It's made of linen and filled with unprocessed cotton. My greatest inspiration was this drawing: http://www.manchestergalleries.org/the-collections/search-the-collection/mcgweb/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=400621 but as I felt my hips looked wide enough for the slimmer 1780's style with just the petticoats on, I made a false rump rather than an all around hip roll. I was experimenting with the shape and size as I hand sewed it together, so it's not very pretty, but it works and that's what matters.

( Be warned , it's ugly. )

I have planned on making a prettier one that comes over hips too for a little earlier look as soon as I have collected enough cork to fill it with.

I got a a bunch of pictures from the last weekends event and fortunately a few of them were taken during the play. The play was about Bluebeard and I was the new bride. As you will probably notice, the whole thing was very much inspired by the movie The Piano. Very fun, quickly put together, almost unrehearsed little thing.

( And the pictures. )

What to do when there's a week to an event and nothing new to wear? I did what I usually do and decided to hand sew a new dress instead of wearing something old. I had some lovely cotton voile stashed away and I cut it in to three panels, sewed them together and sewed a thin silk ribbon across the panels on the waist level to make a chemise à la reine. However, as I started to attach the second ribbon, I found out that I didn't have enough ribbon after all. Getting more would take more than week, so I wasn't going to wear a chemise dress this weekend. Four days before the event, I went back to the fabric stash, and there were three yards of lavender silk taffeta. Not enough for an anglaise, but I found also a few scraps of off white silk taffeta and together they were enough for a turque. And here it is, the result of my four days of intense labour.



( More pictures. )

And I don't feel like making anything Victorian for a while. Except maybe the Tissot dress. However the Corsets and Crinolines French 1860's corset has been ready for ages. I have only bad pictures of me wearing it but here it is. Exactly in the original size and it fits me perfectly. I love it when it happens.

( See the pictures. )
It has flossing too, but it doesn't really show, being white as well.

And about being in a mood for Georgian dresses, I'm about to finish my first high waisted late Georgian dress, also known as the Madame Récamier dress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Madame_Récamier_painted_by_Jacques-Louis_David_in_1800.jpg

First I made a new, short sleeved, chemise and then started the dress. I haven't taken any interesting pictures, so you'll see it soon when it's ready. The fabric is so sheer that it's going to need a high waisted petticoat to go under the dress too. And although it seems to be working well without any corset, I'm going to make my own version of this corset.

I just couldn't get over the fact, that the Foy patent was so late 1860's and, most importantly, that every single corset from early 1860's that had separate hip pieces, also had bust gores. So yesterday I gave the Mina Sebille patent one last chance, but realized again, that to make it perfect, it would still need lots of tweaking and several mock-ups. And I really wasn't in the mood for that. Then I remembered my beloved Corsets and Crinolines and that it had a pattern for a French 1860's corset. I had thought about making it before, but hesitated because it's so extremely short. But now, being so tired of the other style, I decided to give it a try. And as it seemed to be my size on paper, I skipped the very important mock-up stage and started sewing the real thing today. It's one layer of off-white silk and one layer of cotton coutil treated as one. I still need to sew a few boning channels, and then I get to insert the boning, do the flossing, the grommets and finish the edges. Hopefully I will get it all done tomorrow, for I'm dying to find out will it fit me properly.

It's the Lavinia H. Foy corset with the Mine Sebille hip piece and the whole thing adjusted for my size. (Both taken from here http://haabet.dk/patent/Waist.html .) Tomorrow I'm going to start the real thing!

I now have 11 yards of gray wool, very close in shade to these pictures. Now I only need the silk satin and I'm all set!

... made a new early 1880's corset. Just a basic white one, because I'll need a white one for a certain future project. Then I've nearly finished a new bustle, made from a cream and black striped fabric. And I also started a late victorian combination underwear. These are all meant to be worn under the 1883 dress. Pictures to come next week when I have finished them all.

Grey wool and grey silk satin or geyish-blue wool and some complementing shade of blue silk satin it will be. Which one of the two depends only on which color fabrics I will find sooner.

It's going to be this.


But I'm totally at lost when it comes to the colors. I love that picture so much, that visioning it in color spoils it for me. So. Should it be gray wool and lighter gray silk satin? Or, I have enough very short piled good quality cotton velveteen, close to this color: http://www.renaissancefabrics.net/cgi-bin/showAll.cgi?id=416 , only a couple shades darker, more like wine red. And if I would make it from the wine red cotton velveteen, what color should the silk satin be? I've been thinking silver, light pink or burgundy red. Or something completely different? Please help if you have any ideas!!!

I made new mock-ups today and the shape is better. However the shoulder is still rather dropped even though it's already an inch higher than in the original. Maybe it's supposed to be like that? After all it's only a year or so after 1860's. I need to sleep on it and decide tomorrow will I change it or not.



( ugly mock-up pictures )

I'm somehow very tired of this dress now and I need a side project. I have promised myself that this dress will be finished this month, and I will stick to it, but I'm going to start a late bustle dress next week to be sewn during the days I'm too sick of this project even to think about it.

So the skirts have been finished for some time. I just haven't found time to put them on. Today I had, and this is how they look now. (I'm not wearing proper shoes, so that's why the hem looks a little too long.)



( More pictures here. )

Just a quick post to share my joy. I bought a pair of victorian button boots and they arrived today. And they are very pretty and exactly my size.

( See )

And an update of the Tissot dress bodice mock-up stage and a picture of the finished skirts coming soon.

