February update

It has been almost a month since I posted last. College has kept me very busy and I haven't found much time for sewing lately. As you may remember, in January I posted a list of things I hoped to get done over the year. It took me until February, but I finished something on the list:

Another flannel petticoat!

 I don't care for hemming, so instead I scalloped the bottom edge of it. I have no idea if that was a period correct way for finishing period undergarment hems or not, but no one will see it anyways. ;)

Another project I've been working on lately (also not on my list) is a skirt for modern wear.

I have found that in our cold winter this year, a skirt and four petticoats will keep you even warmer than a pair of pants will. In reality, the skirt is a shade or two darker than in the picture. This skirt is paused at the hemming stage.

In January, I also finished a good portion of a new pair of split drawers for reenacting. 

There are three pairs of tucks on the legs - two decorative and one functional. I need to look up how to hand stitch buttonholes because the waistband on them is thick and I don't want to risk damaging my machine. Plus, I would just like to learn. 

Recently, I purchased a new dress! It has short sleeves, with detachable long sleeves. I'm planning on first wearing it to the Kalamazoo Living History show in March.

The second picture better shows the color of it. It has mother of pearl buttons down the front which are non-functional, a hook and eye closure and cute little puff sleeves! I'm excited to wear it.

That's about all that's new with me. While college has kept me busy, I am finding it interesting. One of the required books to read is Copper Country Journal, by Henry Hobart, a schoolteacher in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during the Civil War. While he doesn't talk overly about events happening in the war, it's a good look at life then. I highly recommend it.

I hope you are all well. Is anyone planning on going to the Living History show in Kalamazoo, March 15th and 16th?

Starching

Starch. The magical liquid that makes collars stand up, petticoats fluff, and under sleeves crinkle. In this case, it was my petticoats that took the plunge. I decided after reading again and again how magically stiff starch makes things (petticoats that stand up on their own?!) to try my hand at starching. None of the store spray-on starch for me, no thank you! I have heard (never tried it myself) that the store starch isn't stiff enough for historical uses. Mia, from An Aspiring Homemaker posted her recipe, so I tried that. I'll let you travel over to her blog to read the finer details.

After stirring in the corn starch, waiting for the water to boil, stirring the settling corn starch mixture, waiting for the water to boil, stirring, waiting, etc, I was finally able to add it together. I stirred it for longer than the recipe said, maybe three minutes, because it said to stir until it started to thicken, which it didn't seem to be doing. Eventually I just said "good enough" and waited for it to cool. I set it outside on the porch for an unknown length of time until it cooled to the point where I could almost stick my hands into it. I dipped my two petticoats and wrung them out.

I have read that the best way to dry your damp petticoats is to hang them over an overturned trash can, as it will give them the best shape. It being winter, and myself not having a trash can, I crossed two hangers over each other in a sort of 'X' shape and nestled that inside my petticoats while drying to get them to fluff out a bit. Corn starch will stick to itself while wet, so it's best to try and keep the fabric as much apart as you can.

I dried my petticoats overnight, and they were still a bit damp in the creases and in the ruffle on my one petticoat, so I hung them by the fireplace for an hour or so until they were fully dry. It took me a few days, but I eventually ironed them (first spraying them lightly with water.) A few days to get around to ironing them, that is, not a few days to iron them... ;) The ironing created a smooth, almost glassy finish to them, which feels very nice.

But...

Was it all worth it? Do my petticoats actually stand up, or is that a thing of myth? Take a look for yourself.

Here is a picture of the result (pre-ironing):

They do stand up! Or rather, did. After I wore them for a day they've relaxed a bit. They no longer stand up by themselves, but they still do give that nice crinkling/swishing sound when I walk.

As you probably remember from my last post, I have a sewing wish-list that I'm trying to get done by the end of the year. I haven't progressed much on it so far, I only have my next pair of drawers cut out. I have, however added something else to the list.

Ta-da! From what I've been able to figure out, it's from the last 1950's to early 1960's. I'm going to make the middle version but in black. Black dresses are easily dressed up or down and they go with almost anything, accessory-wise. I am hoping to get my crinoline re-made before I start on this dress. Foundations first! :)

As for my blue medieval dress, I am debating if I should hem it with a facing or not. I also might put a baleyeuse on it, though just a small one, as they're not really period-correct for the medieval times. You can click to read more about baleyeuses here. I do want something to keep my train from getting dirty. The alternative would be to create a very long hem facing which would be harder to keep clean, as you would have to unstitch it for cleaning as opposed to unbuttoning it and throwing it in the washer like with a baleyeuse.

Hope you're staying warm!

Sewing Goals for 2014

Happy New Year!

I thought I would put down my sewing goals for 2014, then at the end of the year, we'll see how many I finished.

• First on my list: finish my blue medieval dress! All that needs to be done is to hem it, since I was able to sew the trim on last week when the power was out. Any tips for hemming a dress with a train?

• Start and finish my blue wool 1900's swimsuit.

• Start and finish my 1860's work dress...

• ...and make an apron for it!

• Make more petticoats! One can never have too many petticoats. I have three right now - two cotton I wear over my hoops and one flannel that I've only worn in wintertime. My goal is to make at least two more before reenacting season starts in May.

