Isis' Wardrobe

An 18th century birthday party

2012-01-16T17:58:00.005+01:00

As I told you yesterday I went to an 18th century birthday party last Saturday. I had great fun, there were plenty of sweets, cakes and wine as well as dancing and games. I forgot my camera, but my friend Caroline kindly let me borrow some of her pictures.

Here she is in brown, with the equally lovely Nathalie in blue. Caroline's French gown is actually quite ingenious- here it is shortened to fit over pocket hoops, but can also be worn over a grand panier.

Anna, the beautiful birthday child, in a brand new gown to honour the occasion, and her husband.

Me and my darling. I'm in the unhappy position right now that almost all of my 18th century clothes won't fit me. Not that I don't like my pierrot, but it isn't particulary festive.

And I had mislaid my false rump...

A better view on my darling in his national suit.

Dancing and the back view of Anna S in her French gown, the one I told you are one of the most beautiful 18th century gowns I have ever seen.

You can see a glimpse of the front in this picture.

Playing "Domaredansen" ("The Judge Dance") a game probably invented to give people an opportunity to hug each other.

You play it in forming two rings, the inner has all the men, the outer all the women and one woman is the stand in the middle. You can change so all the men is in the outer ring, but you must play in with equal numer of men and women + an extra woman, or man, to stand in the middle. One rings walks clockwise and the other counter clockwise, while singing a special song, but when the music stops then everyone in the outer ring is to grab a person from the inner one. As do the one in the middle. The person who doesn't manage to hug someone is the one who has to stand in the middle the next round.

Saturday, er, Sunday blogaround

2012-01-15T10:39:00.001+01:00

A friend of mine had her 50th birthday bash yesterday, and an 18th century one to booth. So yesterday I was a bit too busy hunting out my clothes, ironing them and doing some neccesary repairs to blog. I had great fun and really wish I had brought a camera. I hope I can borrow some pictures from friends, because there were some truly beautiful clothes to be seen. Especially a French gown that I think is the most beautifully executed 18th century gown I have ever seen- and I have seen some outstanding examples.

But here are a few links to this weeks most inetresting blog entries.

The Lingerie Addict debunks a few myths about corsets.
Wearing History gives us a nice resource overview of fashion history studies.
Tuppence Ha'penny is havinga a colour theory week. Several great posts about an interesting subject.
An introduction to hairstyles in 1912 from American Duchess.
A stunning 18th century hair as weall as a Frencg gown at An Historical Lady.

Saturday blogaround

2012-01-07T16:11:00.001+01:00

Last year I did a weekly blogaround that was quite popular, but then I was ill for two months and lost steam and stopped. Now I’m starting it out again. There are so many great posts out there and so easy to miss the good ones. And as it makes very happy whenever someone point at my blogs, I hope to make some other people happy in return.
Tea with the Vintage Baroness does a wonderful recap of her vintage year. Her 1930’s wardrobe simply marvelous.
Another great 30’s blog, This Old Life, shares how she made her aviatrix coat.
And to keep up with the vintage theme, Diary of a Mantua Maker do sew other things than just 18th century.
Lots of teens fashion can be seen at My Happy Sewing Place.
Rowenna asks if if re-enactors really are mean (no, we are not) and makes some interesting points.

And to bang my own drum a little, perhaps some of you would enjoy this little overview on the fashion silhouettes from the Edwardians to the 1950’s.

My 17th century shift

2012-01-06T16:30:00.006+01:00

I finished my 17th century shift a while ago and here are, finally, some pictures. Unfortunately there are very few 17th century rooms in our flat, so the settings isn't quite right. I used a pattern in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4, a smock that supposedly have belonged to Charles II's queen Catherine of Braganza, or some of her ladies-in-waiting. The original is lavishly decorated with lace, but I made mine plain. I wanted to use this particular pattern as it has an oblong neckline that fits well with a 17th century gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline. It also have rectangular inserts cartridge-pleated There is a more eloquent post about the pattern here. to the sides instead of the usual triangular ones, which I wanted to try just for the fun of it.

I tried to keep as close to the original shifts proportions, but being of a larger size I had to make the main pattern piece a bit broader and longer. The shift is completely hand sewn. Because the linen were so fine I hemmed ever piece before I assembled the shift, to make sure it looks neat on both sides. What I haven't done is to put in "the collar", which I plan to do as the neckline is a little too wide and a collar would be helpful in tighten it a bit. The original smock also have cuffs. I'm not quite sure if I want that as my plan is to pin them up as I have on the pictures.

Close-up on the pinned sleeve.

And of the insert. It doess look rather curious with all the pleats, doesn't it?

Here you can see how long the sleeves actually are and that the linen is quite sheer.

I'm quite pleased with it- now I just need a gown to go over it...

How to do a Georgian do

2012-01-04T13:56:00.000+01:00

Locks of Elegance is a great little blog that solely gives tutorial on a variety of historical hairstyles. The girl behind it has very long hair herself, but you can use the instruction on wigs or with the help of fake hair. The most recent post gives a very clear instructions on a classic Georgian hairstyle.

Check it out!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:34:00.003+01:00

I hope you will have a great beginning of 2012!

(Picture source: http://georgianaduchessofdevonshire.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html)

That was the year that was 2011

2011-12-29T12:07:00.001+01:00

Looking back I realise that I have finished a few things this year after all. Not as much as I would want, but still. I also started the the 1940’s wardrobe-project, which has been a lot of fun and something that I look forward to continue.

So, more or less in the order they have been sewn, the finished projects of 2011:

The deer hat for the 12th Night masked ball.

A 1950 faux fur jacket.

1790's tabless stays.

Decorated the Sara-hat.

Fixed the waistband to make a skirt out of my grandmother's summer dress fron 1949. (The bodice was removed by her.)

A green 1940's hat.

A 1940's grey wool A-line skirt.

A 1940's brown A-line skirt in some hopeless wool blend.

Projects that I have finished but hasn't got any pics of yet:

17th century shift
Medieval shift
Victorian Bustle
1940's swing dress

You may notice that the two last items were on the list of UFOs, so I have made some progreee there. I think I will continue to post that list at the end of each monh to make it more visual. I'm a bit afraid that it will grow as I'm sure that I have UFOs that I have forgotten about... I'm currently working on the 1940's black wool dress and then I plan to focus on the robe de cour.

The embroidered polonaise, ca 1770 My eternal project...
Candy-floss pink jacket, ca 1789 I could finish this over a weekend- the lining is halfway done, then it just need the green trim and a stomacher.
18th century banyan for my darling. All the pieces are cut out.
Robe de cour in white velvet. Need to be done for an event in March.
Embroidered linen blouse, ca 1910 The embroidery is finished, I just need to sew it together
1660s gown The boned foundations is done, I just need to cover it with silk.
1960’s green wool dress Everything is cut out, just needs sewing together.
1950’s maroon wool skirt Needs waistband and hemming.
~~1940’s swing dress~~
~~Victorian bustle~~
Green house dress Buttons, belt and hemming left.
Black wool dress Sewing it together
Brown hat
White shirtwaist dress Buttons and hemming left to do
Rayon dress Same as the shirtwaist.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T11:13:00.000+01:00

I wish you all a joyful holiday!

New museum collections online

2011-12-16T20:32:00.004+01:00

Madame Berg brought to my attention that The Royal Armory, Skokloster castle and the Halwyl palace now has a database online on their collections, to be found here. . In Swedish only so far, though. The armory, for example, has a very large, perhaps the largest collection of 17th century men’s clothes in the world. If you want to look for clothes, then put in “Dräkt” after “Klassification” and the year you want to search for in the boxes after “År från” and “År till”. Choose “ja” on “Föremål med bild” to ensure that you only get the items with a picture.

I found a lot of goodies during a quick search. As I have a special interest for theater and masquerade costumes, here are a few I found:

Theatre costume “Watteau” from the end of the 17th century in taffeta and linen.

Harlequin-costume in linen and silk for a masked ball, probably worn by Queen Ulrika Eleonora, 1656-1693.

Mock-armor in chamois leather and velvet, ca 1672.

“A wild man’s suit” from 1772. Owned by Karl XIII

UnFinished Projects

2011-12-05T22:32:00.003+01:00

As I said in my previous post, I really don’t need any new historical projects this year. I can’t help that I felt a compelling tug to join the 1912 project. Well, actually, I will need to sew a gown of 1912 as I’m pretty certain that there will be some Titanic-related events next year, but what I will not, even if I would love to, is to join the pattern test sewing. I’d love to, but no. I will look forward to see what other people will come up with- I’m sure there will be some lovely stuff.

To make it a bit more visible for myself and as a warning example for others, here are my UFOs:

The embroidered polonaise, ca 1770 My eternal project...
Candy-floss pink jacket, ca 1789 I could finish this over a weekend- the lining is halfway done, then it just need the green trim and a stomacher.
18th century banyan for my darling. All the pieces are cut out.
Robe de cour in white velvet. Need to be done for an event in March.
Embroidered linen blouse, ca 1910 The embroidery is finished, I just need to sew it together
1660s gown The boned foundations is done, I just need to cover it with silk.
1960’s green wool dress Everything is cut out, just needs sewing together.
1950’s maroon wool skirt Needs waistband and hemming.
1940’s swing dress Just the hemming left.
Victorian bustle Needs hemming and a waistband.

I also have fabric and patterns for two 50’s summer dresses, a purple 1640’s gown, an early 16th century German gown in black wool and probably a lot more that I can’t recall right now. Then there is a 1912 dress and an early 17th century man’s suit that I haven’t pattern and fabric for yet, though I will need to make them for next year anyway. I do have some gorgeous blue/green shot taffeta that might work for a Titanic dress, though.

Of course, I have a couple of unfinished garments from the 1940’s wardrobe-project too:
Green house dress Buttons, belt and hemming left.
Black wool dress In the process of basting it together
Brown hat
White shirtwaist dress Buttons and hemming left to do
Rayon dress Same as the shirtwaist.

As for fabric and patterns I have everything I need for making a grey shirtwaist dress in wool, a brown fake fur, a black beret and a brown sports jacket. And that is just for the autumn/winter wardrobe! Coming up for spring/summer is a brown silk suit, a yellow/white ensemble, a green silk blouse, a dotted evening gown and a raincoat. There is also a grey suit and a spring coat, but I will buy those.

So you can see that I have quite a few projects to finish the next year. Though now when I look at it I can see that a lot have just the finishing touches left. Can you tell that I loath to hem? I’m not sure in which order I should tackle my UFOs though. Perhaps I should start with those projects that are almost done, and then I can strike a few things off my list and feel accomplished.

What I want versus what I need

2011-12-01T14:23:00.004+01:00

(Picture source: http://oliviamakedoandmend.blogspot.com/)

The end of 2011 is near and I have a strong feeling that this year has been a bit of a shopping spree for me. I haven’t shopped over my income, but I feel have been shopping more and somewhat unwisely. Some things have been necessitates like refreshing a rather worn bra wardrobe, but did I really need all those fabrics, perfumes and funny trinkets? No, I didn’t. And with the upcoming year there are a few things I really want to be able to afford, like a trip to Venice in April and remodeling our bedroom. I feel a strong need to look over by shopping patterns and stop buying what I may want but don’t really need. There have been quite a lot of talk about trying to put a stop to needless shopping on blogs this past year or so and a lot of it make a lot of sense to me, like The Seamless Pledge:

1. No buying new clothes for the duration of your pledge. By new, I mean any new mass-manufactured clothes.
2. You can buy second-hand manufactured clothes – so be prepared to get to know your local charity shops awfully well.
3. Vintage clothing is a-ok!
4. Anything you’ve made by hand is definitely allowed. Get your sewing machines and your kntting needles out, because handmade is definitely in!
5. Get involved! Join in on the Flickr group and like our Facebook page. I’ll be looking to feature pledgers on the blog in the future. I’d love to see your second-hand finds, refashions and hand-made creations!

Food for thought, definitely, but I don’t think I could completely forego buying new clothes, or rather, shoes and underwear.

I think that I, instead, will turn to The Slow Fashioned Pledge and not only apply that to clothes, but to everything I buy.

Fabric, omething that I have much too much of. What I really need to put a stop on is buying fabrics even if I don’t plan make anything out of it immediately. I need to do two things here. Completely stop buying fabrics just because I get a good deal and it’s a pretty fabric. But I also think that I need to stop buying fabrics even if I do have a plan for it and instead buy fabric and pattern when I’m ready to start the project.

Clothes I have my 1940’s wardrobe project and I will allow myself to buy what is within the planned wardrobe. As I rarely find my size when it comes to true vintage I will but new clothes, but only f they fit into my plan. And I will buy fabric and patterns for it, but not stash up. I will also buy accessories within the plan and shoes. I do need to restrain myself in the shoe-shopping department and look for need first.

Life’s good things like books. I know I won’t be able to not buy any books at all, but I restrain myself and stick to a book budget. Perfume is another weakness and something that very easily comes to large sums, even if you buy samples. I did a quick count this morning and including all the samples, I have something close to a hundred perfumes right now. I know I could go a whole year without buying perfume at all and still I wouldn’t run out of scents. So I will do my utmost not to buy any perfumes at all in 2012.

Historical clothes I have absolutely no need whatsoever for new projects in the upcoming years. I have several unfinished projects that I need to do something about. I do need to make myself a 17th century gown and one medieval, but I have the fabric for those projects already. So no buying fabric at all for my historical clothes, unless the highly unlikely thing happens and I finish all my ongoing projects.

Do you think I can make it?

(Picture source: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/castlekay/2292499420/)

Extant stays from the 17th century

2011-11-04T20:18:00.001+01:00

Compared with the 18th century therearen’t many stays still around from the 17th century. There isn’t much written about them either- I suspect there are a buried treasured hidden in museum collections that no one has ever bothered about. Here I have collected information of the extant stays I know about. To not make the post too long, I’ve saved the boned bodices of that period for a later post.

