Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge #9: Flora and Fauna: Capote Restyled

I've fallen a little bit off of the sewing wagon...but I have a good excuse.  I am slowing inching my way back into the Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenges...beginning with Challenge #9: Flora and Fauna.  Below, I've posted several c.1800 fashion plates that I found on Dames a la Mode.  They were the inspiration for my project: My Capote, restyled, turban inspired, and sporting an ostrich feather.

 

A darling, blue velvet turban, trimmed in white, and with a curving ostrich feather.

 

Another turban, sporting a single ostrich feather.

 

Feathers.

 

Capote styled like a turban.

A couple more fashion plates that inspired me can be found HERE and HERE.  Both of these are sporting chin straps...and after wearing my turban styled capote (it's very heavy and slides off of my head easily,) I can see why a strap would be useful.  I might have to add one later.

Once I found the inspiration, it was easy to transform my Capote.  I turned up the front brim, and twisted, pleated, folded and pinned the fabric into place until I got the shape I wanted.  What makes this hat acceptable to the Flora and Fauna challenge?  The bonnet is made of hemp straw (flora), the fabric is linen (also flora), the white trim is silk (fauna) and the ostrich feather (obviously fauna.)

 

 

 

Just the Facts

 

The Challenge: Flora and Fauna: Capote refashioned turban style.

Fabric: Linen

Pattern: None, draped.

Year: c.1800

Notions: Thread, silk trim, ostrich feather

How historically accurate is it? The design, notions and fabric are accurate to the period.  It is hand sewn, but I'm not sure the construction is what they would have done...I sort of winged it as I went.

Hours to complete: About 2.

First worn: Today, but only for the photo shoot.

Total cost: Free, sort of...everything was from my stash, so I didn't purchase it now, but at some point I did.  Maybe $8?

Our Victorian Lady

Welcome Home!

 

Well, we've moved.  We've been in our new home now for about 2 weeks, and it is a very happy house.  We still feel a bit like we are on vacation, sort of living in some other person's house, but I know that over time, it will start to feel like home.  I love nearly everything about this new home, with the exception of the horribly outdated 1960's era kitchen (not shown because of its hideousness.)  I suppose the outdated kitchens and baths are the main reasons that we were able to purchase this house so cheaply...because the rest of it is gorgeous.

Will you allow me to give you a tour?

*The Foyer*

 

 

 

 

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*The Family Room*

 

 

This lovely Victorian Lady was built some time in the 1880's by a local artist and photographer named  C.H. Bryan.  I don't know much about this man and his family, but I think it's amazing that he was a creative, artistic man, and now another (humbly stated) creative person is living here.  You can really see his artistic influence in the details of the architecture.  There is definitely a Victorian aesthetic apparent, but there is also a bit of Orientalism and signs of early Arts and Crafts influence.  Mr. Bryan was a pioneer in local architectural design.  I think it is incredible that the original interior design has survived, and is in such good shape after all of these years.  This home certainly has been loved.  I only hope that I can do justice to his vision in every way I can, as I maintain and restore his lovely home.

*Fireplace Details*
 

 

 

 

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*The Library*

 

There are still many bare walls, and not all of the paint colors are what we would choose, so some things will change. We need a rug in every room, but funds say otherwise, so for now, house slippers are keeping our little toes warm.  Also, the home is almost twice the size of our last home, and some rooms are sorely lacking in the furniture department.  The dining room, because of it's massive size, dwarfs our table.  I'm hoping to find a nice antique one to fill the space.

*The Dining Room*

 

One room that I am really excited about isn't very architecturally stunning, but is extremely special to me.  There is a small sun room located off of the Library and Family Room that I am calling my Studio.  This is my creative space, made full of light, perfect for sewing, drawing, painting, etc.  I am really excited to have this space, because it is the first time in eleven years (since graduating from collage,) that I have had a place that has the sole purpose of fostering creativity and that allows me to do art.

