Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - October - Details!

Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - October - Details!

Sometimes the little things really make something fabulous.

Focus on the details of your garment to create something that just

gets better the closer you look.

The Dreamstress

This Challenge is all about the details and something I believe in passionately!  Sometimes those details are about the accessories.  Sometimes those details are about the wearer.  And sometimes those details are built into the garment itself and this is where I focused in creating my 1914 Dress à Corselet.

The pattern was a pdf download and print-at-home from Mrs. Depew Patterns on Etsy.  I wrote a post with some tips I've learned using the great resource that is pdf patterns.

http://theperfecttouchvictorian.blogspot.com/2019/08/

The pattern was based on an original French pattern.  It had not been tested but I was willing to take on the challenge for what I saw as a very stylish design and perfect for several Edwardian dinners I was attending in September and October.

My design was inspired by a pair of American Duchess shoes, Seabury, based on a pair with the Newport Historical Society.  I had a piece of beautiful lace remnant with just a bit remaining after I had created a hat, a gold silk satin remnant, and a gold silk dupioni remnant.

The design on the Seabury shoes has the most beautiful colors and I had an idea to recreate the design for the corselet on the gown.  Using the Spoonflower website, I created a repeating image of the shoe design and had it printed on faux crepe de chine.  If you aren't aware of Spoonflower, let me introduce you:  https://www.spoonflower.com/en/home?gclid=Cj0KCQjwz8bsBRC6ARIsAEyNnvrVU9T4f_ZJB_Q0mj2roSv5fwayVQdGjfaC4dDT4tD4j_GuMTPWzXoaAuIEEALw_wcB

The final cost was $20 for one yard but as the focus of this dress, I thought it well worth the investment as I was saving by using remnants for the remainder of the dress.  The fabric arrived and I was thrilled!

I had already decided on using pearl accessories that I had discovered in a glass jar at a flea market (yay!) and thought it would be beautiful to add some detail to the Spoonflower fabric using gold paint and glass pearls.

Sadly, the fabric remnants I wanted to use were not suitable to the drape and construction of the entire dress but happily I found a chocolate brown crepe back faux satin on sale and forged ahead.  The pattern had the original instructions, which were minimal, but as I worked I wrote my own instructions for next time.  There will be a next time as I can see a beautiful day dress from this pattern!  The dress is constructed as bodice with corselet and hobble skirt with gathered tunic overskirt all sewn into a one-piece dress that slips over the head and closes in the side seam.  I added ties to each side in place of the illustrated belt and used pre-made tassels which I embelished with pearls and beads.  More details!

The last detailed piece of the dress was the Medici collar and I wanted it to be another focus piece.  I cut the lace in a mirror image for the front facing of the collar.  Millinery wire comes already covered and as I had previously used it in the wire-framed brim for the hat made with this lace, I knew it would work well for the collar support.

I'm fortunate to own an extant blouse which I have studied numerous times to learn certain historical techniques.

It proved perfect for studying the collar stays for my new collar.  I used the same millinery wire I used on the edge and bent it with my 3-in-1 beading tool.

The extant blouse collar stays.

My recreated stays.

With the edge wire sewn in place and three stays created and sewn in place, I added a scalloped edge lace to the underside of the collar, basted the open edge, and sewed it to the dress.  I added the same scalloped edge lace to the sleeve edges and have also added pearls to the lace cuffs to hold the lace in place.

These are the accessories I selected and those gorgeous Seabury shoes!

But even without the accessories, the details of the dress are a treat:  lace Medici collar, lace and pearl cuffs, pearled and tasseled ties, and pearl and gold embellished corselet.

The October Challenge was "to create something that just gets better the closer you look".  Here is my completed 1914 Dress à Corselet.

Historical Sew Monthly

The Challenge:  October - Details!

What the item is:  1914 Dress à Corselet

How does it meet the challenge:  Detailed collar, cuffs, corselet, and ties.

Material:  Crepe back faux satin

Pattern:  Depew Patterns on Etsy 1914 Dress à Corselet #3123

Year:  1914

Notions:  Laces, glass pearls, millinery wire

How historically accurate is it?  Original French pattern and instructions, synthetic material

Hours to complete:  24 hours

First worn:  Downton Abbey Movie Celebration Dinner September 2019

Total cost:  $70

Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - September - Everyday

Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - September

Everyday:  It's not all special occasion frocks.

Make something that would have been worn or used every day.