The oldest stays we have are German and dated to 1598. It was part of the burial clothes for Pfaltzgrafin Dorothea Sabine von Neuberg and is described by Janet Arnold in i Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620 (You can also find the pattern in Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh. It’s made out of two layers of linen and one of silk, boned with whalebone. There is a pocket in the front for a busk, laced in the back and, as you can see from the picture, there is no boning over the chest.

(Picture source: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/corsets/history.html)

The effigy of Elizabeth I that was made for her burial in 1603, ore stays underneath the gown that probably belonged to the queen herself. Janet Arnold dated it to the beginning of the 17th century.

(Picture source: http://theeleonoraproject.wordpress.com/)

It differs from the German stays in cut and it is laced in front. It’s made of fustian in cotton/linen and boned with whalebone. It’s edged with leather strips that were apple green when new. Drea Leed has made a lovely reconstruction that you can read about href="http://www.elizabethancostume.net/effigy.htm/">here.

(Picture source: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/corsets/history.html)

These beautiful stays are English too and dated to 1620-1640. It’s made out of linen and red silk satin and edged with pale blue silk ribbons. It’s laced in the front over a boned stomacher. More information can be found here, but no pattern seem to have been made of it and I have never seen it reconstructed.

(Picture source: http://www.manchestergalleries.org/)

Better known is this pink one with detachable sleeves from Victoria and Albert., dated to 1660-1670. It’s made of linen and pink silk, boned with whalebone. According to the website the stomacher is T-shaped, which I think sound very interesting. It’s seems very likely that it will be analyzed in Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns: Book Two: 2 by Susan North and Jenny Tiramani, to be published in 2012. At least Amazon’s description make it seems so; a pair of stays and a boned bodice, ivory and wooden busks, shoes, a hat, a stomacher, linen bands and supporters, a bag and a knife case. It also features a description of the stay-making process.

(Picture source: http://laracorsets.com/History_of_the_corset_03_17thCentury.htm)

(Picture source: http://m.vam.ac.uk/collections/item/O10446/stays-and-busk/#top)

Stays that are thought to have belonged to a passenger on The Mayflower. It can be found at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Dated by Janet Arnold to around 1670. When new it was covered in yellow silk. More information can be found here, you can also find information about the reproduction that you can see along it in the picture.

(Picture source: http://18thcstays.blogspot.com/p/17th-century-stays-recreation.html)

I don’t have a picture, but Corsets and Crinolines have pattern to a pair of stays from around 1701.

And, finally, something I found late at night at Digitalt Museum and, thanks to Madame Berg, has found again; A pair of stays in dark brown leather dated by Nordiska museet in Stockholm to 1720-1729, but on the inside it’s dated to the “Anno 1687”. There is no picture, alas. Wouldn’t it be exiting if it was from the 17th century?

The masked ball at Kalmar castle

2011-10-25T13:27:00.001+02:00

I had a great time at Kalmar. The castle is lovely with beautiful baroque rooms, the food was excellent and the company great. Perhaps some of the costumes weren’t the very vest 18th century clothes I have seen, but there were enough truly beautiful ones to make up for it. Unfortunately neither I nor my darling felt we wanted to lug around our big camera, so we only took a few pictures of each other before the actual ball begun.

One of these days I’m going to make a matching petticoat, but I’m still very pleased with this outfit and my antlers.

Look, relatives!

The dance group Menuettakademin danced the four seasons, the theme of the ball. It was very nicely done, each season got their own dance, with appropriate tempo and their costumes were so well thought out. I especially loved the spring faun.

(I nicked the picture fromthis article. )

Here you can see some of the dancing.

A friend of mine had made a quite spectacular gown- for once a truly grand panier. I have no photos, but here is a short video of her.

Admits defeat

2011-10-19T16:54:00.000+02:00

I have been sewing on my robe de cour. And sewing. And sewing. And started to feel that I didn’t want to go on a masked ball because I felt so rushed and stressed and that even if I sew every waking moment, I still wouldn’t be able to finish it in time. Either I would have to resort to sloppy sewing, or I could retreat. I choose the last. I have spent so much time on it now and I don’t want to rush it, I want to make it properly. So I fall back to what I have and will go in this gown instead.

I’m very pleased with that outfit too, so I’m sure I won’t regret. Clearly I couldn’t make a robe de cour in six weeks without going crazy. I think, though, that I will be able to finish it quite sanely after the ball.

Some more 17th century ladies

2011-10-18T16:32:00.002+02:00

This is my last batch of 17th century pictures. I hope you'll enjoy them!

I like the "buttons" that alternate down the front.

A very long-haired lady- don't you think it looks like the clasp on the shoulder also pins the hair to it? If you enlarge you can see that the bodice actually have seams, even if it looks smooth at first.

I don't think these sleeves reflect the current fashion, but it's pretty nevertheless.

I'm not sure that I like this gown, but I think it's a nice contrast with the black bows.

Is her collar drool-worthy, or what?

It may look like another boring old black dress, but enlarge it and enjoy the details like the seams on the bodice and the skirt that has first been pleated in small pleats and then big ones.

A 17th century society without compare

2011-10-16T11:59:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we had a first informal gathering of 17th century enthusiasts and I must say that it was a success. We had all provided to the table, so we ate from a table loaded with various kinds of food, which felt quite right. We were 12, but there were quite a few who wanted to come but were unable to. After much talk and laughter we decided to give ourselves a name, “1600-talssällskapet Makalös”. Which, translated to English, would be The 17th century society without compare.

No, we weren’t all seized by hubris, there is actually a very good reason for it. One of the more influential families in Sweden during the 17th century was the de la Gardie family and the Field Marshal and Count Jacob De la Gardie started to build a rather spectacular palace in Stockholm during the 1630’s, though it wasn’t completed until 1652, and that palace was generally known as “Makalös”, i. e. without compare, peerless or unrivalled. Makalös was inherited by his son Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, but eventually the palace reverted to the state and was used as an armory during the 18th century and in 1793 it was made into a theatre. Unfortunately this grand building was destroyed in a fire in 1825, so today nothing is left of it.

So, not hubris, but rather a homage.

And it gives me a good reason to post one of my favourite 17th century paintings, the double portrait of Magnus Gabriel and his wife Maria Eufrosyne of Pfalz from 1653. His mother was Ebba Brahe, who king Gustaf II Adolph wanted to marry, but wasn’t allowed to as she wasn’t good enough. Magnus Gabriel himself married Gustaf II Adolph niece, and Queen Kristina’s cousin, Maria Eufrosyne. If you are romantically inclined, then you may choose to believe that Magnus Gabriel and Kristina were in love as well, but there is actually no evidence for that. Marrying Maria Eufrosyne was a quite good carrier move, because when Kristina abdicated she made her cousin Karl king, and Magnus Gabriel was suddenly married to the king’s sister. The portrait is loaded with symbols, most which I don’t know the explanation of- for example, why is she holding the black feather? What I do know is that the painter, Hendrik Münnichhoven cleverly showed Maria Eufrosyne’s higher social status by putting her higher on the step, while Magnus Gabriel’s superiority as male and husband is shown by him stepping forward, in front of her.

How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 5

2011-10-14T17:04:00.006+02:00

At the moment I feel like all my waking time is spent sewing. It’s little more than a week to the ball and I have to make a white domino for my darling as well. What I have done so far is this.

Hour 14-17 Stitching extra boning channels down the front and across. Linen canvas and inserted boning made it quite a hassle.

Hour 18-24 Covering the tabs with velvet as well as covering the back edges with velvet. The bodice of Sofia Magdalena’s robe de cour has the tabs both covered and lined separately and I think it makes it much easier. However, that bodice has the tabs edged with silk ribbon and I just folded the velvet to the back and stab-stitched it into place. The sole reason for that is the fact that I didn’t have any silk ribbons at home.

Hour 25-27 Covering the shoulder straps with velvet.

Hour 28-32 Lined the tabs and the shoulder straps with white linen and padded them with combed wool. I think the wool will really makes a difference when it comes to wearing comfort.

Hour 33 and counting Covering the bodice with velvet. I used the original pattern as template and re-drafted it with an eye to the pattern of Sofia Magdalena’s bodice. So far I have attached the front-side pieces and am currently working on the first back-side piece.

Then I need pad and line it and, which I’m a bit worried about, do the sleeves. Sleeves and I don’t get along… And if you didn’t know it, white cats and silk velvet goes very well together. At least if you ask the cat.

The real century of the décolleté?

2011-09-27T16:35:00.007+02:00

Everyone who has ever worn a pair of stays knows that it’s the best push up bra in the world. However, if you turn to the world of art, the fashion in the 18th century seem to have been all about ignoring what happens to the female chest when its pushed up and compressed instead just treating it like a smooth expanse of flesh.

When it came to the 17th century I had the notion that it was all about high neck and cartwheel collars by the beginning and those straight over the shoulders neckline by the end of it. You know, you carry an image in your head, but the more I look, the more I find that in the 17th century, breasts were not something you ignored if you were an artist. Did that nice low-cut gown show the chest, then, by all means, pain the chest.

Those curious early 17th century bodices where the breasts seem to behave very much like they have inplants.

Even when the breasts seem to be rather small, you can clearly see that they are there.

I'm tempted to try to make this dress, because I would probably look exactly like that in it.

A blog you really should take a peek at

2011-09-24T13:19:00.000+02:00

I really, really have to point you toward this blog; Before the Automobile . Absolutely stunning 18th and 19th century clothes made by a Finnish lady. The only problem with it is that it gives me an acute inferiority complex… :D

How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 4

2011-09-19T10:46:00.005+02:00

As I have a deadline and work full time, so my sewing time is limited, I’m using both machine sewing and hand sewing. The machine for such things as boning channels and inner seams, hand sewing for everything else.
Hour 2-4 Sewing the boning channels. Easy work, but quite tedious.

Hour 5 Sewing the front pieces together as well as the back pieces. Not the side seams, as some of the boning channels opened up into it and needed to be bones before sewing them together. I also mulled over what it really meant to glue paper on the inner layer. Operafantomet kindly pointed me towards these extant 16th century clothes , where some have had their bodice stiffened with the help of cardboard and wool felt, where the cardboard wasn’t made of cellulose but linen fiber and animal glue. I have no idea what kind of paper that has been used in the extant 18th century stays I know of, but it seems quite likely that it was textile based paper. Given my time frame I don’t really have the room to experiment, so I decided to make a modern translation and used double sided interfacing to fuse a more lightweight white linen fabric to the inner layer. It made it stiffer and smoother and the boning channels are less pronounced, so I think it’s a pretty good solution, albeit not a period-correct one.

Hour 6-9 Making 18 lacing holes. Much easier to do before the whole thing is completely sewn together. I don’t use grommet both because they weren’t used in the 18th century, but also because I find them frustrating to put in and very often pops out again. I make my lacing holes quite small and use a waxed linen thread. I’m pleased to say that they finally stat to look more even.

Hour 10-12 Boning the bodice and sewing the last seams. I use plastic boning from Cheaptrims that I buy by the spool. It’s quite flexible, but in fully bones stays they give good support and I promise, I need my support. I cut it with a pair of household scissors and just round the edges. So far I have never had any bone poke through.

Hour 13 Test the fit; fit the shoulder straps and cutting the shoulder straps. Over all they fit as they should, though I needed to scoop out the top of the front a bit toward the sides. I don’t have a pattern for the shoulder straps, so I pinned a piece of linen and played with that until I was satisfied. I also need to shape the tabs.

Now I need to bone the shoulder straps and put them into place and then I can start with cutting the silk velvet. Scary thought as it is…

Remember that I said I couldn't find a picture os Sofia Magdalena's coronation robe? Well, I did find one, here it is:

Anthony van Dyck

2011-09-15T08:40:00.011+02:00

I have always been very fond of the portraits of Sir Anthony van Dyck who lived 1599 to 1641. He was a Flemish painter, but also worked in Italy, not to mention England- he became a painter at the court of Charles I. He painting often show off the clothes very well and I love how his persons really do look like persons with their own individuality. He also paints children that look like children, even if they are dressed like adults.

Queen Henrietta Maria. Love the orange on the silver.

Ladies in black and white.

Isabella van Assche

Lady Dorothy Dacre

Marie de Raet

Anna Wake

Seventh Earl of Derby with his wife and child.

I suspect the blue cast on her collar and cuffs are blue starch, but theye clearly edged with black. And so is the one below, but they are so similar in posture, so prhaps the good van Dyck took a bit of a shortcut here...

Marchesa Paola Adorno Di Brignole

Lady Lucy Percy

Marchesa Elena Grimaldi. I love her red cuffs.

Mary Viliers

How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 3

2011-09-13T14:10:00.004+02:00

Materials The inner layers of the bodice will be made in linen canvas. I love linen canvas- it’s the 18th century stay maker’s best friend, if you ask me. I have used it in two previous pairs, but had ran out of it when I made my 1790’s stays. In retrospect I blame the fact that they turned out too large on using more lightweight linen that stretched too much.

As I have already mentioned. The out layer will be in white silk velvet that I found at Pure Silks. It’s absolutely lovely and more lightweight than the rayon silks I have previously worked with.

It’s still a somewhat scary prospect… Perhaps it’s time to reveal what I’m going to be dressed at. The masked ball has The Seasons as theme and with white velvet I can hardly be anything else than Lady Winter. Sleeves and décolleté will be decorated with a lovely faux mink from The Throw company. I haven’t quite made up my mind if I need some sparkle too. I also need to do something silly to wear in my hair, fashioned of either velvet or fur or both.

The panier Well, they are already done. I made them years ago, but have so far never had an opportunity to wear them. I was given the pattern from a friend, but I think it’s based on the panier in Norah Waugh’s Corsets and Crinolines. It’s made in red linen and the boning is steel that once upon a time were used around book boxes. Huge book boxes.

It’s a more doomed shape panier than the very boxy ones at The Armory, so I will obviously need to adapt the petticoat to fit the panier. Luckily I need more than one petticoat, so I will do them first before I do the velvet. However, there is a possibility that velvet will be too heavy for the large panier, though it is quite sturdy. Plan B is to make a smaller petticoat to fit over my pocket hoops instead. They are sturdy enough for my green velvet gown, so they should keep up for the more lightweight silk velvet.

