At Her Leisure

Considering that I spent a lot of time cross-stitching this year, I'm surprised I made so much, but I had a good variety of projects this year. I didn't sew any clothes for modern wear so I should try to do more of that next year.

( This year's projects behind the cut )

This ended up seeming to be a year of little pieces more than full garments, though I did make costumes from the skin out for the 1690's and 1910's. I did a lot of knitting this year. One of my goals for the year was to do better with my hair for events, and I think I succeeded. There were some hairdos that I was very proud of. I got to go to a lot of events in different periods and had some opportunities to wear things that I had never really gotten to wear. One of the best parts was getting to meet a couple of LJ friends in real life in July.

I finally made the Le Baiser dress I had been planning for years.


( The rest is behind the cut: )

I finished my early 1870's dress...exactly one month ago. I took pictures over a week ago. I'm really on top of things.



It's a c. 1870-71 dress based on the dress the subject wears in the Gustave-Leonard de Jonghe painting Le Baiser. I haven't been able to find a date for the painting, but I think it's the very beginning of the 1870's so that's what I went with for my dress.

I hadn't been quite sure how to go about it, but the line of the skirt of the_aristocat's 1871 blue voile dress looked quite good to my eyes. She used the 1870-71 gown in Patterns of Fashion so I used that as a starting point. The skirt follows that pattern exactly. (Well, the skirt isn't gathered quite as tightly since I don't have a 23" waist, but otherwise it uses that pattern as is.) The bodice is a version of my 1860's base pattern with the same armscyes and sleeves that I used on my 1868 dress and the neckline and lower edge adjusted on me. The postilion back is a separate piece that I kind of draped on the stand.

The fabric is light green and white shot silk taffeta lined with brown cotton. The same brown cotton is used as a hem facing, and it does show where the skirt is tacked up. That's okay, though, because the hem facing shows in the painting too. Maybe I should have used a lighter color, but I didn't. The underskirt is made from the same pattern as the main skirt but is made of white lawn with a woven satin stripe. The trim is black point d'esprit strips gathered and tacked down under velvet ribbon. The collar and cuffs are the same lawn as the underskirt and are narrow-hemmed and gathered into a band then tacked into the neck and wrists.







The pictures are not especially flattering, but I like the dress. Someday I'll even find an event to wear it to.

ETA: I forgot the link to the painting, but it should be fixed now.

The Le Baiser dress is finished...I think. I need to put it on and make sure, but I think it's finished. I need to put it on to get pictures too. Then I need to find an event to wear it to.

The last bits finished were the collar and cuffs, which is as it should be, right?



Now I'm working on finishing a late 19th century petticoat - the one with the knitted lace. I'm making up the flounce, and I've finished the tucks and am about halfway through whipping on the lace. Then I'll just need to sew the flounce to the main body of the petticoat, and I'll be finished with my 1890's underwear. Then I'll be down to just my mitts in progress. That won't last long, but I haven't quite decided what my next project will be.



About a week and a half ago I went to an "Antebellum Tea." I met up with some local costuming acquaintances there who were kind enough to invite me, knowing that it was close to my house and that I've done a range of periods of costume. Richard was kind enough to take a picture of me with all my winter woolies.



Knowing that this was put on by some reenactors, I was a little concerned about going since I didn't know much about the crowd. For instance, would they look down upon me for not having truly period-correct glasses? Would they remark on the fact that my skirt's a trifle short because I really wanted to wear my button boots with their 1.5" heel rather than the shoes I hemmed it for, which only have about a 1/2" heel? It turns out that they're not overly particular, and I suffered no ill comments and perceived no deprecating stares. People were very complimentary of my sontag, and I think overall I was well-dressed for the event. And I got to wear my lovely wool 1860's dress. I love that fabric.

I've finished 73 repeats of my petticoat lace. When I blocked a big chunk last month, it came out to 1.5yd for 40 repeats so 80 repeats should give me 3yd. I'll finish knitting 80 and block it before I bind off just to make sure I've got the whole 3yd. I've definitely gotten faster than one repeat per hour and now know the pattern so well that I can read a book while knitting except that I have to look for the k2t and psso bits.

It sounds like I'll be swatching those new mitts quite soon!

I have the ribbon for my hood so I should be able to finish it tonight. And my dress is close to done except for the collar and cuffs. I have half the trim sewn on and half of it pinned on. The collar and cuffs will take awhile since they have to have rolled hems, and I don't do those quickly. Then I baste the skirt to the bodice and put on a few hooks and thread eyes and tack up the skirt draping, and it will be done. It will take awhile, but it feels like it's nearly finished.

I've given myself a couple of half-days off to do as I please this week. Some of that time was spent on my early 1870's dress, which is now all cut out. I've also sewn up the skirt and sleeve seams. Now I'm at the point where I have to do ironing and handwork - the hooks and eyes, the false seams on the bodice back, setting the waist, etc.

I started a knitted 1856 opera hood, and I finished the sixtieth repeat on my petticoat lace. That makes me 75% finished with it! Of course, since the hood is new, I want to work on it right now, but I'm trying to be good and save it for when I'm reading. (Naturally, when I finished Tied up in Tinsel yesterday, I chose something that I don't have to hold open so that I could knit while I read it.) I've got about an inch finished out of the big 7" piece. It seems like it will be a fairly quick project. I still have to pick a color for the ribbons, though, and I am quite undecided. I could do red or green or gold or blush...

And a random observation: Vintage sheet music is cool, but it's obnoxious to have to come to a complete stop at the page turns so that you can carefully turn the page.

I made quite a bit this year, including four knit pinballs.



The rest is behind the cut.

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I might have started the underskirt for my 1870 dress yesterday. It's cut and seamed, and the waist is set. Now it's hanging so any bias stretching can happen before I hem it. I might start hemming it tonight. Then I need to decide whether it needs a flounce or a flat-applique section at the hem.



Here's the picture I'm more or less copying: Le Baiser. I haven't found a date for it, but I think it's about 1870.