Writing and sewing

It has been quiet here, but the rest of my life has been pretty active. Some time ago I was asked by Talia of The Gibson Girl's Guide to Glamor if I wanted to write an article about stage makeup in the 17th and 18th century for a website she runs about Commedia dell'Arte. Which I, of course, wanted and you can now read the article here.

I have also been sewing a great deal and have recently finished a fake fur coat and a tartan beret, but I haven't managed to take any pics of it yet. I'm currently working on three projects, all of them in rather tedious states right now. I'm hemming the purple 17th century bodice, making boning channels in the lining of the bodice for the white national gown and covering the seams of a pair of brown linen stays with strips of chamois leather.

 

I started these last Autumn, so when they are done I can cross off yet another project of my UFO list. They are made of brown linen with yellow boning channels and I will edge it with chamois leather as well.

The Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014

I jump on the bandwagon and will try Dreamstress The Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014 again. I loved the idea last year, but I found that my focus on finishing my old UFO's didn't mesh well with the challenges. I simply didn't want to add new projects if not completely necessary. I also found the cut off date of 1938 restricting as a lot of my sewing is for the 40's wardrobe buidling project. This year, however, my UFO's are drastically less and the cut off date has been moved to 1945, which really opnes up the challnges for my. As there will be two every month I don't think I will fulfill all, but I will try to do as many as possible.

The challenges so far:

#1: Make Do & Mend – due Wed 15 Jan. Let’s start of the year with a clean slate, and with a bit of a tidy up. Use this challenge as an opportunity to get your historical wardrobe in order by fixing any little bits that have worn out and gone wrong. Alternatively, you could focus on the historical precedent of making-do by re-making something into a historical garments, whether it be a bodice from a worn-out skirt, a chemise from old sheets, a bosom-friend from an old cardigan, or a new historical hat from an old modern one etc. Finally, you could just those people who had to make-do by making something for a historical character who would have scrimped and saved and re-made and mended until the fabric entirely fell apart.

I will skip this one because I honestly don't know what to do. I have nothing in need of mending and nothing to re-do of something old.

#2: Innovation - due Sat 1 Feb. To celebrate the way inventions, introductions and discoveries have impacted fashion, make an item that reflects the newest innovations in your era. Be sure to share the research you did on your innovation, as well as your finished item.

Another one I will skip, becasue I have no idea what to do. I have a rather long list of projects that I want to do, but none that I think will fit in and I don't want to make something up just because.

#3: Pink - due Sat 15 Feb. Make something pink!

I will make an early 40's pink tartan beret.

#4: Under it All – due Sat 1 March. Make the foundations of your outfit: the things that go under it to provide the right shape and support, and to protect your fancy outer garments from sweat and grime

A pair of brown back-laced stays that I cut out Autumn 2012. Something from my UFO pile, in other words.

#5: Bodice - Make a bodice – a garment that covers the upper body. You can either abide by the strictest historical sense (see the blog post for history of bodice terminology) or can explore the idea of bodices in a more general sense.

Easy. There is a bodice in the Swedish national court gown I have planned for this year, so this fit in perfectly.

#6: Fairytale – due Tue 1 April: imagine your favourite fairytale set in a specific timeperiod, and make a historical garment inspired by the fairytale.

I'm not sure of this. I could do a blue early 40's gown and be a semi-modern Blue Fairy. Or do the white petticoat to go with the bodice or, perhaps, finish the purple 1640's gown. And I do need a new shift and a nice shift could probably work in a number of fairy tales.

#7: Tops & Toes – due Tue 15 April. Create an accessory that goes on your head, or on your feet.

Another easy one, I already have a pale tan hat planned to go wiith a likewise planned spring coat.

Pre-orders for 18th Century Hair & Wig Styling are on

You can now pre-order 18th Century Hair & Wig Styling through Indiegogo. The pre-order price is lower than it will be if you buy it after the book has been published and you also get a chance to sponsor a unique book. You can read why at Kendra's blog here. And go and read more at Indiegogo.

