The yearly recap - what did I do 2022?

 Looking back at 2022 my feeling is that I didn't do much, but what I did I was spectacular.

The honest reason why my productivity has gone down is simple - I'm in a partnership now and there simply aren't as many evenings by myself where I don't do anything but watch TV and sew costumes. I still haven't really found the balance, where I can get time to do make things, in my new life situation.

The other thing is that I do have issues with my weight. I am not happy with how I look right now, and I don't feel inspired to make new costumes for my body at the moment. I am very grateful that I have been referred to a medical investigation on why I am just gaining weight all the time. It is really nice to be with a medical team that doesn't judge or simply say that I need to eat less and move myself more, considering that I eat healthier and excercise more than a lot of people that don't have weight issues. I am really hoping that we will find something to help me take control over my body again in the coming year.

Anyway, on a more positive note here is what I did get done:

The first part of the year was spent making sure that my lovely David would be able to join the feasts with our 16th century guild.

It started with me remaking one of my old shifts into a smocked man's shirt.

Then our first guild feast of the year was in January, and with restrictions back in force he needed something to survive a Swedish winter evening outside. I made a quite generic wool jacket. It's reversible so he can wear either the black or red side out. It isn't based on any particular year or painting, but works well for late medieval.

Later in the year his mother gave me a gorgeous sand coloured wool that I turned into an early 16th century coat for him.

Between his two jackets I turned 40 and made an 18th century pair of stays and a jacket for my birthday party.

Then it was time to turn my attention to the main object of the year - my wedding attire. I started with making a full new set of 1910s underwear.

And then it was the wedding gown itself, made from 6 m of duchesse silk satin, purple/gold silk brocade and a full set of handmade buttons of the same fabric as the dress. I was really happy with the result, and the day was just wonderful.

So maybe it wasn't such an unproductive year anyway, even if I didn't get any cosplay projects done.

my wedding attire - part two the gown

 So for the gown it took me some time to decide on what I wanted. Being an older bride I didn't want anything that was too much of a princess-style, but I still like a serious amount of fabric. I also wanted to make a gown that was flattering for my figure (of course) but also a gown where I could use my strengths as a seamstress, and minimize techniques that I am know I'm worse with using.

Pattern

In the end the gown was a frankenpatterned version where the skirt, mostly, came from Wearing History's 1916 Eloise dress. It is basically a big piece of fabric that was pleated to the waist. As detailing it has two deep pleats, and the hem is just as deep as the pleats. This made something happen with the skirt, instead of just being plain, and since the hem was to look like a third pleat I didn't have to worry about doing an invisible hem, but could have the seam be visible. In the instructions it is said that the skirt is too long and that it is necessary to adjust it. For me that meant that I also adjusted the pleats by moving them upwards.

For the belt I used the stay pieces of the Butterick belt, but skipped the pleated parts of the belt.

For the bodice I had to change the closure from a side closure to a back closure. I simply did that by not cutting the back piece on fold and add a seam allowance. I also added straight strips of self fabric as facings for the back opening.

The main thing I liked with the Butterick pattern were the dolman sleeves, that are cut in one with the bodice so I didn't have to struggle with set in sleeves. I hate setting sleeves. This kind of sleeves are more limited in how much you can move, but I wasn't going to to do a any handstands or cartwheels anyway.

Fabric

For the fabric I decided to splurge. After all this is a once in a life time dress. Since the gown was going to be quite simple I wanted the fabric to stand out as luxurious and wonderful. I ended up buying 6 meters of duchesse silk satin from Sartor. It was expensive, but so wonderful to work with. It was stiff and didn't slide around. I tried to use as few pins as possible, and I hardly needed to. As long as the seams were straight I could just hold the fabrice and feed it into my machine. It took ironing really well as well. For the belt I used a gold and purple 16th century reproduction brocade, also from Sartor. I had bought it as a remnant even before I met my husband, but I hadn't dared to use it for anything. With our common interested in the 16th century I felt that it was a good way of giving a nod to that in my gown, without making an historical gown. It was also this fabric that decided that our theme colours were purple and gold.

The process

I started with making a complete mockup of the bodice. Now there were definitely issues here, since I was going to fit a 1950s style bodice over a 1910s corset. This is also where I got really nervous. I had my (then future) husband help me with measurements when I was in the corset, but to be honest I was worried that he hadn't done them correctly. The bodice has pleats in the front and darts in the back, and those had to be adjusted quite a lot to get a good fit. I then used the mock up pieces as my pattern pieces.

