At Her Leisure

I've been going through some things and have a couple of items that I would like to be able to sell rather than give away. I'm not really sure how to go about that. I'll post them here, but if anyone has suggestions for things that don't sell, I'd love to hear them.

1. 18th century mitts
These are hand-knit from a wool/silk blend lace-weight yarn at a gauge of about 11 stitches to the inch and 14 rows to the inch. They've been worn a few times and hand-washed. They're just a little too big for me so I replaced them. They're a good size for nuranar. With as much time as goes into knitting, I would like to be able to get $40 for them.



This is the new pair, but they look just the same except that the new ones are a little smaller since they're knit at a smaller gauge.



2. 18th century petticoat
This is a machine-sewn cream-colored cotton/polyester blend petticoat. The shape is good, but I'm not going to wear a synthetic petticoat when I've got a silk one and am planning to make a linen one shortly. It was made for a 26" waist but is quite adjustable with the two-tie waist. $10 sounds reasonable to me.



3. 1770's rust robe a la anglaise, stomacher, and petticoat
This is a combination of machine- and hand-sewing. All visible sewing is hand-sewing, and the outer layer of the bodice is all sewn with the visible stitching typical of 18th century dresses. It's meant to be worn over stays and pocket hoops. It's a nylon/polyester shot orange/black taffeta that gives a rusty brown color. It laces center front through hand-worked eyelets, and the compere stomacher pins in place under the robings. I really like the dress, but I've got enough 18th century options in my wardrobe that I know I'm not going to wear it again. It was made for a bust of 33" and a waist of 26", but it has some flexibility due to the stomacher. It has been worn a few times but has no damage. I have no idea what a fair price is for it. If you have any suggestions as to what is reasonable, I'd appreciate it.





I can take more pictures, if needed.

My new 18th century knit mitts are finished. They're made from the same materials (lace-weight wool/silk blend yarn) and pattern (quincy134's Taylor pattern) as my old ones with further reductions. I was never thrilled with how loose the first pair were, and I wanted a slightly tighter fabric - those were made on size 0 needles, but these are size 000 needles. I'm pleased with how these fit now and have hopes that they will be less inclined to fall down than my old ones were.



You can see the project page on Ravelry.

1. I finished my bonnet for the tea Saturday. It came out well, and I'm going to ask Kaycee to take pictures of it at the tea. She's usually quite obliging, and she takes excellent pictures.

2. Speaking of excellent pictures, I'm very lucky to know people who are willing to take good pictures of my work since I'm a lousy photographer. So thanks to jenthompson, Kaycee, and Liz. Speaking of Liz, I've got some pictures she took the last time we were in Williamsburg that I want to share. They're the first good pictures of my curtain-along sacque.

3. I made an adjustment to the ribbon corset mock-up, and I'm happy with it. I have all the materials so I'm ready to go with it. I don't think it will be my next project, but it needs to stay near the top of the list.

4. Last night I made the changes to the paper pattern for the 1910's corset pattern that I mocked up a bit ago. I have all the materials for it so I should be starting on it shortly. (Unless it counts as already started because I've already knit a few inches of lace for it!)

5. I've scaled up a pattern draft from 1918 for combination underwear so I'll probably work on that in parallel with the 1910's corset.

6. My new 18th century mitts are progressing. I've gotten to the wrist of the first one and have started widening for the hand.

7. I still haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the petticoat with the knitted lace or the 1870's dress. I have high hopes of doing so this weekend.

Tonight is the girls' school program so I don't know whether I'll get much time to sew, but I'm hoping to find time to cut out the combinations and block the lace I've knit so far. Then I'll be able to estimate how many pattern repeats of lace I'll need for the corset.

For the fourth year running, we went to Smithfield Plantation on Independence Day. It was a bit soggy but not muddy. The weather was not promising when we left, having rained off and on all morning, but I really wanted to go, and the children aren't afraid of a little rain. After all, they love any excuse to use their umbrellas.

Due to the sporadic rain, I never did pull out my camera so I only got the one picture I had my husband take before we left the house.



Anyway, I finally got a chance to wear my new 1760's gown and petticoat. (I've almost finished writing them up so that post should be coming soon.)

The event was a little smaller than usual. I don't know if the organizers just didn't plan as much this year or if the weather caused people to pull out. There wasn't a terribly high attendance either, and I'm sure that was due to rain.