The bodice, hour 1 . Cutting out the linen canvas. I have a true and tried stays pattern and I’m simply using that. I forgot to take pictures, but this old one show the pattern I use. If I had had more time, I might have tried to change the pattern so it looked more like Sofia Magdalena’s bodice. As it is now the inner layer will be made out of eight pattern pieces + the shoulder straps. The bodice will probably not be as much off the shoulders as the extant ones. I’m going to wait until the inner layer is boned so I can try it on and experiment with angles.

How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 2

2011-09-12T19:30:00.002+02:00

Construction: I will base my robe de cour on the ones extant in Stockholm, but though they are similar in construction, they are not identical. All the bodices are in effect fully boned stays, covered with silver brocade so the boning channels aren't visible, laced in the back. The lacing holes are not visible; the outer layer extends over them. They have short sleeves of the same fabric as the rest of the gown and on them sleeves, or cuffs, in starched and pleated silk gauze are (or have been) basted. They also have long trains, attached to the bodice with the help of cords and hooks.

Queen Lovisa Ulrika’s coronation robe from 1751.

This gown and its panier have had their pattern taken, but I don’t know in which book it has been published in. I was given Xeroxed copies years ago and don’t even remember by whom. (corbaegirl has kindly told me that it is in fact from the book History of Costume: From the Ancient Egyptians to the Twentieth Century by Blanche Payne.)

The bodice pattern doesn’t seem to have any tabs and there is no information if the inner layers have the same cut as the outer layers. It has an iron busk down the front.

The panier is very box-like and if you look at the pattern you can see that the petticoat is made in a way that the later robe de cours are not. In fact, I haven’t seen this kind of petticoat anywhere else. Have you? If you look at the pattern you see a panel with a number of letters, corresponding to the letters of the skirt pattern. This is a panel that sits on the top of the panier, giving the petticoat a very boxy shape.

Queen Sofia Magdalena’s wedding gown from 1766. This gown is by far the most researched. Janet Arnold took a pattern for it and there is also a small booklet (in Swedish, alas) about it. The inner layer has more pattern pieces than the outer layer and the outer layer alone has the much curved front seam, you can see that very clearly in this x-ray. There is also wire inserted along the waist and top of the bodice.

The inner layers are made in heavy linen and it’s lined with silk taffeta.

The panier has a similar box-shape as Lovisa Ulrika’s, but the petticoat is sewn differently. There is no top panel and the side seams on the front piece slants outward so it’s wider at the bottom.

Unfortunately I have no picture of Sofia Magdalena’s coronation robe from 1771, but it looks, at least, very much like the wedding gown. The curved front seam on the bodice gives a very interesting optical illusion of a wide chest and a very narrow waist. Well, she had a narrow waist to begin with, but it’s a nice illusion anyway.

Then there is the wedding gown of Princess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta, which is much more elegant in appearance, especially compared to the gown from 1751.

The back where you can see the hooks needed to attach the train.

The inside.

At Nordiska museet in Stockholm there is also a bodice for a robe de cour in white silk, dated to the 1770’s. Unfortunately there are no pictures and it isn’t displayed, but it is described as being similar to the robe de cours at The Armory. It is also described as to have paper glued to the inner layer before the outer layer is attached, to provide a smooth base.

Let’s finish with something that I have often seen discussed. What about the back- it must be hard to fit that bodice so then back pieces meet neatly. That, I think, is our modern sensible at play- a bodice should shut nicely. However, there is this interesting painting that shows the back of two robe de cours. The picture is far too little to make out the details, but I had the chance to stare at it for ages when it was displayed at Nationalmuseum a couple of years ago. In reality that strip of white on their backs are clearly the chemise showing where the bodice isn’t laced shut and it isn’t even laced evenly, the gap is wider at the bottom. Interestingly that is backed up by the description of a presentation at the French court in 1787. Marquise de la Tour du Pin describes the bodice of her robe de cour and speaks of how her chemise, in the finest of batiste, shows through the lacing in the back- at the bottom the gap is “four fingers wide”. The chemise also has very short sleeves, merely “three fingers wide”. Britta Hammar and Pernilla Rasmussen theorize in Underkläder that this gap may have a ceremonial importance, a reminiscence of the Renaissance when you show status with displaying your fine linens through gap and slits in your clothing.

This means that I can happily not have to bother to fit the bodice precisely. I don’t plan to make my bodice an exact copy of any of the extant bodices, but use them as useful templates and inspirations. The robe de cours that I know of, don’t have the heavily based foundation, but are made to be worn over separate stays. Much more practical, but I really would like to make it with the stays built in, so to speak. I’m also very curious on the effect on paper being glued to the inner layer. As I’m not at all waif-like, I probably borrow the iron busk from Lovisa Ulrika to give additional help. One thing I would love to do is to pad the inside with wool to proved comfort. Though none of the roe de cours are said to have that, there are several extant stays in Sweden that have that and I have been curious to how that affect how it feels to wear fully boned stays.

Resources

Arnold, Janet, "A wedding dress worn by Princess Sophia Magdalena in 1766" in Costume, London, new series, #1, 1967, pp 17 - 21.

Dahlberg, AnneMarie, Sofia Magdalenas brudklänning i tidens smak, 2003

Hammar, Britta & Rasmussen, Pernilla, Underkläder : en kulturhistoria, 2008　
　
Rangström, Lena (ed.), Hovets dräkter, 1994

How to make a robe de cour in six weeks and hopefully not go crazy, part 1

2011-09-10T19:45:00.009+02:00

Preparation time: Years. The armoury in Stockholm is lucky to have four robe de cours from the 18th century and at least one of them are displayed at any given time. It was the first 18th century gown I ever saw and despite my father's horror stories that the dress walked around at night with no head, along with the empty armour, I still loved the gown. When I first started to make 18th century clothes I dreamed of making a robe de cour, but there never seemed to be a good opportunity for it. A court dress are, after all, meant for the really grand occasions. But now I have a big party coming up- the masked ball at Kalmar castle in October, so why not take the chance now.

It's not difficult to find paintings and this style stay very consistent throughout the century. Here is Sofia Magdalena of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, queen of Denmark.

And here is her grand-daughter Sofia Magdalena of Denmark, queen of Sweden, two generations later.

The robe de cours in Stockholm, though from different generations as well, are remarkably alike, though the earlier ones have panniers that are much boxier in shape.

Only at the end of the century, the styles seems to change, at least in France, if these rather whimsical pictures are to be believed. The ever talented Koshka has made a delightful version here.

There are also extant robe de cours in Russia. This is Elizabeth of Russia's.

Here are a few other examples. I don't know anything about these gowns- they look quite different from the ones in Stockholm, which may be because they were made a bit different in Russia. But they may also have been changed to go with later fashions (I'm completely sure that the Lace on Elizabeth's gown aren't original) or just be displayed on mannequins with the wrong shape. I would dearly love to know more about them.

There are also a number of painting of robes that doesn't have the typical lace cuffs from the first half of the 18th century. You can find a more in depth discussion on those on the Marquise site.. They seem to have a variety of sleeves.

Gowns for costume balls are also often of this type.

My first idea was to make a gown in silk brocade with the lace cuffs, but then there is this painting.

I have a weakness for velvet as you may have gathered by now and I like this kind of sleeves:

And my imagination took a sidestep, so a velvet gown and no lace cuffs it will be. So now I have several yards of silk velvet and me wondering if I'm not totally crazy to make a grand robe in slippery velvet. Time will tell...

17th century ladies

2011-09-04T17:05:00.004+02:00

I found a little treasure here. Click on the pictures to get the details.

I love the black lace and look at her skirt. It seems to have been pleated into small pleats first and then pleated into big ones.

Look at the different clasps and her curls!

At first glance it's easy to miss that she has a split skirt.

A very peculiar hair ornament...

I adore the jacket!

Still dreaming about the 17th century

2011-09-03T15:13:00.003+02:00

The 17th century seems to be moving closer. A few months ago I created a Facebook group just to see if there were any interest for the 17th century apart from me and the few I have talked with; I jakten på 1600-talet. (In Swedish only, translates to “The hunt for the 17th century”). To my surprise and delight the interest was larger than I thought and now some drifty people has proposed a first meeting to see if we can’t make this into a society. I think it’s a great suggestion!

Another nice thing; To my delight I have found out that Susan North and Jenny Tiramani are editing this; Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns: Book Two . Scheduled to be published in June 2012. Seems there will be a book on later 17th century clothes after all.

I have ordered silver thread and spangles so as soon as they arrive I’m going to do test embroidery for the 17th century jacket. I have also started to dream about this one:

It is also analyzed in Seventeenth-Century Women’s Dress Patterns: Book One , it’s the one which is x-rayed on the front. It has an inter4esting construction with a boned under construction and I would love to try it out. The book features a portrait with a similar jacket but without the slashing and I would probably do it like that. I have found a lovely mulberry coloured taffeta that I think would look great. I need to sort out my various sewing projects first before I start anything new. But I can dream, can’t I?

I have made a hat

2011-08-29T12:35:00.001+02:00

It’s a bit quiet here. Not that I don’t sew, I just haven’t finished anything lately. I’m on the last leg of a hand sewn 17th century shift and I need to get the gown for the 18th century masquerade in October going. Well, I’ve finished one thing, this 1940’s green felt hat. If you follow Fashionable Forties, then you have already seen it, but if not, well, it is sewing, after all.

I had great troubles with the pattern, the infamous Vintage Vogue V7464, hat B. If you feel inclined, then there is a dress diary here and here. One thing I noticed when wearing it that the elastic did nothing to keep the hat on. It just slid on my hair- I guess it would work better if I had had my hair down. Luckily I inherited a few hat pins from my grandmother, so I used one of those to keep the hat in place. Much more becoming than elastic anyway. Despite the frustration when trying to work with the pattern, I’m really very pleased with the result.

17th century embroidered jacket

2011-07-18T13:04:00.003+02:00

I have for quite some time been lacking in embroidery projects. Of course, I ought to finish the petticoat to my embroidered polonaise but truth to be told, I'm a bit bored with it. After working on it for five years I would like to do something else for a while. One embroidery project I have been toying with for years is to try to replicate this jacket from Victoria & Albert.

It has always felt like a too complicated thing to do, but in Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns the jacket is analysed which means I have pattern, embroidery pattern and construction at hand. The embroidery in itself isn't complicated, only wriggly. The biggest problem right now is the fabric. It's made of fustian, but not with wool but with a linen/cotton blend. I'm not sure if that is possible to get and if, if the modern fabric is anything like the 17th century one. Perhaps I should just use linen, which is, after all, used on other jackets from the same period.

I'm currently on vacation at the summer house, but unfortunately the weather isn't that great, which means my son is bored to his teeth and we are watching a lot of movies. So I'm hand-sewing an 17th century shift. It's in linen gauze and the construction makes it impossible to use the machine. Quite boring work but not hard and I'm sure it will be very nice when it is done.

My grandmother in the 1930's.

2011-06-30T13:59:00.006+02:00

My maternal grandmother Greta has probably been the person who has influenced me the most when it comes to sewing. She was all her life a very snappy dresser. My Mum has let me scan and post pictures of my grandmother and even though the pictures are small (I tweaked them a bit to make them larger) I still think they are marvelous little peaks into her life and her wardrobe. The pictures in this post are almost all of them from the 1930’s, when my grandmother was in her twenties, she was born in 1913. I think they prove that even a working class girl, who made her wardrobe with a small budget, could with fantasy and ability to sew, make a wonderful wardrobe.

1921. My grandmother, her mother Gerda and baby brother Hans and her father Sigurd.

I think she is barely out of her teens here. I love the dress, which looks to be very early 30’s.

I can really see how much my Mum resembles her, here. And I can see somewhat of my grandmother's smile in my own.

She worked various shops before her marriage, her she is at her work at a dairy.

Being fashion conscious she, of course, wore trousers for leisure wear. And I so want that bag!

I think she looks great here- I wish I knew the colours.

In fact, I think she and her friends looks great.

New Years Eve. I wish I could see more details, but I love the flowers at the neckline.

I have one more picture from the 30’s to show, but when I looked at it I realized that the blouse my grandmother is wearing is one that I inherited from her. I need to unpack it and take a picture so I can show it together with the old photo.

Using historical movies as a source of inspiration

2011-06-27T10:21:00.002+02:00

For those of that also read Fashionable Forties, I’m sorry for the double posts- I’m not going to make it into a habit. But I felt that this post isn’t just relevant for the 1940’s, but for everyone interested in historical clothes.

It may sound a bit odd when I say that even movies in a historical setting, may work well as an inspiration source. They are set in another time, with other fashions, right? Yes, they are, but historical accuracy has not always been particularly important, especially not during the golden era. Generally speaking the costumes had a more or less accurate look, hair had a somewhat right look and make-up was completely contemporary. There are reasons behind that, for example, even if the moviegoer expects something different s/he still needs to recognize things. If every single detail was to be historically correct, the final look would be something so alien to the modern eye that it would be rejected. Now, those expectations change too. Nowadays period movies usually strife for accuracy in costume and hair and even modify make-up to make it look at least somewhat different to our modern eyes. The modern moviegoer has learned to expect this. The moviegoer in the 1940’s did not and thought nothing when Lizzie in Pride and Prejudice, 1940 (played by Greer Garson) looked like this, false eyelashes and all.

(The movie was set in the 1830’s, not the Regency, but the hair has most to do with the 40’s.)

Even if you try, it is hard to completely remove all traces from the time we live in, even when that is the goal. Some things gets so ingrained as to be considered natural that a movie that is considered perfect when it is released may seem dated after a few years Let’s look at a modern actress, Elizabeth Mcgovern. In 1981 she had a part in Ragtime, a movie set in the early 20th century. It is a very good costume movie and it has dated well, but still… Brooke Shields eyebrows, anyone?