The Dreamstress

As I continue my journey of 18th century dressmaking, I realize how much I need to practice the simple hand sewing of the era.  It takes time!  I'm sure with practice it will take less time, but now it is painstakingly s.l.o.w.  So practice I must!

I've made an 18th century pocket and have linen left from that project and I decide to make a simple kerchief out of a scrap.  Good practice and very simple, right?  Oh yes, but the research rabbit hole I fell into was anything but!  So first just a few historical insights.

The kerchief, handkerchief, handkercher, or hankie, has evolved over hundreds of years for personal hygiene, as garment decoration, and even as an accessory in folkdances.  There are collectors, books, and handkerchiefs printed with everything from cocktail recipes to dance steps.  Amazing!

The poet Catullus mentions cloths used for utilitarian purposes such as wiping one's brow or general purpose cleaning as early as the 1st century B.C.

King Richard II of England, who reigned from 1377 to 1399, is widely believed to have invented the cloth handkerchief, as surviving documents written by his courtiers describe his use of square pieces of cloth to wipe his nose.

My grandmother was born in 1897 and I remember her being very particular about her handkerchiefs and storing them in a wooden box on her dresser.  She always had one with her, tucked into her dress belt or in case she wasn't wearing a belt, into her bra strap at her shoulder and just peeking over her collar.  I was made to carry one in my pocket as a child.  Although I don't know when I stopped using cloth, I am always sure to still carry a packet of Kleenex with me.

At the end of this post I will share two wonderful resources I found with details and reference about this incredible piece of cloth and its uses over the years.

My research tells me that linen was a preferred use for the handkerchief in Rome and used to wipe sweat from the faces of the wealthy.  My linen scrap is perfect.

The first thing I do is square up the weave by removing one thread from the cloth which shows me the perfect cutting line.

The edges are turned up 1/4" and basted.

Then the edges are turned up again to a 1/8" hem and hemmed with a whip stitch.  At this point in my learning I can only get 12 stitches to an inch and I'm told 16 is better.  So tiny!

And I can only do that with some help - my trusty magnifying glass.  So very very tiny!

It's finished!  Front and back photos of my finished project. Not much to look at now but I'm taking an online embroidery class and will add something special later.  For now, I'm thrilled and I show my husband.  He can see I'm happy and promises to organize a parade for me.  :) 

 The 18th century accessories I've acummulated now includes a proper handkerchief.

These are the two links to resources that have interesting background on the lowly little handkerchief:

https://bonjourparis.com/lifestyle/chic-or-passe-the-fabulous-history-of-the-handkerchief/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/handkerchief-design-history

Achoo! Bless you! Need a handkerchief?

Historical Sew Monthly

What the item is:  Handkerchief

How it fits the challenge:  An item used everyday.

Material:  Linen

Pattern:  None

Year:  Many eras

Notions:  Thread

How historically accurate is it?  Accurate material and technique.

Hours to complete:  6

First worn:  18th century event in 2020

Total cost:  Made with a scrap from another project

PDF Sewing Patterns - A Costumer's Experience

They're everywhere!!  They're everywhere!!  And they seem to be getting more common.  They also make more historical and vintage sewing patterns available to more and more people in more places around the world.  They are pdf patterns, also known as e-patterns.

PDF or pdf stands for portable document format.  It is a file format that provides an electronic image of text or text and graphics that looks like a printed document and can be viewed, printed, and electronically transmitted.  We see the most common pdf logo everywhere.

Pattern offerings for McCalls, Simplicity, and Burda are available in PDF and the wonderful option is that many of these are out of print (OOP) patterns that can be purchased in electronic format.  Yay!  No more $600 patterns on eBay and etsy!

Independent pattern designers for many of the patterns I'm familiar with are already available in this format.  Truly Victorian, Wearing History, Folkwear, Scroop, The Fashion Archeologist (aka History House), Mrs. Depew on etsy, Mrs. Wenzel on etsy.  For some of these designers this is the most efficient way for them to offer patterns as the printing, inventory, and shipping costs often put the offering out of reach for many costumers.

I've used e-patterns since 2014.  The first being from Wearing History which is probably why I continued as I've used many from this designer since then and all are incredible!  This jacket was my first experience:

I mention the e-pattern in my blog but that's all, just a mention:  http://theperfecttouchvictorian.blogspot.com/2014/03/

There are now 27 e-patterns in my computer ranging from hats to full suits and even a brassiere, and as I was assembling one last evening I thought I might mention some of the things I've learned in these past 5 years.  Everything relates to my personal experience with the pattern designers I've mentioned above.

