust seam to curve in slightly to give me a smoother line across the top.  I also deviated from the original by adding a drawstring in the bust, which I saw in this corset from the V&A using a narrow linen tape, and flossed it with a plain flossing style rather than the chevron flossing shown in the illustration.

All in all, I'm fairly proud of it!  I get an hourglass shape (which makes me even more excited about the white body and black silk waist that's coming up on my to-do list).  I don't know why I ever mess with other types of corsets.  This "short" corset is really the very best thing for those with few curves.  It's one of the few articles of clothing that ended up fitting quite well for me, plus it's also one of the few that I've actually finished, even with the decorative bits.  And if you know me, you know that almost everything I wear has something unfinished or mocked-up or rigged in some form or fashion so that it gets the job done for the event.  It's very nice to have a new, pretty article to wear.

Because I did all of this digitally, I do have a pattern made up, and I'm happy to allow it's use for my readers as a starting point for your own corset.  Just let me know if you would like it by commenting or writing me at amy{at}thistleandlilly.com.

Here are the finished measures:
Waist: 30" (back opening can close to 26")
Bust: 40" (back opening can close to 36")
Front Length: 13"

Some photos!

Look, ma!  A back opening that is actually parallel!

new corset - begin again

After reading the comments from my previous post -- and thank you for the compliments on the style, by the way!) -- I endeavored to see how this corset would do with gussets in the hips.  I made a slit on either side of the corset and this is what happened:

Poof!  Hips came flaring out.  Obviously I need hip gussets.  Sitting down became instantly easier.  Corset sat down further than it did previously, so I need to lengthen the corset a tad.  Ribcage is still too tight, but I think that can be solved with a larger corset.

Now I have a decision.  I could use this same corset pattern (which is actually based on a later version, 1870s, actually), or since I have substantial hip flare that I didn't want to admit I had, I could try the 1864 corset from V&A that I've been dying to try out:

I don't have blue silk to make it out of (and I want a white corset anyway, since I plan on some white sheer bodices in the future) but it is such a pretty style, don't you think?  I'm not sure how it would feel with the bones ending so sharply at the hip like that.  I fear it would dig into my waist.  But it's still a beautiful corset.

new corset - progress

Oh the joys of making a corset.  The top and bottom are not bound yet, but the corset is boned, eyelets and busk are put in.  I copied the pattern from the old corset, then took a bit in at the waist.  Unfortunately, it seems I took too much in (gotta be super careful when altering patterns!) and this corset it super-tight.  It's not horrible, but I have a feeling it's going to make my ribs a little sore if I don't alter it some.

Methinks I should have considered altering the lower part to accommodate hips more so that the flesh displaced from the waist area has somewhere to go.  I'm trying to achieve a nipped-in waist to help accentuate my less-than-expansive bosom and give me more of an 1860s shape.  For one who is shaped rather like a fluffy surfboard, any shape is better than no shape.  And I do so love that hourglass shape from the 1860s.

Anyway...what do you think?

Wool Plaid Bodice

Thanks for the comments on my bodice questions everyone! It really helped me mull this out.
I hope y'all had a bountiful Thanksgiving.

Well, I've been thinking and thinking while I've stitched my bodice together. (Thank goodness for a 4-day weekend!) I think I will use this collar for now on this dress, but add a bias band to it so I can just tack it on. Then, maybe I can make a fine cotton embroidered collar to wear with it more permanently and use the lacy one for either a silk (I have some plaid silk waiting to be made up) or my blue cotton lawn in the spring. But I'll use this one for now since I don't have time to make a collar for it before December 10th.

On the sleeves, I decided on a regular coat sleeve, but a little skinnier, cut on the bias with a ruched ribbon up the side seam. Lacking time to purchase any silk ribbon, I contented myself with using the un-period grosgrain ribbon from Hancocks. Can't have it all, I suppose. I would have waited and gone to the event plain, but the plaid really needed something for trim.

The armscyes seem slightly tight, but I'm able to do everything without being too constricted. I can pick up the baby and move around comfortably. Thank the Lord for small blessings. I loathe armscyes and especially having to re-do armscyes.

