2015 Is Going To Be a Good Good Time!

But it's already February 14th, you say?  True!  I've been having such fun since we retired and part of that fun was sewing and wearing the costumes I've made and continue to make.

Mid-year 2014 I did a recap video of projects and I'll add to that and post again.  Family and friends enjoyed seeing it all together and it made me happy to see it all in one place.  But that will be a bit later as right now I have some catching up to do.

Catching up on blog posts!  I have to blog about the costumes for Steampunk unLimited in Lancaster PA last fall, the SASS Convention in January, and the Victorian Dance Cruise in January.  All fantastic events with wonderful friends!

Right now I'm planning the costumes for the event I've organized - Party Like A Vanderbilt at Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC in April Party Like A Vanderbilt Blog Post followed by the San Diego Vintage Dance Week in Asheville Vintage Dance Week Website.  Then Costume College a few months later.  I've submitted proposals to teach two classes at Costume College and I hope they are accepted!  Another few months and I'll be attending my husband's daughter's wedding and then a month after that the National Remembrance Tea and parade in Gettysburg, PA.  With luck, the SASS Convention again in December.  A very enjoyable year ahead!

So the short term planning is for the Biltmore Estate weekend and Dance Week in April which is 11 costume events.  Yes!!  11!!  Fortunately, many of these can use costumes I made during the Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014 Challenges so I'm a bit ahead.  Thank heavens for the Historical Sew Fortnightly!

Here's the plan (as always subject to change):

One of the first items for me is creating the attendees' badges so that we can all recognize each other over the weekend.  The Dogwood Blossom is the North Carolina state flower and this gold with Swarovski crystal blossom with satin ribbon is my plan.  These will go in the welcome bags for each of the 30 attendees for the weekend.

Friday evening Historic Trolley tour of Asheville -  The 1899 bodice and hat I made for two Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenges in 2014 and finally got to wear at the SASS Convention Victorian Silhouette Show.  This should be perfect as I play the Trolley hostess serving wine, champagne, and snacks.  I've found some small black tassels which I'm adding to the lower point of each of the bodice appliques.

 Saturday Biltmore Estate tour and Downton Abbey Costume Exhibit - Saturday will be officially known as "Biltmore Estate Black Beads Day" and you will understand shortly.  This is the tour suit plan - a black crinkled cotton for the bodice and large collar with a black/pewter plaid crinkled taffeta for the skirt, cuffs, and small collar using this pattern, right side view.

The best part?  Everything is in the stash!  Also from stash is a beaded hat bought on ebay long ago which is a bit over-the-top but I love it and haven't had a chance to wear.

I have a beaded shawl which I'll applique on the large collar.  It will be on the black fabric but I'm showing it on the plaid here just to show the detail.  Very Martha Levinson, don't you think?

Saturday evening 'Downton Dinner in the Champagne Cellar' - Based on Downton Abbey's series start of 1912 and using this pattern left side view.  I'll start with a silk fabric I found in the Fabric District during Costume College last year.  Those are shoes I won at auction for $15 and they are unworn.  I'm tickled!

Using the same crinkled cotton fabric I used for the suit (at $1.00 a yard I bought a bunch), a pink mystery fabric, and my silk, this is a draped dressform to give me an idea of how the fabrics will make up.

Some additional black beading at the edges, some beaded appliques, and a black modern beaded belt and I think it will all pull together.  Today I found this $8.55 tiara and with a few additional jet beads it might be something even the Dowager Countess would wear!

Sunday morning Archery - On Sunday morning our group of 30 attendees have time to enjoy their chosen tour, carriage ride, leisurely breakfast, or sleeping late.  Nine of us have chosen to attend an archery lesson - in costume!  This is my chance to wear another Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge, my Manet painting recreation costume.

 

Sunday afternoon - Time Traveler's Tea - George Vanderbilt lived from 1862 to 1914.  He opened Biltmore House in 1895.  We will celebrate his life with costumes from all eras in which he lived and enjoy the variety and color of the fashions while enjoying a fabulous Tea at the Inn on Biltmore Estate.  This is another chance for me to wear a Historical Sew Fortnightly creation - the Edwardian Tea Gown and hat.

Sunday evening - 1920s Reception - The Legacy Continues - A vintage dress purchased from a sweet lady for $5.00 will be the base for my costume.

