Pierrot jacket

The pattern for this pierrot jacket is taken from Kvinnligt mode under två sekel. The original is made of striped silk and luckily enough I had a piece of striped cotton in my stash. Though I have used this jacket for several years, it is still not finished. I need to tweak the front so it fits better and both front and sleeves need their buttons! For now I just pin it shut.

18th century hats

18th century hats are so much fun and I love to make hats. And I only have three, go figure. I'm working on getting more of them, though. The first one is a straw hat I bought in a store for oriental food for very little money. I cut off the crown and shortened it before I re-attached it. The pink ribbons are the same as on my blue jacket.

1770's French gown

Or Robe à la Française. Once again from Janet Arnold, but I changed the front a little. I made this gown to for the purpose of lending it to a friend when we attended the Georgian ball in Bath in 2006. Don't tell anyone, but it's high quality dead dino. It's rather practical, actually, to have a gown that you can wear when thre's a possibility to be kids with sticky fingers around and I don't have to worry that precious silk may be ruined. At the same time it's rather fancy and people usually think it is silk, so good for going out in the public too.

A 1740's wrapping gown

The funniest thing with this painting of a woman in a red velvet wrapping gown with fur trim is that I found it well after I had finished my green velvet wrapping gown with fur trim. The pattern used is once again from Patterns of Fashions by Janet Arnold and is called just a wrapping gown. I wanted something cozy for winter but originally I had planned to trim it with fake fur. Then my Mum gave me my grandmother’s old muskrat fur, which is why I used real fur in the end.

I'm not ignoring you

For some reason I can post and edit my posts, but as soon as I try to answer comments, Blogger refuses to acknowledge me and eternally wants me to log in again. But every time I log in I get kicked back to the log in page when I try to answer. The same happens when I try to comment on other blogs. Very frustrating as I have a couple of comments here that I would like to respond to. I promise, I have tried!

Chemise a la reine

I made my first chemise a la reine in 2003; I have since made another one, and liked it enormously. Such an easy gown to make and very comfortable. I used the pattern from Norah Waugh’s The Cut of Women's Clothes: 1600-1930, more or less as it is- the only change in the actual pattern was a slightly bigger armscye. I also omitted the front opening and pull it over my head and the channels on the bodice. I find that works perfectly fine with just a sash to pull in the wrinkles.

Red stays

My first pair of properly fitting stays, front- and back-laced with an additional stomacher. The pattern is similar to the picture but taken from Norah Waugh’s Corsets and Crinolines. It’s my second try to that particular pattern, but the first one was very sloppily done and more of a mock-up than finished stays. This pair is made of two layers of linen and boned with stripes of the kind of plastic that windshields of MC helmets are made off. In the back some of the boning is replaced with hemp cord, which made these fully boned stays to breathe a little. The stays are boned with linen tape, which may be period correct, but a complete hassle to sew.

Blue casaque

Sometimes it’s impossible to wear stays, like after surgery, and in 2005 I had urgent need of a loose jacket. I turned to Kvinnligt mode under två sekel by Britta Hammar och Pernilla Rasmussen for help. It’s one of my favourite costume books as it describes and gives patterns for extant clothe sin Sweden from the 18th and 19th century. Extra fun if you are Swedish, but a great complement to Janet Arnold too and a great pity that it’s both out of print and only available in Swedish. In it there is a lovely casaque from the early 18th century, with awesome embroideries. Now, I did a much simpler version, no collar and no real cuffs, I just pleated the end of the sleeves. The fabric is rather heavy cotton that I spiced up a little with adding a braid in white silk.

Red pet-en-l'air and petticoat

My red pet-en-l’air is one my top favourites ever, despite that the bodice could fit a little better. It’s not that hard to fix, though, so it’s my entire fault. The petticoat is a wee bit too short too, but that can’t be help, there really wasn’t enough fabric to make it longer. The fabric is a rayon/cotton blend that really feels like silk and I love the red colour so much. I bought the fabric when I had very little money and could only afford to buy 5 meters, in retrospect it would have been perfect with 1/5 meter more, but when the wallet says no…

Blue jacket and petticoat

My second attempt on 18th century clothes went much better and I’m still very pleased with it. Unfortunately I can’t close it anymore, but I still live in hope…

The jacket and petticoat are made in a pale blue cotton/linen blend. I have forgotten where I got the instructions for the petticoat, but its same pattern, or rather diagram, perhaps, that I have used ever since for petticoats worn over pocket hoops. The top is shaped so it dips CF and CB and then pleated onto the waistband, so when it’s worn the hem is straight. The pattern for the jacket is once again picked from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion, dated to the mid-18th century.

The first 18th century gown

As I have finally managed to figure out how to make a static post I thought I should do one with everything in my 18th century wardrobe. That proved to be a way too long and cumbersome entry, so instead I will do separate posts for every outfit and then put the link in the static post instead. I’ll try to do it in chronological order, which means that this will be the hall of shame post.

18th century masquerade

In Oktober we will attend a masked ball at Kalmar Castle . We have just purchased tickets and booked rooms. Yay, I'm exited! I was often inKalmar as a child so it will be nice to go back. The castle is quite magnificent.

A review on Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns

My goodness and oh my! Buy this book!

Ahem. Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns edited by Susan North and Jenny Tiramani arrived today. It's a wonderful book with patterns from V&A's costume collection. Though clearly heavily influenced by Janet Arnold's patterns books, this books goes further. For one thing, there are colour pictures! The book begins with a section on tools and techniques and some history. A how to on knitting, sewing and embroidery stitches. Then there are 15 patterns including bodices, jackets, mantle, gloves and a cap. There are pictures of every garment from several angles and, if possible, a portrait from the time. A description of the garment. Then there are several close-up, followed by the patterns. And then you get the construction! Some garment have extra suggestions on fastening and such and some have x-rays.

This is an incredible book! So informative and interesting. The only less good thing about it, and that is also mentioned in the foreword, is that V&A's 17th century collection is rather limited and most garments are from the first three decades. Not a plethora of styles unfortunately- I had high hopes on something from 1650-1680. Perhaps one can hope that this book will spark an interest for the 16th century and something else will crop up.

Aaaaand. This book is Book One. There will be more books. I wonder what is next. I hope there will be books on men's clothes as well. And I can't wait for the 18th century book.

Descriptions and pictures of clothes from the 16th and 17th century #3

The third and last part, Gustav Vasa’s son, Johan III and his second wife, Gunilla Bielke. I think Johan’s burial clothes are the most interesting of them all.

Descriptions and pictures of clothes from the 16th and 17th century #2

The second part, Gustav Vasa’s two last wives.