18th Century Muff
Aug. 31st, 2013 06:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
atherleisureBefore the George Washington Ball in Williamsburg this year I had a sort of lull in my sewing plans. I decided a muff like those recently blogged on A Fashionable Frolick and The Fashionable Past would be great, especially after The Fashionable Past posted tutorials for both the muff pillow base and covers. I had all the materials I needed on-hand to make one...as long as I wasn’t worried about authentic materials.
Materials:
Muff pillow base
5/8 yd ivory linen-look polyester (from JoAnn’s)
partial bag of polyester fiberfill (from JoAnn’s)
Muff cover #1
½ yd charcoal gray polyester taffeta (from JoAnn’s)
3 yd 1” blue satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
2 yd ½” blue satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
Muff cover #2
5/8 yd ivory floral brocade (from JoAnn’s)
2 yd ½” sage satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
Patterns:
I used the tutorials from The Fashionable Past for both the muff pillow and the muff cover. The size given in the tutorial for the pillow was just about perfect for me so I used it. While I may not be as small in stature as the authoress, I am still small so the proportions were good.
Construction:
The tutorials say it all. I did use a combination of machine and hand-sewing. The machine sewing was for the first seam of the pillow and the only seam of the covers. Everything else was by hand. Everything else showed.
These were extremely easy and extremely fast to make. I spent maybe two hours on the pillow and as much on the covers. The brocade cover took even less time since I didn’t put any trim on it.
All the materials were left over from previous projects – the pillow fabric was from the S5457 bustle gown I made in college, the stuffing was from a pillow T made a few years ago, the taffeta and blue ribbons were from my 1893 ball gown, the brocade was from my 18th century stays and first 18th century petticoat, and the green ribbon was from M’s Christmas present this year. I probably wouldn’t have made the second cover since the first cover kind of went with my hat, but my husband teased me that people would think I was color blind with a gray muff and brown cloak and dress. So when I found the brocade scraps while getting out fabric for some mitts the week before the ball, I decided on a second cover to use on the way to the ball. I was still going to use the gray cover when going to the historic district, but that excursion was cancelled so I didn’t get the chance. Maybe I’ll use it at Smithfield come Christmas.
Thoughts after wearing:
Between the blue wool mitts and the muff, I didn’t have any problems with cold hands or forearms on the way to or from the ball. I got a couple of compliments on my accessories so there are no complaints there. The muff was convenient and fit in my basket well for storage while we were at the ball. I look forward to making more covers as I come across convenient scraps.
Materials:
Muff pillow base
5/8 yd ivory linen-look polyester (from JoAnn’s)
partial bag of polyester fiberfill (from JoAnn’s)
Muff cover #1
½ yd charcoal gray polyester taffeta (from JoAnn’s)
3 yd 1” blue satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
2 yd ½” blue satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
Muff cover #2
5/8 yd ivory floral brocade (from JoAnn’s)
2 yd ½” sage satin ribbon (from JoAnn’s)
Patterns:
I used the tutorials from The Fashionable Past for both the muff pillow and the muff cover. The size given in the tutorial for the pillow was just about perfect for me so I used it. While I may not be as small in stature as the authoress, I am still small so the proportions were good.
Construction:
The tutorials say it all. I did use a combination of machine and hand-sewing. The machine sewing was for the first seam of the pillow and the only seam of the covers. Everything else was by hand. Everything else showed.
These were extremely easy and extremely fast to make. I spent maybe two hours on the pillow and as much on the covers. The brocade cover took even less time since I didn’t put any trim on it.
All the materials were left over from previous projects – the pillow fabric was from the S5457 bustle gown I made in college, the stuffing was from a pillow T made a few years ago, the taffeta and blue ribbons were from my 1893 ball gown, the brocade was from my 18th century stays and first 18th century petticoat, and the green ribbon was from M’s Christmas present this year. I probably wouldn’t have made the second cover since the first cover kind of went with my hat, but my husband teased me that people would think I was color blind with a gray muff and brown cloak and dress. So when I found the brocade scraps while getting out fabric for some mitts the week before the ball, I decided on a second cover to use on the way to the ball. I was still going to use the gray cover when going to the historic district, but that excursion was cancelled so I didn’t get the chance. Maybe I’ll use it at Smithfield come Christmas.
Thoughts after wearing:
Between the blue wool mitts and the muff, I didn’t have any problems with cold hands or forearms on the way to or from the ball. I got a couple of compliments on my accessories so there are no complaints there. The muff was convenient and fit in my basket well for storage while we were at the ball. I look forward to making more covers as I come across convenient scraps.
