Hit the saque! ...beginning HSF #17: Robes and Robings

...ok, bad pun.  Remember when I said that the 1865 evening gown was going to be the most ambitious thing I did?  Well, as it turns out, this robe will probably take the cake for that - mostly due to the shape of the skirt.  It's gone well so far, only a couple snafus (granted they were big ones, but thankfully easily fixed), so the robe part is done (stomacher will be finished Tuesday, and hopefully lower sleeves, too).  Granted - it won't be trimmed, and it won't have a proper self-fabric petticoat (yet), but the basic dress will be there.

Here's the dress as it was this weekend: no sleeve flounces or engageants, no trim, a pinned-in piece of fabric temporarily used as the stomacher (actually the square 'sample' piece that the stores have for ordering in bulk, it was on sale for a dollar so I grabbed it one day), and the bodice waist pinned to the correct height...

I rather like it so far, especially the back, though the front needs finishing at the time of these photos.

... Without further ado, here's how it got to the above photos.

Inspiration (and historical reference/"proof" for the existence of printed/indienne cotton saques) came from this Pinterest page of cotton saques put together by Katherine of Koshka-the-Cat (thank you!!).  And MAJOR props also to Katherine for her tutorials on making a saque (this project really fits nicely under the "Gratitude" HSF, too, I realized); I used those as my "making-of" guide, though I did a few things differently (so far it's come out ok though).  The silhouette I'm going for is not a "court" silhouette, but narrower, more everyday one like that of the "block print francaise (c.1770)".  Wide isn't the most flattering for me, anyway, and right now I'm making do with a rather extended hip roll padding (with quilted petticoat on top) in place of panniers, so I doubt I'd've been able to get that trapezoid shape perfectly right (I know, I know, shame on me.  Pocket hoops are on my to-do-list).

And the construction...

A little bit of organization... or, because I like lists (whether I always follow them or not is a different story)

The Dreamstress' "halfway-point" post prompted me to do a bit of reflection myself (and planning, mostly planning)...   No photos this time, sorry :-)

Summer is halfway over, and I've done more sewing these six months than I think I've ever done in even a year - primarily due to HSF - and at a much higher level (since it's not just measurements and draping and creative designing, but getting the pieces/shapes/trim/fabric/drape/etc. right for historical garments).
Even with how crazy life has been (somehow work and school doesn't slow down, but that's the fun and interesting part of it: balancing it all, and deepening my faith as a result), it's been nice to be able to exercise my creative side... and to do something that increases the art in this world, when so often art and an appreciation for the past (learning about it, not just using it as a setting for a modern-plotline/interpretation mode of entertainment) is being cut out of it.
On a closer-to-home note, doing something like this - sewing or just designing projects, even working furiously to complete an HSF challenge in time (or close to it) - is almost therapeutic, even with those deadlines.

So, because I like seeing what I can achieve... here's a few more self-imposed(ish) deadlines for me - or, perhaps, here's my "wouldn't it be nice" list between now and September.

• HSF 14: Eastern influence (due tomorrow) - remaking of a wood-and-paper Japanese parasol into a early 20th century / late 19th century cloth Japanese parasol.  The reason the parasol was so cheap ($4) was because the paper got torn all the way from the edge to the center along one rib, rendering it useless.  But the frame is sound (for now - I'll probably re-string it with stronger twine later), and it would be a fun project.  And, well, if I can't finish it for this one (aka, get it done by the end of the week), it might apply to the upcoming "Wood, Metal, Bone" challenge.
• HSF 15: White (due July 29) - recutting and then hemming the 18th century plain fichu that I quickly cut out for the Independence Day photoshoot.  Shouldn't take more than a few hours - though the hemming will be... fun.  Tiny stitches, yay, lol.
• Finishing the 1865 evening gown (this, I fear, will be my major-project-of-the-year-that-takes-forever-to-complete)... I have all of the fabric, all of the trimmings (unless I get very ambitious and decide to add beadwork) - I just need to make the time (perhaps this will be my in-between-courses-two-week-break project in August?).
• HSF 17: Robes & Robings (due August 26) - ok, this will probably be the second-most crazy project of the year (the first being the 1865 gown).  After going back and forth a lot about it, I decided that in fact I will try my hand at a saque using that blue-on-white floral indienne fabric, after all.  I have the fabric, I don't need another anglaise, and even if print cotton saques were rare, I have found two examples in museums - so they did exist.  Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this one... hopefully. :-)
• HSF 18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion (due September 9) - knowing where in the year this one falls, and that I might be either not quite finished with (or else worn out from) the previous adventures, I might skip this... Else, I'll remake an Elizabethan-esque shirt into a doublet/jacket; or find something else historical that I'm not so happy with and make a few needed changes/updates.
• HSF 19: Wood, Metal, Bone (due September 23) - so, either I'll finish the parasol for this one (if life intervenes yet again), or I'll make those metal shoe buckles for the Kensingtons that I hinted about in my Independence Day post.  Either way, at this point I'm probably (read: definitely) going to need a break from making clothing.  

Yes, I'm crazy (and too challenge-happy for my own good sometimes).  Moving on.

After that set, I'm guessing with the course I'm planning to take this fall, that I'll probably just stick with finishing some of my LOTR costumes (aka, sewing trim, hemming, re-doing the fit) for my "sewing therapy", instead of embarking on new projects for the fall-winter.  Of course, I say that now - and then in a month probably find out the new HSF themes and that expectation goes out the window.  