And it was lovely! Although I was woozy most of it. Again. Last summer I ate very strong painkillers after the operation I had. Now I just caught a flu which turned into a very nasty cough. It got so bad that the doctor gave me a prescription for a exceptionally strong cough medicine. And exceptionally strong it was! Even the smaller dose meant to be taken in the morning and in the afternoon would make me very woozy and the bigger dose I took before going to bed made me pass out completely very quickly.

I took time off from all the things I normally do and spent a much needed time with my husband. I did some gardening and now our front yard looks like it's supposed to look. We also took our whippets to the lure coursing track as often as we could and Lara really seems to be an enthusiastic runner. And quite fast too! Iitu not so much, but I love them both to pieces! Iitu unfortunately got hurt and got an infection just as we were supposed to leave for our Sweden trip. She was in too bad condition for us to leave, so we had to cancel the trip. Very unfortunate indeed as I had really looked forward finally meeting Karolina and the rest of the girls. But under the circumstances I just couldn't go. Iitu has recovered well. Now she only has a bald area where the infection was.

Tissot dress has progressed a little. The underskirt is almost trimmed.
( see )
The upper edge of the top row of pleats just needs to trimmed like the other one. Then I get to trim the overskirt. It doesn't look like much but it took me many hard working days to do. Everything was hand sewn and pleating this kind of fabric was as painful as pleating silk chiffon.

I also started a pair of 18th century silk shoes. I cut rough four inch heel forms out of wood today. I will continue to shape them when the Tissot dress is ready.
( heels )

The underskirt and the overskirt have been sewn together. I used the 1870-1871 dress pattern from Patterns of Fashion. I basically used the pattens as they were and only altered the underskirt length as I added five inches to the hem and changed the overskirt opening from front to center back. And I had to add an inch to the waistband. I'm also planning on cutting the train a little shorter. The overskirt is surprisingly short on me but I think it still looks fine.

( Please excuse my messy hair. )

Now the time consuming part, which is the trimming. I've had a very hard time deciding what to do. I've looked through hundreds of Notman archive photos and as many fashion plates for inspiration. The current plan is to make three 6-8" wide rows of narrow pleats on the hem and on top of them a 4" wide band of ruching sewn down on both edges. The same ruching on the edge of the overskirt and under that a 4" wide pleated flounce. The basque would be trimmed in the same manner, only narrower. I'll start by hand hemming the flounces, which will take forever, and after that we shall see has the plan changed or not. I'm also wondering would gathered flounces look better with this fabric than pleated ones. I'm open for all suggestions.

ETA: My favorite 1870-1871 sheer dress skirt decorations from the Notman archives.

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=I-65431.1&zoomify=true&Lang=1&imageID=173536

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=I-67907.1&zoomify=true&Lang=1&imageID=174337

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=I-43923.1&zoomify=true&Lang=1&imageID=170778

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=I-45426.1&zoomify=true&Lang=1&imageID=171154

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/large.php?accessnumber=I-47570.1&zoomify=true&Lang=1&imageID=171893

I guess I like Miss de Jongh and Miss McDonald the best, but there's something missing.

Nothing special but here they are. All finished. And I'm happy with the profile. Not the hugest of huge but proper for early 70's. (I hope.)



( See the layers. )

Now it's off to pattern the dress and maybe I get to cut the fabric before the weekend!

And they are all finished. Lots of ruffles and the profile is quite big. Looks like having a hoop and bustle combination. Now only the chemise and drawers to be made before the dress.

And happy birthday jennil!!

And because of that I also missed the annual Les Lumières ball. The theme this year was Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt in Paris 1784, which would have been perfect for my new robe à l'anglaise. The only consolation is that the weather was absolutely horrible. Windy, rainy and cold. It would have made a mess of my hair and soaked the dress. Better luck next year.

In other news I started working on the Tissot ensemble again. I still need to work on the underwear a bit (make ruffles to the petticoats and make a new chemise and drawers) before I get to cut my yummy fabric. But it won't take too long I hope. And after the Tissot dress I really need to start a Victorian suit for my husband to be worn on our Sweden trip.

I sewed very late every night this week and got the dress finished in time. Hat, sash and everything. I needed the dress for this weekend as I was camping with fellow 18th and 19th century enthusiasts. I was a quest in my friends tent and what a wonderful hosts they were. I'm so grateful and I enjoyed the weekend very much. I took my girls with me and arrived there on Friday. On Saturday my girls got to chase a lure for the first time and they enjoyed it so much!

Anyway, I was in a hurry before I left, but my husband took a few quick shots as I was getting dressed so here's the dress and the ridiculous hat.



( More pictures here. )

I made a mock-up based on the 1780-1790 gown pattern from my beloved Patterns of Fashion. I made only minor changes and, as I had measured, it fit quite well on first try. Only the shoulder straps were too short. I added an inch and now it's good enough. The bodice could be made a little longer but I didn't have patience to make another mock-up.
( I love the shape of the back seams. )
Then it was time to cut the fabric. I chose this fabric because it's so over the top colorful that it's almost ridiculous and in bad taste, but something strange has happened and I have actually started to like it as I've been staring at it for three days. In the original the back was made of only two pieces that had tucks in them. I changed the tuck in to a seam. It's taken me all the Star Wars movies to edge stitch the lining to each bodice piece and whip stitch the back together. I must be the slowest seamstress ever.
( The completed pieces. )
Now I must get back to sewing!