Mid Victorian lace day cap & Dickensfestijn Deventer 2018

I started working on my mid victorian lace day cap during our last event. I had some preparations the  day before but started  the actual sewing during the event. Judging by the amount of attention it did seem to spark the interest of a lot of the public.

My midvictorian lace daycap is made with a silk base, swiss dot netting,  vintage and antique lace and the tiny red ribbon is real silk. It looks sweet, dainty and demure which is the perfect look for the period. There is only one problem with this daycap. Sweet, dainty and demure doesn’t seem to suit me. My husband and son almost choked laughing and one of my friends said I looked like an easter egg. Which is an accurate description of how I feel when I wear it.

Here I am trying it on before going to Dickensfestijn in Deventer.

I am sorry about the poor quality of the photo's. They were made early in the morning in a hurry to get going. It's also the reason why I decided to get "creative" with the last one. Although it might not be that bad, then again it might be that bad I'll leave it up to you to decide. I didn't wear it on the day itself as my bonnet wouldn't stay on when I had it on. That was a good enough reason to leave it at home.

We had planned to go to a Dickens fair somewhere else first but after waiting for the shuttle bus for 30 minutes. We decided to skip the other fair and go to Dickensfestijn Deventer directly while the day was still young. Not a bad decision considering how busy Deventer was! There were 60.000 visitors on this day. Needless to say a lot of photographs where made of us but as we never get to see any of them we decided to buy ourselves a little memento.

Stuck somewhere between the 1890's, 1920's en 1018!

You probably all know this meme... (or a variation off it)

Being a self proclaimed costume addict this is true for most, if not all, of the time! Usually I don't mind but this time all three of the projects have deadlines around the same time and my every day life is kinda full, even without the costuming! 

Here is the overview:

I am still working on the Belle Epoque Evening dress, which is due in October this year. I already have given up the idea of making a day bodice to go with it , which would have been due December this year. The evening ensemble is almost finished, it just needs two hook and eyes and decoration.

I think I'm going with a version of the left version because frankly the lace option has been out voted by a good costuming friend, my husband and my son! And to be honest I wasn't too sure about it myself otherwise I wouldn't have asked them.

My husband and I will be attending a 1920's Downton Abbey garden party themed wedding. The bride and groom are both re-enactors so I don't think I will get away with converted thrift store finds or rental costumes. A dress and a suit for my husband, due this September.

Last but not least, we've have been wanting non-Scandinavian early medieval clothing for quite a while. This year we will be attending the Vlaardingen 1018 event, a commemoration of the battle at the dutch town of Vlaardingen in 1018, in June...

Commence costume stress! 

Back(b)log; Fantastic Beasts Newt Scamander Cosplay

I am finally able to show you my son his complete Newt Scamander outfit which he wore to the Dutch Comic Con yesterday.

Still at home.

At Dutch Comic Con.

He had to share the spotlight

with the Pickett he dad made for him

but they both didn't seem to mind.

These wonderful photo's where made at Dutch Comic Con

by Anubite Crafts.

Back(b)log; Fantastic Beasts Vest

In August I gave one of my younger sister two sewing lessons. It was my first time trying to trach some else how to sew. We both had a lot of fun and she really got the hang of it quickly and got addicted to sewing to boot! Finally someone in the family who understands my love of sewing!

Ever since I made my son a blue Victorian top coat inspired by the blue coat worn by Newt Scamander in Fantastic beasts last year. He's been asking for the matching vest. As I have less time to sew since I have been fortunately enough to find I job. I told him if he wanted it he would have to make it himself or at least help me out with it (a lot!). After seeing my sisters succesful sewing lessons he decided to take me up on it! I really didn't expect that! So this autumn break we got to work on it.

He has been working really hard and I am very proud of him! 

This was the stage when the project became to

life for him. All the work before this was kind a stupid and boring

but after this stage he really started to enjoy himself.

He really did most of the work himself, I only did some finishing touches. As this project was a kind of spur of the moment thing and I didn't want to risk my son losing his interest. We used fabrics, notions and buttons we already had, most of them I inherited from his great grandmother for his fathers side. This did mean we couldn't match the look of the original as closely as we would have wanted to.

The following pictures I have found on the internet. Unfortunately I can't find the original source anymore. I will add them as soon as I find them.

All things considering I think we did a decent job though!

It might be worth to mention that we used Butterick's B6502 pattern for the vest, with some modifications. 

Back(b)log; Victorian Chesterfield Coat, part 2

My husband will wear the coat with reenacment events set roughly between 1840-1910. With more epmhasis on the early years 1840-1890.  So we'd like his to reflect that era, so it will need to have the follow elements, small velvet collar, no waist seam but with a slightly fitted waist. Although the coats where mostly black or grey in colour. We choose to make his a dark bottle green. In style with the time of year it will be mostly worn in, around Christmas!

And bcause I can't get enough of pictures of the originals worn. Here a carte-de-visite portrait of the Prince of Wales (right) with Prince Louis of Hesse (Grand Duke Ludwig IV) made in 1862.

source: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/

I thought both of them where wearing Chesterfield coat but closer inspection revealed a waist seam on the Prince of Wales his coat. The overcoat on the right is a fine example of a single breasted fly front Chesterfield coat.

source: http://www.oslobilder.no/

In this portrait from around 1899 the gentleman on the left is wearing a double breasted Chesterfield coat.

I will not subject you to my love of vintage photography for any longer but I do feel the need to share this image.

Can you guess what Watson is wearing?!

There are not many Victorian mens clothing patterns around so our choice was limited.
Reconstructing History's #937, Gentleman’s Victorian Chesterfield Top Coat was the best if not the only choice.