 

European women's fashion, 1650-1700, an overview

The last half of the 17th century. This is an overview to cover popular styles, not a complete record of every particular fashion. For those who has missed the gentlemen, their turn will come.

In the late 1640's this style became popular and kept it popularity for several decades. It had a boned bodice, omitting the need for separate stays, a neckline that showed the shoulders and large puffed sleeves that could en under the elbow or be quite short. The bodice could be plain or heavily decorated. Most seem to have been laced in the back and worn with a matching petticoat, although some Dutch painting depict bodices and petticoats of different colours. The petticoat could also be split in front.

Eleonora Katarina of Pzalz-Zweibrücken, Princess of Sweden, unknown artist, 1640's, Skokloster castle

Woman washing her hands by Noortman Maastricht, 1957

In the 1650's the low-cut neckline could be hidden underneath a collar that covered collarbones, shoulders and the upper sleeve.

Jeanne Parmentier by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1656

Riding habits were cut to mimic men's fashion in the coat, but worn with petticoats.

Kristina, Queen of Sweden by Sébastien Bourdon, 1653

 

Marie-Anne Mancin, Madame La Duchesse De Bouillon by Joseph Parrocel, 1670's

In the 16th century ladies opted to be painted in their most fashionable clothes, in the early 17th century it became fashionable to wear more relaxed clothing and the natural progression was, perhaps,  to be portrayed into fantasy clothing. That was what became popular anyway and Sir Peter Levy really cemented that trend in the 1660's with painting women wearing artistically draped fabrics, probably all along aiming to frustrate costume nerds in the future, and this remained popular for the rest of the 17th century.


Diane Kirke, Countess of Oxford by Sir Peter Lely, 1665

It was also fashionable to be painted in a night gown, a gown meant for leisure at home. It was usually cut along the same lines of the current fashion, but was more unstructured and worn without stays. It was usually fastened at the front by spaced buttons or clasps.

Kristina Drysenia by Martin Hannibal or daniel strahl, 1690

Dutch paintings from the mid-17th century often depicts women wearing a loose fur-lined jacket, but this seem to have been a fashion for the region. Numerous paintings by several different artists makes it an icongraphic garment nevertheless.

The Letter by Gerard ter Borch, 1655

Though rarely seen on portraits, the mantua came into fashion in the 1670's. It originated from a T-shaped garment meant for leisure, but though it was pleated in folds around the body, it was soon worn with stays, making it an altogether more structured garment than a night gown and soon worn for occasions that didn't call for the rigid bodice of a grand habit. The mantua was rarely painted, but can be found on numerous fashions plates. By the end of the 17th century it had stepped up and could be worn both for everyday activities as well as balls.

Late 17th century mantua for court

In Spain the farthingale grew larger and larger, biding it's time until the 18th century when it would, once again, take the rest of Europe by storm as the panier.

Doña Francisca de Velasco, Marquesa de Santa Cruz by Juan Carreño de Miranda, 1665-1670

18th century Christmas ball in Finland

Sanns, J and I.

Last weekend we visited Finland to attend to an 18^th century Christmas ball at Sveaborg, or Suomenlinna, a sea fortress just outside Helsinki. It was my first visit to Finland apart from Åland and my sole excuse is that I hate boat rides. I was pleasantly surprised in having a good time on the boat or way out, but going back I got sea-sick and I still get dizzy spells when the whole world heave around me. I had such a good time though, that I think I will brave the Nordic sea again. I forgot my camera, but Sanna of Rococo Atelier kindly allowed me to use some of her pics. It was a real treat to meet her again and I think you will agree that looked stunning in her new white gown! I also got to meet Merja of Before the Automobile, which was a real treat, though unfortunately she wasn’t feeling well and had to leave early. She was equally stunning in white as well and you can see her pictures here. There were a lot of very pretty and well-dressed people at the party!

