The Vintage Nerd Sews

I finally made an underpetticoat. I can't vouch for its historical accuracy, but it does the job.  With optional handkerchief as a top Fabric is a heathered blue and cream stripe cotton from my stash. It's a heavier weight cotton, reminiscent of a chambray. The cream of the stripes is the same as the twill tape I had in my stash, so it ended up looking even more put-together than I intended. I had exactly the right amount: 1.5 yards of a 45" width. I cut it in half top to bottom so that the selvedges were the side seams, and pleated it. With a 1" hem, it comes perfectly to below my knee, the right length for an underpetticoat, and for wearing around the house this summer as well. I'm hoping to spend more time working in my garden and yard this summer, and a sturdy cotton skirt like this will be perfect. Also, thanks to the side slit closure, I can wear it with my pockets and haul around all my gardening tools on me, rather than leaving them around the yard like a ...

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...

I said in an earlier post that I strongly dislike making historical undergarments. Making stays seems to have done something to my brain, because a few weeks back, I spent the weekend sewing and cording a pair of ladies' short stays, and while sewing cording channels did start to get dull toward the end (I cheated and used the sewing machine for this bit), I thoroughly enjoyed cording and assembling them.  The first portion of cording underway with the help of a circa 1900 needle. Stays front ready for cording I used Laughing Moon 115 for these, opting for the short stays option. For cording, I used cotton yarn from my stash, and salvaged zip ties from my failed half-boned stays for the couple of places boning was required. For a busk, I'm going to use a paint stirrer, as was recommended as a "cheat" by the pattern. I happened to have one lying around the house, and it fits perfectly in width! One unfortunate issue with this pattern is the cup size. I went with my rec...

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 ...

I mentioned in my last post that I had found a lengthy yardage of blue striped cotton and I was planning to make it up using Black Snail 219. She's complete! The pattern was quite simple, with only a handful of pieces. Where the pattern called for standard straight seams (skirt, sleeves), I opted to use my sewing machine, which was a big time-saver. The bodice and hems I did by hand. Authenticity is good, but when you've got the kind of schedule that requires all hand sewing to be done as a part of multitasking, "cheating" makes it possible to complete projects in a more timely manner. By only doing my hand sewing while I listen to lectures for school or watch a movie in the evening with my husband, I find that I can indulge the creativity that keeps me happy while making sure I'm using all of my time wisely (and avoiding the guilt that comes with feeling like I've wasted time).  Back seaming details I made very few modifications to this pattern. I found it to...

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 fabr...

I now have a fully functional 18th century working class ensemble for summer and for winter completed. With accessories, I can take my brown wool gown and dress it up more formally for special occasions, and the lightweight fabric makes it appropriate for fall through spring. I'm very proud of my accomplishments, and this sewing project has brought me a joy in sewing that I haven't felt in a very long time.  So now what?  I have some small improvements I plan to make to the things I already have. First and foremost, I plan to re-hem my sage green petticoat. I did an imperfect job, and you can see the hem stitches pulling all the way around the front (but of course the hidden backside looks fine). Larger improvements include a better pair of stays, this time using the Augusta stays from Virgil's Fine Goods, which everyone I follow on Instagram seems to have made and loved. The stays I currently have aren't a perfect fit, and the cut doesn't improve my bust situation,...