Because I wanted to start quickly and to save money I decided to go with the download version. The pictures in the description turned out to be of a generic coat, a lot of pattern pieces weren't on the pattern. Most of them where pretty straight forward, so quite easily to draw yourself with the measurements in the description but some of them where harder like the (partial) lining piece. The things that really gave me a lot of trouble where; markings on the body of the coat but not on the sleeves, or vice versa,  I blocked out working with pattern. Ever set in sleeves without knowing how to set them! I had to pin and sew them six times to get it right!  No button placement indication, no breast pocket placement indication (for inside or out!), no measurement for the breast pocket pattern piece. No mention in the description of lining the collar or collar lining piece. No real description how to turn the coat into a double breasted version. I seriously don't remember if the list ends here or if there is more....

I love the combination of the black cotton velvet

and the pine green wool.

Striped Victorian trousers.

I love sewing historical costumes and I love my husband and my son but somehow these facts don't translate in me loving sewing victorian trousers. Be honest, trousers are boring compared to the nice sparkly ladies costumes! This year my son decided that he didn't want to be an urchin any more. He wants an nice suit. I got out out of sewing an entire suit by buying a, what I guess to be, a 1950's gentleman's wedding suit. Unfortunately the pair of trousers that came with it didn't fit. So I didn't get out of making him a pair. When my husband found out he sweetly reminded me that I promised him a new pair, like five years (or more...) ago!

The pair of trousers that I am currently working out started out as my husbands but they magically shrunk while I was working on them! I gues I messed up the measurement or forgot that I needed to add seam allowances. I'd better check what the problem is before I start working on the next pair! Both my men wanted a pair of striped trousers, because for them that is what belongs with a victorian suit. I thought it was worth checking if historically speaking that was true. Looking at what I found plain or plaid trousers were more in favour but there striped pants were worn as well.

1800's The Met

1820's cossack trousers,

Victoria and Albert Museum

ça. 1840, The Met

1848 fashion plate 

Left pin stripes, middle wider stripes.

coeurdelhistoire

 Il Gionale dei Sarti September 1850 

Source: cutterandtailor.com

1870's 

Source: Victoriana.com

1880's, RISD Museum

Fashion plate from Sartorial Arts Journal, 1891, 

Gladys Marcus Library, FIT

c. 1900 white cotton & blue pinstripe trousers

Augusta Auctions

Althoug I only did a very superficial on the matter I did feel that after the 1860's examples became easier to find. Maybe they became more fashionable?

Sixties dress

I haven't been doing much costuming or sewing lately. So all projects are progressing very slowely. but I did manage to finish one project. a sixties style dress. Usually I am a fifties style girl but I bought a lovely piece of fabric at a thrift store and this was the only dress I could make with it. Fifties style dresses with swing skirt  take a lot of fabric. As I only had a small piece I had to look beyond my comfort zone.
I ended up going for simplicity #3833, which has the elements that I suit my figure best,  as it is a high waisted a-line dress.

I made version A, with the long sleeves and the backstrap because I needed a autumn/winter dress. When it was finished I wasn't pleased with it because I thought it was a little bit plain/boring. Which is strange considering the bold pattern of the fabric. I added cuffs, backstraps and fake pockets in a very different style fabric to give the dress a little bit more visual interest. I don't have any pictures yet of me wearing it. So for now pictures of it on the coat hanger will have to do. 

The style of the dress took some getting used to. The first time I put it on I really hated it but today I am wearing it for the second time and it is growing on me.

Sewing kitchen curtains

My son and I both have the flu for almost a week now. We have been spending our days sleeping, and watching television or behind our iPad/iPod. Yesterday I was feeling a little bit better and did some small sewing chores. I repaired a bra, sewed on a button and made curtains for our kitchen.

Although I like to sew, I do not like everything that involves sewing. Like altering, repairing and sewing curtains. I find sewing curtains a lot of work and very boring. I always put it off because well there is this costumes that really needs to be finished. This attitude means I have this growing pile of must-sew-chores. These three can now be crossed of that list and that does make me happy.

Exhausted but happy...

An early victorian chemise

Due to lack of time I wore my 1880's victorian chemise underneath my 1840's working class dress to the Dickensfestijn in Deventer. This year I hope to have the period correct undergarments finished.

http://www.pastpatterns.com/002.html

Past Patterns is one of my favorite brands of historical sewing patterns. Their patterns are well documented, printed on thick paper and with clear instructions. Their Two Early Nineteenth Century Chemises (pattern number #002) was the main inspiration for my chemise.

Kannik's Korner sells a pattern that looks quite similar and dates it to 1790-1820. The biggest difference is that neckline is gathered.

http://www.kannikskorner.com/patwomen2.htm

https://www.etsy.com/nl/shop/regenerationclothing

Late Georgian to Early Victorian chemise circa 1820 through 1830. Heavy unbleached linen with hand-embroidered scalloped edges. Scoop neckline with interior drawstring. Embroidered monogram of "FL" at center front neckline. Garment is entirely hand-stitched. The tiny dark stitches that were used to lay out the embroidery patterns are still visible. Unlined. No closures.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/157889

Linen nightgown

c.1840

 Owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://trouvais.com/2009/06/page/4/

Antique chemise with owner's initials,

c. 1820 - 1830

http://www.vintagetextile.com/

My version of a 1840's chemise.

White cotton flannel

Slightly square neckline

Elbow length sleeves

As I got rather cold in my costume last year, I decided to make myself a nice warm set of undies. That is why I choose to make my chemise from cotton flannel instead of the linen or cotton, which isn't historically accurate. Flannel was used in victorian undergarments like the drawers and petticoats, but chemises where made in linen and later cotton.

Maybe I'll try my hand at some embroidery and embroider my initials on it.