*The Studio*

 

 The yard and garden are nearly as incredible as the interior of the house, but it has been neglected over the past few years, and is seriously in need of some clearing out, weeding, and restructuring.  Even so, the spring blooms are gorgeous, and we wake to a chorus of birds every day. 

 

 

 

It has been a dream of mine to own a historic home for as long as I can remember.  I feel really blessed to have been given the chance to take care of and live in this home.  Every day I pinch myself.  Thank you for allowing me to take the time to share it with you.  I only wish I could invite you over for tea, or an evening dinner lit with candle-light.  This house invites hospitality.  Ooooh...and think of what Christmas will be like!

Historical Sew Fortnighly: Challenge #6: Early 1930's Summer Seersucker Sun Dress

 

The Dreamstress hosts the Historical Sew Fortnightly event, Challenge #6: Stripes.  My entry...a VERY early 1930's (transitional from the 20's) seersucker sun dress.  Originally, I was going to make a Regency era night gown, or dressing gown.  But, then life happened, and I decided instead to go with something practical for the stripes challenge.  I love the silhouette of the early 1930's, and combine that with the fact that summer will be here before I know it...seersucker was really the only way to go for me.  I certainly don't have the desired, long, waif-ish, figure of the early 30's, but I do like the comfort and femininity of this dress.  It's not fancy (these were the year of the great depression after all), but I feel very girl-ish in it.  I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of me in the dress.  Bad lighting, and an even worse photographer are my excuses.

 

I found a couple of 1930's seersucker dresses HERE and HERE that were the original inspirations for my gown.  However, the style evolved during the draping and drafting process.  I secretly love it when this happens...I have a design in mind, and the creative process takes over and comes up with something completely different, but better!

 

HERE'S a Fancy Evening Gown from The MET, from a later 30's date, that really influenced the shape of my day dress.  Also, the gowns in the fashion plate at the top of this page, and the bright yellow chiffon dress 3 gowns up from the bottom of this page(although it's a 20's dress), really affected the overall design.

 

 Just the Facts:

The Challenge: Stripes

Fabric: Dark grey and white striped Seersucker.

Pattern: I draped and drafted it.

Year: Very Early 1930's...transitional from late 1920's silhouette.

Notions: Zipper and thread.

How historically accurate is it? The fabric and style are accurate, the construction was merely a guess.

Hours to complete: Approximately 8 hours.

First worn: Last Saturday at a tea part.

Total cost: Maybe $15, but I bought the fabric with a gift card...so, technically, free to me.

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P.s. - We've sold our house (hurrah!), and are now in the process of moving.  I'm surrounded by boxes and packing tape.  I hope to be able to make a small, simple, hand sewn piece for the next challenge (accessories)...but I reserve the right to be late, or absent, if I simply can't find the time.  Settling into our new home will certainly be big on my priorities list.

Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge #5: Peasants and Pioneers - Child's Doll

The Dreamstress Hosts the Historical Sew Fortnightly : Challenge #5: Peasants and Pioneers

I think my Peasants and Pioneers project might be stretching the concept a bit.  I wanted to create something that I (or in this case, my daughter Jane) would actually use.  When I dress out in costume, I don't typically dress as a peasant or pioneer, so what I made is something that could pass for either upper class, or peasant.  I made a child's doll.  Dolls are made from scraps of fabric and bits of wool roving, and even the poorest of little girls might be able to scrounge up enough scraps to create a small poppet.  

 Jane absolutely adores her new poppet, and has named her Arabesque (pronounced "Arabesca," she says, and which I'm pretty certain was inspired by her resent love of ballet.)  I might later make the doll a new, fancier gown.

 

In keeping with the theme, Jane's doll is simple...no fancy ball gown or feathered turban.  But, the inspiration for Jane's new doll does have all of these things.  

*original doll*

You can view the original regency era doll here at the American Centuries Memorial Hall Museum Online.  