In the end I don't think the thick duchesse satin was the best choice of fabric for the bodice, the pleats looked better in the thinner cotton I used for the mock up, but the fabric was perfect for the skirt instead.

The pattern was easy to follow. I added a lining, which also made it possible for me to sew the bias binding of the edges to the lining and not to the main fabric. One thing I would have done differiently today was that I would have made the bias binding wider. With the thick satin and the lining it was tricky to bind the edges properly and get all the raw edges within the binding. With the adjustment I did the neckline also ended up a bit wider than I had planned, but it was still ok.

The gown was constructed with the bodice and the belt in the same fabric as the boddice. Then I attached the skirt to the bodice and belt, and then I finished by sewing the brocade belt over the satin belt. The brocade belt was handsewn on, which also made it easier to pattern match the fabric.

Throughout the process I had my old dressform, which has fallen apart below the waist and has never been a good fit for my body when wearing a corset. Still what I did was that I adjusted it to its smallest size, then I put the corset on over it and I used fabric to stuff the gap between the dressform and the corset. I then draped the gown over the dressform. I was really nervous when it was time to try everything on, but in the end it fit like a glove. I am so happy that well made corset makes dress fitting so much easier.

The closure

The one hickup I had was the closure of the gown. I used an invisble zipper for the skirt, but I only had a fairly short one, and I didn't feel like buying a new one when I had an invisible zipper in cream in my stash. When I sewed it on something got wrong and I ended up with stitches over the zipper. It's not visible, but the zipper lost a few cm. This made it just about possible for me to get in and out of the skirt. The original plan had been to let the zipper go up through the belt as well. The belt was closed with hook and eye. 

I have always liked to look of cloth buttons. I ordered a set to make my own cloth buttons, but it never arrived. (well it arrived three weeks after the wedding). After having stressed about it I decided to make my own cloth buttons, like I have done medieval wool buttons. They really took their time, and I found it hard to get them even in satin, which is a lot less forgiving than wool. I used thread loops, made with silk thread, to fasten the buttons. This was my one panic before the wedding, and I actually finished the last thread loop 30 minutes before I was due at my hairdresser on my wedding day.

Personally I only see how uneven in shape and size the buttons are, but to be honest they are hardly visible in any of the photos, due to my hair and veil. And the mass effect of a long row of buttons still look good.

I must say that I am impressed with how good my husband was in helping me undress when we got home, considering that we were both dead tired and he had to navigate between  zippers, buttons, hook and eye and a laced up corset before I was out of my gown completely.

The jewellry was all family pieces. The earrings are from my paternal grandmother, the pearl necklace is a gift from my aunt that wanted me to have something from my maternal grandmother some years ago. I had it restrung ahead of the wedding though. The brooch was a gift from my father, and since he is not among us any more it was important for me to wear it on my wedding day. Finally my mother has had a tradition to give her daughters something just before going into church. My sisters have gotten brooched, but since I already had one I got a gold bracelet with a pearl that is from her great aunt. I felt very honoured to be able to wear so much family history on my big day.

Finally I must say I wasn't alone in getting married, and my husband looked so handsome in his white tie.

My wedding attire - part one

 It has taken me quite a while to write about my wedding gown, but I just got the photos from the photographer, so here is the rundown of what I wore on my wedding gown.

Underwear

For the underwear I used my new set of 1916 underwear, I have a whole blog post about them here. The petticoat was starched so stiff that it could basically stand on its own, and it got a wonderful volume and ruffling sound from the starch.

When doing the 1917 combinations I had been worrying about the crotch flap, and if it would protect my thighs from chafing. I had to move the buttons, when I realized that I would not be able to close the buttons myself in the position that they were. Well on the wedding day the buttons came undone anyway, so now I am thinking about simply removing the crotch flap and use it as s simple chemise instead. I didn't get chafing though, or maybe I didn't notice because I was so happy.

Shoes

My favorite shoe brand is Irregular Choice and as soon as I got engaged I knew that I wanted to get married in a pair of Irregular Choice shoes. I had my eyes out for their wedding shoes, but in the end I they didn't feel quite right. In the end I was happy to find a a pair of Razzle Dazzle in gold and with rainbow accents. Those where not in the current collection, but I found them at a Swedish retailer that apparently had older collections still on sale.

