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...

A slight diversion from my standard content. I wanted to share portions of these wonderful 1930s beauty magazines, and Instagram really doesn't do things justice. The simplest option seemed to me to upload the tutorials and images here, and provide a link via other social media platforms. This way everyone can see full-scale, quality image resolution versions of the photos, as well as download and pin! So without further ado: That's all of the inspiration and style images, as well as the tutorials! I found them very interesting, and am looking forward to trying some. I hope you enjoyed this!

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...