New website coming

I am working hard on the content of a new website for a new group. 

The Victorian Society "De Gracieuse"
or Het Victoriaanse Gezelschap "De Gracieuse" in Dutch.
I will keep you posted!

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...

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...

A Victorian Ladies Winter Hood.

I had fallen in love with the pattern and had bought it but wasn't planning on making it soon. That was until the school that I work at borrowed some of my victorian/ edwardian costumes for their Christmas play Father Panov. The setting of the play was nostalgic with a russian feel. One of the costume pieces was a red cape and I thought it would look magnificent on the actress and have a more "russian feel"  with a hood.

side

back

The pattern I used for the hood part was Kay Fig, Ladies Winter Hood 1860, copy of an original pattern.

The school play was great and both actresses looked wonderful in their costumes which made me very proud! Dressing them was also a lot of fun and I loved being involved in the play.

After the play I added some extra black velvet decoration and wore it to the Deventer Dickens fair.The plan was to make it detachable. So I could wear the cape with or without it but if I have enough fabric left I might make the original attached cape from the pattern. Worn over the cape it's an extra layer for warmth but it will also be a nice costume piece on it's own.

Here is a good view of the front 

Photograph made by Benne Solinger

http://www.beninbeeld.nl/wordpress/

Creative Christmas

My family by now knows that I can't sit still and that I am a much happier person when I am doing something. When I am forced to sit still for long periods of time I get grumpy, bored, or sleepy.

So I made these...

  Christmas Eve

This was a felt diy kit given to me by a friend.

It is easy to do but I am not used to working with a glue gun.

Finished these on Christmas Day

These two broomstick lace neckwarmer had been

lying around nearly finished for quite some time.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

I had bought the yarn and the crochet circle vest pattern 

to make myself a vest for fall.

I never got around to it....

Dickens festijn (Dickens fair) Deventer 2014

After looking at the weather forecast we decided to go to Dickens festijn (a Dickens fair) in Deventer on Sunday. It turned out to be a wise decision. The weather on Sunday was not too bad at all, while Saturdag was horrible. They even closed earlier due to the weather conditions.

On Friday, two days before the event, I decided that I really needed a pair of early victorian stays. Last year my back really ached because of the weight of my quilted petticoat. So when I finally decided which costume I was going to wear. Yes, first world problems I know... I ment making a pair of stays or having to deal with a serious backache all day.

I had bought Past Patterns pattern #705, Early to Mid Nineteenth Century Stays earlier this year. Not having enoug time for a "real" pair of stays, I made a mock-up of view A in some coutile I had left over.

view A (R) 1830-1860 Sensible stays

Although it's not pretty and some extra tweaking still has to been done. It did the trick and distributed the weight of the petticoat. Which made walking around much easier!

front

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I don't have many pictures of yesterday and the ones I do have are not great. They have been taken at the end of the day when I was already really tired and it shows.

And here is our christmas card for all of you !

Anton Pieck Parade 2014

The weather forecasts had been frightfully bad the whole week. With horrid tales of heavy rains and storms. So when  it only rained a little for a short while last Saturday. We felt truly blessed! 

This year our son came along. It's doesn't happen often

that we have a picture with the three of us in it.

Two of my girlfriends joined us as well.

My 1840's dress looks better on her than it does on me!

This year the lady in the middle didn't need to borrow

one of my costumes. She made her own and

I think she did a splendid job!

This picture is taken in our "living"room.

My husband is teaching our son how to write 

with a dip pen.

It was his first time writing with a dip pen

but he got the hang of it almost immediately.

All three of the ladies where doing needlework.

A proper activity for fine victorian ladies.

Added bonus was that I got some work done.

I added some braid decoration to the 

1860's winter hood that I am currently working on.

Me at the end of the day, tired but happy.