We use the same actress to make a point on how too much accuracy can alienate the viewers. In 1999 she played Marguerite in an adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel. There was quite a lot of talk about her looks, how pasty she was, and how unkempt she looked. In truth she had a rather accurate look with a pale face, no eye make-up , red lips and frizzy hair.

Oh, she was nothing compared to Jane Seymour who had the part in 1982.

Yes, she looks dazzling. She also wears a completely 80’s glamour make-up…

It also has to do to what works on movie. Today the 18th century is, for a lot of people, a period that people wore white wigs. Only, people didn’t. Back then people put grease in their hair and powdered it with white powder. The effect isn’t white, if you don’t happen to have white or blond hair to begin with, but grey. Dull grey, because the beauty ideal of the time was to have matte hair and shiny face- quite different from modern standards. The Victorian introduced the white wigs for their costume parties, which the movie industry adopted. Grey hair looks rather blah on the screen, but white hair looks pretty dazzling. Like Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen do in Singin’ in the Rain

When it should have been a more like this.

Another reason for the (mostly) modern hair and the throughoutly modern make-up was the set look for an actress. Movie companies went through time and money to give a rising star the right look. A prime example is Rita Hayworth, who went from black-headed beauty to a less exotic red head. Hayworth’s long, red hair was her trademark, something that made her easy to spot and what was expected of her to look. The outrage when she turned up platinum blond in The Lady from Shanghai was enormous and she very quickly went back to her red hair. So even in a period movie the actors needed to keep their trademark.

The transition from dark to red and to stardom.

Blond and beautiful but oh so wrong.

If we forward to the fifties for a moment, Marilyn Monroe is another excellent example. She had a very similar hairdo in all her movies, very blond and with curls around her face, but not all her movies was set in a contemporary time frame. Still her hair looks the same in The River of No Return and The Prince and the Showgirl, but for one thing, added hair in the back. The front look contemporary, but she either wear a chignon, a few curls or lose her at the back.

To get the right look, there was some borrowing from other time periods in historical movies, or from the right period, but the wrong sex. Here we have Lana Turner and Gene Kelly looking rather smashing in The Three Musketeers from 1948. Kelly’s front and sides are pure 1940’s, with some long hair added in the back for that period look. Turner looks adorably like Lana Turner and also rather 18th century.

Only the movie is set in 1625 and she would more accurately have looked something like this.

However, Turner could have gone straight to a party after filming- the hair do would have worked very well in the forties. Or take the lovely Norma Shearer in Romeo and Juliet from 1936. With a stroke of luck the hairdresser found a style that worked both in 1936 as well as Renaissance Italy. Only back then, it was something a young man might wear.

So, the conclusion I have is that even if a movie is set in a different time period, you can still safely take your inspiration from make-up from them. With the possible exception of Bette Davis who often drove the movie companies mad with trying to look right, not glamorous, a historical movie from the 1940’s will have prefect forties make up. Hair can be used as inspiration too, but perhaps not as a sole source. Clothes are a different matter, but look at them for colour and colour combinations, which are usually contemporary, even if the costumes are not. As with makeup, fashionable colours are something you get a little blind about. Take Dangerous Liasions from 1988, one of the best costume movie ever made. Yes, pastels were in back then, but the colours used are also some of the colours that were very popular in the 80’s- Like peach.

My main source for this post was Hollywood and History: Costume Design in Film by Edward Maeder, Alicia Annas, Satch Lavalley and Elois Jenssen. A very interesting and informative book!

My Sara-hat

2011-06-26T17:01:00.004+02:00

A few weeks ago my friend Sara died very unexpectedly. She was a very special person and she will be terribly missed. As her best friend said in a speech on her funeral, something Sara once said about herself: "Every person is unique, but perhaps I'm a bit more unique than everyone else." She was.

Sara was also one of the founders of the Society of Gustafs Skål and she dressed in 18th century, she dressed in any century with a flair and elegance that few can manage. She could dress as the extremest of fashion plates and look just natural. The last time I saw her I bought some straw hats from her that she imported them herself from Romania. Today would have been her 42nd birthday and Gustafs Skål has gathered in the park of Haga castle to remember her. I'm unable to attend, so instead I have finished one of the hats. I don't have the flamboyant style Sara had, but I have tried to make a hats that is flamboyant for me. She would have told me if she had loved it. She would have told me if she had hated it too.

I picked my inspiration from this painting.

Sara at Löfstabruk's castle when Gustafs Skål had its 15 year anniversary.

These are a few of my favourite things

2011-06-23T10:03:00.009+02:00

Or rather portraits. It's raining and I have been looking though my Photobucket and now I'm inflicting you with some pictures I particulary like. With that I bid you a festive Midsummer and I will return next week- hopefully with something sewing related.

Elizabeth of Austria

Marguerite de Valois

This beautiful lady was a member of the de la Gardie-family, at the time one of Sweden's richest families. Her gown is sumptous enough for that, I think.

Barbara Villiers

Lady ELizabeth Butler

Hedvig Taube, the mistress of the Swedish king Fredrik I. I often think that the portrait's of 18th century great beauties looks rather plain, but Hedvig really look beautiful.

This painting hangs at Skogaholm's manor house at Skansen in Srockholm. I love this gown andd wish the early 18th century suited me, as I would love to re-create it.

Alexander Roslin's pretty wife.

Lady Elizabeth Murray and her cousin Dido. I only recently found this through Pauline's delightful post.

I think this is a Sargent.

Thora Dardel by her husband Nild Dardel.

And Edita Morris, his mistress. This is one of my favourite portraits ever.

Another Dardel

18th century mourning clothes

2011-06-22T12:07:00.007+02:00

I have been thinking a lot of 18th century mourning clothes lately. If the Victorians practically reveled in it, mourning in the 18th century was a bit more restricted. It was something mainly for royalty and the upper classes, though by the end of the century it had started to seep down into the middle classes. Mourning clothes could be black, grey or white in material with a dull luster. Depending on the degree of mourning no jewelry, or very little of it, were worn.

1701

1759

1766

1772

1793

1794

Mourning ring

More information and pictures can be found at Art of Mourning and Noire Gloire

Meets Lipton

2011-06-13T20:15:00.001+02:00

He is a five-year old Shetland Sheepdog who, as of Friday, will bes our dog. We already know him very well as we have dog-sat him when his owner’s have been on vacation. Now a developed asthma makes it impossible to keep him and we were asked if we could consider taking Lipton in. We have been thinking of getting a dog for some time, so it was very easy to say yes. Lipton is a lovely, well-behaved dog and it will be so much fun to have him. He also gets along well with the cats. Mats love and adore him (he was raised by a dog) and the others treat him with indifference. In Page’s case indifference as long as he keeps away for the cat food. And it will be so beneficial for me to have to walk a dog every day.

To tie it all to the 18th century, here are some nice pictures with dog from the period.

A whole blogpost on 17th and 18th century dogs in paintings can be found here.

The masquerade gowns

2011-06-10T17:19:00.001+02:00

I have a bit of a thing when it comes to masquerade gowns in the 18th century. They are so much fun! So far there have been three and a fourth is planned for October.

The first one I made, in 2002, was inspired by this painting.

For reasons totally unknown to me now, I opted for red rather than pink but apart from that I’m still very pleased with how it turned out. This was the first gown that really fitted and I loved the look of it, but as with all my clothes from that time I had very little money and the fabric is dead dino, again. It was only worn once, but perhaps I will make another one in silk, one of these days.

My second one was once again inspired by a painting.

I like it, but it’s still a work in progress. The collar needs to be lined and there should be more decorations.

That last one is the one I like the most. I went as a deer, but I wanted a deer as an 18th century woman would interpret it. The gown was already done, but I made this little antler hat and I really like the effect.

Blue 1790's outfit

2011-06-07T10:21:00.001+02:00

This was a totally un-planned outfit. In December 2009 I stumbled over this painting and fell in love with the blue and rose outfit. Love at first sight and I just knew I wanted it for the 12th Nigh Ball that was (then) a month away...

I reversed the colours on the jacket and the sash as I had a piece of blue velvet that I wanted for the jacket. I adapted the bodice pattern for the round gown, borrowing a little from Janet Arnold for the back. The jacket on the painting gives rather a lot to the imagination so I took the back from this riding gown that I have always liked.

The front has so far been pinned close, but when I find the buttons I want, I’m going to put them in. The sash is made of two-toned taffeta- the only fabric I bought especially for this project. The peaked back has a bone to make sure it doesn’t fold and has a self-fringe.

The petticoat is made of blue grey silk taffeta that I had had in my stash for years. The pattern is similar to the round gown as well. Cartridge pleats MB, and then the rest pleated so most of the width is on the backside. It also has a short trail, though I omitted the flounce.

I really love this outfit, of all my favourites, this is my number one. I do feel that the hat and gloves lifted it. The day this photo was taken a little girl came up to me and asked me I was a real princess.

I also made a little bag in blue velvet and one of these days I'm going to find better gloves too.

White gown of 1797

2011-06-02T11:36:00.000+02:00

I fell in love with the beautiful gown from Tidens Toj years ago and set out to make it in embroidered white linen. Only I found that I didn’t have enough for fabric for the lovely drape in the front. As the fabric had been resident in my stash for years there was no chance to get some more. It still turned out to be a lovely gown and I’m very pleased with it. I adapted the pattern for my roundgown for it, making the front a bit less gathered, for example.

The original also have a very pretty pleated back, which I tried to re-create.

Round gown

2011-06-01T07:24:00.001+02:00

I have a knack that I’m not particularly proud of- the knack of making the shirts of my 18th century clothes too short. I managed to do that beautifully with my 1790’s round gown, as you can see on the pictures. The patterns is from Kvinnligt mode under två sekel, again- I love the book. And I love the pattern, it was very easy to put together and had some fun construction details such as the bodice have a seam MB, but then a narrow extra back piece is stitched on top of it to give the impression of two curved back seams. I have since used the pattern for two other projects. The fabric is IKEA’s Anneli in yellow, an 18th century re-print in linen/cotton.

The back with the back seam still visible

The extra back piece basted and ready to be put in its proper place.

The finished back. A large portion of the skirt is cartridge pleated to the small back piece, then it is knife pleated until the sideseams. The front of the skirt is the same width as the front of the bodice. The gown is open in front somewhat below the waist and is closed with drawstrings at neck and waist.

Pierrot jacket

2011-05-31T11:52:00.000+02:00

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.

Also, if you compare the photo above with the one below, it looks vastly better with the proper amount of petticoats to set it off.

Please ignore that my cap is trying to escape, the little rascal.

18th century hats

2011-05-29T13:21:00.001+02:00

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.

The second is made of a woven place mat that I stiffened with glue and re-inforced the edges with millinery's wire. The crown is made of buckram. Covered in white cotton velvet, blue grosgrain bands and blue flowers. I think it is vastly pretty!

The third one was very simple. I covered the crown with a pouff of silver dupion silk (scrap from another project) and made a cockard from another piece of scraps to cover the base of the feathers.

1770's French gown

2011-05-28T15:53:00.003+02:00

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.

The back, which I actually like the most.

A 1740's wrapping gown

2011-05-27T13:22:00.000+02:00

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.

Almost finished. The yellow silk stays were an attempt to make stays without visible channels, which worked so-so. Also, I lost a lot of weight during that period and the stays were too large the first time I wore them. I did a miscalculation when I bought the fabric- I had planned for it to be floor length. Eventually I’m going to buy some more fabric to make a matching petticoat.

The first time I wore it, without pocket hoops.

The gown looked so much better with them.

It also worked well as a masquerade gown.

I'm not ignoring you

2011-05-24T22:38:00.001+02:00

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

2011-05-19T20:52:00.007+02:00

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.

My first was made in cotton that was a bit too heavyweight.

My second one was made of voile, which draped much better, but unfortunately I didn’t bought the fabric myself and forgot to specify that it should be pure cotton. The fabric is a cotton/polyester mix and feels it! So when I ruined it with a large splash on red wine that was impossible, I wasn’t too upset.

It's very easy to renew a chemise a la reine. A new sash and another hat is all it takes.

I have a third version cut out, this time in cotton gauze, but for some reason I haven’t got around sewing it all together. I probably should, summer is coming and it is the perfect 18th century gown for a hot day.

Red stays

2011-05-19T20:47:00.006+02:00

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.

The fit was pretty good, but the back was too wide and they were a bit difficult to lace as the stomacher was so wide on top.

Ice cream-cone, anyone?

Blue casaque

2011-05-19T20:38:00.008+02:00

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.

Worn with stays very loosely laced and over pocket hoops.

The back pleats are not sewn down at all, but are held together from the inside by a rectangular piece of fabric.

Worn without stays and hoops.

Red pet-en-l'air and petticoat

2011-05-19T15:43:00.004+02:00

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…

The pattern is once again picked from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion, though by now I don’t recall which one exactly- I think I mix and matched from several patterns. It’s roughly 1750’s with a seam at the waist and winged cuffs. The lining is split in the back so you can adapt the fit with ribbons, very useful if your weight change. In the front the lining has lacing holes, so you can either tie it with ribbons, or just pin it to the unboned stomacher.

Backview, while dancing at the Georgian ball in Bath.

And a variation with the red petticoat tucked into the slits in the pocket hoops.

Blue jacket and petticoat

2011-05-17T07:25:00.004+02:00

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.

By this time I had a new pair of stays that fitted much better which made it much easier to fit the jacket. There are still a few problems with it, though. The neckline is much too wide, though it’s possibly to hide that with a carefully draped neckerchief. The jacket is also too long in the waist, which makes it crease at the waistline. Nowadays I have perfected an 18th century basic bodice patter that I use as a template for everything I do, but at this point I was still struggling to get it right.

The first reincarnation before I had decided on closure. I didn’t much care for that look.

It became so much prettier with rose-coloured silk ribbons.

Back then I didn’t have enough petticoats either, as the visible pocket hoops can testify of…

The first 18th century gown

2011-05-16T09:07:00.002+02:00

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.