Since our colours were purple and gold I felt that the purple in the rainbow was close enough and the shoes were definitely gold.

Flowers

My sister did all the flowers. I basically gave her very free hands, but said that I wanted the flowers to go in purple and lilac with maybe some burgundy accents and I didn't want white. I also wanted a drop shaped bouquet.

Hair, tiara and veil

It took me a really long time to decide what I wanted in my hair. For a while I thought about borrowing the church's wedding crown, which is a traditional Swedish thing to do, but the crown in the church where we were getting married is too much of a fairytale princess crown. To be honest it reminded me too much of the crown I use for my Princess Daisy cosplay. In the end I found a tiara on Nordic Wedding Outlet that wasn't too blingy, and that I felt would look good. I didn't want a tiara with a lot of crystals or rhine stones. I also found my veil there. I could probably have made the veil myself, but decided that was worth it to buy it, so I didn't have to struggle with binding the edges. I found one veil that was just down to my feet, actually few cm of train, and that was what I wanted. Since it wasn't a long train I kept the veil on until it was time to dance, because it wasn't in the way at all.

I kept the hair simple, with just a mass of tight curls that stayed together, and just a bit of teasing to have something to attach the tiara and the veil to.

I am a married woman

 Yesterday I got married. And I will try and write about the wedding gown, but until I have better photos this is a first look.

Finally my pink gown!

 So many years ago I bought pink wool to make a pink 16th century gown. It's been in my stash for a long time by now. Last year at medieval week in Visby I decided that I really wanted a new gown for the next year, since I don't feel pretty in my old dresses, especially compred to all the pinked and slashed gowns.

This is my main inspiration for the gown. It's a woman that can be seen in large painting "the triumph of emperor Maximilian". It is a rather plain main gown, but the sleeves gives it a bit more interest. Of course I would have to improvise the front, but there are so many images of fronts that it's not a problem.

I cut out the main pieces with the plan of sewing it together at the Medieval Fair in Leksand, well I didn't sew a stitch.

In the middle of the summer I sewed the bodice together - and had a breakdown. It didn't fit at all, it was full of wrinkles and I just felt fat and ugly in it. I have a lot of issues with my weight, since I have gained a lot over the last few years, and I can't really say why.

Anyway after a couple of weeks I took up the failed bodice again and ripped it apart. I decided to start over. I cut out another layer of lining to make it sturdier. I also decided to construct the bodice the 18th century way where you first make the lining, and then mount the other fabric on the lining. I figured that some of the wrinkles were probably because the lining and the outer fabric weren't perfectly matched to each other. I also decided to baste it all together on the machine before handsewing it. So I basted the two lining layers together and sewed them up, now with very small seam allowances to make it bigger and reduce the stress on the fabric.

mounting the outer fabric to the lining

Now I had a bodice that fit a lot better. I was also running out of time before medieval week. I had to reset the goal of finishing before medieval week. Instead I decided to aim for having it finished for Wednesday, when there is a big landsknecht march. I also decided that I needed to compartmentalize the project and break it down into smaller parts so that I get the big things done at home, and only have the smaller things left when I arrive in Visby.

This is the current state of the gown. The skirt, to the left, has been sewn together and the seams are felled. I have done gathering stitches on the maching so I can just gather and attach the skirt to the bodice. The olive fabric is a courser fabric that I have cut out a strip of to use as a hem guard. I made the gathering stitches on the machine since it's so much faster. I also had a discussion with myself on why I do things the way I do, and realized that since I'm not making this to dwelve deeper into the craft, I just want a pretty dress, then I'm fine with doing basting and gathering on the machine. Those are stitches that will be removed anyway.

The bodice is done except for the decorations that will go around the neckline and down the front. My original plan was to make eyelets to close it, and work on those on the ferry. I got a lot less stressed when I instead decided to go for lacing rings, which were used as well in the 16th century. I just need to go down to the medieval market and buy them.

The sleeves have been cut out, I was a bit stressed so unfortunately the top part is a tiny bit too short, but that's the way it is. I'm hoping to sew them together on the ferry, so I just have to attach lacing rings and sew them to the bodice when I arrive in Visby.

Will I have a new gown on Wednesday in Visby? We will see...

HSM22 challenge 10s - my 1916 underwear

October: A Perfect 10: It’s the HSM’s 10th anniversary, so make something 10 themed. 10th century, the something-10s, something that incorporates 10 of something? Be creative with it!

