I’m Still Working On It…

1770s Petticoat

Good afternoon, Sister. I finally box pleated all of the ruffling on the bottom of the petticoat for the 1770s riding habit I am working on. I was 36″ short on the trimming (makes 12″ of ruffling), so I had to add more – no biggy. I do not know how I miscalculated though – I am always so precise on these things! I am sure that the cats distracted with their shenanigans, like batting the tread on my serger, or eating my silk pins – lol!

One thing I find interesting about the mid-to-late 1700s dress style is that the garments were adjustable, which is highly practical, considering most people during this time did not have the financial means to buy the fabric to make garments or hire a tailor to construct new pieces as a person gained or lost weight. So, in true fashion of the era, this petticoat has a wrapping waistband – the back of the waistband is tied around the front of the torso first, then the front of the waistband is tied behind the back, conveniently leaving slits at the sides of the petticoat for pockets, if desired. Of course the habit will be tailored to fit, rather than cinched in the back with cording, so it will not be an adjustable garment piece. A picture of the wrapped waistband is below –

1770s Petticoat Wrapped Waist

Happy Black Friday!

Hello, sister dear! It seems we have both had a relatively calm Thanksgiving, and today has been pretty nice as well. Since I do not tempt fate and venture near any stores on this huge shopping day, I had time to dig into the costume closet. I was able to take photos of several old outfits, and have written reviews for the patterns. Just in case you are wondering, check the Simplicity, McCall’s and Theatrical Costumes pages!

Talk to you soon!

I’m Getting There…

Well, Sister Dear, I am slowly but surely getting Marie’s 1770s riding habit done. In the first picture, you can see that I finished the shirt and jabot. I do wish I would have thought to put in arm gussets, although the shirt fits her fine and it’s comfortable without them – it’s the over all effect that’s missing (and it’s accurate to have them). She would not let me cuff the sleeves (she says cuffs “feel weird…”), so I had to drawstring them instead. But with all that, I think the shirt and waist look nice together.

1770s Shirt & Waistcoat

The next photo is of the lined petticoat (which needs ironed to get folded creases out – blah!) – I have not put the ruffling on the hem yet, but I have made it and it’s ready to go. I did not pink the ruffling because all of my pinkers need sharpened! So, I did the next best thing and gave the ruffling a nice 1/8″ hem. When I get it on the petticoat, I will be sure to post pictures (Lord only knows when that will be, giving the holidays! lol!). Anyway…xo

1770s Petticoat

From one era to another

Good evening, sister dear! I thought it might be time to show what I’m working on at the moment. I have decided to finish a costume I began in July 2008 for Great Lakes Medieval Faire. Well, I actually made 7 costumes, but this is one that didn’t get the full treatment, and it I didn’t wear it. We decided that since it was a Medieval Faire, we would dress in the Medieval fashion, even though most of the people that attend this festival typically dress in the Renaissance fashion. I made 2 costumes for Annie, 1 for Katie (as she was planning on wear one I already had in the closet), 2 for my friend Cassi and 2 for myself. The idea for these gowns came from Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Strand Holkeboer (aka – The Costume Bible), from the Mid 12th Century sections. For my 2 gowns, I chose to make the bliaut with corsage. Now, most people wonder, “what is a corsage?” As described in the book, it is a “tight-fitting vest, laced up the back, worn over bliaut”. The first time I made this costumes was when Annie was 7 months old. I made the bliaut from forrest green flannel, and the corsage was made with pre-quilted black cotton, lined with the same flannel. I used green braided trim around the neck, and hand beaded it with faux pearls. Well, to save some time last summer, I used the already made corsage, and just made a new bliaut from green broad cloth. For my second gown, I used a deep wine broad cloth for the bliaut, and natural colored, pre-quilted cotton, lined with the deep wine. That was as far as I got. Here are some of the photos I took at the time:

Cutting of the fabric

Corsages and gowns, waiting to be sewn

As for the gown I did wear, here it is:

My attitude shot!

Let me just say, it was hot! I wore this gown the first day we where there, with the intent to wear the wine colored gown the second day. That didn’t happen. I decided that I would be more comfortable in jeans and a t shirt. But, recently I found that I didn’t have a sewing project to work on. Having found the unfinished corsage in the garage while cleaning a few weeks ago, I decided to finish it the way I meant to last year. Here are a few photos of my progress:

Bare corsage

Black, braided trim added to neckline and bottom

Partially finished corsage with bliaut

If you look closely at the photo above, of the partially finished corsage, you can see that I have been beading it in patterns. This way I don’t get bored with it and set it aside. I almost have the front done, and then will be moving on to the back sides. I have also decided to make a belt to go with it. I will be searching the local fabric stores for some embroidered belt/trim material to sew to the center of a belt made in the deep wine color.

Once I have this project finished and tucked away into the costume closet, I will be moving on to an idea the struck me while at work yesterday. I will be using some of the lavender broadcloth that I bought during our trip to Millersburg, and some of the lace fabric that we recently received in our Fabric Stash Enhancement order. Here is a photo:

Fabric for my next costume project

“Whatever will you do with this?” you ask. Let me tell you. I will be designing a Regency Ball gown. I will be using the lace fabric as an overlay. I am still deciding on the neckline and trim. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

Hats Off To You…

S.D. Barker's millinery notebook (circa 1890-1900)

Mornin’ Sister, Dear! I have something I would like to share with our readers today.

