Redecorating hats.

I've been really busy with altering my costumes and accessories. Two of my latest projects are my 1840's bonnet and my 1880's hat.

One of my friends is borrowing my 1840's working class costume. This was a very good reason for me to give my old green velvet bonnet an update. I removed the cotton lace and ribbon flowers and added 6 inch pleated crinoline instead. I also removed the wide velvet ties, which where really hard to tie, and replaced it with petersham ribbon. No matter who wore the bonnet it kept falling of so I decided to cheat and stitched a small clear plastic comb in.

front

right side

Back 

Still not to happy with the curtain.

left side

A while ago a friend gave me a lot of flowers to decorate my hats with. I had intended to make a new 1880's hat but didn't have the time or the money. So I just added colored flowers and now it looks completly different! My hat pins can't get through the hat so again I decided to cheat and stitched in hat elastic to keep in place.

front

right side 

This was the inspiration for the hat. Rachel McAdams as "The Woman" Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes. Can't wait to wear it!

And now for something completely different; Christmas Granny Squares

I had been working on a better set of sleeves for three days straight. Redrafting the pattern, cutting and sewing. When they were finished they turned out to be worse than the original sleeves and I had run out of fabric. I got so frustrated that I decided to put the coat aside for a couple of months, it doesn't have to be finished until next spring/early summer, and to do something simple. Something that I could almost do with my eyes closed. Doing crochet always calms my mind and I had some left over yarn. I have never been to fond of granny squares. Being from the 70's when they where very much in fashion. I always have the feeling that they are old fashioned and I really connect them to grannies doing crochet. On the other had I've being playing around with making something for christmas for a couple of years and our christmas decorations are always old fashioned, kitschy and corny. ;-)

You can find the pattern for the squares here: Granny Square Christmas Stocking by Maggie Weldon on Ravelry.

Twenty squares later I am out of yarn and the frustration has subsided. The store only has these particular colors of this yarn (Zeeman Sparkle) in stock during the winter so I can't continue. It doesn't really matter, it did the trick. If they become available again maybe I'll make more and make a plaid out of it. If not it will become the front of a pillow case. Either way I am feeling better and refreshed.

For now I'll stick to repairing or slightly altering the Victorian costumes I have. So that I (and two of my friends) at least have something to wear at the Dickensfestijn in Deventer. This year I have decided to wear a combination of two 1885's bustle costumes. I really love the black tail bodice I made last year but I don't want to wear all black. So I'll wear it with my red velvet bustle skirt and my new hat. It will almost be like wearing a new costume. Even better is the fact that my son thinks the color combination black-red is badass and that I look fierce in it!  If there is any time left I'll make a new costume piece for one of us. First I'll have to make sure we can wear anything at all!

Belle Epoque Jacket

When the Antwerpen Zoo held their Belle Epoque picnic I really wanted to go but I didn't have the time. Other members of our 19th century living history group "De Gracieuse" did attend.

Photo by Robert Biesemans

Their wonderful photographs and stories inspired me to start working on a Belle Epoque jacket. 

This is the pattern I am working with; Past Patterns #113, 1899-1910 Spectator Jacket.

I think the pattern also can be used for slightly earlier costumes.

The heads of the leg-o-mutton sleeves ended up being quite large 

and look a lot like the jacket in this picture.

A traveling suit, coat, and skirt, 

designed by Jacques Doucet c. 1892-97.

Victorian & Albert Museum

And it has a pleat in the back like this woollen Cycling Suit

 made by Trouville in 1896

American Cycling Suit. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 I have been working on it during our summer vacation and had hoped to be finished by now

 but the sleeves turned out to wide and to long. 

So I will take them out, make changes to the pattern pieces and make new sleeves. 

International Vikingmarket at the Archeon

With the leaves on the trees slowly changing color. The international vikingmarket at the Archeon for us always marks the end of summer and the end of our re-enactment season.

Picture taken in the morning. I tried wearing my woollen apron dress for as long as possible during the day. Just to be able to show of my nice viking jewellery!

Warning my husband collects the shrunken heads of his enemies. His wood carved heads always attrack a lot of attention.

Our son his recurve bow isn't correct for the viking age. It was a gift from a friend and he really loves it. So we let him use it after closing time. Doesn't he look cool?!

Unfortunately we couldn't stand in the same spot as the group of friends we usually stand with but we got a really good spot in the shade. Near a path so we had a lot of contact with the public and with wonderful neighbours. So we weren't complaining.

Some of our friendly neighbours.

This is one of my favorite spots in the Archeon.

A friendly game of throwing dice.

I think one of the best things of our hobby is meeting al those really talented people.

This lady was working on Birka posaments. Why do the Swedes always get the nice bling!

Photo by Korsjan Punt

Photo made by Korsjan Punt  

On of my rounds with a good friend. I didn't have time to speak with all my friends. A weekend just isn't long enough to talk with everyone I'd like to talk to!

Vikingmarket Schothorst Amersfoort

The early medieval has been really growing the last couple of years. This year it had almost doubled in size compared to last year. Still it manages to keep the relaxed and friendly atmosphere it is famous for.

It was really warm about 26C, which is warm for Dutch standards. So most of us, including me, choose to wear only our linens during the warm hours of the days. While others frowned upon it and wore a woollen layer as well.

I am not from the early middle ages so I can't tell which option is the most authentic. For me it was common sense to wear only a (sleeveless) linen tunic during the warmest hours of the day. I have been sick from the heat before and I was trying to avoid getting sick again. In my humble opinion our ancestors would have been just as practical.

I did however miss my apron dress because al my nice vikingbling is attached to it and without it I did feel kind of boring and plain looking. I am a peacock, I can't help it.

Usually I forget my straw sunhat. We have many more wet events during a year than warm and sunny ones but I was really happy that I did bring it. It really helps keeping a cool head.

We had such a good time that we didn't get around to making a lot of pictures.

1880's Mourning Hat

When I wore my black Victorian bustle costume last December. I was asked a lot by the public if it was mourning costume, others just assumed it was. Although it is completly black it was not intended to be a mourning costume. If it had been I would have done more research into the etiquette of mourning dress. Also I wasn't in mourning at that moment.

This hat however is exactly what it looks like, a mourning hat. When I started working on it the only idea behind it was to make a hat for my black bustle costume. I stopped working on it when I found out that my mother was terminally ill and dying of cancer. This was also the reason why I stopped working on most, if not all, of my projects. My mother has passed away on the 11th of June and for me the best way to express and deal with my emotions always has been though my creativity. So making this mourning hat in her honor was kinda like therapy for me.

Day at the Park, Capelle aan de IJssel

The weather wasn't great but the public was very nice and it was wonderful to see some of our late medieval friends again. We do late medieval events way too little I am sad to say.

Audrey is handsewing. 

It's just one of the chores you "forget"

about during the winter.

Our son casting pewter while his

father was working on the soapstone molds

Me giving knitting in the round another try.

Peter doing some leatherworking