History-Con Checklist: Petticoat

   History-Con is a couple of weeks away! My next project: A striped twill petticoat.

   Petticoats are incredibly easy to make. Mine are usually plain cotton or linen, and take an afternoon to make. I've hand-sewn this petticoat, since I'm going to wear it with my hand-sewn peplum jacket. I"m super excited about the final outfit now that the event is getting closer.

   I purchased a striped twill a while back, and was going to use it for linings. But it's really pretty, and has a nice weight to it. Not to mention it's a woven stripe, not a printed stripe. I really prefer woven to printed stripes on plain fabric.

   So this is the fabric:

   I purchased 3 yards of 52" fabric. I measured the length of my waist to my ankles, and added a couple of inches for the hem. I also added a few inches to the back piece to compensate for the bum roll in back. If you're going to wear pocket hoops/ bum pads/ etc, you need to take their skirt displacement into account so your hem is even and flat. I added about 5" to the back to make up for the bum pad. 

   Then I pinned  the halves together, right sides together, selvage edge to selvage edge. The selvage was fuzzy, so I trimmed it down, making sure not to cut the weave, just the loose thread ends. Then I whipstitched the skirt together, making sure the bottom hem matched up. I stopped sewing 9" from the front half (the shorter half) to allow access to my pockets underneath. 

Fuzzy selvage edges pinned. They're a little too fuzzy to whipstitch.

Trimmed and sewn selvage. 

   I then hemmed the raw edges on the pocket slits on each side.

The hemmed pocket slit on one side. 

   I used 1.5" unbleached cotton twill tape for the waistband. I cut two pieces, about 30" each, one for the front half, and one for the back half. Each piece needs to be able to tie around your waist, with a little extra length to allow for multiple layers underneath the petticoat. 

   I pleated both halves of the petticoat, making the center box pleat 2.5", and the knife pleats radiating from the center box pleat about .5". I wasn't too meticulous about the pleats, I just eyeballed them and tried to get everything as uniform as I could. I sewed the pleats down before adding the twill tape, just to make sure everything was secure. 

   After both sides were pleated, I folded the twill tape over the pleated edge, making sure the edges of the tape were even on each side. Then I sewed the twill tape down. 

   I hemmed the cut ends of the tape so it wouldn't fray. 

   On to hemming!!!

   I honestly detest hemming. I think a lot of people do. I'm always so excited that my project is almost  done, and I can dance around my house in my pretty-much-done garment, so finishing the hem is a little bit of a let-down. The end is tangible, but hemming something is super tedious. 

   I want my super fetch Fugawees to show, so I'm hemming the petticoat 5" off the ground. ***** Always set your dress form to your height when wearing your shoes!!!! ***** It's so much easier than guessing and pinning and re-pinning, and you will always know what your garment will look like when you finally put it all together. No surprises here. My petticoat will be ankle length, and will also show off my tan knit wool stockings. 

Please disregard the crummy ribbon ties. Some pretty BA cockades are going to be "Rev"-ing these up. 

   I made a 1" hem, and used a  hem stitch to finish it off. 

Inside hem

Outside of hem stitch

   And here is (Drum-roll, please): 

   The finished petticoat!

How the back half is tied. The front half ties the same way, like an apron.

Petticoat side view with bum roll and under petti

So, I just have to finish my stays to get going on my jacket. The second half of my stays post should be up in a couple of days. Wish me luck!

Up Next: Stays Part 2

History-Con Checklist: Stays in Progress

   Things have been going fairly well!
   I've been hand sewing my stays because I've always wanted to, but I've never had the time.
They're half-boned, made of seafoam-green cotton and white coutil.

   The lining is a really sweet quilting cotton that I wish I could afford more of:

   I used a modified Butterick pattern for these stays ( 99 cents on sale [woohoo!]).

I'm using the bottom right pattern.