The whole set with combinations, corset and petticoat

I have come to like the fashion in 1915-1917 more and more, and with the need for some underwear for my wedding gown it also gave me a reason to make a new set of underwear. I'm not going for an historical wedding gown, but I like the silhouette and want to make my wedding gown from that. Up until now I have made to with my Scroop Pattern Rilla corset that I patterned tested and an 1980's romantic skirt that I have turned into a petticoat. I had already made the Wearing History 1917 combinations, so now it was time for the rest of the underwear. 

When I pattern tested the Rilla corset I got the finished pattern as a reward. Since then Leimomi Oakes has made another set of sizes for the Rilla so that it now comes in size pack A, B and C. I had the size pack A and B, and I was just on the outside of the largest size in B. I still decided to try and work with that, instead of rebuying the pattern. I shouldn't have worried. The Scroop Patterns are really true to size, in fact I would say that they have a tendency to run a bit large. Every time that I have made a pattern and gone up a bit to be on the safe side I have had to take them in back to the size I should have picked from the start.

Since this is a pattern that can be bought I don't want to talk to much about the construction, it's all there in the very clear and good instructions. The only thing I get a bit worried about is to choose the length for the boning. I bought the boning before starting to sew and I picked the middle of the road in the size options given. It works, but if I hade sewn the boning channels first I would probably have chosen to have the back bones be the shortest option, they really go down deep on my bum. 

A thing that made the materials for the corset more expensive was that apparently it's impossible to find spring steel with plastic dipped ends in the EU. All the Swedish and contintenal sellers that I could find only had them precut and wanted you to put metallic end caps on them. I had to order the boning from VenaCava in the UK, and with Brexit that means that I also had to buy customs and toll cleareance for them.

The Rilla corset doesn't have a lot of reduction, it simply smooths out the curves. This makes it really comfortable. I am really unused to the longline corset though, and in that way I feel more restricted from the waist down, compared to Georgian stays or Victorian corsets. I definitely need to practice more about simply going to the bathroom, and being able to pick up the flap on the combinations so that I can button them to the front. I might have to adjust where I have placed the buttons on the combinations as well.

Since this is my wedding corset I made it from white coutil, and I also used gold details on the busk and lace. 

When the corset was done it was time for the petticoat, made from Scroop Patterns Ettie Pettie, that is designed to cover the time period 1900-1910 and goes really well with the Rilla corset. I loved the idea of making a really fluffy petticoat, and there are two ruffles with lace on the version that I made.

Inserting several rows of lace and using lace for the hems was tedoius, but I loved the result. There is a lot of lace, which is reflected in the price tag of the materials, there simply wasn't a lot of options when I wanted pure cotton lace. The lace also made the petticoat surprisingly heavy, considering that the fabric is a very light cotton batiste.

One mistake I made when cutting out the pattern was that I didn't adjust for my length. I have very short legs, but I'm used to being able to adjust the skirt length either at the waist or at the hem, which is possible when working with large rectangular pieces that are gathered to the waist. Instead of recutting the pattern pieces I made two tucks just above the first ruffle, which is a common detail on period petticoats. One of the pattern variations have similar tucks on the ruffle itself.

Another mistake I made was to simply don't read the full instructions. So keep in mind that you should mark out eight points and not just quarter points when it is time to gather the ruffle, and the outer ruffle is not attached exactly the same as the dust ruffle. The result was that the ruffle is not quite as evenly gathered as I would have liked, and instead of cutting away the fabric behind the lace covering where the ruffle is attached to the skirt I just sewed the lace over the seam as a ribbon. It works fine, and is an option in the pattern, but I really like the more delicate look when the fabric is cut away.

The one thing left to do now is to starch the petticoat to get it really fluffy and crisp, but that is for later in the summer.

The Historical Sew Monthly details

What the item is: - A corset and petticoat
How it fits the challenge: It is from the 1910s
Material: corset - 1 m cotton coutil, petticoat - 3 m cotton batist
Pattern: Scroop Patterns Rilla corset and Ettie Petticoat
Year: 1915-1917
Notions: For the petticoat -  7,5 m cotton insertion lace, 5,5 m hemming lace, elastic waistband, snaps, hook and eye, for the corset - 1 busk, 48 grommets and 24 spring steel bones in varying size, 1 m grosgrain tape, 6 m of corset lacing, 2,5 m bias tape
How historically accurate is it? I have follwed the instructions, so I think this one is pretty closee.
Hours to complete: one month for both
First worn: not yet
Total cost: $200 for both pieces

Wearing history's 1917 combinations

 I have been intrigued by combinations, the one piece garment that combined the chemise with drawers to be the layer between the skin and the corset in the first decades of the 20th century. One reason for that is because my thighs are so big that I get chafing if I don't wear some fabric between them. In older periods I simply wear a pair of linen or cotton shorts under the clothes, unhistorical but comfortable. With the longline corsets of the 1910s I have had problems with that. If I have the shorts under the corset it is really complicated to go to the bathroom, and if I have them over the corset it's hard to pull them up because the corset is so long.