Source

Myself I opted for a simpler garb, simply because I finished this gown in August and still hasn’t had an opportunity to wear it. I used the same pattern as I did for the yellow and the white gown and the material I striped linen. I hadn’t planned to make yet another 1780’s gown so similar to these, but when I found this painting and right after found such lovely striped linen, I just couldn’t resist. I usually combine machine sewing with hand sewing, but as an experiment I made this gown completely by hand and I wanted to see how ling it would take me. I can now say that a simple gown with no decorations takes me 51 hours to make. I only worked on it on odd times here and there and very often while I was watching the telly, so I am fairly certain that it would have been a faster project, time-wise, if I had just worked on the gown and not multi-tasked. I think it turned out very pretty, but it also gave me a complete surprise. As I have used the pattern several times it really, really fits me, so I blissfully worked away feeling secure that it would fit. Well, this linen stretched… So it turned out way too large! The back fits too loosely and the shoulder straps are much too long. I need to cut them shorter and re-fit the sleeves and also make the back smaller. Very annoying and I have only myself to blame.

Having cut my hair suddenly makes hairstyling a challenge. I really need to update my wigs now, but for the ball I opted for a turban with a few curls peeking out. I think it looked fine, but the turban kept trying to escape. Next time I will put in a few stitches to keep it together and a comb to make it stay put! I also realized that I have developed a go-to makeup when it comes to the 18^th century. I really like my Nun’s cream with real pearl powder. It is only slightly whitening- I can only see that effect when I’m a bit tanned, but the light reflecting particles in the pearl powder reflects the light and makes my skin look very even and nice. Rouge with Carmine suits my colouring quite well too.

But back to the party. It was held in what used to be, if I understood it correctly, the mill, but it was very atmospheric and spacey. There were plenty of good food and some vigorous dancing followed by some equally vigorous games. I had only met Sanna before, but we were about 10 guests from Sweden that I also knew. It would not have mattered if I hadn’t known anyone, though, because everyone was really nice and welcoming and I had a lot of fun. I was a little taken aback that everyone seemed to know who I was- I felt quite famous and J is still teasing me about it.

Sveaborg started to be built in 1748 as a protection of the Russians. At the time Finland belonged to Sweden and the man responsible for the project was Augustin Ehrensvärd, a Swedish military and architect. He was an interesting person who were also interested in art, botany and psychology and perhaps it was he latter interest that made him take the rather unusual decision to make sure the people who worked on the fortress had better food than builders usually got and also health care. It was a good decision because there were less accidents and deaths during the construction. It is really a very beautiful and interesting place and I hope we get to explore it better the next time we visit.

Construction of the Sveaborg fortress

European women's fashion, 1600-1650, an overview

The 17th century saw a multitude of fashions and this post and the next one, will try to find a few key ones. Fashion in the previous centuries had been clearly confined to geographical regions. 16th century Venetian, English and german fashion, for example, were quite different, even if they were all fashionable at the same time. The invention oft he printing press, however,  didn't just enable literaure to spread wider and faster, but also fashion prints. Regional fashion was still evident in the 17th century, the Spansih fashion probably the most well-known, but fashion trends travelled much faster through Europe. Trends still hung around for decades, though and different fashions could be worn at the same time, especially in the first half of the century.

 

The late 16th century fashion with a long bodice, wheel farthingales and over the top decorations still held strong in the early 17th century. It changed slightly, the deep necklines became oval instead of square and the farthingale tipped forward in the front. Though it became obsolete as everyday fashion, it was still in use as court wear, especially in England, where queen Anne insisted on it until her death in 1619.

 

Elizabeth of England by Marcus Gheeraerts the younger, 1612

With such a cumbersome formal attire, a more wearable combination of a waaitcoat and petticoat, with or without a loose gown, were wron at home or less formal occasion. In England it seems to have been hugely popular with embroidered linen clothes, but as far as I know that was a specific Brittish fashion, as was the trend of being painted in such informal wear.. All over Europe knitted waistcoats were worn, though.