   I changed the lacing hole placement and the angle of the side panel. I definitely needed to size down on these; I'm usually a 14 in patterning sizes, but the finished "mainstream" patterned stays are literally my measurements, so I swim in them. I went down to a 12 and took in some of the side panel. I could have taken them in a little more, now that I'm walking around in them, but they give me a good shape. Something to think about if you're not using a pattern company that specializes in historic undergarments.
My stays are seafoam, but I wanted a little bit of contrast, so I used white silk thread for the channels, white silk buttonhole twist for the eyelets, and white silk ribbon for the front and back seams.
   I used wax-free transfer paper to mark off the channels, which I will eventually split into two to reinforce my cane boning.
   Sewing the channels took about two hours a panel (I was watching BBC miniseries while I worked, so it took a little longer), and binding the eyelets took forever! I think it's just that I don't like binding eyelets and buttonholes. It's much the same feeling I get when I'm setting sleeves.

You can see the faint red lines that were my sewing guides. 

   I washed the pieces after sewing the channels and binding the eyelets to remove the traced lines. Then I ironed back the side allowances on each piece and whipstitched them together. I'll cover the stitches on the outside with silk ribbon later.

Whipstitching two sides together. Inside view.

Pieces laid flat.

One half done!

Outside view.

Both sides stitched together. The eyelets are done, if you can pick them out in this image.

A close up of a couple of wonky eyelets :)

   Then it was time to bone my channels!!!
   I usually use large zip ties to bone stays; they're super cheap and won't melt with your body heat. I was doing research, and the general consensus was that wealthy women used only whalebone in their stays (now replaced by German plastic boning), while middling- and lower-classes used reeds and wood. I've always been drawn to portraying middling- to lower-class women in all of my historical impressions. Yes, sometimes it's fun to dress like a princess-- or at least a viscountess-- but dressing up in silks and brocades for every event is really over-represented. And expensive. Give me a linen or cotton gown any day, and I'll be thrilled to wear it. So I knew from the get-go that I would be boning my stays with reed. The only question was what kind of reed?
   There are terrifying horror stories-- maybe urban costuming myths???-- of women being stabbed by broken  reeds in their stays. That scares me. A lot. So I wanted to get something that was incredibly flexible and wouldn't hurt when it (in my mind) inevitably ripped through my stays, impaling me and ruining my day of reenacting. I went online and started researching reeds and cane. I finally found a store in Huntington Beach, Frank's Rush and Cane, which sold a wide variety of....rushes and cane. The employees there are so nice. I recommend their store for all of your weaving, chair-making, patio-covering needs :)
   I ended up with 1/4" (6 mm) binding cane, the kind you wrap around chair and table legs.

   I figured that it could withstand my hip-to-corseted waist ratio of it could be double-knotted. The trick was to soak it overnight. So that's what I did....

   To be continued!!!!!!

Next Up: Finishing my stays and a post about my striped petticoat.

Pockets, and Jackets, and Stays, Oh My!

     So my embroidered pockets are coming along!!! I'm actually a little impressed with myself for having stuck with a project that I didn't need to complete the day before I had to wear it. Yay me.

   I used graphite paper (which was the only thing I had on hand but will never use again for embroidery because it doesn't wash out) to trace the pattern, and started the vines with a stem stitch. I've noticed that most extant pockets were done with chain stitches as opposed to stem stitches, but I don't like the chain stitch, so I'm going rogue. I filled in the flowers and the center design with a satin stitch.

   I usually embroider while watching "Vampire Secrets" with my friends. They get a little annoyed when I ask what Elena did to ruin the plan to kill so-and-so because I had an embroidery hoop in front of my face (trust me, Elena ruins all of the plans, all the time, always).

    But now that History-Con is coming up, I really need to set my pockets aside for a bit and get the ball rolling on my costume...and costumes for the rest of our group. We're all going as a cohesive group this year, and I couldn't be more thrilled. We're going as a rag-tag group of French Revolutionaries!!!!! Not the Les Mis kind, the cool, slightly creepy 18th century kind. Like these guys:

And:

See? Super creepy.

The dates for the Revolution land in my fave fashion period, and the 1790's are probably my favorite because of the dramatic change in silhouette due to the Revolution. Funny how that works :)

We have a wide range of social classes in our group: some wealthy women, some starving yeomen farmers, and some (still starving) classes in between. It'll be fun. 

Of course, as a lower-middle class woman (aka Citoyenne Starving Proletariat), I will be Behind the Fashionable Times, so my clothing will be closer to the mid- to late- 1780's. My costume is inspired by the Kyoto Costume Institute's Revolutionary costume:

http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_230_e.html

I love the red jacket, but my own ensemble will differ a little bit; I'm going to be wearing a straw hat festooned with cockades, a linen or muslin apron, a striped linen petticoat and some super fetch Fugawee shoes:

I squee(!!!) a little every time I see them.

