Regency Morning Dress

I have been ispired by the historical sew fortnightly challenges to go back to my regency outfit and do it 'properly'. First step was the foundations. So went back to the wrap stays [or morning belt] and gave them a nother go. I have the toile done which works well enough just for fittings of the dress etc. but will make up the real ones soon when I get the fabric.

 I also made myself a chemise and will make another one in different fabric to use as a night dress,

As you can see I'm getting the right shape from the stays

 

 Now as its a morning belt I thought I'd make a morning dress to wear as night/loungewear. now I don't have much material in my stash so I'm having to be a bit clever.

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I'm inspired a bit by this image...as you notice the undersleeves look a bit like the sleeves of my chemise. There is a simliar kind of combo in this image.

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And this one.

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And this one

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Which is described as having a spencer. I'm also taking note of the garment in pattern of fashion.
Thinking of having a sleeveless dress as a base like this one.

or this one

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With a wrapover 'jacket' with long sleeves.

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Seen in reality here

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Another jacket here

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As it would mean I have a summer nighty but with the jacket it becomes a winter one or a 'regency morning dress'.

I have taken some inspiration from these two items.

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I have the bodice already sewn and will be using an old petticoat mock up as my base to add a broderie englaise skirt to....

I'll change the front closure to lace up.
I'm then going to make the jacket which will be me being brave and adapting a pattern to work.
But I want to line it like this 'mantle'. Adding some lace on the collar.
hmmmm...should work for lace & lacing challenge.

By the Sea (some musings)

So challenge 8 is 'by the sea' which should be made for me. ;) the description says...

Everyone loves a day at the beach, and the sea has inspired and influenced fashion for millennia. This challenge is all about nautical fashions, whether you make BC pallas and stola to wear at a Roman seaside resort town like Pompeii, something for Cleopatra to lounge in as she barged down the Nile (rivers count as nautical), an outfit for a Viking to keep them warm on a longboat as they explored Newfoundland, a ship to perch on a towering 1770s hairdo, a chemise to be worn in a Regency bathing vehicle, mid-Victorian seaside promenade dresses, late Victorian woolen bathers, or 1930s beach pajamas to wear on the sands of the Cote d'Azure.

So lets look at some ideas. First off I don't need a Edwardian, Victorian or Regency bathing suit. Secondly I have to think about time constraints and what fabric I have in stock. So 20's and 30's were my first port of call. Love a bit of nautical style.

The 1920's search seems to come up in the main swimming costumes.

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There was one with a dress.

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The 1930's however came up with several options. Beach Pajamas. Beach Dresses. Playsuits.

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I'm liking the beachdress option or the pinafore type 'playsuit'.

A 1940's outfit (for sew for victory sewalong)

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As part of the above sewalong I decided to make a complete 1940's ensemble.

Starting with butterick 5209 for the dress. I chose view 'b'. Its a 1947 pattern so after the war but still in rationing (in the UK) so it was cut with a mind not to waste fabric. It left me with a nice long strip of fabric to make bias binding and some accessories from. I plan to make a bag/hat and fabric 'flower' for my hair.

The Dress

As you can see I added an inch to the bottom of the front halterneck peice. This allowed for a bit more ease or else it would have come up a little high. I also cut the waistband peices on the fold to illuminate the seam. I did not cut out any lining.

I found the bodice was quite quick to sew.  About 12hours by hand just for the general construction.

here is dress with hat pinned to it.

The Accessories

Inspired by the newsreels and this image from a 1947 pattern.

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The Bag

The bag with be based on the instructions given in a 1940's newsreel. But with a few modifications.

The Hat

The hat will be based on the instructions in a 1940's newsreel. I'm using felt as the base fabric with cotton bias binding for the hat band.

Because I used felt I didn't need 'stiffening' added to the hat. It was a very simple process sewn in one evening.

Rosette

For my hair.

Now the complete ensemble in the mode of the moment that moment being 1947....

Challenge 5 - Peasants & Pioneers

For challenge 5 of the historical sew a long I kept it simple. Working from what I had in my stash I decided to create an apron. I started with a 45" width of fabric marked dots an inch apart and then counterpane 'smocked' the waist area. I then used some left over bias binding to neaten the top edge and create the waist ties.