• Make another chemise and another pair of split drawers. Because it's just silly to have more dresses than you have undergarments. :)

• Make a corded petticoat for myself and starch it for ultimate stiffness! Also, I'm working on starching my current petticoats, but it requires a trip to the store to buy more corn starch.

1903

• I also have several yards of the fabric on the right. I was thinking of making a turn-of-the-century skirt out of it like the blue one in the picture on the left, but I may end up making a simple pleated skirt. I haven't had any luck finding a pattern so far and I don't think I'm talented enough to drape a pattern yet.

• I also want to make a ruffled petticoat. Right now I wear two plain petticoats over my hoops, but I think it would look better if I added a ruffled one too. Now just to get enough white fabric... 

• Speaking of big skirts,  number nine on my list is to remake a crinoline that I received for free. It's a size 4, which is most definitely not my size. I think I can mess around with it to make it work, however. Add a yoke perhaps, or lower the waistband. Which brings me to number ten:

• A poodle skirt! What can I say? I've loved poodle skirts for a long time. Though if I make myself a poodle skirt, I think I'm going to have to have a pair of saddleback shoes to wear with it...

I think that's everything. I'm sure that I'll add more things to the list as the year goes on. So many time periods, so little time... My list leaves me at a total of thirteen projects. One sewing project a month sounds more than do-able!

How to be a Lady

Yes, I know. Two posts in the same day! I found this on a southern woman's website (take a look at her petticoats!) and thought it was too good not to share.

A woman of 'quality' was expected to look as though she didn't do anything except needlework and wait for her man.  When in reality, she worked as hard as any field hand!!  She had to be able to run a household of many members so seamlessly that no-one knew she was doing it.  She had to make sure there were sufficient staff to do the required housework, and she had to make sure each of them was properly trained and clothed.  She also had to manage accounts, schedule and plan for supplies and deliveries and meals, not to mention parties, balls, etc.  She also had children (whether her own, the children of the household or family) to look after and arrange for their education, and she was expected to be the first to administer medical care in times of illness and injury.  All of this means she had to have a good education, she needed to be knowledgeable about general health and first aid. 

But!!

She was never to be seen doing any of these things!!  She was the force behind the scenes.  The quiet voice of reason, the iron rod of discipline, the keeper of the purse, the manager of the staff.  To any who might see her, she was the languid, helpless, softly, feminine flower of the south.

She had white, soft skin.  Glossy hair, and bright, shining eyes.  She never raised her voice and she was never in a hurry.  If you listen to older ladies from the south, you'll find they speak, softly, and with a gentle, measured cadence.  Being reared in the deep south, I was taught that a lady never causes a scene - no matter what!  If attention is drawn to one, it should be for the proper reasons - deportment, dress, manners (not the lack thereof!) charity and good taste.

And to finish, one of the ruffled petticoats she makes. Isn't it just divine?

Petticoat - Finished!

I finally finished my first petticoat last night! I've been working on it for a few weeks. I found a pattern online (can't remember where now), which is basically triangles sewn together with a ruffle on the bottom. It was very easy, and the lady who drafted it did a step-by-step tutorial on her website. I'll have to see if I can find it.

When I first started making historical clothing, I doubted how much of a different a petticoat would make. After all, we don't wear them very often - if ever! - nowadays. As I read again and again how important it was to make the correct undergarments to complete your outfit, I started looking around and finally found a free pattern that didn't look too hard. The original petticoat was made from 6 yards of a cheap cotton, but I repurposed an old sheet (two, really) for the job. It's a bright pink, purple, and green Mexican-ish looking print, but both my Bustle dress skirt and my Civil War dress skirt are dark, so it showing through shouldn't ever be a problem.

There is one long ruffle around the bottom. I think it measured 150 inches, post-ruffling. My hoops are 120 inches at the bottom hoop, so it fits nicely over them.

I originally planned on making ruffles all the way up it, to smooth my Civil War skirt out over my hoops, but when I saw how much it took to make one ruffle around the bottom (four lengths of sheet - the long way!), I gave up on that idea pretty fast. I still have parts of one sheet and another sheet (though in a different print), so I'll see if my dress really needs it. Otherwise, I may just cut the extra sheet up for another plain petticoat.

I tried my petticoat on last night over my hoops with my Civil War dress on over it all and was pleasantly surprised how it got rid of my "lampshade hoop." Yay! :) Now I want to go take lots of pictures in my dress. Too bad it's so snowy out.

As lovely as this lady's dress is, it could benefit from a petticoat or two!

I'd like to have my petticoat the right length so I can wear it with my bustle dress skirt too, but right now it's way too long. If I put the waistband lower (pulling the whole petticoat up), it will be too short for my hoops... Hmm. What to do. I might try making a second waistband so I can put the drawstring into whichever one I want, thus making the petticoat two different lengths and just fold down the excess fabric. It does wonders for my bustle dress skirt as well, plus it's just so fun to wear! I'm always watching in movies now to see if I can tell how many petticoats the actresses are wearing, if any! Yes, I'm a bit obsessed. :) I'll try to get some pictures of it to show you all.

If you ever get the chance to wear a petticoat, try it! It might do more than you think.

*On another note, I turned anonymous comments on, so now anyone should be able to post a reply.