Detail of a painting of Dorothy Carr by William larkin, 1614-1618

Another fashion from the early 17th century was a high-necked gown worn with a large ruff. It had hanging sleeves and a very distict shape of the bottom of the bodice. It was worn over a farthingale as well, but of a very different shape than the wheel farthingale. This style seems to have been popular in Spain and Germany.

 

Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine by Frans Pourbus the Younger, 1604-1605

In the late 1610's the long waist started to creep up and the farthingale was abandoned, at least outside Spain. Throughout the 1620's decorations grew somewhat more austere and black clothes more popular.

Unknown lady by Marcus Gheeraerts the younger, 1618

In the 1630's fashion changed quite a bit. Sleeves which genereally had been quite narrow now grew very wide and the waist of the bodices grew to rest a bit above the natural one. One popular style were the Burgundian style with slitted sleeves. They were usually quite plain, decorated with ribbons in a contrasting colour.

Lady Anne Ruhout by Marcus Gheeraerts the younger, 1631

This kind of gown had it's heyday in the 1630's, but the one Henrietta Maria of England worn on a multitude of portraits kept it's popularity throughout the 1640's as well. It had a bodice that looked more like a jacket, worn open in front over a stomacher. Large ruffs and collars were worn well into the 1640's, but falling bands and plain collars became more and more popular in the 1630's and was always worn with this type of gown. 

Hnerietta Maria, Queen of England by Sir Anthony Van Dyck, 1632-1635

Another popular style was a plain gown with a closed front. Here with a square necklines, but they could also have be high-necked or, pointing forward, widen to show more of the shoulders. It was very often black and udually worn with a white collar and cuffs.

 

Unknown woman by Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen the Elder, 1648

The Spanish, as usual, were doing their own thing.

Maria of Austria, Queen of Hungary by Frans Luyucks, 1635

Plan your sewing and sew what you planned

Finished; 18th century stays, started in early 2010.

As I said yesterday I was a bit amazed when I counted this years finished sewing projects and found that they number sixteen. That’s probably more finished projects in one year than I have ever managed before and there are still 1 ½ month left of 2013. However, these projects are both UFO’s and brand new projects. I have finished eleven UFOs and still have thirteen to go before that pile is done, so I’m not halfway through. However, some of these may be stuff that I will need to let go of and decide not to finish. I have also started nine new projects this year, though most of these had been planned for a long time and five of these are finished.

I know that the UFO pile I had at the beginning of the year was rather extreme, and probably still is. As one of my workmates put it when I told her; “How on earth do one get to have so many unfinished things going at the same time?” Indeed, how? Well, not quickly, that’s for sure. The oldest UFO I had was the Edwardian blouse that I finished early this year, which I started at least fifteen years ago. I have learned a lot this year and I would like to share with you what I have learned.



Finished, tartan skirt started in September
2013 and a brown silk noil blouse, one
of this year's new, but planned, projects.

First; Analyze your sewing. As I sew multiple periods, I started with an analysis of what I actually sew and grouped my projects into four lists; 18^th century, anything else pre-1930, the 1940’s wardrobe project and anything else post-1930. I used a free app for that, which also allowed me to give every entry priority A, B, C. I gave A to the projects I wanted to finish next and B to everything in the UFO pile, reserving C for purely planned projects. I know not everyone needs to do this, but for me it was vital. For the first time I realised how many UFOs I really had and also were most of them were- in the 18^th century, in my case.

Then, think a bit of why projects don’t get finished. A rather difficult process. I isn’t like someone forbids me to finish what I do, but I have only myself to blame. I found four major obstacles to why my UFO pile has been growing for years.

1. Making clothes for a special occasion. At first this looks like a good example of getting things done, but in fact it usually means starting something new and with a time restraint which means I push everything else on hold. By the time it is finished I’m usually in a very bad need of a sewing break and by the end of it I have lost momentum and inspiration on whatever I was doing before and as often as not, I start something completely new.

