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.

My Amalia Star Wars jacket

 My big plan for Star Wars Celebration 2022 was to make an 18th century ensemble out of a Knitorious Toile fabric. When I realized that I wouldn't be able to go to SWC I decided to make this outfit for my 40th birthday party instead. After some stress so I didn't have time to finish anything but the jacket at least it was done. I then went to the party, had a great time, and realized afterwards that I didn't have a single photo of me from the evening.

So here is the jacket instead on my dressform, which is totally the wrong shape to fill out an 18th century garment.

I used the Amalia jacket from Scroop patterns, but I didn't follow the instructions exactly. The instructions are for a very historically accurate, and I opted to use the sewing machine as much as possible. I also skipped the lining for the sleeves, I am not going to wear this jacket so much that I need to strengthen the sleeves, instead going for something with less layer to keep it cooler in the summer or at crowded conventions.

As usual Scroop Patterns have a lot of instructions on how to get a perfect fit. I found it hard to follow them all though, since they very much depend on draping the garment on your body. I can't drape on myself and my dressform is nowhere near my measurements when wearing stays. There were some fit issues due to that, and not because of the pattern.

One part where fitting on your body was necessary was the sleeves though. I have huge upper arms, and still the sleeves as made up straight from the pattern gave me a big puff sleeve.  I followed the instructions and smoothec and repinned the fabric over and over again though. In the end this is how much fabric I had to remove when the sleeve was attached to the bodice.

I could probably have removed even more, but I was in a hurry to finish it. Still it was great to follow the instructions, even if it felt wrong to remove so much fabric, and the upper arm still didn't get too small for me.

HSM22: Challenge 11 - fitting. The 1780s stays

 It took a lot longer than planned, and in the end I hurried them, but I did finish the 1780s stays.

One thing that stalled me was when I couldn't find eyelets with washers in the right side, so I had to handsew the lacing holes instead. Now here I should say that I deviated fromt he instructions and instead followed the instructions from Scroop Patterns Augusta stays, which have instructions for making historically accurate stays. It gave me the confidence to make the lacing holes and that they would be strong enough to hold for the lacing. The stays were then boned with synthetic whalebone, I was lucky to have a roll of it at home and it was just enough to get the stays and the stomacher boned.

I wore the stays at party on Saturday, where I managed to get from the party without a single photo of me in costume. While wearing them it was obvious that they were too long for me, they kept poking me in my armpit. 

It is possible to see the foldlines. Before wearing them again I need to cut the stays down to the foldline and rebind them. One good thing with the plastic boning is at least that it's easy to shorten them.

Here you can see that one of the bones even poked through the fabric.

Overall I am happy with the pattern, even if I need to adjust them. There were some instructions that were really helpful, like how to bind the tabs by machine, while others were a bit unclear. I did also use the Augusta stays instructions when I felt that I didn't quite understand or had the ability to use the pattern. I'm hoping that with some tweaking at the armpit they will become a pair of comfortable stays.

What the item is: A pair of 1780s stays
How it fits the challenge: Stays need to fit well, and they are necessary for the clothes on the outside to fit as well. This pair of stays show that a small miss in fit can be really bad. I tried them a lot when making them, but when I finally wore them for real they were too long and poked me in the armpit, so in the end I didn't wear them for the whole party I had made them for. So fit is important, and this is a reminder to not rush in the end, or think that "it won't be too bad, I will be able to wear them and then go back and fix it". 
Material: 1 m cotton twill, 1 m coutil, 1 m floral patterned cotton
Pattern: Redthreadeds front lacing 1780s stays
Year: 1780s
Notions: plastic boning, cotton bias tape for binding, sewing thread
How historically accurate is it? 50% 
Hours to complete: 1,5 months
First worn: at a party on March 19
Total cost: around $120