Regency/Victorian boots.

A couple fo weeks or so ago, I bought some white jazz boots off ebay as they were of a similar style to Regency and Victorian boots (2 periods I plan to do/start on next year). It worked out cheaper to buy white boots and dye them black so that is what I did. Before I did that I had bought some 5mm thick leather (I expect something slightly thinner will also do, but this was the only thickness I could get hold of) and drew around the boot to get a shape for the sole and cut it out with a stanley knife. The heel part needed to be cut off as these are separate on the jazz boots.

Once the boots had had 2 coats of dye (Dylon Shoe and Accessories dye) I started to attach the leather soles. Luckily I had some thin black leather at home which I used for the sides of the heel. I then stuck on the thick leather soles - the main sole was quite hard to do as this required pegs and carrier bags to tie the boot and sole together so they stick! To glue the soles on I used, what has been recommended, Shoe Goo and it certainly does do the job well. I also put some Shoe Goo on the edges of the leather to protect them when wearing outside.

When this was done, I made up a couple of organza ribbon rosettes - 1/2" wide and a metre long makes 2 reasonably sized ones. I the ribbon in half and neatened both ends before running gathering stiches along one edge. I pulled the gathers as far as they would go and then arrange and stitched it into a rosette shape. I glued the rosettes onto the toe of the boots with a blob of Shoe Goo.

All I need to do now is find some black shoelaces long enough!

Engageants.

Next year I plan to be a housemaid for the Victorian events at Kentwell Hall. When I found a bit of time between writing essays, I managed to make a start on my first bit of clothing - engageants - these are cotton half sleeves that cover the fore-arm and protect the dress sleeves and so one doesn't have to roll their sleeves up and look like a scrubber (of pots and pans).

I started with 2 x 14" square (for the sleeve) and 2 x 4"x9.25" (for the cuff) of white cotton. I wanted my sleeves to be tight around the top so they stay up - the extant examples I've seen are quite wide so you might want to make your measurements bigger than mine.

Going by the extant examples, I used really small hems and seam - I allowed for 1/2". I sewed the sleeve seam first and neatend it and then hemmed the top. After this I did 2 rows of gathers around the cuff (as the sleeve is tighter compared the extant examples, there wont be many gathers in comparison) and knotted the thread when I got the desired size - 8.25", the measurement around the widest part of my hand so I can put the sleeve on. I then sewed on the cuff which was made up like bias binding.

Another one on the waiting list

This time last week I was in Norwich with my good friend Lidi where I picked up fabric for another century's outfit, this time it's Regency!

The cotton fabric for the day dress was found by Lidi on the market during the week before I went up and visited (before going to an event at the weekend) and was told that I would love it...and I did!

The ribbon is to go round the empire line (we think the colour compliments it well) and the velvet, which was bought at the event from a fabric trader, matches the ribbon exactly and will become a spencer.

C18th Petticoat

The next thing I have made, although it isn't yet complete, is the petticoat. I managed to some some 'champagne' coloured silk in a sale at £5 p/m so I was pretty chuffed and bought 4m as I wanted to make a flounce.

As I wanted a flounce, it had to be 3 times the length of the petticoat hem which would be 3m - so 9m was needed for a flounce. I cut out 2 x 4m lengths about 8" wide and another metre the same width from the left over silk. I then cut out 2 x 1.5m panels for the actual petticoat and then a strip for the waistband.

I sewed up the side seams on the petticoat leaving a 10" gap (starting from an inch from the waist) for pocket access and neatend the seams. Then I started on the flounce. I sewed the 3 strips of silk together and neatened the seams before marking every inch along the length on both sides (it may be easier to do it a metre at a time). I got out the pinking shears and cut triangles at the inch markings before pleating and pinning it.

Once the flounce was completely pleated and pinned I ironed both sides several times to make sure they were pressed well. After this I sewed the pleats down along one length at about 1.5" from the edge and ironed it all again. I then pinned the flounce to the petticoat - the bottom edge of the flounce actually meets at the bottom edge of the petticoat.

After this I decided to attach the waistband. First I had to pleat up the petticoat - as the petticoat is made from 2 panels, the waist measurement was halved to get the final length for each panel (does that make sense?!), the pleats worked out to be about 1/2". The CB has an inverted box pleat and the CF has about a 2" box pleat. I then attached the wasitband pressed it and sewed on a couple of eyelets to fasten it (NB. the petticoat has a side fastening where the pocket slit is).