Wearing history has several combination patterns and I decided to go for the ca 1917 pattern.

It is based on this original pattern

It has just a crotch flap instead of full drawers, and I felt that if the crotch flap didn't work out it would be simple to just cut it off and have a nice and cute chemise.

As usual with the Wearing history patterns there are not a lot of instructions, but they are not needed either because it is really just two pieces that needs to be sewn together. Leimomi Oakes of The Dreamstress was a pattern tester for this and she has also made a good post about it, that I used for some further inspiration.

The pattern ended before my size, but looking at the measurements given I realized that the pattern is very roomy, and since I didn't want a lot of extra fabric under the corset I had no problem going down a size to the largest available on the pattern. It is still a roomy and comfortable garment.

I opted for the straight top, with just a pair of satin ribbons for shoulder straps. This was simply because I didn't have enough fabric to cut out both the shoulder straps and the crotch flap. I also felt that the straight top felt a bit more "modern" and forward looking to the 1920s. 

The seams are sewn with french seams, if you don't know how to do it there are a lot of tutorials out there for french seams. In the back the fabric needs to be pleated into a box pleat, I hid the raw edges of the fabric under a piece of cotton tape.

With inspiration from the Dreamstress I baglined the crotch flap. Unlike in the instructions I didn't make button holes, instead I just metallic snaps to fasten it.

There are no instructions on where the crotch flap should be fastened. At first I simply fastened it at the bottom of the front, but when I tried the combinations on the crotch flap hung so low that it didn't do anything to prevent my thighs rubbing each other. After some experimentation I raised the fastening quite a lot. 

Now I have tried the combinations on while just walking around at home and they feel really comfortable, I still haven't tried them under a corset. It will be then that I discover if the raised crotch flap will be a problem, and if they really will help against the chafing. 

A 16th century man's jacket

 I must say that I feel like this year I don't really stick to any plans when it comes to costuming, but I rather jump straight into projects. Over Easter me and David visited his parents and his mother gifted me some beautiful fabrics, including a wonderful camel-colored wool in a coat weight. I really felt like it wanted to be made into something historical, but I already have my mustard coloured kirtle in a similar colour. Since the fabric was from David's mother I then felt it was appropriate to make something for him, and since we had a guild feast coming up on Saturday I decided that I would make a jacket for him in four days. 

There was no time to really make a pattern for it, but I looked around and got really inspired by the early Tudor clothes of the Tudor tailor. From that I could see that it looked like they use a construction of two backpieces, two front pieces, a separate skirt and puffy sleeves. I took the same pattern as when I did his faux medieval jacket in the winter, but then I fitted the back a lot tighter and I raised the neck. I cut that pattern off at the waist and added a boxpleated skirt, made from two lengths of fabric. Looking at the patterns in "Drei Schnittbücher" it seems as if circle cut skirts were mostly used, but the box pleated skirt gives the same look, and it is also a lot easier to adjust and hem it. The sleeve pattern is my standard S-sleeve pattern, which I must start to remember is too tight at the cuffs for him. It is wide enough to give him a bit of puff, but it's not a big puff sleeve.

The bodice of the jacket is lined with linen, but not the sleeves or the skirt. Since this was a bit of a rush job I haven't hemmed the skirt or the sleeves yet, after all the wool doesn't unravel.

I didn't really know how to close the jacket. Looking at recreations and period sources I couldn't really see any visible fastenings. I tried first with some hook and eye, but since it's too big in the front there wasn't enough tension on them and they unfastened. So in the end I did a really quick fix in that I sewed on some tape that can be tied together. I might switch this for cloth buttons later, but it works for now.

With this jacket I feel as if he has a good start on an early 16th century outfit. At the guild I also picked up some wool that we had done a group order for and that should be enough to make him a pair of trousers/hose and a hat that actually fits him as well.