Well, I'm off to finish the skirt and attach it to the bodice, then on to baby clothes...

Blessings!

Opinions/Advice?

Astonishingly horrid images, I know. I must've had the camera on manual focus. And, well, I didn't want to put all that corset, etc, back on to take more pictures. I have questions:

1) A friend gave me this sweet little collar, obviously designed for a v-neck. I've been dying to use it on something. Do you think it works for this dress, or will it work better on a silk? Also, the "v" is fine, isn't it? Doesn't need to be deeper?










2) Fitting. Ok, it's been a long time since I made a fitted dress and I've...erm...expanded somewhat since the baby -- most predominantly in the bust area. While I'm not terribly disappointed to have a bigger bustline, it did put me in a lurch when it came to fitting a pattern. I only had one bodice pattern, already cut to size. Tried and true it was -- but not with my new figure. So I enlarged and then pared it down bit by bit. So....do the armscyes look too tight in the back? (It doesn't feel tight because the fabric stretches ever so slightly.) Armscyes are my most dreaded fitting area. I'd hate to cut too much out or I'll have this huge sleeve top.





3) About the sleeve. I wanted to do this type of sleeve (top right of the Simplicity pattern, shown at left), but now I'm starting to wonder if all those pretty gathers would just get lost amidst the contrasty plaid. What do you think? I love the visual effect a lot of these 19th c. patterns have -- and I don't want to take away from it. Maybe it'd work better in a solid?

Hmmm....what to do...

Goings-On

Are you hearing crickets at the "Day In 1862" blog yet? :)

I don't have anything of importance to say, so I'll just update you on the goings-on in our humble home. It has been busy. Tis the season -- in a number of ways. And not just holiday-wise. Apparently this is also the time of year where every franchisee in our company needs me to design an ad for them. Big ads. Not easy, little things. Victoria is teething pretty intensely now -- poor little bugger -- and that creates a frustrating environment for me. Keith has been working lots and lots of weird (and multiple) shifts, so he's been gone a lot. We're in the process of planning/deciding things about building a home. And I have sewing for Ft. Washita to do. I'll get to that in a minute.

To break the monotony (!!) one of the fun things I decided to do recently was enter into a design challenge for Valentine's Day cards at minted.com. Drop by my design studio at minted to look at what I submitted -- and vote when the contest opens for voting! It's a great way to encourage new talent out there, because the top 10 designs win a monetary prize, plus get a chance to have their design be sold on minted.com! Pretty awesome stuff. Plus, it's just all real good fun. I decided to start a blog for my graphic design, Two Leaf Studio, as a sister-site to my Two Leaf Press (a letterpress shop, which is not open yet). I'll be doing more design challenges as they come up in the future.

Here is a fun pic. Found it on the home page of istockphoto.com. I thought it was pretty ingenious, don't you think? Kind of reminds me of us reenactors, trying to be historically correct in a modern world.

Anyway, in other news, I've started work on a fitted wool dress -- thank the good Lord! -- that I can wear at our Ft. Washita event the 2nd week in December. Oh, I've had this plaid wool just sitting on the shelf for about 3 years now, just waiting to be made up into a dress. It's rather pretty (in my opinion), although it's not flowery or girly. It would make up into a wonderful tailored (more modern) dress, but I thought it would work well for a simple fitted dress. At a distance, it seems to look brownish grey. Perfect for the now-matriarchal me.

It's pretty clear from looking at that photo that I desperately need a petticoat for my hoop -- and it probably won't hurt to add a hoop to the bottom of my hoop, either. It shrunk once in the rain and it's had that large "drop off" on all my skirts ever since. I loathe this. And I can't wear my wedding hoop because it's covered (harder to maneuver, imho) and much bigger. I wanted something rather modest. So, I suppose it's a new petticoat for me (that was necessary anyway). Perhaps I'll make it with a nice flounce at the bottom to help hold out the hem. Or maybe I'll go flamboyant and make a flounced petticoat! Woohoo!

Well...that's all for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful (and tasty!) Thanksgiving holiday. God bless you all.

-Amy