HSM2020 challenge 2 - re-use

For the longest time I didn't have any inspiration for the HSM challenge 2 - reuse.

Use thrifted materials or old garments or bedlinen to make a new garment. Mend, re-shape or re-trim an existing garment to prolong its life.

Then I got an invitation to a masked leap year ball. Now it's been many years since I've been to a ball, and I knew that none of my ballgowns would fit me, I needed to come up with something. What I do have is my 18th century stays, that are of silk brocade, I also knew that I have a matching skirt to it. The thing with the stays though are that I would need something to wear under them, both or comfort and because they end at nipple height and I didn't want to have any malfunctions. I went up to my storage and found the shift that I made for my Tudor Leia.

Since it's not up to my current standards for 16th century shifts I decided to turn it into an 18th century shit instead.

I was surprised that I had some nice handsewn hems on the sleeves and the smocking at the neck, but still I prefer my newer shifts.

What I did was that I simply cut off the collar and removed the stitches at the cuffs.

I made a simply drawstring casing for the neck, and let the cuffs be ungathered. I did it all by machine. In my mind I turned a totally fake 16th century shift into a slightly more accurate 18th century shift.

Sorry for the blurry pick, but it best shows off the shift

When I tried the stays on I also realised that I couldn't close them totally in the front, unless I was willing to break some ribs. In order to make a quick stomacher I actually used a pillow case from cushions I have in my soa.

The fabric had started to unravel, but the colour was a perfect match for the stays. I ripped upp the pillow case (making sure to save the zipper) and then cut out two triangular pieces from the middle of the pillow case, where the fabric wasn't quite as worn out.

I put a layer of cotton/linen drill between the outer fabric to make it a bit more sturdy.

The pillow case was also big enough to supply fabric for a new waistband for the skirt. The skirt isn't historical, but it's a great example of reuse. It was sewn up by my sister as a cocktail gown for our mother in 1993, in 1997 the hem was let out and a ruffle added so I could use it for prom. Then we realised that I couldn't wear the bodice, since my mother has curved spine, so for one of my first balls at university the bodice was cut off (some of it is in the pair of stays) and an elastic waistband was sewn on instead. Now when I tried it I couldn't get the waistband pass my hips, so I took it off, made a new one and regathered the skirt to it. So the skirt is in it's fourth or so configuration and has passed 25 years of use.

The items - A stomacher and a shift

The Challenge: February - re-use

Material: 1 poly satin pillow case, 15 cm of cotton/linen drill, 1 old cotton voile shift

Pattern: None, both were free-handed

Year: 18th century

Notions: A poly satin ribbon for th neck drawstring

How historically accurate is it? 10%, there is some handsewing on the shift, but most of it is sewn on machine. The pattern for the shift and the stomacher are accurate, but the materials are not.

Hours to complete: 1 hour

First worn: February 29th for a leap year ball

Total cost: Really everything that I reused was so old that I have no idea what it would cost today, maybe $10 for a new pillow case.