1920s in Berlin

There's not been a whole lot of sewing happening lately since I've been in Berlin for the past couple months, taking language classes and soaking up the unique atmosphere of the city.  I did, however, bring along the pieces for a 1920s dress which I had cut out earlier this year, and which I then finished in time for a 20's party here.  I'll write more about the event later once pictures show up, but for now here are pictures of the new dress taken at an art nouveau era building (now hotel) in Schöneberg.

My dress is based off an orginal which was for sale on Ebay, and is made of midnight blue velvet with insets of crinkled silver silk lamé.  The overall design is really quite simple, and it took almost no time at all to pattern.  Since I did most of the sewing away from home and far far away from my sewing machine, the whole dress is sewn by hand.

It was really fun to wear this style... I'd not done anything from the 20s before even though I've always liked the time period.  I was constantly amazed at how incredibly simple it all was, especially when you constrast it with clothing from the Edwardian era.  To go from a dress which is a feat of engineering with mind-boggling closure systems to something which you can just slip over your head must have been world-changing for the women back then. 

It was actually slightly stressful cutting out the skirt... I'm normally used to doing earlier periods where the skirts almost reach the ground and the pieces are about 37-40 inches long, while this skirt was only about 18 long including seam allowance.  I had to keep telling myself over and over that, no, I'd measured everything properly and it would be just fine.  But it still seems like the most scandelously short thing when I was cutting!

 

An evening of cards and merriment - 1790s Gown

Yesterday evening I attended a Regency Card Party at the lovely Jenny Rose's house, and it was the perfect excuse to finish the 1797 gown which I had started over a year ago. 

The gown is made of white cotton voile and a pale yellow vintage silk organza sari with masses of embroidery and beading.  The cross-front overgown, layered over the separate silk petticoat, is trimmed with silk ribbon and has silk sleeves lined with the cotton voile.  The bodice is lined with white linen and pins shut.  I wore this gown without a corset or any extra support garment, just a sleeveless shift under the petticoat (which is kept up at the under-bust by little inch-wide straps) and gown.  Everything stayed in place and I was super comfortable all evening, which is sometimes the important part.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about 1790s fashions... I really love the crazy mish-mash of styles often seen in fashion plates and how ridiculous and over the top it all can be, but wearing it is something else entirely.  Maybe it's because I'm used to much more fitted bodices or at least the slim lines of later regency styles, but I felt a little bit like a marshmallow in this gown.  Puffy gathers all around the body don't really do much for one's figure.

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again and again:  Jenny Rose is the ultimate hostess, and her parties are an absolute delight.  Her seriously impressive collection of candelabras was put to very good use, lighting everything with delicate candlelight.  We nibbled on period appropriate hors d'oevres (my favorite was the syllabub, why it's not wildly popular nowadays is something I cannot comprehend.  Syllabub is like magic in dessert form.) and enjoyed a wide array of beverages, both alcoholic and not.

And of course we played cards!  I didn't try my hand at whist, but had a really good time playing Speculation.  It was a close game, and in spite of not ultimately winning, the aces were very good to me that night.  ;)

(all photos courtesy of Nicole)

This time on ivory

While I'm catching up a little on projects I finished a while ago, I thought I should probably post about a portrait miniature which I painted last spring.  Aubry, a truly lovely historical costumer, had contacted me about doing a miniature of her husband in late 18th century style and clothing.  This gave me the opportunity to paint a miniature on actual ivory, something I'd not before attempted.

Painting on ivory was definitely an... experience.  As much as I thought polymer clay wasn't absorbant, ivory was even less so.  Very, very slick.  After a bit of trial and error, I found that the best way to apply the paint was in very tiny, little brush-strokes.  A sort of stippling in tiny lines instead of dots, if that makes sense.

I can totally see how one would need all the years of an apprenticeship to be able to call one's self a miniaturist!  The skill is definitely one that requires practice.

Just a little something from 1862

Sometimes my little-ish projects never manage to make it onto the blog, as was the case for a Civil War headdress which I made almost a year ago.  I used it as part of a 'ladies fashion accessories in the 1860s' display at an event at the Mariner's Museum, but, as that was the last Civil War event I've done, have never actually worn it with an outfit.

For inspiration and instruction, I used this print from the March 1862 edition of Godey's Lady's Book.  The accompanying text reads:
"This coiffure is very simple, and generally becoming.  The rosettes are formed of pieces of bias silk, about an inch and a half in width; the edges are cut out in points, and the silk box-pleated and formed into a rosette, then sewn on to stiff net; the band can be of velvet or silk, and a bow of ribbon to match the silk is often placed on one side of the band.  One or more colors can be used; rose sublime and black make a good contrast."

I used silk taffeta in rose and cream, and followed the directions as closely as possible.  Each rosette is made of a ten inch by 1.5 inch strip of silk, cut with pinking shears, and box-pleated before the threads were pulled up to create the rosette.  The rosettes were then sewn to light-weight buckrum, and then sewn onto a band of matching rose silk.  Naturally, all work was done by hand.

As I have no plans whatsover for any 1860s events in the coming year or so, I've put this headdress up for sale on etsy: here.  I figure that someone ought to put it to good use since I'm apparently not going to!

This is my normal

Obviously, my recent creative pursuits have been somewhat taken over by Steampunk, and it's provided a refreshing contrast to the vast majority of what I constantly sew and make (which has not before appeared on my blog).