The Challenge: 5 - peasants and pioneers

Fabric: white polycotton 45" wide

Pattern: I didn't use a pattern it was freehand.
I was inspired by this apron.

Year: I'm not sure. It could probably pass for most eras I think (if you ignore the fabric content).

Notions: from my stash left over bias binding. embroidery thread.

How historically accurate is it? As its not tied to a particular year I'll let you tell me that.

Hours to complete: It was very quick I'd say roughly 15hours

First worn: erm...ages ago. I've forgotten.

Total cost: free as I used everything from my leftover stash

Embellishment - (HSAL) Challenge 4

For the [historical sew-a-long] Embellishment challenge I decided to create a 1920s 'flapper' ensemble. Firstly I made up a basic plain black dress as per the instructions on the 'american duchess' blog. Modified it by using ribbon for the straps and just hemming the top same as the bottom. 

I straight dress with no waistline is never going to look great on me as I am an hourglass. So the embellishment for me is a way of trying to create some shape a 'fake' waistline. My first step was to add fringing to the hem. I ended up with 2 different lengths of fringing as the shop ran out of the longer type so the 2nd layer was shorter.

I had enough of the longer fringe to do a 'V' shape.

I found it made my shoulders and arms look hefty so looked at examples of sleeves on 20's eveningwear.

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And decided on some flutter sleeves. This was the first time I'd made any and had to draft from scratch. So a lot of googling was involved to find any tutorials.

I basically drew a large circle then measured over the strap to get the armhole size. Then drew a circle that size inside the larger circle but offset to one side. Cut out the large and small circle and where the circle was thinest snipped it open.

The sleeves had a hand rolled hem and staystitched where it attatched to the strap.

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The Challenge: #4 Embelishment

Fabric: crepe backed satin

Pattern: drafted from instructions

Year: 1926-ish

Notions: 3 metres of fringing, cotton thread, ribbon, half a meter of chiffon.

How historically accurate is it?: I hope its historically accurate. I've taken inspiration from various images although its not as ornate as the originals I think its in the spirit of the age.

Hours to complete: about 3.5 days

First worn: 10th february

Total cost: approx. £15

1940's Dress for sew-a-long (planning post)

 

Now I've had the fabric and the pattern ready for this dress for quite a while....just not quite got round to it before. My original inspiration I think was the dress Mrs Bee made. I saw it in person and thought I want one like that.

Butterick 5209. Took me ages to find a fabric I thought looked 40's enough.

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It reminds me a bit of the dresses above. If this works out I will make it again in a polkadot but with solid colour waistband. See about changing the closure position and adding sleeves. I like to do it exactly as the pattern the first time, and only change stuff second time through.

I'm hoping to do some matching accessories. A hat and purse.

Petticoats and Ruffles (HSAL) challenge 3

So for the historical sew a long challenge no.3 'under it all' I chose to make a petticoat. After spending ages umming and aahring about what era it should be made for...I decided to go for a generic one that incorporated historical techniques but could be used for both modern and historical.

Firstly I used a basic A-line skirt pattern for my petticoat waistline then I cut two 45" strips of fabric, sewed them together. I then pintucked that strip of fabric to stop the petticoat wrapping round my legs or collapsing with weight. Then added them to the top half by pleating to fit.

Then having run out of white material used some of the pink to make a ruffle. As I sew by hand I used a technique I'd heard about where you sew over a chord to gather before attaching to the petticoat.

I then tried the petticoat on and pinned the waist darts I needed. Sewed them, pressed. Then sewed down the lapped seam at the side.

Finished the top edge with bias binding. Made a loop and button and a hook and eye.

The Challenge: Under it all No.3

Fabric: polycotton

Pattern:  Self drafted.

Year: No particular year although originally basing it on a shortened 'edwardian' inspired petticoat.

Notions: Self bias (stash) button (stash) hook n eye (stash) cotton (stash) string (stash).

How historically accurate is it? I'm not sure (you'll have to tell me). But I tried to make it as a historically inspired rather than commit to one era.

Hours to complete: not sure about hours only took me 4 days to complete by hand.

First worn: When I took the photo's on Sunday....found it comfortable and useful in the snow to keep me warm.

Total cost: I made it from my stash so technically it was free. But the polly cotton is £3.50 per metre and I think I used just over 2 metres.