We're also going to be making a ton of these little guys (cockades) in all shapes and colors (three, to be exact) and sizes:

Scarletscarab.com has some super cool cockades for tams.

But here's the thing... I have a ton of stuff to do before I can look Rev-chic. My friends are going, so I'm helping out on their costumes, as well. Not that I mind, I'm super excited that other people are excited, but it is a lot....

Here's my own personal To-Do List: ( Citoyenne Starving Proletariat)

• 1780's Handsewn Stays ( My friends are borrowing my other two and looked a little daunted at the thought of making their own)
• Hand-dyed Scarlet Jacket with a super awesome Peplum
• Striped Linen Petticoat
• Apron
• A million cockades
• A fetch little cap
• An plain set of pockets (because I'm not crazy)
• False undersleeves (my chemise is short-sleeved)

My Best Friend's List: ( Citoyenne Starving Wandering Peasant [the Starving-er, the better in her opinion])

• Striped linen jacket with attached undersleeves
• Linen/Muslin Petticoat (she's borrowing an under petti from me)
• Apron
• Plain Pockets
• A portion of the million cockades
• Kerchief

My Brother's Best Friend's List: (Citoyenne Peckish Fashionable Lady Looking for a Cause)

• Chemise
• Chemise a la Reine 
• Ridiculous Hat
• A large portion of the million cockades (because she's super skilled at making these)
• Fichu
• Sash

I'll be posting my progress, and the pic-by-pic of the pair of stays my friend will be wearing: the Two Day Stays.

We have a month and a half. Let's see what we can do!

Back From the Dead.

Hello. How are you? I think it’s been literally a year. Or at least it feels like it’s been a year. Never take a job with “flexible” hours and “opportunities” to cover extra shifts. You will never have a life. Or a blog.

On that note:

I am going to start sewing again. I blew the dust off of Clara-Belle, pulled out my thimbles, and bought another awesome pair of Lefty fabric shears. Because when you take those “opportunities” for extra shifts, it’s okay to buy an expensive pair of scissors to ward off the darkness of your really sad life  work schedule.

            My last attempt at sewing is a half-finished house-dress/nightdress that I can just throw on after work and not have to take off until I get up in the morning. It’s sitting in a corner while I live in leggings and sweatery-tunics (when not in my uniform). I’m still waiting for stirrup-pants to come back. But I’m going to start sewing in earnest. Really. I swear.

            Pockets!!!

            I will be embroidering and sewing a pair of 18^th century pockets. Like these:

Georgian Pockets

            18^th century pockets were worn beneath the petticoats and above the chemise and stays. They were basically two pouches tied to the waist (one pouch on each hip) to store things on the go. What things? I imagine coins and bread? Or maybe just some lip balm and house keys?

            I’m going to be using this embroidery design from an extant piece, but I’ll be changing up the color scheme dramatically.

                                                                        

Embroidery design

So vibrant! Yay!

I’m going to be using some off-white linen, cotton embroidery floss in reds, pinks, oranges and yellows, and this super fetch silk ribbon I bought forever ago but was too nervous to use.

My color scheme.

Linen, embroidery floss, and hand-dyed silk ribbon.

Of course, the embroidery will take forever, seeing as I’ve never legitimately embroidered anything in my life. But hey, why not try something brand-spankin’ new? Just for kicks? I’m doing it.

I’ll be posting pics of my embroidery progress!

It really is great to have something to talk about other than my job.

And as always, thank you for reading my silly, silly blog.

-Meg

Edwardian Fashion (Part 1): A Brief History of Edwardian Fashion

     In celebration of my new Etsy store, ACleverNotion, I'll give brief histories and explanations of my garment inspirations!
      First up: The Edwardian Period.
     The Edwardian Period in England lasted from 1901-1910, and was a time of great change in women's clothing. The Period started with the death of Queen Victoria, who was conservative in her dress and presentation. Her son, the fashionable and jet-setting King Edward VII, brought about the craze of Continental Style. This period also coincided with the Belle Epoque Period (1890-1914) in France and the Turn of the Century Period (1890-1914) in America.