1.  When you purchase an e-pattern you will receive a confirmation of purchase.  That confirmation will either contain the link for your download, or directions on where to find your download.

2.  Downloading usually happens automatically when you click the Download buttons and will usually go to your Download file in your computer.  I find it just simpler to let the default occur.  I keep a written list of my e-patterns file names in my pattern drawer to make them easy to find again for another printing or if the puppy ate a pattern piece.

3.  There are often two or more files for you to download.  These might be cover images, a printing instructions file, an assembling instructions file, a sewing instructions file, and the pattern.  This will depend on how the designer has formatted the pattern for you.

4.  Open each file and read.  I usually print the page where I'm told the grid is located to determine my print selection.  When you finally print your pattern you will want to select whatever the designer specifies which might be Actual Size or 100%.  This is important so that your pattern fits together on assembly and fits when sewing.

5.  Lastly, print your pattern and assemble!

But I think that is where many people dislike e-patterns.  All that paper!  All that ink!  All that cutting!  All that tape!  "I would rather buy a paper pattern and save all that time and expense" I hear many say.  I understand.  Thinking that e-patterns are so important to the independent pattern designers, wanting to purchase from those designers, and having developed some shortcuts of my own, I'm going to share my shortcuts with you and hopefully it will help you save some of that frustration.

This is the pattern I assembled last night.  A 1914 Dress a Corselet from an original French pattern.  She has translated the original instructions and lengthened the skirt which was not to length on the original pattern.

There were 2 files to download:  The pdf pattern and a page of Printing Instructions.

First I found which page in the pattern contained the 1" square for me to test my printer setting and printed only that page.

Once I was sure my printer was set correctly I printed the pages.  As with all the e-patterns I have printed they print from back to front so that once the printing is finished the top page is the first page I will use.  For most designers the pages are also numbered.  For this pattern I had 37 pages for the bodice, corselet, tunic front and back, and skirt front and back.  As you can see from this photo there is very little ink used.  Just a few lines per sheet with mostly white space on the page.  This photo is how this pattern is assembled which is how most designers direct assembly - left to right, top to bottom.  This pattern has 5 pages to a row and here are the first 10 pages assembled in 2 rows.  I'm doing this on my floor so I can take photos but this is easily done on a cutting table or dining table or, in my case, kitchen island.

Now I'll assemble pages 11 through 15 for the third row.

Since I'm working left to right I'll only cut off the left and lower edges of the page.  I just use scissors and follow the faint edge line that is on most e-patterns.

Then I will place the piece over the piece on the left and under the piece above.  I don't cut off all 4 edges as I find that too difficult to assemble.  Overlapping also gives more structure to the pattern and I have found minimizes the need to tape.

This is the point where designers differ in their e-pattern software.  For some patterns there will be small squares that match up from page to page.  For others there will be quarter circles in each corner.  For some you may only have the pattern lines themselves to use for alignment.  For this designer the center of each edge has a half circle that will line up.

When I have the page aligned where the half circles and the pattern lines are fitted I will add a very small, 1", piece of tape over the circle.  It's easy to slice if I have to adjust and holds the pieces well.

I have 10 small pieces of tape on my hand and 5 pages cut left side and lower side and assemble the complete 5-page row quickly.  Then onto the next row.  The designer left the lower left two pages empty as there were no pattern lines there and page 36 had directions to place it and page 37 under 34 and 35.  It was nice that she saved me those 2 sheets.

The last taping I will do is wherever a pattern line crosses from one page to the next and at each junction of 4 pages.  Just about 2" of tape holds well.

And that is all the taping I do!!  The overlapped edges keep the pattern firm, the pages are held at the junctions, and the pattern lines are taped where pages overlap.  I do not tape the entire edge of a page and I do not tape whatever isn't part of a pattern piece.  It works beautifully. 

As with any paper pattern I will cut the pattern pieces from each other and final cut the edges either before laying them on the fabric, or with the fabric.  This pattern requires adding seam allowances so I will cut the excess before laying on the fabric and chalk mark my seam allowances and cutting lines on the fabric.

To store my patterns I will fold them as any paper pattern and place in a gallon locking bag.

This entire printing, cutting, and taping took me about 30 minutes.  Worth the discount I receive and the occasional sales I've seen on pdf patterns only.  Worth the extra patterns available to me in pdf only.  I also like to think that it helps the independent designers spend their resources on creating more patterns rather than running to the printer and the post office.  I believe it is a win-win for everyone!

Now off to sew this dress!