I joined Gustafs Skål in 2001 after having spent the most of my free time the previous decade on making theater costumes. So I was not completely new to sewing. I was, however, extremely short of money. I don’t have any pictures of my first pair of stays which were quite pretty- green linen with hand sewn channels in blue. The fit was a horror, though. I used the one that floats around on the net and that many seem to use in their first try. It seems that it’s not the best pattern for a short-waisted body with a large chest. Also, it didn’t help that the only boning I could get my hand on was Rigilene…

Being extremely short of money at the time for my first party, I ransacked my fabric bin and came up with a complete outfit made of 100% dead dino. Voila!

The cut is all right, it’s a polonaise from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion and seams and sleeves are right. The fabric not so much… And I had my first lesson in how much your stays affect the fit of the gown. The picture is poor quality, but I think you can make out of my breasts seems to be cut in half and that I’m of the same straight shape from top to bottom which is a bit amazing given my body’s natural shape on an hourglass.

Needless to say perhaps, but I hated this gown from start to finish and worn it only once. It is no more, the only proof that it ever was, is the bad picture above. Which can be used to show that I have actually learned something in the ten years that have gone by.

18th century masquerade

2011-05-11T16:23:00.002+02:00

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.

The theme is, apart from 18th century, the seasons. So at the moment we are happily planning costumes. As I have already managed to change my mind three times to what to wear I think I shall keep quite on my choice, at least until I have come so far that I can't change my mind.

Anyone else planning to go?

A review on Seventeenth-century Women's Dress Patterns

2011-05-10T20:37:00.002+02:00

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

2011-05-04T14:21:00.004+02:00

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.

Johan III (1537-1592)

Johan became king when his older brother Erik XIV died. Erik who was very unbalanced (or stark raving mad) had been imprisoned by his younger brothers and died by arsenic poisoning. If that was not by a direct order from Johan, well at least Johan wasn’t unhappy about it.

He was dressed in a coat of black velvet, the fabric 52 cm wide and lined with rather loosely woven black two-shaft silk. The warp is very strong in comparison with the weft and gives the material a rope-like appearance. It is open in front, and is made out of one back piece and two front pieces with gores in the sides, reaching up to the armhole. The round neckline has a 5 cm wide standing collar. There is a decorative seam at the back, close to the sleeve. The sleeves are in one piece with a gore at the shoulder. It has a 6 cm long slit , that was buttoned with two buttons made of silk rope. When buttoned up one part of the slit overlapped the other by 3 cm.

(Sleeve)

The right front overlaps the left by 9 cm, and there is no collar at that part that overlaps- On the left side 11 braided silk loops are fastened 6 cm apart. On the right side there are 18 round buttons in gold and black enamel. This coat was in all probability part of the king's wardrobe during life. There are no records of burial clothes being made, and the coat is very well made and handsomely decorated. Especially the decorative seams in the back suggest a garment that you were supposed to see all sides of.

Under his crown the king wore a black velvet cap, lined with black satin. The bottom has been folded up so the lining is visible. The shoes are made of leather, covered with black velvet, with soles of silver-gilt. The soles are actually worn, so these are shoes he walked around in. Must have been slippery! His stockings are of knitted silk, now yellow. (A description has been made on how to knit these. I don't knit myself, but if someone is interested, I can translate it.)

Up to the last ten years of his life there are notations on his wardrobe, about new clothes, or changes made to existing outfits. There are also notations of patterns for the clothes being made of simple fabrics. Notations from 1589-1592 say that all the kings clothes were lined with leather, wool or "carteck". It is assumed that "carteck" is the same material as the gown he wears in his coffin. Caps were usually lined with satin.

His crown and sceptre were crafted in gold.

Gunilla Bielke (1568-1597)

Gunilla was not a princess but from an old Swedish noble house. She was just sixteen when Johan wanted to marry her, he was 47, and she was not keen at all, but her family talked her into it. She became a widow at 24 and died quite young. She had a very bad relation to her brother-in-law Karl IX- he didn’t come to the wedding, he tried to lessen her income when she was a widow and after her death, well I will get to that.

The queen was buried in a velvet gown, now brown, the fabric 50 cm in width. It consists of a bodice with a skirt sewn to it. The bodice has two front pieces. The front seam is now sewn together for 10 cm, and open for 19, so the length of the front is 29 cm. The back is just two pieces that covers the shoulders. The skirt is pleated, and hemmed with a strip of brown home-spun, 2.5 cm ribbon that can be seen on the right side of the skirt, and 7 cm on the inside. The sleeves are made of gold brocade, edged with white satin, 2 cm wide and folded.

(Pattern of sleeve)

The gown was probably part of the living queen's wardrobe, and changed for the burial. The skirt has probably been reduced in width by half. In the queens wardrobe the skirts were between 7 and 11 “alnar” (1”aln”=59cm) in width. The skirts are paired with the bodices that belong to them, and she also had five pairs of detachable sleeves.

The queen had 1.8 cm wide silk ribbons wrapped in her hair, now dark brown in colour. Ribbons of this type were often mentioned in her accounts. Shoes were crafted from (now) brown velvet, with soles in gold brocade.

Her crown and sceptre were made of gold gilded silver. It's quite clumsily made, as a contrast to the other queens. When she died her brother-in-law Karl IX was king, and as I said he didn't much care for her, so perhaps he didn't want to put too much money on her burial. She also had an orb of the same material. (Karl was also responsible for his step-mother’s burial regalia and they are much nicer.)

She also wore a gold chain necklace, 105 cm long. A bracelet of gold chain, the rings slightly oval, 18.5 cm long. Another bracelet was made of strung pearls. A plain gold ring has "Anno 1594 AS" engraved on the inside. "AS" may mean that it was a gift from her friend and cousin by marriage, Anna Sture. But as the queen had been married more or less by force to Johan III, at the age of 16, and widowed 8 years later, it is possible that it was a gift from a secret lover.

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

2011-05-01T11:02:00.004+02:00

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

Margareta Leijonhufvud (1516-1551)

Gustav Vasa's second wife died when she was just 35, after bringing ten children to the world in 13 years. She was 20 years younger than her husband, but the marriage seems to have been quite harmonious. Margareta seems to have been a very nice, kind woman. She was buried in a gown of now reddish brown velvet, width 50 cm. The front and back has not been sewn together at the side seam. The front neckline has a 17 cm long slit, closed with a pin. The sleeves seams are not sewn together, and only partly sewn to the gown. Her shoes were made of five-shift satin, probably black in original, now reddish brown.

She also got new clothes for her husband's burial, also in black velvet but of a lesser quality than those of her husband and his first wife. (The new king, Erik XIV was from the first marriage. Perhaps he wanted to honour his mother with this, or perhaps just point out that she was of nobler birth than his stepmother, with whom, it seems, he got along with very well.) However, Margareta's new clothes were cut much more fashionably than her predecessor. For example, it had sleeves enclosed in puffs, which were sewn on the garment and were finished-off on the sleeve. The gown is decorated like Katarina's, but the gold lace was slightly narrower. At the neckline the initials "M R S" have been sewn made out of gold gilded silver.

(Back of gown, the initials, and the gold lace)

In 1551 the queen owned 41 gowns. Her wardrobe was comprised of 12 “överkjortlar”, 6 “vidkjortlar”, 9 “ridkjortlar”, 13 “underkjortlar” and 1 “riisekjortel” (a gown made in the Russian style) Two years later she only owned 34. In 1549 she owned 20 pair of detachable sleeves.

(Pattern of the gown from 1560)

Originally she was buried with a gold gilded crown made of wax, and a sceptre of the same material. This is the oldest burial regalia that have been found in Sweden. It is much damaged but still visible are the letters KVNIGI:A...IS -- possibly it originally said "Queen of Sweden". It was replaced in 1560 with the same kind of regalia as Queen Katarina.

She also wore a pendant made of gold, shaped like a G and decorated with an emerald, a ruby, and six pearls. This piece is quite worn so perhaps it was a favourite piece that followed her to the grave.

Katarina Stenbock (1535-1621)

The last wife of Gustav Vasa was actually his second wife's niece, so she became stepmother to her own cousins, some of them older than she herself. She had no children of her own, but seems to have been beloved by her step-children. The gown she was buried in was made of velvet, now reddish-brown in colour. It was probably part of the living queen’s wardrobe and changed for the burial- the back has been removed, though parts of the back lining in reddish brown silk have been left. The cut is similar to Katarina of Sachen-Leuberg's gown. As the queen was a very old woman when she died I think one can assume that she had kept to the fashion of her youth, as I have not seen any gowns of this type from Swedish 17th century portraits.

The sleeves are narrow, consisting of two parts, and pinned to the gown. The rather high, round neckline is edged with a narrow strip of velvet. The gown is open in front with buttons of wood covered with braided silk spaced at intervals of 1 cm. Stockings in (now) yellow silk with a gore and a leg that is 58cm long. She also had velvet shoes, decorated with a silk bow, and leather soles. She also wore a crown made of pearls, strung on silver wire.

Descriptions and pictures of clothes from the 16th and 17th century #1

2011-04-30T14:17:00.004+02:00

This post and the next two are a revised re-post from my Livejournal in 2005. As it seems much more likely that if I give anything up it will be LJ and not Blogger, I have decided to re-post some of the more interesting things I have written. Here are the descriptions and pictures of clothes from the Swedish royal family in the 16th and 17th century found in the book Vasagraven (1956), edited by Martin Olsson.

Gustav Vasa and his family
Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden in 1523. He was elected king; he was born to the noble house of Vasa and ended up king after years of war. He can very well be considered the father of modern Sweden and it was also during his reign that Sweden became a protestant country. He was known to have a violent temper, but also to have been devoted to his last two wives. A fact is that several of his sons suffered from mental illness to a larger or lesser degree. He was buried with his three wives his son Johan III, and Johan's second wife Gunilla Bielke in the cathedral of Uppsala. The tomb was opened and examined in 1945.

Fashions at court in Sweden during the 16th century

Sweden had since the Middle Ages had a very close cultural and economical exchange with Germany. During the 16th century you can clearly see influences of German fashions in portraits. The most fashionable colour at court was black. At Gustav Vasa's court velvet was the most fashionable fabric, but when Johan III became king that had changed to be silk satin. In 1554 about 80% of the king's wardrobe contained black clothes, and it were twice as many velvet garments as satin ones.

Seams are generally pressed down and out. The seam allowances are narrow, between 0.5-1 cm wide. The most common types of stitches are running stitches, between 3-7 mm in width, and stem-stitches.

The shoes found, apart from Gunilla Bielke's had been part of the living persons wardrobe. They were either strap-shoes or court-shoes. Very slight, or no difference between right and left.

Extensive accounts and inventories of the royal family’s wardrobes are preserved, and from those the following can be concluded:

Skirts were not modern until after 1550.

Women wore a number of different gowns:

"Överkjortel" is open in front, has sleeves, and is sometimes buttoned down the front.

"Vidkjortel" has facings and sleeves with many buttons.

"Ridkjortel" (riding habit) has front closure, bodice and skirt as one, and a collar.

"Underkjortel" is decorated in a way that shows that it was meant to be seen. Often buttoned over the chest.

My personal view is that the two first would be translated as gowns, and the last as a kirtle. Apart from Gunilla Bielke, all the queens’ clothes are quite similar in cut to the loose gown and kirtle in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion.

The daughters of Gustav Vasa and Margareta Leijonhufvud had their clothes decorated so that the older the girl, the more ribbons and buttoned her gown had.

Gustav Vasa (1496-1560)

When Gustav Vasa died special burial clothes were made for him. He was dressed in a loose coat in black velvet, lined with silk taffeta. The velvet was called "from Lucca", which was the best quality. The fabric is 52 cm wide, and two lengths have been used for the back, and two to the front. It has a collar with straight corners and facing. The collar is 9.5 cm wide and the facing is 13 cm. The coat is open in front, and there is not any kind of closure. The collar and facing are decorated with crowned G's in gold gilded silver.

Underneath it he wore a plain rectangle of velvet, which reached to his feet. It had a round neckline and was tied around his neck, and around his back, called "bröstduk" (chest-cloth). This was an actual item of clothing, though probably lengthened to work as a shroud. The king owned several of them, meant to keep him warm- they were often lined with something that made them even warmer. There are notations of one in black velvet that was made into a pair of shoes, and he had them in different colours, white, red, blue and green and embellished with pearls and gold edging.

He also wore velvet gloves. Traces of linen on the legs might be the remains of a pair of hoses, but it may be just part of a shroud. The shoes were mad of black velvet, laced together with three lacing buttons made of silk, and soles of leather. Underneath his crown was a cap of black velvet, lined with black silk taffeta. It has earmuffs that have been folded in and sewn to the lining. The king is known to have worn a cap when he died, and it's quite likely that this is the one. A 1559 inventory of the king's wardrobe listed three black velvet caps.

(Pattern of the cap)

Other items of clothing the king owned included "underkjortlar", which were somewhat like a waistcoat- no sleeves, or collar, and buttoned in the front. The king was buried wearing a gold gilded crown made of silver, and a sceptre of the same material.

Katarina of Sachen-Leuberg (1513-1535)

She was Gustav Vasa's first wife, and mother to one son, before she died quite young. When she was buried she was dressed in a burial robe of velvet, probably black, but now in reddish brown velvet. The width of the fabric is 51 cm, and the robe has a whole front piece, two side pieces, and a back piece sufficient to cover the shoulders. The collar is standing, 4.5cm high, and is part of the shoulder pieces. Opening is in front. The two sleeves are cut differently.

Three lengths of (now brown) silk ribbons were found entwined with the remains of the queen's hair, which suggested that it was braided with it. The ribbons are 0.7 cm wide, and 133, 68,7 and 65 cm long.

At Gustav Vasa's burial new clothes were made for the queen. The same kind of velvet was used as for his clothes, and has a front piece of the material's width and two back pieces just wide enough to cover the shoulders. The sleeves are sewn to the gown. Around the neckline, wrists and hem is a border of gold lace, 3 cm wide. Below the neckband her initials, made of gold gilded silver, are fastened.