As many of you probably know, I work at the Costume Design Center of Colonial Williamsburg.  I was a stitcher for about a year and a half before becoming the first hand approximately six months ago.  (I say "the" first hand instead of "a" first hand since I'm the only one... in the shop there are two cutter/drapers, myself as the first hand, and about twelve stitchers)

For eight hours each day I fit, alter, cut, make, and repair countless pieces of clothing for the historical interpreters and actors at CW.  Lately I've been working a lot with our designer on a couple special projects, including some experimenting with 18th century techniques for painting silk (that's been loads of fun so far).

Naturally, the vast majority of what I work on is 18th century clothing, though due to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War there are now several programs set in that time period for which I've made mid-19th century clothing, plus some 17th century pieces for programs at Jamestown.

I can't even begin to tell you how many full allotments of clothing I've worked on.  Hundreds.  Too many to possibly remember.

Men's civilian coats.  Regimental coats.  Waistcoats.  Breeches.  Shirts.  Shifts.  Petticoats.  Plain gowns.  Gowns with ridiculous amounts of trim.  Caraco jackets.  Bedgowns.  Short jackets.  Jackets from Patterns of Fashion and Diderot.  Aprons.  Cravats.  Kerchiefs.  Caps.  Haversacks.  Trousers.  Gaitor trousers.  Spatterdashes.  Riding Habits.  Cloaks.  Greatcoats.

And that's just the ordinary, 1770s stuff... special programs and the theatrical plays often branch out into other time periods or sometimes simply get a little bit crazy.

Here's a small sampling of things I've made at work... obviously this doesn't cover the whole scope of what I do, and have done, there, but it should give you a general idea.  All designs, materials, etc belong to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Wool coat and small clothes, cut edge with hand finishing and buttonholes.  Worn by Tailor's Apprentice Michael McCarty.

Continental Army Officer: Regimental Coat.  Worn for the portrayal of The Marquis de Lafayette. Photo by Jurgen Vösych.

1860s Dress for the Women of the Civil War Tours.

Corded Mid-19th Century Corset.

1770s Stays.

  

Fife and Drum Regimental Coat.  Incidentally, this is the first full garment I made working at CW.

So there you have it.  A little taste of what I'm up to all those hours I'm not working on my own projects and ideas.  Being surrounded by the 18th century all day every day has certainly changed my attitude in regards to my own work... I think it has a great deal to do with why I've become so inspired lately by Steampunk.  Historical clothing has become my normal, and like the Amazon commercial says, "normal just begs to be messed with".

Liebster Blogs!

 
Having recieved the Liebster Blog award from Comtesse Olympe de la Tour D'Auvergne about a month or so ago (many, many thanks!), I was faced with a difficult dilemma.  One is supposed to pass the award along to five other blogs, with less than 200 followers, who you feel are deserving of recognition.  The award has been going around for quite a while now though, and the vast majority of those on my blog-roll who have less than 200 followers have already been recipients of the award.

If anyone has other little-known, un-awarded blogs on their list, I'd love to find out what I might be missing!  As it is, here are three really great blogs which deserve many, many more followers than what they currently have.


Sweet Threads, Dude! - It is a crime that this super talented costumer has less than twenty followers.  She makes truly awesome historical menswear.  Seriously.  You have to check her out!
The Third Wyrd - Fantasy illustrator with various paintings, studies, and works-in-progress.  Great stuff!
Stitcher Baby -  Historical costumes ect... Lindsey is studying for her master's degree in Costume Design, and does quite wonderful work.

I am the Night - Steampunk Ballgown

 Every good costume event naturally includes a Grand Ball of some sorts, and Teslacon was no exception.  The ball itself was hands down the best dance I have ever been to, far outstripping all the Civil War and Regency balls in terms of equal numbers of men and women (all who had clearly made an effort to look as fabulous as possible) and general affability and an eagerness to be social and mingle. It was glorious.

For my gown, I mainly drew inspiration from evening gowns from about 1905-08, and as the whole theme of Teslacon was 'a journey to the moon' Nicole and I themed our dresses accordingly.  She was the Moon and I was the Night.

The fabric is a greyish lavender lightweight rayon blend with a texturized stripe, and a shimmery black of some unnatural fiber was used for the accent.  The upper portion of the skirt was stitched with hundreds of small tucks along the stripes of the fabric before the pieces of the skirt were cut out and sewn together.  The bodice is also mainly constructed of the tucked fabric, and is lined with polished cotton of a similar color.  The bottom edge of the bodice is piped, and it closes up the back quite simply with hooks and eyes.

Of course, it's the accessories that really make an outfit, and I had loads of fun making the little half-mask headpiece to go with the dress.  It's made from clock hands, which were very lightweight and quite easy to shape as I wanted, stitched to a ribbon covered headband.  A spray of black feathers finished it all off.  The one thing I did not make, actually, was the wonderful, beaded necklace/shoulder piece.  I found it on ebay, and it worked perfectly with what I was aiming for.

We took a few pictures the night of the ball, but gowns rarely show to best advantage in hotel hallways, so yesterday Nicole and I got all dressed up once more and ventured out for a photoshoot.  We ended up taking pictures in the wonderful sculpture yard outside Charlie's Antiques... the owners were really nice and seemed quite happy to let us wander all around and take as many photos as we wanted.

We had SO much fun doing the photoshoot, and choosing only a few pictures to put on the blog was really difficult.  As it is, I leave you with perhaps more pictures than I would normally post... 

And finally, a couple images of Nicole and I together. Self-timers are a blogger's best friend!