Regency Bits and Bobs

-

I've been working away piecemeal on some 1790s-1810s things. I don't think I'm ready to go full Regency, but the transitionary period is really fascinating to me right now. As I said in a previous post, I'm looking to make an open robe and a Chemise a la Reine, but those feel like big projects for the moment. Since time, energy, and money aren't at a level to channel into this project heavily at present, I've dipped my toe in to the era with a chemisette, a short sleeveless spencer, and stays. 

While listening to lectures for grad school, I find that knitting and hand sewing are a nice activities to help me stay focused and keep the fidgets away (lectures average 3 hours, and while they're good, they're often quite dry). At the end of last month, using the American Duchess 18th century dressmaking book (see this post for more information), I cut out the shirt-style chemisette from some white cotton dimity given to me by a co-worker cleaning out her fabric stash. I started sewing the chemisette on the machine, but I knew after one little bit that it would be far more of a hassle to feed this delicate cotton with its small hems through the machine, so by hand it was. I am still shocked at how quickly this came together. In one three-hour lecture, I completed all of the stitching. It was a nice little palate cleanser, and I'm incredibly proud of how my hand sewing skills have grown in just a short amount of time! I suppose making an entire 18th century gown 85% by hand will do it. 

The chemisette laid flat.

Felled seam along shoulder

Tiny stitches. To the right, you can see where I used the machine. All the rest is handsewn, and I do a little happy dance every time I see my beautiful, miniscule stitches.

Collar joined to body

Front hem detail

I love the effect of the plaid dimity with the more "mannish" shirt collar. It will make for a nice contrast against the feminine shapes of the early regency period.  I perhaps should have gone with something a tad crisper, but it's nothing a bit of starch can't fix. I enjoyed this so much that I'm currently working on putting together the version with ruffled neckline for a friend. For some history on the indispensable accessory known as the chemisette, the Fashion History Timeline (FIT) has a nice overview here.  


While I was still working on small stash-busting pieces as I waited for big fabric money to be back in the budget, I ended up scoring just over 6 yards of this lovely striped blue cotton above at the thrift store! It's a slightly richer blue in person, and very lightweight. I'd like to think it's my reward for doing the right thing and budgeting well this pay period instead of buying lovely (but pricier) fabric online when it would have been a squeeze. I'm planning on using this for an everyday dress for the 1805-1810 period using Black Snail 219. The pattern looks like it will be a comfortable, flattering, easy-wearing dress, and I'm looking forward to working on it between my more pressing responsibilities. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1780s Round Gown, Part I

-
Image
There is a lot of content here, so I'm breaking this up into three separate posts. Two will be on the gown itself; the third will be on the accessories I made to wear with it. And now to the good stuff! When we visited Williamsburg, I knew I wanted to pick up some of the reproduction fabric they sell. I chose the Serpentine Vine cotton, and got 5 yards, enough to make a simple gown. You can see here on their site the comparison between the reprint and the original fabric--it's remarkably close! By the Monday after our trip, I already knew what I wanted to do with the cotton: a round gown, using the one from Fitting & Proper as my guide. As my sewing machines were both giving me trouble at this time, I decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to sew a gown 100% by hand--no machine sewing at the skirt side seams or anywhere else I would usually "cheat." I also decided that just for fun, I'd also track my time spent on making this gown from start to
Read more

Seraphina Vines and Spring Blooms: 1780s Round Gown, Part III

-
Image
Everything aligned at last to do a proper photoshoot of my round gown, and seeing the photos, it was worth the wait. Liz and I are so often on the same page for photos, it's not even funny, and this time, we were both feeling inspired by Fragonard's pastoral-yet-decadent portraits. I think she absolutely nailed it. I used a silk ribbon for my sash, and my hat is trimmed with velvet ribbon from my stash. The wind spent the entire shoot trying to steal my hat. Pleats and back shaping As always, I find things to correct every time I wear a make for an extended period of time. Most obvious to me is my too-much tucker. I'll be making the ruffles fuller and the height shorter. I'll also re-gather the back of this cap--the gathering needs to be more concentrated at the top. At present, the gathers seem to almost drag it down. It's nice to know that there are only tiny tweaks to make this time. I'm looking forward to wearing this gown again, and styling it in other ways
Read more

A Man's Fine Linen Shirt

-
Image
As I put the finishing touches on my round gown, I was ready to dive headfirst back in to the 18th century. There's something addicting about the peacefulness hand sewing brings me. I wasn't quite ready to tackle my Francaise yet--there are a lot of things that need done first, including remaking my dressmaker's mannequin. Instead, I thought I'd take a rather sharp fork in the road and head the opposite direction, taking a gander at menswear. When my husband was considering joining in on the early American costuming shenanigans a couple of years ago, I had made him a checked linen shirt. However, we never got much further than that, and his historical interests are considerably more modern. I still wanted to try my hand at menswear, but I didn't want to force him into it either, so I decided that I should work with what I had: me! I don't see many women in the historical costuming community making menswear. Perhaps its because few of our men share our interest e
Read more