(Pattern of the gown from 1560)

At the same time she was given a crown in gold gilded silver, and a sceptre of the same material. Her crown was lined with a cap made of gold brocade, made out of four triangular pieces.

18th century hair tutorial

2011-04-21T10:03:00.004+02:00

I did this hair on a friend a couple of years ago. It's a rather easy way to get a 1770-1780's hair. The model's hair was thick and long, somewhere between BSL and waist and a dream to work with. She had curled the front hair and then I teased it quite a lot, adding extra strength hairspray.

I tried to make a little diagram- I hope it's understandable. I combed the front hair over the pouf the teased hair made. It would, of course, be perfectly possible to use a rat instead, to achieve height. It would necessarily if one wanted even bigger hair. I pinned the hair behind the hair, where the blue line is. Then I rolled the rest of the combed over hair in the opposite direction to hide the pins, and then pinned that roll invisible. After that I rolled three smaller sections of hair in a row. I used a pencil to roll around, but one can also make tubes in stiff paper and let that tube remain in the hair. Then I did two bigger rolls at the temples, this time using the can of the hairspray to roll around. Then I collected all but one strand of hair into a ribbon very close to the tips, which I then folded under and pinned to the base of the neck. The remaining strand was curled, again with the help of the pencil and hairspray. I also sprayed every section while I worked on them and then sprayed it all when it was done. Lastly I used white hairspray to finish, and put in some decorations.

I was a bit pressed for time and I would have liked to be able to give it a more finished look. As a variation one could have done more rows of small rolls down the head. I don't think I could have done this style on myself, but it was not complicated to do on someone else.

Banyans and masked balls and straw hats, oh my

2011-04-09T14:23:00.007+02:00

I have been a bit quiet here, but not for lack of sewing. I just haven’t much to show yet. I have finally cut out the banyan for my darling. I’m sure it will be very nice- steely blue-grey taffeta with pale grey charmeuse for lining, but charmeuse is truly hell to cut in. First time I work with it a slippery is just the beginning. There will be a matching cap and hopefully I can get a waistcoat out of the remnant fabric too.

After finishing my stays I fell back into my 18th century slump again. It would be nice to make something for spring though and I really should finish my embroidered polonaise. I have stalled, because the next step is the lacing holes in the lining and as you may have gathered I loathe making lacing holes. I have also started to lay out the design for the embroidered petticoat.

There will be a masked ball at Kalmar castle in October and I’m very tempted to go. The theme is The Seasons and I think I shall tweak my deer costume and make it Lady Autumn instead. I plan to buy more velvet so I can make a matching petticoat and wear it over my grand panier instead of pocket hoops. Decorate the antlers and the petticoat with silk leaves and make a stomacher in an autumny colour. I am very tempted to make a new pair of stays, though. The early 18th century doesn’t really suit me, but the velvet gown is early and I have never made early stays. The fully boned kind, reinforced with steel. There is an extant pair in Sweden that even has paper glued to make them stiffer. I’d like to try that and make them in gold brocade. The darling’s costume would be easy to- add a white hat and cape to his icy blue court suit, and he’ll be the perfect winter.

I have bought two straw hats from a friend who travels to Romania a lot. The best quality ever and not very expensive. One giant one with a very low crown, bigger than the one on the picture, and the one in the background which is actually bonnet-shaped. Now I just have to decide on decorations…

I’m currently making a 1940’s housedress for my Fashionable Forties-project and is looking for tweed for a coat. Anyone knows where to buy tweed? I would very much like a fabric that is grey/brown.

I have two fifties dresses from Vintage Vogue I want to make for summer as well. This one in Bardot-checkered seersucker in blue and white.

This one in cotton voile with grayish flowers on.

As you can see, I don’t lack projects. Now to find the time for them…

Need 18th century shoes?

2011-03-31T07:03:00.002+02:00

American Duchess is launching this pretty 18th century shoes in silk. Pre-orders start on April 1 and will get a nice discount. Look here for more information.

Airing the faux fur jacket

2011-03-27T21:13:00.004+02:00

I hope you don't mind more photos, but they are vastly better than the first ones. I still maintain that it isn't the most flattering cut for my body type, but if was very warm and cosy and fun to wear.

And if anyone wonder, this is how a middy cut looks when the hair is airdryed and brushed and nothing else.

Vast tracts of land

2011-03-20T18:51:00.001+01:00

Last Friday I had the opportunity to break in my new stays. The pros are that they are really comfortable and, if I may say it myself, very pretty. The cons are that they are, in their brand new and un-stretched state exactly the right size. Which means they will become too big soon, even is I stay the same weight. How I managed to make something that will be too large is a mystery, if I err in size when I make garments too small. Oh well. It's not that I mind making stays exactly. I also need a little more boning in the front, even if the back and sides worked very well with few bones.

My darling took a few pictures of me, which perhaps wasn't the best of ideas. I have the distinct feeling that his focus wasn't exactly on the stays...

A 1950's faux fur jacket

2011-02-26T18:44:00.002+01:00

I have just finished my first ever project in faux fur. I had anticipated that it would be difficult, but it was actually not hard at all. I followed the suggestions here. My faux fur was a pretty generic short-haired black one and the quality is OK- I bought it really cheap a couple of years ago. I did cut the fur with small snips with scissors, but if I would use a fur with longer hair, then I would cut it with a razor knife. I didn't have any problem with the fabric slipping, but I did pin madly. Again, with longer hair I would baste too.

The pattern I used was a Vintage Vougue one, V2934, which is a re-print of a cropped jacket from 1950.

The patterns was very easy to make, the part that took longest was to cut it out, as you can't cut faux fur in two layers at once. However, I don't think the cut is at all flattering on me. A figure that is hourglass-shaped and high-waisted is not at its best with a jacket that stops just where the hips begin. I look like I don't have any waist at all! I think it would look great on a slender figure, though.

White fur goes so well with black, doesn't it?

At least I was really satisfied with my hair today. Four victory rolls, the two in the middle on each side of a diagonal part and the back hair was tucked into a hairnet.

The very very late blogaround

2011-02-23T01:08:00.000+01:00

I must confess, last week I totally and completely forgot about the blogaround. And somehow I didn't get around to do it this monday either, so you may spank me with a wet noodle.

I'm actually having an awful february, which began with a nasty cold that developed into an even nastier nasty bout of laryngitis. This is the third week I'm on sickleave and I'm climbing the walls. I'm forbidden to speak and it really makes you feel isolated! So if you have some lonk you think I would be interested in, please, give it to me! I'm in sore need of entertainment and cheering.

And I do have some links for you too:

Couture Allure writes about the fashion company Lilli Ann, which at least I had managed to miss before.

Diary of A Mantua Maker gives us a overview of the 18th century polonaise.

A tutorial in making a pair of Regency shoes.

The Lady's Resource Site is a blog that links to various articles and blogs regarding fashion history.

Deriana gives the cutest overview over the history of the Tudors you'll ever see.

And Casey of Elegans Musings has made the cutests 30's underwear.

Almost finished 1790's stays

2011-02-13T18:04:00.001+01:00

All my plans of finishing the stays soon after my last post about them got a bit delayed due to a nasty cold, but here are some progress.

After attaching the shoulder straps I needed to try them on to be able to determine how longs straps I needed. I used some old boning left over from an old pair of stays, which is why it sticks out so. Trying them on made me realise two things. First; they were actually not too small, which I had feared, but too large! So if I don’t grow larger I won’t be needing that stomacher I made. The second thing, which I already suspected, was that I needed more boning in the front, as you can see here:

As the sides doesn’t have any boning it wasn’t hard to remove some of the surplus there, which gives the stays sideseams, but I can live with that. I also added some more boning channels at the front. I use plastich whalebones I bought on a roll from Cheaptrims years ago.

I did some decorative embroidery in white and yellow to tie the colours of the thread together with the chamois leather-binding. I used buttonhole silk for that, as that was the easiest way for me to find a thicker silk thread. I’m really pleased with how that turned out.

I really liked working with the chamois leather, but it got a bit bulky where I needed to join two pieces. Next time I will not put the ends on top of each other, but letting them meet preciely instead.

The exterior is now completely finished, as you can see, but I still need to put in some horizontal boning as well as the lining.

Monday blogaround

2011-02-07T14:46:00.000+01:00

I managed to contract yet another bad cold over a week ago that kindly developed into laryngitis. So I'm eyeing all my sewing projects with longing and spend my days reading blogs and watching old movies. I'm beginning to get bored out of my skull... But here are some nice links for you.

Aclisto isn't the only one I seen pointing at theGoogle's Museum Project, but I saw her post first.

The Dreamstress talks about the infallabilities of museums.

3 Hours Past the Edge of the World has tested a gizmo that makes patterns drafting a dance. I was really interested until I saw the price... Worth checking out though and let's hope the price will become affordable one day.

Katie Jacobs point at an archive for Regency fashion.

Gertie of Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing has read an article abour repro vintage clothes.

Frualeydis dissertation on Medival clothes in Sweden and Norway are now online. Only in Swedish, but there is an English summary.

Monday blogaround

2011-01-31T11:01:00.001+01:00

I’ve been a bad blog-reader this week, but here are a few links.

American Duchess again with a pair of very interesting stays.

A Fashionable Frolic point toward a new online costume exhibition.

It’s hard to to not point to. This time with some interesting 18th century gowns.

Building a 1940's wardrobe

2011-01-29T12:18:00.001+01:00

I have started a new blog. Being possibly insane I have decided to make myself a 1940's wardrobe, which you can find here:

http://fortieswardrobe.blogspot.com/

In my library I have a Swedish book from 1944 called "Alla kvinnors bok", which translated to English means "Every Woman's Book". It's a rather thick volume that covers a lot of things like proper behaviour, housekeeping, decorating a home, marriage and children. Those subjects are all at the end of the book, the first half covers the most important subjects of all, beauty and clothes. As a time document it is all very interesting, but it is just those first chapters that got me thinking a night when I couldn't sleep and I leafed through the book while drinking tea. The book describes how a woman with the ability to sew can create and vary a good wardrobe, if she plans a little. There is a four-year plan how to achieve that and the idea occurred to me that it would be fun and interesting to try to do just that. I like the fashions of the 1940's. I like to sew.

The idea would be to start now with the autumn/winter wardrobe so I have it when it's time to wear it. Though I have a fair knowledge of the fashion of the time, I'm not an expert, so I expect this to be a learning experience for me. I will also need to adapt the clothes so that they will be wearable for me. I don't think I will wear these clothes every day, but I want them to work for every day. There is also the question of materials. Is it possible to use the same materials? Do I want to use some of them, like real fur? And, of course, I need to make these clothes within my budget.

So why a new blog when I already have Isis' Wardrobe? Well, I feel that this is such a special project, that it needs a space of it's own. A place to collect what I do, resources and hopefully some interesting discussions along the way. To call it Fashionable Forties is perhaps not the most original, but that was what my brain came up with. And being in my forties as well, makes it a bit of a pun. So I hope you will find this venture interesting. And perhaps you would care to join in? I would love to see what others would make out of it.

Monday blogaround

2011-01-24T15:51:00.001+01:00

More interesting links.

American Duchess has got one of her designs made up by Garmz. It’s a nice coat and I think Garmz is a neat idea.

Needle N' Thread reviews a book about blackwork. Want that one!

I hope Operafantomet doesn’t mind that I link to two of her posts. First a post on extant clothes in Norway . Check out the 18th century stays with the rather original boning placement.

And second, A post on an extant 16th century gown.

More 1790's stays

2011-01-22T18:29:00.001+01:00

The stays are coming along very nicely and I think they will be finished pretty soon.

Most extant stays I have read about are finished pattern piece by pattern piece and then whipstitched together. However, there is an Swedish example in Brita Hammar and Pernilla Rasmussen's Underkläder that have been put togther with the right sides of the pattern pieces put together and then stitched like that. It is noted that these stays probably wasn't made by a staymaker, but as I'm not a staymaker, I don't feel bad that I make them like that. I started with sewing the front and back together, putting the right side of the bottom layer of linen to the right side of the silk (which has been basted together with the second layer of linen previously).

I then pressed the seams, folded so the right sides are, well, right, pressed again and then basted the three layers together.

Then I sew all the pieces togther, pressed the seams and stitched them down. It should be noted though that I have never seen stays being made that way so I don't claim any historical acuracy here, but it works for me.

The boning channels were next. My original plan was to make the stays fully boned, but after looking through Underwear: Fashion in Detail I fell for the green stays on page 122, which has pretty cross-stitched decorations. I'm not copying the boning pattern, or the decorations slavishly, but I'm using that for inspiration. The boning channels are sewn with white linen thread that I inherited from my grandmother- she used it in lace-making. I like it, because the stitches shows up better than with ordinary thread. The boning channels are 1 centimetre wide and the channels for the decorations either 5 or 8 milimetres wide.

The lacing holes are sewn with the same linen thread, vaxed. One of these day I'm going to becoming great at sewing them, but that day isn't here yet...

Another alteration to my original plan was the decision of binding the stays with chamois leather. A little digging brought me a supplier in Sweden and it took me two days to get it. It's very soft and supple and has a pale yellow colour. To rest my hands a little a took a pause in making the lacing holes and cut out strips of the leather and bound the stomacher. I can tell you that with a sturdy needle it was no problem at all to sew on a machine. The leather is quite stretchy and it was very easy to sew the point of the stomacher. I wouldn't sew the binding of a pair of tabbed stays a machine, but I will on this pair.

Folded over and stitched to the backside. The binding is 5 milimetres wide and much more padded than a fabric binding. Not a bad thing when it comes to stays.

My next step will be to cut out the shoulder straps and attach them. Then decorate the stays, my plan is to use white and pale yellow silk for the cross-stitch. Boning, binding and then put in the lining. It's a fun project and I look forward to try them on.

