My Upcoming Projects (And Ones Already Started)

As promised, here is the post with pictures of my fabric.

This was the fabric I originally wanted to make an 1860's day dress out of after seeing it at the fabric store. Unfortunately, it is an out of print fabric, so after searching to the ends of the earth (and then some!) for more fabric than the 4 and 3/4 yards the fabric store had, I gave up. Mom and myself went back up to the fabric store and she ended up using some of what they had to make a work apron for herself. 

I decided to make a work dress for myself out of this fabric:

The picture is pretty close to what it actually looks like. It's kind of an army green, with burnt-orange and black leaves. We tried and tried to find an orange cotton that looked at least somewhat historically-correct for an apron, but ended up going with a black and green print instead. (Yes, it is black, not navy blue)

Don't mind the weird, blue ruler. I was trying (and failed) to get the picture the correct shade. The green of this print matches the green of the previous. 

And then my slat bonnet fabric:

This fabric is a little bit darker in real life. More of a dusty blue-grey. I have already sewn up my slat bonnet and love it! I used the free pattern from the Sewing Compendium's website. The only thing I would change about the pattern is that they said the yardage for a bonnet was 3/4 of a yard. I was able to squeeze out my bonnet with only one piecing, but you are left with only a few square inches of fabric. I had to make my interior ties out of twill tape. I would recommend buying an extra 1/8 of a yard, just to give yourself a little to work with. The pattern was very easy to put together, however, with easy step-by-step instructions and lots of pictures. 

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I found some blue wool for my 1900's swimsuit. I don't have a picture of it to show you, but it's in the middle of a navy blue and a royal blue. I'm still debating if I can wash it in hot water or not... Having felted wool in the past, I know the results when you mix wool with a little bit of soap and a lot of agitation. I would like to be able to go into hot tubs with it, but that may not be an option.

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Right now, I am working on a completely different time period than I usually do. This Halloween, I was going to make myself an entirely new dress, but then I decided being a suffragette was a lot less work, so I went with that. You may remember this teaser I posted a while back: 

Here is a picture of the entire project while I was working on it:

 And my finished costume:

Anyhow, to get back on subject, I am currently sewing a Medieval dress for myself out of Butterick 4827. From my scant week or so of research, I have concluded that it is not very historically correct. Ah well... It will only be a Halloween costume anyways. :) (No, I'm not going to tell who I'm going to be next year!) I picked out some lovely crushed velvet that was on sale. It's so soft. Velvet dresses are so much fun to wear! 

So far, I have the main part of the dress sewn together. It only took me three days, which I think is the fastest I've ever sewn a dress! I just need to attach the sleeves and hem it. I have run across one small dilemma in the process, however. As you may know, velvet can be heavy. When you make a princess-seamed dress out of a stretch velvet, the weight of the skirt pulls the neckline down a good inch or so. *sigh* If I had known that in advance, I would have cut it higher, but as it is, I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it. Hmm...

I've been looking into different options of fixing it without making it obvious that I've pieced it. I think that I'm going to add a crescent-moon shaped piece of fabric to raise the neckline, then put trim on the old neckline and the new neckline to hid the piecing. We'll see how it turns out. 

I also took in the sleeves a full two inches most of the way up, to make them more form-fitted and period-correct. 

That's about all that's new with me. I miss going to reenactments on the weekends. Oh yes! I almost forgot. Here are my two newest acquisitions:

Sorry for the funny angle. The flash kept wanting to bounce back.

I'm guessing this tintype is late 1880's to early 1890's. You can click on it to make it bigger. I wish I knew who they were. There are no markings on the back aside from a few barely readable numbers scratched into the metal. (16965) He looks like an Olaf to me. Any guesses on what her name might have been?

I like how they were outside for their picture. You can see the folding chair he was sitting on, and the light at the base of the backdrop where it doesn't quite meet the grass. I love his tie and suit and her dress. I thought it looked like she had a scalloped edge on her dress with a ruffle behind it?

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I think this one is my favorite of the two. I wonder who she was? A soldier's sweetheart or wife? A widower's only daughter who moved out of state? Did she have siblings or was she an only child? How old did she live to be? Did she ever marry? What was her favorite season and her favorite dress? Did she have any pets? What was her name? Did she have a nickname? What was her personality like? 

Who was she?

The glass needs to be cleaned (on both layers!), but I'm afraid of damaging it. More research required... Once again, you can click on the picture to make it bigger. The case front was separated when I bought it, but it's the original front. The latch on it still works. 

This one screams "1860's!" to me. I especially like the pattern on her dress. It's a small stripe with some sort of two-color floral or leaf design over top. I would have liked to see the colors. I originally thought the trim was a pleated ribbon trim, but it looks like the middle on it is a thinner, non-pleated strip. I also like the ribbon at her neck (with contrasting ribbons at the end?), her off-center belt, and her asymmetrical hair ribbon. 

I hope you are well, dear reader and enjoying the start of winter. The ground is still bare here. I wish we would get some snow to lighten up the dreary days, though I suppose it will come soon enough!