My favorite item of 18th-century women’s clothing is the jacket — there are so many varieties and styles, they’re relatively easy to make, and you don’t need much fabric! Plus, you can mix and match jackets with different petticoats to style yourself a fun, versatile wardrobe. I’ve used the J.P. Ryan 18th-century ladies’ jackets pattern
The global pandemic, quarantine, lockdown, and all that really put a damper on my creativity and any interest or motivation I had to sew. I had one spurt of sewing-related energy back in April 2020, and I made this 1940s retro pattern, Butterick 6266, in bat-print fabric. All stash materials except for the belt buckle,
And it has to be, if I’m going to get all these outfits done before I leave for France in May! Holy moly, I’ve got so much to do. I had to cancel a bunch of social events on weekends (tho’ I’m still obligated to attend two SCA events & one faire with Bella Donna;
Photos from Let Them Drink Wine, an 18th-century picnic and wine tasting event in Sonoma, CA, by the Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild.
Blast it all — weather report last night said this weekend will be hot! According to weather.com, the location for Sunday’s 18th-century event will be 87 degrees. Not terrible, lord knows it could be worse, but it ain’t great for wearing a wig. And what have I been busting my hump to finish the last
While the rest of the world was out seeing some pirate movie, I was sewing! Well, actually last night I was working on my Costume College classes, but I did spend all today in the literal sweatshop that is my sewing room on a 90+ degree day. Cosi Fan Tutte polonaise gown, unhemmed and untrimmed,
Bee boo bee boo boo bee boo bee bee boo … boop. Today in God, we discuss why Trystan should not be allowed to sew after 9pm on a weeknight. And then we praise Allah. Ehem. I’m no Stephen Colbert nor a weak Rob Corddry, so let’s not even pretend. Point is, I’m fucking up
Should I wear a spinet on my head? I already bought a violin. Would two instruments be too much or just right? I can’t decide, and the price of the spinet is enough to make me quibble. See, for Cosi Fan Tutte, I decided I would wear the Big White Wig. And since I won’t
Right before I left for Europe, I was all a twitter over 18th-century costumes. This was inspired by a GBACG event in June 2006 at a Sonoma winery. I had finally settled on a caraco jacket made out of a black linen embroidered with blue vines, found on eBay (the seller offered 4 yards literally
Photos taken at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.
I’ve lived in the South Bay most of my life, yet somehow I’d never visited Hakone Gardens. It’s been nestled in the Saratoga foothills since 1918 & open to the public for nearly 40 years. What a treasure this place is! Delicate & structured yet wild & natural, all at the same time. Gentle waterfalls,
Finally! The gown itself is done! Finished the last rows of the blasted ruffles and hemmed and trimmed the skirt. I love the ruffled skirt now — when I put it on, I realized how perfect the ruffles go with the polonaise. Ruffles give extra fullness, as a petticoat would, but better. The pouf of
Note to self: Never, ever sew anything with more than one ruffle ever again. The ruffled skirt is killing me. Hemming and trimming the ruffles was a piece o’ frickin’ cake compared to actually gathering and attaching the ruffles. All nine goddamned rows of ruffles. I used to think it’d be neat to someday make
I hemmed and trimmed all the jillion miles of ruffles for the skirt. Hemming would have been enough of a pain (though let us all take a moment to praise the high and mighty rolled-hem foot!). But I had to go and edge each layer of ruffles with narrow black lace. Yes, I am officially
I’m done! This pattern does not have the best instructions — not very clear in places, left details out until the end. Nothing that you can’t figure out if you read everything three times before starting and three more times as you go along. But it’s a real bother. Anyway, it’s complete, and now I