Of course there will have to be a fabulous headpiece to match the sparkle of the dress and a beaded headpiece following this pattern will be my beginning.

On Monday our group divides into those that will head home and those that will stay for the Vintage Dance Week.  One day we will tour Biltmore House again and I will finally wear my "Downton Abbey" fabric dress made for an HSF Challenge last year.

The only gown still on the undecided portion of the plan is the Wednesday evening Belle Epoch gown.  So far this one is a good contender since I have 16 yards of this wonderful 19" wide lace already in the stash.

Meanwhile, I have plenty of creating to keep me busy for this beautiful once-in-my-lifetime event.  I really could use one of these:

Love,

          Jeanette

The Historical Sew Monthly Challenge #1 - Foundations - Ribbon Flowers

Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014 was an incredible experience!  While there was some discussion about the Challenges continuing into 2015, the great news is that it will continue on a more limited schedule and is now the Historical Sew Monthly 2015. 

With over 2,000 members on the facebook page and even more through the Dreamstress' website, it is the hopes that a monthly rather than the previous twice-per-month Challenge will allow for more participation.  If you are interested in joining this group of wonderful and creative people, here are the links:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricalSewFortnightly/

http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2015/

With January being a busy travel month I wasn't sure I would be able to participate until I read the first challenge:
January – Foundations: make something that is the foundation of a period outfit.

While this could mean a literal "foundation" such as an undergarment, I came to feel that it could also mean the knowledge and skill required to create a period outfit.  I've had to learn many new skills as the foundation for my costume creations and decided I would address that learning in this Challenge.

One of the historic events in the western United States is the Durango Heritage Festival in Colorado.  It began in 2008 and with the historic buildings, narrow-gauge railway, and western history, the Festival has become a popular attraction.  In 2015 the Festival will host an English Garden Victorian Ball and the ladies are discussing creating gowns based on a variety of flowers.  Sounds beautiful and fun!

I've spent quite a bit of time teaching myself the art of ribbon flowers - an art very popular in the Victorian period.

The flowers have adorned bonnets and hats....

 

 

and gowns based on historical fashionplates....

hairpieces..

 

 

and even shoes.

 

So while traveling with a wonderful group on the Victorian Dance Cruise and many of them talking about their flower gown for the Durango Heritage Festival, I shared what I had learned with them and we all made ribbon roses and leaves.  We had a wonderful time!

 

 

Yes, even the gentlemen made roses and leaves!  It was so enjoyable to see the flowers show up on shoes for the Fantasy Masquerade Ball, on hats, on hairpieces, on skirts and even my own shoes got a makeover for the Diamond Ball where I wore my All That Glitters ballgown from HSF 2014 Challenge #24.

 

If you would like to learn to make the roses and leaves as well as some other ribbon flowers, you can find the photos in my facebook albums:

 

Gathered and Vintage Roses:  https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.m.murray/media_set?set=a.10202825630298735.1073741832.1140526109&type=3

 

Leaves:  https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.m.murray/media_set?set=a.10202812387367670.1073741831.1140526109&type=3

 

Dogwood Blossoms:  https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.m.murray/media_set?set=a.10202833825903620.1073741833.1140526109&type=3

 

Pansies:  https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.m.murray/media_set?set=a.10202810596282894.1073741829.1140526109&type=3

 

Please enjoy creating your own beautiful ribbon flowers and I hope these photos give you a beautiful foundation for your costume!

 

Historical Sew Fortnightly

 

What It Is:  Ribbon Flowers

The Challenge:  Foundations

Fabric:  Ribbon

Pattern:  None

Year:  Any

Notions:  Thread, net or buckram, stamens

How historically accurate is it?  Very

Hours to complete?  A single rose and leaf can be completed in 15 minutes, a pansy or dogwood blossom in 20 minutes.

First Worn:  We all wore our creations the same week.

Total Cost:  A single rose can be done with just a yard of ribbon costing less than $1.

 

With love,

Jeanette









Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #24 - All That Glitters

 

 

A little thought and a little kindness are worth more than a great deal of money.

