This blog is moving

Dear Friends

I have moved the contents of this blog across to my main Blog at aylwen.blogspot.com and hope you will transfer your bookmarks across. For more intimate costume chatter, you can friend me at http://aylwen.livejournal.com/ .

As you will become aware, I make costumes from 1480s right through to the early 1900s, and what I am working on is influenced by what events I am attending. I am a member of the SCA, the Australian Costumers Guild, the Jane Austen Society of Australia and the American Costume Society. I attend historical costume events both in Australia and overseas and will share my experiences with you at the new blog. I collect antique clothing, and as time permits will share it with you as well.

In 2012 I will resume teaching historical costuming classes in my studio in Yarralumla. If there are any specific classes you would like me to hold, please let me know. I need a minimum of four in a class for it to run at a discount rate, otherwise can arrange individual classes at a quoted price.

Pride and Prejudice - Documentary [1/3]

Casaquins & Caracos

Casaquins & Caracos

Front lacing 18C stays

Front lacing 18C stays

Front lacing 18C stays

Front lacing 18C stays

Keeping in touch....

Dear friends
In this world of blogs, facebook, and forums I have chosen to put my historical costuming adventures temporarily onto Live Journal - please visit me there at http://aylwen.livejournal.com/

Regency period fine cotton embroidered gown

c. 1810-1820
The fabric has a small floral pattern embroidered inside vertical stripes.  It has a gently rounded neckline and puffed muslin over sleeves, which have been attached to the gown after the long sleeves were completed and armholes bound. The cuffs are decorated with rows of padded cording and have a one button closure.  The skirt has a rolled padded hemline.  The gown is hand stitched, unlined and has a tie back closure.  

New content on its way...

Please be patient as we are working on new content for the blog - we have some wonderful items to share with you - extant regency gowns, spencer, cloak, coat, reticules and more.... and if we manage to find the time - patterns taken from them all for you to work with!

Next Regency Gown Project by Aylwen

Would you like a copy of this gown? It can be yours - as long as you're aware that to make a reproduction gown is very time consuming - from locating the fabric to copying all the details, plus there are the fabric and labour costs, as well as shipping and insurance. A dress like this is not a low-cost adventure. Feel free to discuss this gown with Aylwen.

There is a gown in Costume in Detail by Nancy Bradfield that I'll use for information.

Together with instructions for three-piece sleeves as shown on page 35 of Period Costume for Stage and Screen by Jean Hunnisett.

Jane Austen Festival Australia (JAFA): Announcement: this rare and complete Regency-era evening ensemble will be on display during the 2010 Jane Austen Festival of Australia

Jane Austen Festival Blog Announcement

It is a rarity to find a set of matching period accessories, but to have them accompanied by their original outfit, is an amazing find!

This ensemble reportedly comes from the estate of Ms. Eliza Fox of Osmaston Hall in Derbyshire, UK.

The canary yellow, trained ball dress, is fashioned from luminous and heavy silk, and decorated with metallic copper threads in a corded, braid-like trim. The high Empire-waist is decorated with a band of ruffled canary silk, and also a band of the chord trim. There is a shimmering medallion of jewels to the center of the neckline, which is accented by further ruffled silk.

The dainty, delicate sleeves and low neckline create the typical look of the Regency period.

The dress is fully lined in gauze and cotton and fastens with hook and eyes to the back, along with some muslin ties.

The quality construction, and hand sewing, is yet another wonder!

The ball shoes, are made from the same shade of canary silk as the dress and purse/reticule, and are decorated with the copper chord trim in a large gathered medallion. They are a lovely, classic pair Regency shoes, with a carved wooden "Louis"-style hard heel, ribbon ties, and kid leather lining.

The drawstring evening reticule is decorated with the braided trim, and fully lined in gauze. It too, is also fully hand sewn.

The complete set is a true treasure, has an astounding beauty and romance that should never be forgotten and always admired.

Petersons Magazine, 1869

Pannier Over-Skirt

Curling Ostrich Feathers

I've been collecting different instructions on how to curl ostrich feathers. Here below they are presented as quotes:

"You can use a modern curling iron, plug it in, set it on low, when the iron is ready, place the feather in the iron (much like you would on hair), and slowly pull the feather through, when you pull it through you can control the amount of curl you want. Do not leave the feather in the iron very long it will burn or you will get a U curve curl. You can bend most any feather this way, just use common sense when doing it."

"The curling iron is excellent! If you steam the feather a little first, the results are even better.
If you're looking to curl the spine of the feather more than just a little, you can do it by first attaching wire (millinery wire is best), then steaming the heck out of the feather, then while it's all nice and flexible, bend the wire to your preferred shape and place it somewhere safe to dry. If the curl is really extreme, several treatments may be needed, and you may need to support the new shape during the drying process (depending on how heavy your wiring is).
To attach the wire to the feather, the suggested method is to use thread -- the thread loops around the feather and the wire, holding them tightly together and is then knotted. Move about half an inch up the feather, create another loop around both, and knot. And so on.
It's strongly suggested that you curl the spine before curling the fronds, as all of the steal usually makes the frond curls fall out."

