The Vintage Nerd Sews

Pincushions were a valuable tool in the 18th century, when most people made and repaired their own clothing. These little keepers of pins are prevalent in art of the time, often found hanging from aprons and waistbands. We see two main types: pin balls and pin pillows. They can be simple or elaborate, but they all serve the same purpose. Below are images of a few surviving examples. All of these happen to be embroidered, but not all were. Some pin balls had a silver band to join the two halves, and others had ribbon.   Pinball, 1750-1800, Winterthur Museum. This pinball is embroidered on both sides. Pincushion, 1770-1800, Manchester Art Gallery Embroidered pincushion, 1770-1780, Colonial Williamsburg I went to a couple of different sources for making this practical 18th century tool. The information and photos on Kozy Kitty's tutorial were really valuable in helping me visualize how the pin ball came together, even though I opted not to embroider mine. You can find the blog po...

Reenacting and historical costuming is marked by the growing, improving, and continuous learning you do. With my journey into the 18th century in particular, I've focused on balancing research and creating. It's easy for me to get "analysis paralysis" and stuck in a researching spiral without ever accomplishing. I'm proud of the fact that I've not allowed myself to do that as I've pursued this project. However, it means re-making things as I learn more about what an item should look like and as my own skills improve. Previously, it was my stays; now I've redone my cap.  I used the same pattern and the same fully hand-sewn construction techniques as before. My first cap was made of cotton organza, and there is nothing wrong with that. It looked nice, and from what I have been able to learn, would be appropriate for an upper-middle class impression. However, I'm focusing on a working class or lower-middle class impression, where a cap out of a simple...

I haven't had time to get into my sewing room for about a month now, aside from a couple of days when I didn't have the energy to sew. It seems unfair that the days often fall like that for a season, but for the next few weeks, I'm looking at the grey cloud of my husband being gone on orders for the silver lining of extra time to be in the sewing room.  Fort Frederick Market Faire is in a couple of weeks, and I am planning on going. I'll be able to meet friends from the internet in person, and shop hands-on at vendors that I've only purchased from online in the past. I'm planning to go in period clothing, as well. I'm extremely excited! However, with the excitement comes nerves. I'm a perfectionist and struggle with a little social anxiety (as we all do on occasion), so wearing my 18th century creations somewhere that a lot of very knowledgeable people will be is frankly, terrifying. In order to feel confident, I want to complete a couple more items for ...

  Shortly after I finished my cloak, I realized that I'd need mitts to ensure full protection from the elements. The first attempt, in scraps of a blue windowpane check wool, was something of a measure once, cut twice situation. I won't say I do it all the time, as I have grown and learned to take my time as a seamstress over the years, but I will say that I still do it often enough to keep myself both frustrated and humble. For the second attempt at cutting out my mitts, I was much more careful of my dimensions, and successfully cut out mitts in a solid blue melton wool. For linings, I used scraps from my failed short gown, a cream cotton with blue palempore print.  I enlarged the pattern found in  Costume Close Up , and because the instructions there are comparable to the instructions on a Week 8 Bakeoff technical, I used the instructions from the American Duchess  Guide to 18th Century Costuming  to actually put things together. Once again, I love the i...

While I love to sew, I have no desire to ever pursue sewing as a full-time job again. However, I am fascinated with the job of seamstress or tailor throughout time. One of the constants are the tools of the trade: needles, thread, scissors, pins. These were particularly important in the 18th century, as all sewing was done with these tools--no machines to be found. I've not put my sewing machine up on the shelf permanently, but I have begun transferring some of its work to more old-fashioned methods as I assemble my 18th century wardrobe. For Christmas, I received a few of these tools, as seen in the photo below. All of these came from Samson Historical.  L-R: Shears, bone thread winders, bone bodkin, and bone awl When it comes to their uses, the bodkin is perhaps the most unusual for modern sewists. It's not so much a sewing tool as it is a tool for getting dressed. When lacing up stays or the interior of a gown, by threading the lacing through a bone bodkin, the job can be do...

The second part of my posts on accessories covers those I made myself! There aren't quite as many of these, but they are no less important to the ensemble. Cap Cap, modeled here by my lovely mannequin I think that the cap was the part of the ensemble that gave me the most flashbacks to my junior high costuming misadventures. I will forever be scarred by Butterick's costume version of a mob cap--a big, fat floppy circle of cotton with elastic running through it, more akin to a shower cap than the elegant caps you see in portraits of the era. You know, this one. I would have avoided a cap if I could, but they were an important part of a woman's attire, one purpose of which was to help keep the hair clean and protected from the dirt and dust of the day. The various historical costuming accounts on Instagram were a huge help in allowing me to visualize what a proper 18th century cap should and would look like, and after much deliberation, I decided to use the "Bess" c...

Straw hat, block printed handkerchief, and pottery water jug  Handkerchiefs I purchased my first handkerchief at Wm. Booth, Draper, during the Ft. Loudon Market Faire earlier this summer. As a note, this was my very first Revolutionary War event. I attended as a spectator with some friends, and it was a wonderful experience to visit the various vendors and talk with them. Everyone was friendly, knowledgeable, and kind. As you can see, I have since expanded my handkerchief collection, with a beautiful blue and yellow handkerchief gifted to me by a friend, and my newest, a vivid multicolor on white purchased from Historical Hat Lady on Etsy. I love 18th century handkerchiefs not only for their vivid but simple designs, but also because they can be styled in a variety of ways! Slightly smaller ones make wonderful turbans for 1940s workwear and casual looks, and larger ones can be made into backless halter tops for a summery 1930s look.  Straw Hat Trimming in progress The hat also...