My solution: No more short term deadlines and definitely not with a fixed date. I know that a lot of people feel that they need a deadline to get things done, but I just get stressed and stop enjoying what I do. After all, I sew because I like to do it, so why should I push myself into disliking it?

2. Not having an overview I have touched on that already, not really knowing what I had started on made it easy to forget them altogether.

My solution:  Making lists. I have several, actually. The ones I mentioned already, which looks like this:

My 18th century list. Next is the embroidered polonaise, started 10 years ago, then a pair of brown stays, started one year ago, followed by a banyan for J, which I think has been an UFO for 2 years.

I like to use the app because it is easy to move projects around and when I am finished I tick them off and those get stored at the bottom of the list, making it easy to keep track on. It is very encouraging to easily see how much I have accomplished! Then I have a few paper lists. A sheet of paper and a pencil is all you need, but I really like the free downloadable templates The Project Girl offers. I use these two for listing every started project with notes on what I need to do and what I need to get and for one big list with every project I have, sorted after priority, with the most pressing project at the top.

I need to allow myself to work on more than one project on any give time, because otherwise I get bored, so I proclaim the four top projects on the list those I’m allowed to work on. And I can't work on anything else until I have finished something. Then I just take the next one. This has worked amazingly well for me! Because of the 40’s sewing project I have a lot of projects planned that I want to work with as well as my UFOs, my list have two 40’s style UFOs, one period UFO and then a new 40’s project, and then back to two 40’s UFOs. Right now I’m hemming a black dress and re-fitting a toile for a brown jacket (40’s UFOs), the 1640’s gown (period UFO) and the faux fur (new 40’s project. When one of these is finished, I’m going to make a 40’s grey wool gown, another UFO, and so on. At the moment all my new projects are long-time planned 40’s clothes. Any period projects that are on the planned stage will have wait until next year. I revise this list regulary, as things change and a static list wouldn't serve my purposes. If changes are needed, changes are made!

3. Perfectionism. The main reason to why so many of my projects get stalled when they are nearly completed is a fear that I won’t like the clothes when I’m done with them.

My solution. Allowing myself to accept that not everything you do will be top notch. And that’s OK, because I can sew, so I can change things. Or make something else. Very simple in theory, not so simple to apply, but I work hard on it!

4. Clutter. That is actually something that stops me sewing anything, just not UFOs and is something I have been working on for years. I don’t think chaos breeds creativity. Of course, while you are working on something, things can be pretty chaotic around you, and that’s fine, but for me to be able to work, I need to have an underlying order. I need to know where my things can be found. This is an ongoing process and it is slowly getting better and the better it gets, the more productive my sewing time becomes.

My solutions, so far:. Having all my fabrics in a card catalogue. I have to store my fabrics in the attic, so having a card for every piece with a fabric sample, a note on how much there is and perhaps what I plan to do with is, as well as in which box it is, helps enormously. It took a long time to make and it needs to be maintained, but I love it. I always know exactly where my fabrics are and never have to go throuigh box after box to find it.

I store sewing notions in stackable boxes from IKEA, all labeled.. I don’t have a whole sewing room, but rather one half of a room, so there isn’t that much spade. Still, I can have my sewing machine permanently up.

 Working hard on keeping it uncovered too…

I also have several shelves, as well as various cupboards for storing books, fabric and this and that, which is very much a work in progress, but there is a much better order in my workspace now than it was a year ago. I also took the time to sort through my gigantic box with ribbons, mostly untouched since I inherited from my grandmother almost 10 years ago.

 

Now all ribbons have been wound on cardboard if the didn’t have their own spools and is generally much easier to find!

 

I must say that my working on solving my “sewing problems” have worked wonders for my productivity. I get things done on a whole new scale and I no longer feel bad when I start something new, because they are part of the plan. I won’t be finishing all my UFOs this year, but I think I will in 2014!