Jane's doll is about 2 1/2 inches wide by 14 inches long.  Everything is hand stitched.  I started by sewing together the individual pieces of the body, made of cotton duck.  I stuffed each piece with wool roving yarn, then assembled the doll.  The hair is also wool roving.  I drew on the face with pencil first, then used actual make up to outline the eyes and put some color on her face.  The first clothing item I made her was a cotton shift.  A cotton cap came next with a tiny bit of ruching to decorate it.  Then I made the simple, gathered, linen gown.

A very "peasant" type of gown...don't you think...even if it is only 12 inches long?  Does it pass for the challenge?

Just the Facts

The Challenge: Peasants and Pioneers - Scrap Doll

Fabric: cotton, linen

Pattern:  None

Year: Late 1790's to 1815ish

Notions: Thread, pencil, make-up, wool roving yarn

How historically accurate is it? I would assume it's very historically accurate...made with period techniques, style, fabric, etc.

Hours to complete: Maybe 8 to 10

First worn: First held about a week ago. :)

Total cost: Free, made of bits of scraps.

*UPDATE* Historical Sew Fortnightly: Embellish: Kyoto Half Stays - Embroidery Floss Designs

The inspiration for my embroidered Kyoto half stays was a random, unlabeled, Pinterest Photo of a Flossing Sampler...and I had NO idea who took the photo, or where the sampler was from.  Thanks to Cassidy, I was given a name, and able to track down the source via Facebook.  

Cathy Hay, of Foundations Revealed and Your Wardrobe Unlocked, is the one who took all of those gorgeous Photobucket photos of the Flossing Samplers (official credit for photos: c) Symington Collection, Leicestershire County Council Museums Service. Photographed by Cathy Hay, FoundationsRevealed.com.)  Some more gorgeous corset photos from the same collection can be found HERE on her Flickr stream.   With Cathy's permission, here is what she has to say about the Sampler and the collection of corsets, in general:

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"The Symington Collection is one of the best corsetry museum collections in the world, containing corsetry from the 1860s through support garments of the 20th century, right up to the 1990s. It was the collection of R & W H Symington & Co., a corset manufacturer that operated out of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, UK from 1830-1990 or so. They kept examples both of their own work and of their competitors, making it an unrivalled collection - I first came across it when I visited a corset exhibition at FIT in New York only to discover that most of the exhibits had been shipped over from my then home county!

The sampler is an extraordinary object. It's a collection of scraps onto which are sewn all the flossing and embroidery pattern they could do with their embroidery machines - by this date (1880s ish?) they were using cane in the corsets, both to keep prices down and so that the embroidery machines could stitch right through. Later on, these samplers were cobbled together to make one big sampler, which hung on the boardroom wall in the company's later years."

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So, it would seem that my choice of flossing design for my Kyoto stays was off by at least 70 years.  Live and learn, right?!  I am still happy with my choice, because I do feel that the design remains classical in shape and color, and also because no one else will see it.  So, I'm not so concerned with historical accuracy in this instance, but I thought it important to clarify and give credit where credit is due.  A huge thank you to Cathy Hays, an extremely kind lady, for taking the time to 'speak' to little ol' me!

 

Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge #4: Embellishment

The Dreamstress Hosts the Historical Sew Fortnightly:  Challenge #4: Embellishment 

I must admit, I'm not one to embellish much when it comes to sewing, or even in my own every day fashion for that matter.  I wear the same 3 or 4 pairs of earrings that I've had for years over and over again...I don't wear rings, rarely wear bracelets or necklaces, and even though I like shoes, I am frequently stuck in the same rut, wearing a pair until the fall apart.  When sewing, I absolutely LOVE the designing, drafting, draping aspect of it...I like putting it all together...and I loath finishing touches.  Maybe I prefer the creative engineering part, or maybe I'm just lazy and tire of it before it's done.  But for whatever reason, I am not much of an embellishment type of gal.  

This challenge was hard for me.  Originally I thought I would put some gold braid and decorative (non-functional) buttons down the front of my 1884 Gypsie Jacket. Well, folks...I tried...I truly did.  I set it up on my dress form, pinned the braid on, and stepped back to take a look.  It was just too fussy for me.  It detracted, in my mind, from the structure of the outfit.  I just couldn't bring myself to guild the lily. 