Links to other information/sources on the web:
http://www.vintagesewing.info/1920s/28-mhd/mhd-11.html
Buying ostrich feathers in Australia

Fichu: A Regency Shawl

"Fanny, William must not forget my shawl if he goes to the East Indies; and I shall give him a commission for anything else that is worth having.....I wish he may go to the East Indies, that I may have my shawl." "
- Austen, Jane: Mansfield Park

"The Empress had more than two hundred white muslin dresses. This was only a fraction of her extensive wardrobe. She changed clothes four and five times a day. It is not remarkable, then, that she owned several hundred dresses, 558 pairs of white silk stockings, 520 pairs of shoes (she never wore a pair but once), 500 lace trimmed chemises, 252 hats, and 400 shawls. She spent 3,000 francs a year for rouge and thousands more for perfumes, but she had only two flannel petticoats and two pairs of drawers!"
- "Dressing the Part", Fairfax Proudfit Walkup; 1938 F.S. Crofts & Co. (page 255)

Instructions to make a fichu:
http://ladyjaneswardrobe.blogspot.com/2007/03/fichu-patterns.html

Links to images:

http://marquise.de/en/1700/pics/1760_5.shtml

Maurice Quentin de Latour, French, 1704-1788
_Portrait of Madame Anne-Jeanne Cassanéa de
Mondonville, née Boucon (1708-1780)_, c. 1752
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/155913
Possibly the exact same collar, reused by the artist.

Reynolds, Joshua (English, 1723-1792)
_Portrait of Suzanna Beckford_, 1756
http://cgfa.dotsrc.org/reynolds/p-reynold9.htm
Lace appears to be "blonde" in three or four
layers. Probably a narrowish edging attached to
a sheer fabric; compare the engageantes.

Spencer, Gervase
_Portrait of Miss Manners_, 1760
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O82100
Multi-layer falling collar similar to that of
Suzanna Beckford but even larger.

Copley, John Singleton (American, 1738-1815)
_Hannah Loring_, 1763
http://www.dia.org/the_collection/overview/viewobject.asp?objectid=41292
http://www.dia.org/collections/AmericanArt/pages/colonial/c3B.html
Very narrow, multi-layer frill of lace or muslin or gauze.

Copley, John Singleton
_Mrs. Daniel Hubbard (Mary Greene)_, c. 1764
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/59787
Virtually identical to collar of Hannah Loring
except for ribbon used to tie collar.

Maurice Quentin de La Tour
_Marie Sallé_, 1740
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mlle_Sal%C3%A9_(Lisbonne,_Calouste_Gulbenkian).jpg

More of a steinkirk.

Regency Fashion Exhibition, Australia

An exhibition of antique regency garments will be on show during the Jane Austen Festival of Australia (JAFA) in April 2010.
Watch the JAFA blog for more information.

An exhibition of antique victorian garments will be on show during the Victorian-Era Festival, 2-5 October 2009 in Canberra, Australia. See the website for more information.

Apologies for quiet-time on blog

Dear All
Our apologies for lack of communication through our blog. Life has been very busy organising dances, festivals and the family - our 15-year old son is in hospital undergoing brain surgery at the moment.
As time allows I'll be adding more to this blog.
Regards,
Aylwen

Night Clothes

Regency Night-Dress (1)
This garment is worn at night instead of the day shift in the cooler months. It features:

• long sleeves with narrow trimmed cuffs
• slit in the front fastened with three buttons equally spaced.
  
• buttonholes are lengthways on the narrow hem.
  
• trimmed collar that is either turned down or standing like a fichu
  
• shoulder pieces

If the night-dress is figure-hugging, wear a muslin fichu made of "a square of four quarters of middling-quality muslin, which you fold like a shawl".
In summer a nightcap without strings is worn, in winter a trimmed serre-tête is worn underneath a cap with strings.
In hot weather the day shift might be worn with a muslin fichu that is replaced by a night jacket.

---

1. Grimble, Frances, The Lady's Stratagem, pg 183-4.

Sheer Muslin Gown

I love the look of a sheer muslin gown. Making it, however, is another story. Allow yourself more time than normal and take it slow and easy. Keep your sewing table clear and clean, and keep any animals and children right away. These fabrics snag and stain easily, so use fine sharp pins and sewing needles.

Regency Seams

Inside hem of the green silk regency gown.


Bib or apron front - note the piping and silk satin.


The cuff.

Elegant Lady's Drawstring Dress Pattern #2

Make your neckline bias binding/drawstring casing from your fashion material, using the guide on the pattern sheet. Pin binding around the bodice neckline, beginning and ending at the center front and folding under the center front edges as shown in the instructions.




Stitch, taking care not to catch the bodice lining pieces as you go.



Trim seam allowance down to 1/4" and clip curves.


Fold under the raw edge of the binding and fold the binding to the inside of the neckline to create the drawstring casing.








Press neatly and pin in place.




Stitch, making small running stitches all the way around the neckline and making sure outside stitches are tiny, even and neat.

Felled Seams

I have used this two-step seam method for most of the seams in the Elegant Lady's Closet drawstring dress.


Sew together the seams at 15mm as indicated in the pattern instructions. Open out the seam and trim back one of the seams, in this case I've trimmed back the fabric that was attached to the 'lining'.


Fold the outer edge in over the narrow edge and crease.



Fold again and pin.


At this point you can do a plain hem stitch.


I did a simple running stitch that suited this garment.