John Ruskin

 

 

Costuming Can Be Expensive!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeanette Murray

 

Right??  And after all those hours and expenses to create your costume, there is the cost of the event!!  When I made my first costume for Halloween 2007 I hadn't sewn since high school and had no idea what I was doing but had an idea of what I wanted to make.  Without the skills to start from the beginning I bought a 1970s used wedding gown on eBay and with the addition of a circle overskirt, a corselet, some red ribbon, and a covered straw hat and parrot parasol, I made this - my first costume and my version of Mary Poppins Jolly Holiday gown:

 

Later I found another inexpensive wedding gown and used the beautiful ruffled skirt for this Victorian Natural Form Era dinner gown:

In 2010 I upcycled a cocktail dress for the skirt for my Tombstone Birdcage Saloon costume where I was Carrie Cardinal.  I won 1st Place Saloon Girl at the costume contest (I still believe I am the oldest saloon girl ever at 60 years old).

 

I am still a firm believer in recycling, upcycling, using thrift store finds, bed sheets, and whatever else will give you the impression you are seeking while being gentle on the pocketbook.

 



In 2012 I was going to make a gown for a Victorian Ball and had found an inspiration gown that I loved.

 

While searching eBay for fabric I found a prom dress that had the bodice style and color I wanted and I knew another upcycle was my plan.

 

 

Ebay also yielded a beautiful beaded sari panel,

...and an imperfect embroidered and beaded/sequined net remnant for an underskirt.

I now have a total of $55 spent for this gown and am thrilled!  When the prom dress arrives I dismember it into a lined full length skirt portion, an unlined full length skirt portion which was bustled on the front of the original skirt, the bodice, and a sheer overlay.

 

In the stash I find some silver satin for an underskirt and using Truly Victorian TV261 1885 Four Gore Underskirt pattern I make the base which fits beautifully over a lobster tail bustle.

 

Now it's December 2012, the Victorian Ball is in January, and I can see I won't have time to finish the gown.  I attend the ball in another gown, have a great time, and the unfinished gown goes into a plastic bin and is stored.

 

Fast forward to November 2014 when the plastic bin is opened and the project continues for this Challenge because the one thing I know this gown will do is glitter!

 

Using the beaded net, I make another TV261 skirt with a single piece of fabric the circumference of the skirt hem leaving the portion open where the back bustle draping fits.

Using some of the unlined skirt portion from the original dress I cut the bustle draping section and fit it onto the net, add the bustling ties, a waistband, and the first overskirt is finished.

 

The beaded sari section is the length of the skirt and 16" wide at the lower edge.  It's really beautiful with sequins, seed beads, rhinestones, and small pearls.  I cut a piece of unlined fabric to line the sari section and hand hem the edges.

Using the lined skirt section of the original gown, I open one seam and resew the edges, drape the overskirt in an asymmetrical design, add bustling ties and pleats and a waistband.

The bodice has a corset style back and some beautiful pleating and all I have to do is cut the lower edge into the correct shape and hem.

With all the pieces on the dressform I drape and pin and pinch and hang all kinds of lace and trims and the sheer fabric from the original dress onto the bodice to get the look I want.  In the end I make shoulder pieces from the portions I cut from the pleated bodice hem and with all the glitter of the necklace, earrings, tiara, bracelets, and silver gloves and shoes, I decide the gown has all that I need.  Here is my finished glittery aubergine ball gown!

 

 

 

 

And here we are, the last Challenge of the Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014.  I admit I'm feeling emotional about this - in a good way, of course!  I've learned so much about history, historical costume, sewing techniques, and also about myself.  There were 24 Challenges and I completed all and several of them twice.   I've surprised myself by staying on schedule and stretching in ways I didn't believe possible.  But the greatest gift of HSF '14 was the people I've met and friends I've made.  A truly wonderful experience and an amazing year!

 

Historical Sew Fortnightly

 

What It Is:  Victorian Ball Gown

The Challenge:  #24 All That Glitters

Fabric:  Satin, taffeta, embroidered/beaded net

Pattern:  Truly Victorian TV261

Year:  1885

Notions:  Thread

How historically accurate is it?  Made from a modern-day upcycled prom dress to an historically correct silhouette.

Hours to complete?  15 hours

First Worn:  Victorian Diamond Ball on the Victorian Dance Cruise late January 2015

Total Cost:  $55 for prom dress, imperfect embroidered net remnant, beaded sari panel

 

 

Photos in January!

Love always,

Jeanette