Stuck in the 1860's

After making a 1860's winter hood  I am now working on two other projects dating to the same era. The first one is a crocheted sontag shawl from Peterson's magazine, March 1864. Available at Google Books.

I always find it hard to "read" antique crochet and sewing pattens. As they are quite minimalistic in their descriptions and expect are certain amount of basic knowledge of the technique from the reader. When I came across the shawl pattern I wanted to see if I could figure it out and maybe even write an adapted description.

I found the photographs below on pinterest, originally they are from Ebay. I think the finished shawl will look a lot like this.

Working with the pattern was not as hard as I had thought but still involved a lot of trial and error and some educated guesswork.

Currently I am adding the tassels to the edge, which takes up a lot of time and yarn. Usually I am not a big fan of tassels but in my opion this shawl actually looks better with them.

The other project that I am working is converting my 1860's dress to a 1840-1860 skirt and waist ensemble. I want to wear it over a quilted petticoat instead of over my crinoline cage. I have always felt huge and uncomfortable in it. The added bonus is that it will be easier to store away and lending it out to friends. Who didn't feel comfortable in the crinoline cage either. Maybe I'll make it into a smaller crinoline cage someday. 

I have detached the skirt from the waist and taken out two meters of fabric from the skirt. Still leaving it almost 3 meter in circumference. There are still some things to do, like making a waistband and attaching the skirt to it.

And when it is finished I'll finally do some modern sewing! Well 1950's that is...

Small projects

I have a lot of small projects of projects that need finishing. Here are some of the things I've done.

This broomstick lace scarf has been finished and blocked for quite a while now, I just hadn't gotten around to making a picture.

And I finally made a black velvet belt to with my antique silver plated belt buckle. I am quite happy with the end result.

It will be a nice finishing touch when I wear it with my 1840's -1860's wrapper I made last year.

Here are some examples of victorian ladies with belts over there dresses.

I am sure the dress in the first picture is a wrapper. 

I am not about the dress in the second picture.

I found these pictures on pinterest and

couldn't trace the source.

60's style summer dress finished

My 60's style red cotton summer dress is finished and I am really happy with how it turned out!

I am wearing it here with a spaghetti top

 instead of the white false front or dickey I made to go with it.

(And the camera really does add ten pounds, hmz!)

The first skein of yarn is finished.

So I am halfway done with my shawl.

The Edwardian Mourning Shawl.

I have finished my 1906 Edwardian shawl.  I made this shawl earlier in madder red and walnut brown and was very pleased with the result. The only problem was that the colors didn't go with my Victorian and Edwardian costumes, so I made this practical black (and light weight) version.

I call this shawl the mourning shawl as both versions have been made while I was saying goodbye to a loved one, the first version was while waiting for my husbands grandmother to pass. This time we had heard that our cat was suffering from cancer and nothing could be done for her anymore. In times of sadness I need to keep my hands busy.

second version

 first version

The pattern is called Seems Like Old times and you can find it here:http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seems-like-old-times

This morning our little furry lady passed away surround by the people that adored her and that she loved so much. We are sad that she is gone but grateful for 14 years of love, friendship and companionship.

Getting creative about being creative

December and January is always a time of year that I become a little bit reflective, but this time I have been kind a of blue. With both of us unemployed ,again. We hardly get by and there is little or, more honestly, no money for costuming projects. To add to the fun our cat has become I'll and we are spending our savings on veterinary bills.

But with three creative people creating things isn't just about having a hobby or collecting thing it is part of who we are and necessary for us not to become down or sink into a depression. Time to get creative about being creative:

1. Use our stash! In the last 15 years we have gathered materials. Time to put them to use! If a costume/projects needs more than 1/3 of new supplies, this is not the time to work on it.
2. Make alterations (if possible) to excisting costumes etc instead of making new things.
3. Spend more time on a project, (researching, hand sewing, embellishing, tweeking etc) instead of rushing through it on my way to the next idea. Big bonus is a better quality of my work.
4. Money earned with our hobby, may be spend on the hobby.
5. Ask for money or supplies for my birthday, applies to Mother's day/Sinterklaas/Christmas as well. With Sint Nicolaas I asked for 4 skeins of black yarn and got them as a present. That made me very happy because now I am working on a crochet shawl.

Remember the Edwardian shawl I made several months ago? It is really lovely, but the colors, madder red and walnut husk brown, made it hard to find a costume to wear it with. So now I've decided to make a more neutral and practical black version. 

Doing chores and a nifty gadget

The current warm weather doesn't motivate me to do a big sewing project, instead I choose to do to little pesky chores I usually hate to do, like altering a neckline, doing repairs etc. A while ago I bought this really lovely shawl that I wanted to edge with some silver colored linen, to hide the machine sewn hem and to make it more personal, as a lot of ladies bought the same shawl.

To make making an edging easier I bought this really nifty clover gadget, a bias tape maker, it's still a lot of (hot!) work and I haven't really got the hang of it yet but still I think it's better than doing it by and completly.

Curious how it works. Here's a YouTube video

Here's the cat of friends taking a nap on some of my projects....

End result! Another chore finished, but still a lot more to go...

Blocked!

Blocking this shawl was a lot of work especially because I couldn't do the whole shawl at once.

It's almost 2 meters wide and 81 cm high. I left out some rows otherwise it would have been even larger which is way to large for me as I am only a short lady. It weighs 608 grams and that is one of the reasons why I might be tempted to be another version in lightweight wool. Hopefully next time I can keep gauge and proprotions in check.

Edwardian Shawl finished!

My Edwardian Shawl is finished and ready to be blocked! I was off gauge and made a mistake in the beginning which caused it to not be real triangular shape but I am proud nevertheless as this was my first big and more complicated project.

I would like to give this pattern another try in a lighter woollen yarn appropriate for the gauge in the pattern. To make a lighter and smaller version, true to the pattern. It would make a nice project to work on during the Anton Pieck Parade in December.