HSF #19 - adventures with metal

My original project for this challenge was going to be remaking (recovering) an oriental parasol with a cloth cover instead of paper (which was badly ripped/split) and by strengthening the ribs and the lines securing them.  But... that's rather ambitious for a short timeline, so it'll have to stay on the "to-do" list.

Instead, I made shoe buckles.

Back when I photographed the final product for my "flora, fauna" HSF entry - the indienne anglaise - I wore the correct shoes, but at the time didn't have anything (other than ribbon) to secure them with (and for the photoshoot didn't even bother with that).  Seeing American Duchess' beautiful buckles gave me an idea to make my own - functional and not nearly as delicate, but will do in a pinch (and from afar).  First attempt came out rather well, actually, and the next time I'll make them a bit smaller, and probably in a circle instead of rectangle.

Without further ado, here they are (on American Duchess' Kensingtons, with totally period-incorrect socks):

Just the facts...!

The Challenge: HSF #19 - Wood, metal, bone... 18th century metal shoe buckles

Fabric: none

Pattern: none; self-drafted (somewhat on the fly - aka, as I was making it and finding out what worked and what doesn't) based on images of period buckles

Year: 1770s

Notions: main material is florists' wire (I forget what gauge, but approx. 3/32" thick); maybe 1 yard total for both?  I didn't measure it out.

How historically accurate is it: I highly doubt that anyone in the 18th century made the buckles like I did, out of two pieces of wire twisted around each other into a buckle shape and compressed using pliers to stay together.  However, from a distance (as in, from eye height, or when walking around) they look accurate enough.  Close inspection would render them creatively inaccurate in construction though they have all of the requisite parts and fasten in the same way that historical buckles do (see pictures below for details).

Hours to complete: ok, so this one now takes the cake for fastest project.  Excluding research time, actual construction was about an hour for both (about 40 minutes for the first one, and then the second went much faster).

First worn: only for the photos here

Total cost: stash strikes again!  Made from wire I'd gotten to do some other project with, and had plenty extra left over.  So, free. :-)

The making of...

The shoes, prior to buckles:

 The wire:

Close-ups of the final product.  I can walk in it and it stays on my foot (and the strap doesn't loosen, either).

Here's the buckle attached to the under-strap.  Yes, it does go through holes in the strap like period buckles should.

The underside (you can see the wire going through the strap).  The strap goes between two "bars" of wire that are very, very tight together, which - along with the prongs - holds it in place. You can kinda see how the original bar has a gap between the longer prong going over the top of the buckle; this was the first buckle I made.  The second doesn't have the extra bar since I realized I could make it better without it.

HSF #18, or, the challenge completed by accident

In my last post about the saque, I let slip that I had just made the gown of a française without doing it over panniers (but using rather inconsequential padding instead)... and then wished I had had panniers because the gown felt so... unfinished and the silhouette was leaving a lot to be desired.  (Not to mention the minor embarrassment of having made a gown essentially blindly.)

So, while in the middle of something completely unrelated (schoolwork) - I suddenly had a brainwave: I have three or four more old ('80s) bridal hoops just sitting in my closet that can't be worn unless some wear and tears are fixed, and that no longer have that perfect conical circumfrance (from being shoved into garbage bags and stored - squashed - in any which place/box/hanger over the years): why not take one of them and mold it somehow into full panniers using ribbons underneath and creative gathering/sewing at the waistband.

And, as sometimes my crazy ideas do: it worked, and in less than two hours I had historical-looking (when worn under something) panniers of the trapezoid variety (with another hour or two to sew everything in place).

(Sidenote: I tried the saque on over it - and wouldn't you know - it looks great now, PHEW!  Major shout-out there to Katherine's tutorial skills - proof that one can make an accurate saque sans panniers to drape it over.  Only problem is that before I can take pictures wearing the saque over panniers, I need to make the petticoat, since the other I was using has a significantly narrower hemline and won't fit over the panniers, and the gown with only the panniers looks very bizarre.  Always one more thing to complete...)

Mind you, it was a completely spur-of-the-moment thing (well, procrastination played a little hand in it - there's only so much reading about budgeting and budgeting systems that one can take at a time; six hours is enough to send anyone loopy).   Only after it was done did I think, "wait, wasn't there an HSF related to re-making something?  I hope it covers making something newer into something older - going the reverse of what is usually done in history."  And, sure enough: HSF #18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion - and, even better, it's only due in less than a week!  Very timely.

So, without further ado, the finished panniers (collapsed top / collapsed bottom / front / side):

Before (collapsed / front / side):

Just the facts!

The Challenge: HSF #18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion... modern hoops into 18th century panniers

Fabric: the hoops are a polyester/nylon blend base fabric with plastic boning in channels (3); also used scraps of a quilted cotton for part of the waistband and to secure some of the "molding" (you'll see in the photos below)

Pattern: None. Silhouette based on images of gowns in museums from 1760s-1770s, and from browsing of others' pannier projects (theirs are significantly more authentically made than mine).

Year: time machine'd from 1980s to 1760s-1770s

Notions: all-purpose thread; 56" of 5/8" black satin ribbon (leftover from another project); safety pins (to close it, for now - eventually I'll sew on a ribbon tie)

How historically accurate is it? Shape-wise, when you can't see the panniers themselves, it'll pass for accurate since it mirrors the more trapezoidal/gradual/flared panniers rather than the "block" ones. Materials-wise, not remotely. Construction, passable.

Hours to complete: 2 hours for pinning/shaping for finished 'product'; another 1-2 hours to sew in place.

First worn: Only once with the saque gown, but no pictures of it (except on its own) have been taken.

Total cost: It's FREEEEE! The hoops were from my costume stash (hand-me-downs I played with as a kid, so must have been from at least the '80s or early '90s); random pieces of fabric leftovers in my stash (as were the ribbons); and thread was just generic white polyester all-purpose from the thread stash.


And the making of... trial and error style... :-)

Summer dress (non-historical)

Several months ago I had shown a teaser of the fabric I was going to use to create a tropical sundress, Regency-style... well, a few weeks ago I finally started and finished it, and wore it the Sunday before last (and then promptly forgot to post about it until now).

And, here it is (with and without the sweater).  I wore it with a wide dark blue ribbon as a belt tied in the back (it would be mostly hidden under the sweater's edge), it made it look better.

Fabric: I used just over a yard and change of 44" wide thin/loosely-woven cotton fabric.  The underdress/lining is a compilation of a polyester remnant and several large (and oddly-shaped, trapezoidal) scraps pieced together from a previous project (the teal chiffon dress from a year and change ago).  

Pattern: None.  It gives a nod to Regency/empire-waisted silhouette, but is essentially one piece of fabric folded in half and cut with a back on the diagonal and two strips of fabric used as sleeve straps.  

Making of: Basically pinned it on to determine how it would look, noted measurements, pinned it together on the floor inside out, tried it on again (right side out), cut it, sewed it, tried it on again and made some adjustments, cut out/pinned on the sleeve straps, tried it on for placement, made adjustments, sewed the top edge and sleeves, and voilá, done.  

Accessories: I'd made a circle/A-line bias-cut skirt out of another woven poly-cotton earlier this year and used the rest of that fabric to make a loose shrug/sweater.  The color was perfect for this sundress, but... it was a bit too loose across the back (it gapped rather outrageously at the top and didn't stay in place), so I used a box pleat at the top to pull it together for a few inches and let the rest hang as usual.  In these pictures, I've tied it in a knot in front like a Regency spenser.

Construction details below...