When this was done, I tried it all on with my stays and petal pad to check the length. The petticoat was a little high at the back, as expected and so the flounce was lowered a bit. This is as far as I have got at the moment, but all I have to do now is sew on the flounce and then it's complete!

C18th Mitts

This is a continuation from my first post on mitts back in May which can be found here.

Once I had cut out all the pattern pieces in silk and wool for the lining, I sewed the thumb pieces to both the silk and then did the same for the wool. After this I placed a wool piece and a silk piece together with right sides facing and sewed around the edge (leaving the bottom part free) with a 1/2" seam allowance.

Having come to a problem of the mitts not fitting I stopped sewing them until yesterday. When I pinned along the seam line I found that they did fit and that they were a little bit tight around the wrist area when I tried to put my hand through, I resolved this by sewing a another seam a couple of millimetres closer to the edge of the fabric along the wrist area on one side.

Once this was done, I turned the mitts the right way round and ironed the seams flat (placing a handkerchief between the wool and iron to protect it). I then sewed up the bottom seam of the mitts and then the thumb piece at the top - this was quite fiddly as it's a small hole so some patience is required!

After that, it was time to sew up the main seam. I used a ladder stitch for this and doubled up the thread for extra strength. I sewed the lining seam and then the silk seam, but either way would be fine.

Hennin, a C15th headress

(This following post is curtesy to Lidi [pictured bottom right], with some slight editing by myself [pictured left], as I pretty much followed her method)

The most important measurement for the hennin is the circumference of your head, from the highest point of the forehead to the nape of your neck. Using this measurement, trace out a pattern for a headband/fillet. This can either be rectangular in shape or with a slight curve for a better fit. It needs to be tightly fitted as it is the main anchor point, so designing it not to quite fasten when tied together at the back a small gap should allow for any stretch. Making it up in velvet with an interlining of canvas creates a sturdy support as well as a rough texture for other fabrics to grip onto.

The black loop, which can be represented in paintings in various ways, can be created using millinery wire wrapped in silk ribbon, though it is difficult to ascertain exactly how it is constructed so other interpretations are worth considering! It can be sewn between the layers of the fillet fabric and sewn tight, and should be placed as high on the forehead as possible.

The measurement of the hennin's base will need to allow for the headband so it is worth measuring again. Using this measurement, a curved edge can be sketched out for the pattern. The sides and top of the hennincan then be drawn in after considering how long/tapering the hennin needs to be depending whether it's full length (approx. 50cm) or truncated (approx. 20-25cm). It is advised to make a mock up in cardboard (e.g. cereal box) beforehand.

The pattern is traced onto a sturdy buckram or equivilent and cut without seam allowance and onto a lining and out fabric with seam allowances. The seam edges of the hennin need to be finished before assembly in order to whip together the edges with all the raw fabric concealed. The outer fabric needs to be a bit longer than the hennin so that the fabric can be sewn to cover the hole in the top when later constructed. The seam can then be worked up the length of the hennin and the base optionally bound in velvet to grip to the headband if the hennin is particularly long or heavy.

The next thing to make is the veil. This can be made from a hemmed piece of silk organza or a very fine linen measuring from 1-2 metres (depending on how flamboyant one wishes to be) and the width would have to be measured accordingly depending on the length of the hennin.

The last piece to make is optional, but does appear in most paintings showing hennins: this is the frontlet, the long strip of velvet placed over where the hennin sits on the fillet. this is just a tube of velvet about 10cm wide and about 80-100cm long.

Frilly Fichu

The next item of clothing I have made for C18th is the fichu, or a neckerchief in its simplest terms.

To make this I used my fine linen and cut out a triangle (or a square) and sewed a tiny hem. I then cut out 4 strips of linen (about 3" wide) which when sewn together were twice the length of the two short sides of the triangular fichu, I hemmed this also (both sides). I then gathered half the length of the strip and once it was at the right length, I back stitched it onto the hem of one of the short sides of the triangle (I hope that makes sense!) and then I repeated the steps with the rest of the strip of linen so I ended up with a frilled edge.