About 12 years ago, I was strolling around an antique shop in Westerville, Ohio when I ran across what looked like an old ledger. Well, to my surprise, it was a college notebook from Wilberforce University’s millinery department from about 1890-1900! I was so excited to have in my hands such a rare find – the book is in pristine condition, the notes are very well organized, and the illustrations are very detailed – it’s an historical gem giving wonderful insight into late Victorian/Edwardian hat construction, cleaning, storing, and restoration.

It’s author was a student named S.D. Barker, most likely a black woman, since Wilberforce, founded in 1856, is an historically black university. According to Patricia Hunt-Hurst (Oxford University Press, 2008), black women perfected their tailoring and millinery skills as slaves or paid domestic workers, where their tasks very often included making clothing for their master’s house (including his family and domestic servants), clothing for field workers, and quilts from discarded or worn clothing. It was common for wealthy plantation families of the south to “lent” their skilled slaves or freed domestic needlewomen out to other wealthy families for piece work. This practice allowed black women the opportunity to make a small amount of money on the side in some cases, and by the Civil War’s end in 1865, tailoring became one of the more common paying trades for black women (many with an already established clientèle from former slave days).

But let us be reminded that tailoring was not always glamorous for our black sisters. Hunt-Hurst points out that the tailoring industry (like most post-Civil War or Reconstruction industries) was fraught with prejudice, and despite their skill as exceptional dressmakers, black women very often found themselves stuck doing low-paying apprentice or piece work. However, by the time clothing became massed produced at the turn of the 20th century and the retail department store became all the rage of the Gilded Era, black women found their tailoring talents in high demand for unique, one of a kind, garments and accessories. Tailoring was (and still is) an honorable trade of precise skill, and colleges, particularly black colleges of the time, jumped on an unprecedented opportunity to satisfy a consumer demand for highly skilled tailors and milliners in the specialty clothing market. Wilberforce University was one of the more renown dressmaking and millinery colleges of the era.

So, hats off to you, S.D. Barker…

(To see more pictures of S.D. Barker’s notebook, please check out our Flicker photo stream)

Come along, take a ride, on a Fantastic Voyage…

T & A (right & left) 1998

Look at us!! This was in 1998 when we first started costuming, and my goodness have we come a long way, T!

For our readers, the pattern we used at the time to make these Edwardian costumes was Simplicity 8375. I recall the pattern being easy to use and the finished garment comfortable to wear. We sure did get a lot of compliments on these gowns, and a lot of attention! And for budding costume tailors and designers I’d say we did pretty good with what we had – and let me tell you we had little! lol! Very quickly, T and I found that we were making costumes for everyone – neighbors, neighbors kids, relatives, and then eventually we started our own business!

Maybe for fun, T, we could revisit this OOP Simplicity pattern and see what we can cook up –

New Feature!!!

Happy November! We have another page to offer up. This page out lines the things we have learned over the years buying fabric on little or no budget. If you are looking to save as much as you can, or have a very small budget to work with when planning your next sewing project, visit our T & A’s Tips page for Buying Fabric on a Budget. You would be amazed with what you can get if you follow these tips. Happy Shopping!

Fiddle, Faddle, Faeries!

T, Shawn’s sweater is just wonderful – and again, the color compliments his kilt so very nicely. It’s refreshing, really, to see a more unusual colored kilt such as his (which, of course, calls for a more unusual colored sweater). Most of the time I see the red and black, green and black, and navy and black tartan variations with usually a black knitted sweater. Your color choice was spot on here, and the knitting is divine – it’s a very well put together combination. I know Shawn is very happy you finally got it done! lol!

Yesterday was Rose’s birthday party, even though her birthday is today. And, like any 9 year-old, she wants a costume that’s out of this world, and this year it happened to be a Pumpkin Patch Faerie. Now, I have no idea what that is necessarily, but I did my best to interpret what I thought it might be with all the scrap fabric I had laying around – lol! And here it is in all it’s gaudy glory!

Rose's Pumpkin Patch Faerie Costume

Construction pictures and close-up will be added to our Flicker photo stream. But in the meantime, I made her skirt out of gold bridal satin (left over from a lining I did for a black velvet theater cloak a couple years ago), the bodice is an orange and purple plaid cotton with metallic threading – the bodice is lined in a deep purple bridal satin. Rose’s shirt is black charmause, her hat is purple velvet, and her wand is made from a leftover scrap from her bodice. The leaves are a Wally World special I bought a few years ago to decorate the house, but now they have found a home on Rose’s hat, bodice, skirt and shirt.

Let me tell you it was a close call getting it together – finished an hour before her party (Whoo!).

Just to show off!

I know it’s not sewing, but it’s close. I have finished the sweater for my man. Here it is:

Shawn and his St. Enda sweater

Well, sister dear, I am off to keep working the pair of socks I started for him a while ago, and to plan my St. Brigid sweater. Later!

Latest Addition

We have another addition to the Parlor. Please note the new tab above. This is the Events Calendar page. We will be listing all events that we will be participating in, as well as the events that we will be sponsoring. Feel free to check this page frequently, as we will be adding events as we get information. Please feel free to send any questions or comments to emeralparlor at gmail dot com, or post them to the comments here. All questions or comments will be answered as promptly as possible.