A new challenge - Historical Sew Fortnightly (or, in which I have sewing ADD and start yet another project)

So, instead of finishing the neckline ruffle / trim on the cranberry anglaise this week, I decided to take a break and work on something else - something other than the quilted petticoat (finished) and linen chemise (also finished) that were finished last week.  

On Friday, I stumbled across a reference to a Historical Sew Fortnightly that fit quite well with my project list this year... 

(From 'The Dreamstress') :

"#9: Flora and Fauna – due May 6.  Textiles and the natural world are inextricably linked.  Until very recently, all textiles were made from flora (linen, raime, hemp) or fauna (wool, silk, fur), and dyed with flora and fauna.  Flora and fauna also influenced the decoration of textiles, from Elizabethan floral embroidery, to Regency beetle-wing dresses, to Edwardian bird-trimmed hats.  Celebrate the natural world (hopefully without killing any birds) with a flora and/or fauna inspired garment."

I saw that and thought: flora or fauna inspired garment, decoration of textiles, historical  - sounds like a good fit for the indienne-esque tablecloth that I was going to make into an anglaise en fourreau (something of a muslin).  Just moves that up the timetable a little, and means that the cranberry will be done mid-May instead.

Problem: the challenge is due May 6... which leaves me all of ten days (actually less given my schedule) to sew it.  

If I succeed, that'll be the fastest I've ever created anything more complex than a simple skirt. 

So, here goes...  Ready, set...!

Cranberry 1770s anglaise - part 1 - almost there!

Work's been insane this week, so haven't had time to sew much...  I completed half of a quilted petticoat (cheated a bit with pre-quilted fabric) and cutting/pinning the chemise, in addition to sewing the ribbon ties to the skirt.

So, here's a couple pictures of the gown with the sleeves sewn on, and one with the flounces "put" on (not even pinned at that point) just to see how they look.  Have a few modifications to make to the bodice as well, so the next batch of pictures will be the (hopefully) completed ones (perhaps even with accessories finished; we'll see what progress can be made this weekend)...

I'm not super excited about how the sleeves turned out.  WAY too many wrinkles... will probably have to take in the top a half inch or so; even though the mock-up sleeve pinned and fit fine (grr), looks like I may have gotten the alignment of the seams slightly off (or didn't take in enough at the top).  But, as this dress is essentially a (hopefully wearable) muslin for the "dresses that count" (the tablecloth and/or non-period cranberry copperplate anglaise en fourreau and the Waverly/curtain saque), a little bit of a learning curve is ok, right? :-)

Pictures...

Cranberry 1770s anglaise - part 1 - finishing the bodice and skirt

Since the fabric was so thin, I decided that I needed to line the bodice (not the sleeves, since I'd be wearing this with a chemise anyway) so it would wear better (and also give an extra layer between the boned stays and the exterior of the dress).

Bodice, lining pinned in place:

Then, once the lining was pinned, I created a sleeve mock-up out of the lining fabric.

Cranberry 1770s anglaise - part 1 - bodice (reprise) and sleeve flounces

With the extra strip that was left over from when I cut the skirt, I decided to make sleeve flounces for the 3/4 length sleeves.  Anglaise sleeves sometimes had flounces and sometimes didn't; the Snowhill Manor dress did, so I'm basing mine on that.  And yes, I worked on the flounces before I measured/cut/attached the sleeves to the bodice.  I'm not a fan of sleeves (most costumers aren't; especially period sleeves because they're very tricksy), so I did the easy stuff first.

Sleeve flounces strip and partial pinning:

Sleeve flounce, fully pinned (and standing upright on its hem):

Sleeve flounces, sewn (pinned together):

Fixing the bodice...

Cranberry 1770s anglaise - part 1 - skirt and bodice

The skirt was relatively easy (though time-consuming for the waistband and pleating).  I decided to cut the skirt (110 inches hem) as one long piece, so I would only have to do one side hem as a rolled seam.  The fold I edge I cheated a bit and just pinned it and sewed to make it look like a seam.  I used the selvege edge of the fabric (since it was nice and clean) as the hem of the skirt, and then measured the length from there and cut off what I didn't need from the other selvege edge (to become the top of the skirt under a waistband and therefore not seen).  I used most of that strip that was cut off as the sleeve flounces (see the next post) with the selvege edge again as the 'hem'.

At the top, I used even (equidistant) knife pleats for both the front and back, facing away from the center; the front center had a flat space where the point of the bodice will go.

Skirt pictures...

Cranberry 1770s robe à l'anglaise - part 1

I was inspired to make this dress (technically, separate bodice and skirt) after visiting Colony House in Newport and being invited to their Independence Day celebration this year.  I'd been toying with the idea of making a colonial-era dress for a while, but hadn't been inspired or confident enough to get started.

So, here's the initial planning post...

The new blog...

With all of the projects I have worked on over the years, and being inspired by examples of experienced costumers' blogs, I'm embarking on my own attempt at costume-creation blogging. :-)


How my adventures in costuming began...