     The interesting thing about this Period, starting with the death of Queen Victoria and ending with the horrors of the Great War, is that the contemporary sense of a "leisure class" was born. Wealthy men and women took up outdoor sports, and because of this, women's fashion had to change dramatically.

     During the Victorian Period, women wore corsets and crinolines, which then transitioned to bustles in the '70's. Figures were kept neat and tight, and emphasis was placed firmly on the narrow waist.

The 'belled' shape which marked the mid-19th century.

The bustle dress of the late Victorian Period.

     During the Edwardian Period, women still wore corsets, but the belled and bustled look of the previous era had gone; the new rage in fashion was the long, lean look of the "Gibson Girl".

No crinolines or bustles. Pretty awesome hats.

The "Gibson Girl". Caption reads: "A Northeaster. Some look well in it."

     A low, full bust and wide hips became the epitome of beauty, though the waist remained neat and slender. The S-curve corset became popular. What differs greatly from the Victorian Period is the fact that the hips can be seen, and the bust is over-emphasized.

The S-curved corset.

Full bust and hips.

the "New Figure" looks quite strange next to the "Old Style Corset."

     Near the mid-decade, French fashion houses started designing for the thicker waists, narrower hips and flatter chests we see in the fashions of the Great War.

1910 Fashion Plate.

     Women started wearing tweed "suits": jacket and skirt combos worn with "waists" or blouses tailored like a man's shirt. These outfits were easy to move in, and leisured women wore them while sporting.

A lady's 'Suit'.

A simple shirtwaist.

     After the Edwardian Period, corsets fell out of fashion, and were replaced by the brassiere. And we've never looked back.

     Next Post: Flimsies.
     Cheers!

Halloween is My Favorite.

One of my favorite movies of all time.

You get to dress up, scare trick-or-treaters, bob for apples . . .

This looks like so much fun. 

And the weather is nice. . . ish. In Southern California, Halloween can be blisteringly hot, and there are usually a few brush fires, so it's kinda hard to breathe. But never mind all that.

How can you not be happy on Halloween?

I'm going to make a Halloween costume. I haven't done that in forever. I mean, literally three years. We have a Las Vegas (Spring Mountain Ranch) reenactment every year on the last weekend of October. Which is fun, since I technically have a "costume". But since the 31st is a Wednesday, I can celebrate it day of, or even the weekend after. My dad has a thing about celebrating things after they've happened. "The anticipation is gone," he says. But my pent-up Halloween exuberance could probably have its own party. So either way, I'm making a costume.
"What are you going to make, Megan?" you ask.
"Um, the best Halloween costume ever," I reply.
That's how dialogue works, you see. Questions and answers, questions and answers.
I'm really excited.

Presenting (drumroll, please):

Idris!!!!!!!
If you don't know who this is, you should probably become awesome and look her up.
She's from the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Wife". She's not really his wife, but she kinda is. She's the human form of the TARDIS, his flying Police Box Time Machine, the one thing he loves the most in the entire universe (If David Tennant had to choose between Rose and the TARDIS, would it really be a competition?). You should watch the episode. It's one of my favorites.

Not many of the Doctor's new companions are brunette. There's Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones, and Lady Catherine de Souza. I was Catherine when I went to the Matt Smith/ Karen Gillan signing in LA, but not many people recognized me (and they call themselves Whovians, psh). I'm not exotic enough to pull off Doctor Jones, and I'm too exotic to pull off Sarah Jane Smith.
But Idris is way more awesome than all of these companions (although Sarah Jane comes close). She's the one person/Police Box Time Machine who could steal a Time Lord!!!!

So I'm starting my research.
Neil Gaiman, the writer of the episode, describes Idris' gown as a "wrecked Victorian party dress", and while combing through my stash ( I nearly wrote stache, lol) of patterns, I came upon this little beauty:

Now, the neckline is all wrong, but the bodice shaping and the petticoats seem like a great starting pattern. So I'll lift and round out the front and back neckline, and make the skirts a sort of high-low style. Of course I'll want to add more volume to the skirts, and make a half bustle. And sleeves. Sleeves would be a good thing.
Wish me luck!