The elusive velvet

2011-01-19T17:57:00.000+01:00

Some things floats around in one’s costume mind, things that you have heard, but that you don’t really know if it’s true or not. One of those things that I have heard several times is that velvet wasn’t used for women’s clothes in the 18th century. How about you? One reason is that there is no evidence for velvet gowns if you read testaments and lists of assets, at least not in Sweden. And the other reason is that there are no extant women’s clothes in velvet from the 18th century. On the other hand there are paintings of gowns that look more like velvet than silk.

I know, a painting isn’t proof. You can paint in anything in it, but I can’t see why velvet would suddenly be totally absent from female fashions. I can see why it could be less popular, but velvet is nice and cozy and luxurious, so why not have a velvet gown for the cozy winter evenings. This is why I made my wrapping gown in velvet, even if I didn’t have any proof fro velvet gowns.

Well, thank to Pinkdiamond and Corsetrasewing, I now have. A velvet gown , dated to the second half of the 18th century. I wonder why, though- to my eye it looks like the first half.

Then there are a number of velvet bodices found here. I don’t speak Spanish, but following Corsetraweing’s advice and searching with the words chronologia, the segle 18, then gipo, then vellut, they can be found. Just bodices, but I don’t think that’s so odd, given how much fabric an 18th century petticoat was made of.

Can’t have been used for anything else than nursing, but I wonder if it was really made like that originally or if it was changed into it after it becomes unfashionable.

This one looks very Spanish to me.

And this one is evidently of the very late 18th century.

Of course, this is not proof that velvet was used everywhere in Europe. The bodices are Spanish and the gown French or Italian. The painting I have seen which looks like velvet have been German, French and English, so I think it’s likely that it was used, albeit not a lot. I’d love to find out more, though.

One day late, Monday blogaround

2011-01-18T16:51:00.002+01:00

The Lingerie Addict writes about the lack of real women in lingerie advertisement.

La Mode Illustree again, this time with pictures of extant costumes. The first an 18th century robe de cour. I’m not sure if it’s the dummys faukt or iif it has been changed, as the silhouette looks more 1850’s, but it’s still interesting.

Pauline's Pirates & Privateers writes about the real world of piracy, this time on Teach and the “reality” of“Pirates of the Caribeean.

More goodies from Nordiska

2011-01-16T17:33:00.001+01:00

Not stays, but really nice clothes from the 17th and 18th century. And unusual- what do you think of the patchwork jacket? And I love the ladies shoes from 1653.

Banyan, dated to 1770-1790, in printed cotton dated to 1750
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/morgonrock/S-NM/NM.0186307?pos=12

Banyan, double-breasted in cotton, 1720-1775.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/rokrock/S-NM/NM.0263181?pos=192

Banyan in red silk, 1740-1770.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/nattrock/S-NM/NM.0192128?pos=280

Man’s red wedding suit, with embroideries, 1764.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brudgumsdrakt/S-NM/NM.0238756A-C?pos=427

Man’s cravat in very fine cotton, with white embroidery
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/halsduk/S-NM/NM.0138957?pos=146

Man’s cuffs with white lace, 1750-1799.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/armkras/S-NM/NM.0138956A-B?pos=120

Gown 1780-1790 in striped cotton/silk.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/klanning/S-NM/NM.0022937A-C?pos=475

Woman’s jacket in fine pink wool, 1775-1790, the sleeves cut together with the bodice.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/troja/S-NM/NM.0025203?pos=69

Woman’s jacket in many-coloured patchwork, 1770-1790. I have never seen anything like that before!
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/kofta/S-NM/NM.0085949?pos=98

Woman’s jacket in black, “shiny” wool, 1770-1799.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/troja/S-NM/NM.0158626?pos=127

Ripped apart bodice, but the fabric! Oh, the fabric is pink, flowered goodness. I want! 1760-1770.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/tygprov/S-NM/NM.0178586A-I?pos=422

Stomacher, 1740-1760 in white, quilted cotton, embroidered in white.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brostlapp/S-NM/NM.0273749?pos=149

Stomacher, 1770-1779. White linen decorated with striped silk ribbons. Very cute.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/brostlapp/S-NM/NM.0186310A-C?pos=264

Engageants in white work, cotton, 1750-1779.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/engageant/S-NM/NM.0081408A-B?pos=95

Woman’s hat in green, 18th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/hatt/S-NM/NM.0214269?pos=283

Pink embroidered shoes in silk, 18th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/skor/S-NM/NM.0087047?pos=100

Blue shoes with white heels, 18th century
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/balskor/S-NM/NM.0003915?pos=298

Mules, 17th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sko/S-NM/NM.0000649?pos=291

Ladies shoes, 1653.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/fruntimmerskor/S-NM/NM.0081332?pos=94

Brown embellished gloves, 17th century.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/handske/S-NM/NM.0114893?pos=113

Extant 18th century stays in Sweden

2011-01-15T18:18:00.000+01:00

While searching for inspiration for my 1790’s stays I looked through the online collection of stays and bodices belonging to Nordiska museet in Stockholm. And though the text is in Swedish, I thought it could be interesting anyway. The photos are, I’m sad to say, not very large. I have added a short description with every link.

An absolutely gorgeous pair of white brocade stays, 1730-1770. Fully boned, back laced, lined with linen and bound with white leather.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0022164?pos=1

Front laced stays in “sämskinn”, (the only translation I can find are deerskin, which doesn’t seem quite right. It’s pliable and rather thin leather anyway.) 1750-1760. Said to have belonged to a priest’s wife in the provinces. And unusual shape, I think, not as low-cut as stays usually seem to be. Ten fabric pieces and 20 boning channels. Boned with whale bones, and, probably, steel outside the lacing holes.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0004796?pos=2

Fully boned stays in ”sämskinn”, 1750-1770. Back-laced and lined with sturdy linen. More robust whalebone horizontally at the top front and along the waist. Possibly originally a bodice in silk that has been altered into stays.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/snorliv/S-NM/NM.0001007?pos=1

The museum also has stays that doesn’t have photos (grumble grumble) but descriptions that really wets my appetite.

A bodice to a robe de cour in white silk, 1770-1779. The shape similar to other robe de cour bodices, but the inner layer has probably had stiff paper glued to it before the outer silk layer was attached, which I find interesting.

Stays with a stomacher, 1770-1779 in tan silk.

Stays in unbleached linen, 1740-1760. Back laced, made out of 12 pattern pieces. Bound in “sämskinn”, at the lacing holes pink in colour. Boned with whale bone with a sturdy steel boning set horizontally at the top front. The lining attached after the boning channels were sewn.

Stays in dark brown leather. The museum dates it to 1720-1729, but the stays are dated on the inside with “Anno 1687”. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see them? I wonder if they may be 17th century stays after all. Only four pattern pieces, the side seams well into the back, 12 tabs. The description is a bit fussy, but probably back laced. Bound with “sämskinn”. No mention of boning, but I’m not sure if it’s because the stays suffer from still have a text written when it was acquired (1907) or if it hasn’t any.

These below are not labeled stays (”snörliv”) but bodices (”livstycken”) and have been worn in rural areas in Sweden. Their shape are very close to modern folk costumes in Sweden, though today they are rarely boned and there are indeed unboned bodices from the 18th century too. Anyway, I find these interesting because I have often come across the notion that working women didn’t wear stays. But I find some of these bodices more akin to half boned stays than a bodice. They do seem, however, to have been worn visible, more than as an under garment. Also boned with reed instead of whale bone. Horror upon horror- the wench costume may not have been so historically inaccurate anyway. At least not if you are a Swedish peasant woman.

Bodice in brown sturdy calf skin. Front laced and lined with sturdy linen. Boned with 18 bones, probably reed, except at the lacing holes were it is steel. Overlapping tabs, like scales and a rather pretty inside with patches of leather to enforce the ending of the boning channels.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0001252?pos=145

Bodice in fine blue linen, 1790-1820. Front laced and tab-less, half boned with reed. Very decorative boning channels sewn in white linen thread.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0011974?pos=39

Similar bodice in red wool, 1780-1820.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0031360?pos=44

Bodice in cream-coloured ”sämskinn”, 1750-1799. Front laced with overlapping tabs and sparely boned with reed, steel at the lacing holes. Bound in white leather and have a pretty decoration in pinked white leather. Lined with linen. Supposedly made as an engagement gift.
http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0194150?pos=31

Bodice in green wool, 1780-1820. Boned with reed at the lacing holes and the seams, boning channels sewn in white linen thread. Lined with linen. http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/livstycke/S-NM/NM.0009162?pos=179

1790's stays in progress

2011-01-14T16:23:00.000+01:00

The fashion of the 1790’s is reeling between the earlier 18th century and the upcoming Regency fashion, and stays seem to reel too. My love for the 1790’s is quite new, but in the last year I have made three gowns from that period, so I felt that it was about time to make a pair of stays that were more correct for the period. Then I got really inspired when Katherine Hay posted about an extant pair in Corsetmakers in December. I want stays like that, the kind that are more like earlier 18th century stays in shape, but shorter and tables. For a pattern I once again turned to Norah Waugh and based my pattern on the front and back-laced pair that have the four stuffed balls attached to the back. I used the pattern I drafted for my un-finished stays as a template and came up with this. Picture of those can be found this old post on my stay-making history.

Mats made sure I did it correctly.

I’m making it out of two layers of white linen and one of light blue silk taffeta. I also added a small stomacher. I have never seen that on stays from that period, but my weight fluctuate a bit and I want stays that I can use even if my weight differs. There will be shoulder straps too, but they aren’t cut yet. Here they are with the silk basted to the linen.

You may wonder why the silk doesn’t completely cover the linen. Well, that has to do with the fabric. Last summer I planned to make a striped robe battante. I wanted it in light blue and white and found the perfect fabric. I ordered and the colours were exactly what I wanted! However, the stripes were not 8 centimeters wide as I thought, but 8 inches… Totally my own fault as the website clearly states the width. So, no robe battante. I do have some plans for the fabric, but there’s a lot of it and I liked the idea of pale blue stays. However, 8 inches are wide, but not as wide as my pattern pieces, so some piercing was necessary.

I know that it would have been easier to choose another fabric, but I got set on having them in this colour, so piercing it is.

I am now in the process of assembling the stays and I hope to show more of them next week. Though I’m full of admiration for those who hand sew their stays completely, my hands can’t handle sewing through all those layers. So I use my machine for assembling and boning channels and then hand stitch the lacing holes and the binding. My plan is to make them fully boned with stitching and other details in white.

Swingdress sew-along

2011-01-11T08:00:00.001+01:00

Casey of Elegant Musings have a sew-along on a swingdress, starting today. I’m going to join in. I like the dress, it can be purchased as an e-pattern and I’m pretty sure I can find fabric for it in my stash. Anyone else up for it?

Monday blogaround

2011-01-10T08:45:00.002+01:00

Some of the blogs I follow have blogarounds once a week, which I think is a neat idea. I don’t actively seek out new blogs- too time-consuming, and I’m sure one misses some great things and I haven’t seen it much when it comes to costumes. So I will give it a go and hopefully give you four of five links to interesting posts every Monday. Only this time it is three. ..

Diary of A Mantuamaker writes about her Brunswisk jacket, with some informative photos.

La Mode Illustree have posted a series of late 18th century fashion plates. This is a link to the last of four.

Fru Aleydis”> have a wonderfully inspirational cavalcade of last year’s sewing projects.

12th Night costume

2011-01-06T13:23:00.001+01:00

Yesterday Gustafs Skål held their 12th Night Masked ball. Thank you all for all the advice and suggestions regarding my costume! I went as a deer, well, perhaps doe and I was really pleased with my costume and got a lot of compliments.

As you can see I wore my green gown. I have gained weight, so I dug up my old stays from Laila Duran, which also solved the stomacher problem. Gorgeous fabric, isn't it? They proved to be a bit big, though, so they chafed a little.

The antler hat started off as a round metal structure with the antlers integrated. Then I covered the antlers with paper clay that I painted gold and the base was covered with the same fur as the gown. I tied it at the back of my neck, and then pinned on the organza veil. I was a bit worried that it would fall off, but it stay put all evening. I did powder my hair, though you can't see much of it.

Unfortunately my camera misbehaved, so after MetalMarianne kindly took these photos, I couldn't use it anymore. Which is a pity, because there was a lot of lovely costumes around!

Sometimes I resemble an ice-cream cone...

To powder my hair or not?

2011-01-04T16:12:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow I’m going to attend an 18th century masked ball. My costume has a rather woody theme and my modern me thinks that I ought to look natural. But would an 18th century lady really think like that? Especially since my costume is early 18th century. I don’t think looking natural really had any importance. And I really like the effect of powdered hair- it’s really not used much in my society. Probably because it is a bit of a fuzz to fix. So I’m thinking to and fro and can’t decide.

Deridolls

2011-01-03T15:31:00.000+01:00

During the year I feel in love with the very cute dolls from Deridolls. Deviantart gallery here. They are inspired by paintings, characters from movies or books, or whatever. So I decided to give away some for Christmas.

My sister got the character Eponine from the musical Les Miserables. It’s a character who means a lot for my sister, so I hoped she would like the doll. And I think she did!

I also ordered, to give to Janne, a mini-me based on this outfit.

Here I am!

The bag has been changed in shape to look more like my own bag, otherwise this is it. I’m especially pleased with the hat!

That was the year that was, in sewing

2010-12-26T20:50:00.000+01:00

Well, 2010 will go to the annuals as one of my most unproductive years ever. I have planned and dreamed a lot, but not finished anything since January! On the other hand I have packed, moved, unpacked and had a surgery, so perhaps it's not so odd that I haven't had much time and energy for sewing. That sounded a lot like whining... Still, a little have been made and here it is.

January saw my only complete work, the 1790's outfit, made for the 12th Night ball. At least the one thing I completed is something that I'm really pleased with!

The bag was my first try at ribbon embroidery and spangles.

I also finished the embroideries on my embroidered polonaise and also started to sew it together.

During late winter and spring I very nearly finished a pair of stays. I only needed to attach the shoulder straps and bind them when I moved. I packed the piece of silk for the straps in a safe place. So safe that it hasn't turned up in the unpacking and I think that I might have thrown it away, despite it all. So I will bind them and make them strapless, even if I didn't want them to be that. After all, it is possible to attach the straps if the fabric ever shows up. And it would be a pity to let all the hard work go to nothing.

