The Vintage Nerd Sews

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 ...

We spent the weekend visiting the place I've dreamed of visiting since I was ten years old and first read an American Girl book: Colonial Williamsburg. Friday night, we walked around the campus of William & Mary and the main street of Colonial Williamsburg while the sun set. Even though it was excruciatingly hot on Saturday, we made it all day walking around and seeing almost all of the historical village. The buildings were beautiful, the interpreters were knowledgeable, and the food was excellent. Wren Hall at the College of William & Mary  The Governor's Palace at night       I was a little worried as we drove down to Virginia that I had built up this experience in my mind over the last 20 years, and that it wouldn't be that interesting after all. I was also worried, looking at the weather, that if I didn't wear my 18th century garments on the day we planned to tour things, it wouldn't be the same if I got photos another day. Both worries were truly silly...

I didn't get the market bonnet made in time, but I did finish my linen gown in time to wear to Fort Frederick Market Fair this weekend. Under it, I wore my new Augusta Stays and the undergarments and petticoats I made last summer. After several hours walking around in it all, I had a few fit notes. Thankfully, nearly all were quick fixed that I was able to correct in a short amount of time.  The first thing was my stays. I found the fit to be overall good, but gapping a bit at the bust. This is normal for me, so I typically just add a little padding and call it a day. However, after several hours of wear, I realized that these needed an adjustment. The curved portions of the stays top where the shoulder straps attach spent the afternoon digging into the front of my underarms. Having narrow shoulders as well, I didn't love where the straps sat on my shoulders, so I applied a quick fix. I shifted the eyelet down and further in, trimming down the curve of the top of the stays. Aft...