 So, what to do...

The answer...embellish, as simply as possible, something that no one but myself (my husband - and a ladies maid...if I had one) would see...my Kyoto half stays.

Through the Pinterest grapevine, I discovered some embroidery floss samplers made for corsets/stays. I have absolutely NO idea who the person is that owns these samplers, what era they are from, or what part of the world.  If anyone knows the answers to these questions, PLEASE enlighten me.  I am far from an expert in embroidery, and I'm not that good at it either.  So, I picked a design that I think has the embroidery aesthetics of the early 19th century, based upon what I know about contemporary art, fabric design, and interior design.  I hope my knowledge of these things has not led me astray.

Just the Facts:

The Challenge: Embellishments: Embroidered Kyoto Half Stays

Fabric: None

Pattern:  None...looked at embroidery sampler and copied it.

Year: Early 1800's...I hope.

Notions: Needle and Cotton Embroidery Floss

How historically accurate is it? Embroidered stays are historically accurate, but the design...only guessing on that, so...?

Hours to complete: 3 Hours

First worn: Not yet

Total cost: Free - The embroidery floss was a gift from one of my school kid's parent.

Historical Sew Fortnightly: Challenge #3: Under it All

This post is for the Dreamstress' Historical Sew Fortnightly  Challenge #3: Under it All.  I'm actually on time for this one! I am finding all of these challenges very inspiring.  I work better with deadlines and people to hold me accountable.  And the many gorgeous historical garments being posted in the Facebook photo album are incredible...I feel humbled by them, and am keenly aware of my amateur sewing abilities now.  There is always room to grow, right?

My project for this challenge is a set of stays.  I had considered making an early set of stays circa 1790, but in the end, I was inspired by the Kyoto Brassier, an early 1800's transition undergarment.  

 

I draped and drafted the pattern myself, looking at this page from KCI.  The stay fill out better on my squishy body than they do on my stiff dress form.

 

 I'm told by Sabine of Kleidung um 1800 that from her research in the Lady's Strategem, there is very little (if any) extent evidence of what we call "short stays."  It is hard to say, but the Kyoto Brassier might have been used for someone with health problems, or someone who is pregnant or nursing.  I am none of these, but the garment was fun to make anyway.  

It is actually very comfortable to wear...more so than a modern bra. I've been wearing it for a couple of hours now, and I feel like I could do anything in it.  They are easy to put on, without any help. Who knows...maybe these were a working woman's stays???

 

(original way of wearing the straps)

 

(my modified version)

 

I found that modifying the way the straps tie in the back actually works better for my body shape.  The original stays used a string tying together the top shoulder strap to the bottom side strap directly under it, but when worn like this, the straps fall off my shoulders too easily.  But, if I cross the top shoulder strap to the bottom side strap on the opposite side, they fit much better, give me a better shape, and stay on. 

I used linen for the lining, cotton for the outer fabric, and sandwiched between is a layer of cotton duck to give it a bit of body and stiffness.  They are hand sewn.  I'm not sure what the original was boned with, but I used reed...simply because it is what I had on hand.

Just the Facts:

The Challenge: Under it All: Kyoto Brassier

Fabric: Linen Lining, Cotton outer fabric, Cotton duck interlining.

Pattern:  Drafted and Draped by me.

Year:  Early 1800's

Notions: Thread, Embroidery Floss(for eyelets), 1/4" tape, 1/2" tape, Reed Boning.

How historically accurate is it? They are based off an extant piece, and hand sewn, so I think that makes them pretty historically accurate...with the exception of how I modified the ties in the back.  As far as what to call them...half stays, short stays, transitional stays, brassier...I'm not sure what the historically accurate term is.

Hours to complete:  Why do I hate this part.  I get so lost in my sewing hours...time means nothing to me when I'm working on a project.  My guess...8 hours(hand sewn)???

First worn: Today, for a few hours...very comfortable!

Total cost: Reed boning and other notions from my stash? Cotton and Linen, about $15-$20.