I have worked on, on and off:
A mid-17th century gown. The underlayer of the bodice is finished and the next step is to cover it with the silk.
A robe battante. A first version was almost done when I scrapped it due to time restraints. The second was scrapped due to me not being able to read and comprehend and ordered taffeta with 8 inch wide stripes instead of 8 centimetres...
A bustle in grey fake taffeta- it only needs the metal bands inserted and the waist finished.
A pink 1770's jacket with green trimmings. The trimmings and a stomacher are left to do.
Two modern, well fifties, wool skirts that just need the waist and the hemming finished. I loathe hemming...
A fifties sheath dress in green wool, that I have just cut out.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T15:43:00.002+01:00

I hope you all will have an enjoyable time! Personally I'm going to spend the weekend at work, which isn't exactly the ultimate Christmas...

Spacecat Spiff resting among the decorations for the Christmas tree.

What to dress as...

2010-12-20T13:06:00.001+01:00

I'm chatty today..

Gustafs Skål is holding a 12th Night Ball, which is a masked ball. I haven't got the slightest clue on what to go as. I don't have the energy to make something new. A large part of my 18th century wardrobe just doesn't fit anymore. So my dresschoice boils down to wearing this one:

Or this one:

So I'm thinking of sprucing one of them up with a hat and/or a mask. I need to find a theme, though. I guess the green one could be used to go as Autumn or something forestry. The red one... No idea.

New hair

2010-12-20T10:18:00.001+01:00

I’m afraid that I don’t have any really good pictures of my hair. I’m not naturally photogenic and I have so far hated ever pic that shoes the hair well, but not my face. My father took these, and at least you get an idea on what it looks like. And you get to see Janne too! I had pincurled it the day before and before I showered I made five big pin curls and then combed it out rather briskly. This is by far the most versatile haircut I have ever had.

Short stays

2010-12-14T11:07:00.003+01:00

I have just drooled over a post in corsetmakers on short stays.

Don’t you think that I need one? Considering that I have three outfits from the 1790’s alone. This is more than for any other decade of the 18th century. I’m still in a total funk when it comes to 18th century sewing, but stays are always fun. And as I still can’t finish my 1780’s stays due to the missing should piece… Imagine, a pair of stays without tabs!

I am sewing anyway. I’m almost done with a fifties pencil skirt in grey wool. I just need to hem it.

I need hair advice! I have cut my hair into a forties middy-cut, so now it just tough my shoulders instead of halfway down my back. I'm having a wig made for a 1780's hair, but what to do for the 1790's. Curl it madle and wear it- how? I have never researched shorter 1790's hair. Anyone with a good picture?

And just because a post if more fun when there are pictures in it.

Doesn’t she have a most gorgeous red hair? She must have been quite brave not to powder such unfashionable haircolour away. And isn’t the collar on the dress ugly?

Turning my eyes to the fifties

2010-11-25T01:31:00.000+01:00

This year begun with preparation for the move, then the move itself and right after surgery and then the unpacking. Somewhere along the line I lost my sewing mojo. Easy enough when you are tired and you don't exactly know where your sewing stuff actually are. Well my stuff is finally more or less in order, but I still don't want to sew. Correction, I want to sew badly, I just don't seem to find a project that grips me. Part of that, I know, is because I have gained quite a lot of weight after my surgery, weight that I intend to loose. And it's so fiddly to change historical clothes. I don't want to sew something that complicated that will be too large in 6 months time.

At the same time I have problems with my wardrobe, particulary my skirts, as they don't fit anymore. I gain weight around tummy and hips, and somewhat around my waist- my breasts stays the same. (Thankfully, as I have a HH-cup under any circumstances...). Thóugh I love clothes I hate, hate, hate shopping for them and I don't really have the wallet to renew my wardrobe anyway. What I do have is an awful lot of fabric and a pile of unused Vintage Vogue patterns. During my current bout of sinusitis I have looked through them and my fabric stash and decided to leave the more ancient history for the moment and turn to the 1950's instead. I need new clothes and even if I shrink, they won't be too difficult to change.

I think I'll start with this one:

I have some black fake fur that I think would be neat, and if I interline it with a rather ugly brown wool, then it would be warm enough for spring. Or I may do it brown grey flannel and make a matching dress from this pattern:

I need to do a mock up first, though. I'm not quite sure if my hourglass figure would look good in a sheath dress- perhaps it's a matter of fitting. If it does fit, then I have a nice green wool for another one. It would be easy enough to change the neckline so they wouldn't be exactly alike. And I might do both a fur jacket and a flannel one.

I have a very nice printed cotton in green and yellow that I think would be nice fot this one:

It's a rather dark green, so I plan to make the long sleeved version so I can wear it in winter too. I do have a sheer cotton with blue flowers as well, and again, if I like the pattern, I might do another version of it.

I have a three day weekend coming up and as I have planned to take it very easy and stay at home, I think I will have a go at some new clothes. I badly need something to ´feel pretty in, I have felt so dowdy and dull all autumn!

Not updating

2010-11-22T17:27:00.002+01:00

Because I went to London, got a cold, got back to work too early and it evolved into sinusitis. Too headachy and tired to do anything. Bleh.

A twenties coat

2010-10-29T09:29:00.002+02:00

This is the youngest of my old clothes, and teh straight cut and single button makes me date it to the twenties. It's much larger than the other clothes, so I guess the woman who owned them became a bit fatter when she grew older. I'm not sure of the fabric, it's quite dull, but it's not wool. Silk/cotton, perhaps? It's quite lightweight, definitely not a coat for the cold Swedish winters. It's closed with one big button, and a hook and eye a bit higher up than the button. It's lined with very lightweight black silk. The collar, sleeves and hem are decorated with, well it's not lace, exactly. It's tulle decorated with coils of braid. I've never seen anything similar, actually. It's in great condition except the lining at the neck. My grandmother stored it hanging and that wasn't good for the fragile silk.

Detail of the hem.

A skirt and two petticoats

2010-10-28T11:44:00.002+02:00

Skirt in very crisp silk taffeta. Made of straight pieces. Front and back looks the same, The skirt is slightly gathered to the waistband, and then there are three pleats on each side. Unfortunately I didn't managed to take any good pics. I think it may be from around 1910. Like the other skirt it has a very tiny waists, around 50 cm.

A petticoat made of four pieces. Two slightly gored front pieces, and two curved back pieces. Though it's in silk taffeta, it's not as well made as the other clothes. The ruffle is not finsihed, and very uneven, though that can be because it has been worn a lot. The pocket at the hem is not finsihed either. My guess is 189's.

Front is where my son holds it. Lots of fabric in the back.

Detail of pocket and hem.

Detail of inside hem.

A petticoat made of straight pieces, that has been very carefully gathered at the waist. I don't know what kind of fabric it's made off. It's quite sturdy. Early 1900's is my guess.

It has a beautful pocket,

The waist is constructed a bit oddly. I should have taken more pics, but I'll try to explain. The gathers are held in place with two gathering threads, as you can see on the pic. On the inside a tape is sewn to it, ca 5 cm wide. Then the waist band is only sewn to the petticoat with a few stitches. It seems that when it was worn, it must have looked more like a belt, than a waist band.

Actually, I'm not at all sure anymore why I think the last one is a petticoat and not a skirt. I haven't looked carefully on these clothes since I took the photos and that's six years ago. Time to check them out again, I think.

An Edwardian dress, I think

2010-10-27T14:39:00.002+02:00

The dress consists of a bodice and a skirt in black, rather dull silk. I think it's Edwardian, but again, I'm not altogether sure. I believe that it's younger than the previous bodice as I know that they have belonged to the same woman and this bodice is considerably larger. Also, the skirt has definitely not been worn with a bustle. The bodice is in very good shape, and very well made. I think it's so beautiful!

The front of the bodice. It closes with hook and eyes off centre. I didn't manage to get a good pic of the collar, but it's high and made of lace without lining. It has stiffening sewn to it at two places so it could stand.

Detail of the front. I think the decoration is just lovely.

The back of the bodice.

On the front the folds on each side of the lace are sewn to the bodice all the way, in fact the closure is hidden behind one of them. On the back, however, they are just stitched to the bodice at the shoulder and hem.

Details of the inside, front. The silk is backed with pretty heavy cotton, and almost all seams are reinforeced with bones in light blue casings. There are no signs of anything altered, or removed. I am, however, at loss of the () shaped seam at the front inside.

The inside of the back. You can see the stiffening on the collar here.

The sleeves are tight, with a small slit at the wrists. The opening is trimmed with very transparent silk.

The inside of the armscye. As you can see the arm in lined with two layers of fabric. I would think it's the same with the rest of the bodice, but that is impossible to see.

The skirt has broad lace insertion down the front, the same as on the bodice. Slightly gored. When I said that the bodice is larger than the other one, it's still tiny. The waist is only 50 centimetres!

Detail of the front.

Detail of inside.

German gown again

2010-10-26T18:48:00.001+02:00

After thinking to and fro about a German 16th century gown, I think I have settled for something along the lines of this one.

I like the black brustfleck. Not that I mind the gold brocade ones, I like them a lot, but finding a brocade that I like that I find a bit daunting. I also like the high collar and it’s always fun to make a gown that isn’t the popular choice. It will be a simpler gown, but I can still play around with the sleeves.

I had ordered some black velvet on sale, but it turned out there wasn’t enough left. Instead I have found some nice black wool, which I think will look good.

A Victorian bodice

2010-10-26T15:23:00.003+02:00

Late Victorian clothes aren't my strong point, so if you have other ideas on the dating, please tell me. My guess is around 1880-1890. It's in black silk, and it has no boning. From the look of it, there never were any either.

Two pics of the front.The belt is part of the structure and can't be removed.

Detail of the belt.

The back.

The inside, front.

Detail of the pleated basque. The lining of the basque is of a much lighter fabric than the rest of the bodice lining.

The sleeves are plain apart from the small pouffe at the shoulders, and 3/4 long.

There are two small tucks at the wrist.

Plastron, late 19th century

2010-10-24T10:44:00.002+02:00

A friend of mine identified this as a plastron. The work on this one is quite similar to the first cape I posted, which makes me think that they are from the same period. It's made of silk, that covers a heavier fabric of some kind, probably to give warmth. The entire surface is covered with rushed ribbons in very transparent silk, and the same kind of silk if used for the ruffle at the ends. There is also a lace insertion, in very beautiful black lace. There is no closure, and though I guess it could be tied, in hangs very well without being so. It shows no signs of being tied either.

The outside, back and end

Detail of the back

The inside, back and end

An Edwardian cape

2010-10-23T10:13:00.001+02:00

I have no good reasons to why I think this cape is younger than the other two, but a friend is certain it's early 20th century. It's in excellent condition. It looks brand new, and can't have been worn much. It's made of taffeta, with appliques made of silk velvet. There are also two rows of silk fringe. It's closed with a small clasp set with white stones.

Detail of the front.

Detail of the front's inside. The stitching for the appliques go straight through the lining.

Late 19th century cape

2010-10-22T14:53:00.003+02:00

My grandmother had a collection of Victorian clothes that I inherited. She was given them by her neighbours when my Mum was a child, a couple of unmarried sisters that she used to help out. The clothes belonged to their mother, a very wealthy lady that was widowed when she was quite young. The clothes range from late 19th century to a coat from the twenties and there are capes, a gown, a bodice, shawl, a petticoat and the aforementioned coat. I posted photos of them on my Livejournal years ago, but I think you may find it interesting too. Igame heavy, so there will be a number of posts.

First out is a cape in black silk, covered with net. The net is dark brown now, but I'm certain that it was black originally. The net has appliques made of black felt, outlined in a narrow braid. The hem has a ruffle. The edges are trimmed with very thin transparent silk, pleated.

Detail of the back

Detail of the edge

Detail of the edge from the inside. The ruffle has pinked edges.

More masquerade

2010-10-13T09:41:00.001+02:00

Yesterdays post about 18th century masquerade costumes made me remember a batch of early 20th century pictures of various costumes. I can’t recall the source- someone on LJ I think. So if someone feels she ought to be credited for these images, please holler.

I love how some clearly are meant to be 18th century.

I need an occasion for making one of these. I’m particularly fond of the French Revolution gal- at least I assume she is that, and the rose. Or is it a peony?

Masquerade

2010-10-12T14:41:00.001+02:00

Dreamstress posted about 18th century masquerade costumes, something I have always been fascinated by, so to please her, and hopefully some others, here is my little stash of masquerade paintings
A shepherdess, complete with lamb. May not be a masquerade costume per se, but isn’t exactly a truthful depiction of a shepherdess either.

A goddess, I’m sure, but which one?

The lovely, but haughty, Queen Lovisa Ulrika. I love the silver lace and her sleeves!

The lovely countess Charlotta Fredrika Sparre painted as a vestal in 1741.

And as La Folie in 1744.

This is obviously a masquerade costume, but I don’t know of whom.

I do assume, however, that this girl in the next generation, is supposed to be the same entity.

I have made two masquerade gowns, the first one in 2004.

Can you see which one? I’m a bit sad that I only have this crappy picture, because I was rather pleased with the shape. However, I had absolutely no money when I made it, so it’s made out of 100% dead dino. I would like to make it anew one day- using better material and a pinker colour for the accents.

Last year I had a go at La Folie, but didn’t have time to quite finish it in time for the occasion.

The collar needs to be lined and the cockades need to be re-done in silk ribbons. A lot more of bells too. I also need to make the little cap and the staff. One of these days…

Historical Costume Inspiration Festival!

2010-10-08T12:08:00.000+02:00

I participate in

Do you?

Feel the hat love

2010-10-08T09:25:00.000+02:00

Hats are great and 18th century hats the greatest. I have way too few of the, only three, but I plan to do something about it. How can you not want to, after looking at this:
1780’s

Those ribbons are just crazy.
1790’s

I Want This One So Much!