Some of those unfinished (or even not started) projects - just to get them on the list whether they get worked on or not...

• finish my golden Arwen/LOTR dress (essentially just needs hemming/trim)
• hem and redo the top for an evening dress I got on sale six months ago for a gala I didn't end up going to... but the dress should still be redone anyway (else it's useless if I can't wear it)
• 1880s/90s bustle dress (got the fabric last year, just have to make it - and a bustle to wear with it)
• Padmé's Tattooine light blue outfit (fabric from stash) and (perhaps, if I can find the right chiffon next year) a blue version of her Lake Dress
• and, since the Hobbit Part 2 is coming out in December, in homage to that, make a "Mirkwood elf" gown in similar style to the Hobbit Elven dress... again, this is all designed and the fabric is bits and pieces (a remnant here, some clearance yardage there) from my stash... just need to actually make it.  And this will probably be the last of my LOTR outfits, unless I'm inspired to make a Galadriel-esque white dress for some reason (haven't been particularly inspired by the ones I've seen so far in the LOTR or Hobbit movies).

For something to check off the list... I did manage to finish my version of Eowyn's golden/ROTK coronation dress (it badly needed some refitting, some hemming, and trim), so will (eventually) get some pictures of it to put up.  

I'd say I have my work cut out for me.  No pressure or anything... :-)  

HSF#12... 1865 dress for Princess Royal Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa

Not quite finished with HSF#10... but already looking forward to the next project. :-)

HSF#12's requirements: pick a historical princess, queen, empress, duchess, etc., and create a dress that either she wore or could have worn.

Since I have an American Civil War ball coming up (September), I figured I would pick an 1865 ball gown.  It would need to be dark/black, since I'm trying to only use fabric from my stash for the rest of the year.  I originally wanted to do a dress for Queen Victoria, but all of the evening dresses (photos, paintings) I found for her were from at least a decade prior since she didn't go out in public after Prince Albert's death except for a few state occasions or official photos for various commemorations.  Plus, any evening dress she would have worn at the time would have been for a slightly older person than I am now and I want to be accurate in that context.  But, in my search for "queen victoria 1860s evening dress" I stumbled upon a few photos of another Victoria - the Princess Royal (Queen Victoria's eldest daughter).  Lo and behold, there were even a couple of photos of her in an 1860s BLACK evening dress (from the style of the bodice, skirt shape - round bell rather than elliptical, and sleeves - small/lacey, it looked like it may have been 1861-2 - probably in mourning for her father).   Plus, the dress is simple (as in, there aren't a million ruffles or fripperies to the nth degree; again, probably a reflection of being in mourning), which is what I was looking for.  Score, gown chosen - with a slight modification to the skirt (make it elliptical) and bodice (shallower bodice front point).

There are what look like two versions of a black dress: this (older?) one with bigger sleeves and a plainer skirt (with a few bows) and this (later?) one with smaller sleeves and skirt trim and edge ruffles.  The bodice looks to be the same one as a base, but perhaps it was modified and then paired with a different skirt?  Her hair is different (simpler in the first), so it's definitely photos from two different occasions.

My fabric is a poly-something that looks like a satin.  It's a dark slate blue, almost black and is on the thin side, so will definitely need to make a dark petticoat to wear under it.

The pattern I will use is from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 2.  The skirt will be based on the 1865 day dress (so it's elliptical), and the bodice will be slightly modified from the 1861-4 evening dress pattern (i.e., much shallower front point) to look like the 1865 peach silk linked below.  I have exactly 5 yards of fabric, so I have no wiggle room for mistakes (but, yay for multi-piece Victorian bodices that one can squeeze in between skirt panels).

For visual reference of the base bodice/skirt construction/shape, I will be using this peach silk (1865)  from the Met Museum.  Nice, simple, elegant lines, and the ability to zoom in closely to see seam placement is VERY helpful. :-)

...and the challenge continues... HSF #10: Literature

So... the "flora and fauna" challenge was engaging enough that I'm going to try my hand at another.  And, yes, I have 10 days in which to do it. :-)  Again.  Hopefully this is just coincidence and not the beginning of a trend... (well, I will prolly have to bow out for a lot of the challenges this summer due to work and class, so guess I'd better get the sewing in now while I can.)

The next challenge in the Historical Sew Fortnightly is:
#10: Literature – due May 20. The written word has commemorated and immortalised fashions for centuries, from the ‘gleaming’ clothes that Trojans wore before the war, to Desdemona’s handkerchief, ‘spotted with strawberries’, to Meg in Belle Moffat’s borrowed ballgown, and Anne’s longed for puffed sleeves.In this challenge make something inspired by literature: whether you recreate a garment or accessory mentioned in a book, poem or play, or dress your favourite historical literary character as you imagine them.

The intent of this one is for it to be a literary (read: historical/period) source and/or inspired garment or accessory.  And, being me, I gravitate toward garments... So, after wracking my brain for something that I would love to do (one of Christine's dresses from Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - because now I can't read it without seeing the costumes of the movie; an Edwardian outfit from a favorite *fantasy* historical fiction novel; or a Regency dress like something Eleanor would wear) but can't due to time and learning curve...

I finally settled on something similar enough to what I've done before that doesn't require learning a new silhouette/pattern/style and therefore can be finished relatively quickly, and is something I have wanted to do but hadn't had a solid concept for exactly what it would look like before, AND (takes the cake) incorporates the use of (finishes) a UFO (UnFinished Object).  Tri-fecta.

And it is...

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 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...