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.
