A Leap of Faith

First Post of the Day

Cutting these two pieces off the pink bedgown took a big leap of faith from me.

I'd stitched them together as the pattern had required, but something was wrong. Instead of having the beginning of a pleat down the back of the bedgown, I had a small "hole-like" projection between the shoulders. That wasn't right.

I carefully removed the stitching that held these two together. Then I got the pattern pieces out and set them against the cut pieces of fabric. Finally I saw my error - I'd cut four of them when I only needed two.

Or so I thought. 

The second guessing began immediately.

If I was right, then I needed to cut two of them off and discard them.

But if I was wrong and cut them off, I'd make an irreparable error and ruin that in-progress garment.

I compared pattern pieces again. I sat and thought. I rotated the pattern pieces to see if perhaps I was missing something elsewhere. 

Nope. I needed to cut off and remove two of the four pieces.

I sat and thought some more, did one more check of the pattern pieces, and then finally decided to just do it - I grabbed my shears and clipped them off. Then I took the remaining two pieces, pinned them together, stitched, and...

Yes!! That was the solution! I was right to cut them off and I hadn't ruined the bedgown. I now had the beginning of the shawl collar and the pleat that was to run down the back.

Piecing together the rest of the bedgown went quickly and I finished the garment the same day I started it.

I am so happy with how it turned out and I don't think I will have any trouble selling it.

Which reminds me - a very important email came into by business account yesterday.

Stay 'tooned!

More from the Sewing Room

Referring to Susie's cryptic tag from yesterday's blog post, several of you read the 3 as a backwards apostrophe and an S. 

I think you are right. Susie's tag actually reads, "Susie's Fav Small." Makes sense - thanks, all!

Yesterday I decided that I would take a break from cutting out bedgowns and make some pin pillows using the camel/elephant fabric.

The cut out and stitched pillows, ready for stuffing.

Ever worked with wool roving? It is so soft to the touch. But it is deceptive - it compresses very well and so you use more than you think you might.

This is all I had left after stuffing just five 4 inch square pillows. (The fabric clips are holding the openings closed where I stuffed them.)

The finished pin pillows. I am really pleased with how they turned out.

That was a very relaxing two hours of cutting, stitching, stuffing, and hand finishing. And when I was done, I felt ready to begin tackling the bedgowns.

This is today's sewing project - an XL bedgown in a pretty pink block print.

On the left are the gussets (they add space to the underarm of the sleeves and allow better movement) and then the sleeve extensions. (These are added to the end of each sleeve, turned under, and then folded back into cuffs.)

If I can work without too many interruptions, I can get this bedgown done today. 

Stay 'tooned! 

 

Leslie's New Feast Outfit

Second Post of the Day

 Leslie has been attending The Feast of the Hunters' Moon since the mid 1970s. She's worn a variety of period clothing and interpreted many different lifestyles over the years. In the 1990s, she began wearing 18th century riding habits and has done so ever since.

Until this year. This year she is switching things up and has asked me to make all her clothing for her new interpretation.

I started with a brand new chemise

that has my favorite set of sleeve buttons in the sleeves.

Next, she chose the blue linen bed gown I'd made. Blue is her favorite color.

And last but not least, she asked me to make her a new petticoat, one that was pleated instead of gathered at the waist.

I am really pleased with how it turned out. 

Pleating can take three to four hours to do, but it is worth it in the finished product.

Can you see the three pleats in this photo? The print of the fabric hides it a bit - which made the pleating more difficult to do.

With pleating, you don't have the "give" that you get with gathering, so you have to measure not only each pleat, but then the row of pleats together to ensure it fits properly. (I measured repeatedly to get it right.)

Then you add twill tape for the waistband. I have bleached and unbleached; Leslie chose bleached. (I agree with her choice.)

When I know my measurements are correct (Leslie came over and tried the petticoat on to be sure), then I stitch one long side of the twill tape to the waist, flip it to the other side and hold it in place with fabric clips.

Finally, I hand stitch that side down, and the petticoat is finished.

She's going to put the clothes on and send me a picture. I'll post it when she does.

Any guesses as to who Leslie is interpreting this year? Here a hint: cheese.

Stay 'tooned!

Meanwhile, Back in the Sewing Room

It has been a very productive week, sewing-wise. I've cut out and completed several 18th century bedgowns.

Despite the name of the garment, these were actually day-wear, a form of "undress" that you would wear until you put on more formal clothing for evening engagements and such. (I've seen around 4:00 PM in some historical documentation.)

A traditional English floral print bedgown. As Lisa pointed out, this is very reminiscent of the historical clothing my mother always wore. She loved blue and she loved flowers.

Lisa and Jessica at a historical event with their Granny Slash. (Called so because she signed her cards and letters, "Love, Fern/Mom/Grandma/Great Grandma.)

Bedgowns fit loosely and are either pinned closed or worn with an apron to keep them shut. This is one of my favorite block prints and I've made several bedgowns from it.

A customer in Kalamazoo wearing one I'd made and using an apron closure. (I love her red stripes and waistband as well as the red earrings and fichu accents.)

Me wearing the one I made myself and using a straight pin closure. 

This block print has elephants and cheetahs on it. In the 18th century, block printed fabrics were heavily imported from India where these animals were indigenous. So, it wasn't uncommon to find them on fabrics from that time period. 

I was lucky and discovered that one of Leslie's block print fabric suppliers was also offering a set of blocks for printing to his customers. 

The raised white edges feel like they are covered in rubber (which makes sense; that will keep the ink from permanently staining the edges.)

The depth of the block gives a good handhold for the person using it to print.

A close up of the elephant block.

A close up of one of the elephants on the bedgown fabric. That looks like an early 20th century football helmet on its head to me!

See what I mean? LOL

While I really like the elephant, my favorite block is the peacock.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these wood blocks, but I'm thinking that I might do a block printing project of some sort with the Pony Pals and Cowpokes during the holidays. We shall see.

Finally, I made a linen bedgown this past week. I have several pieces of linen fabric but I've hesitated to use them. Linen wrinkles easily and because it also frays badly, the seams need to be finished, a time consuming process.

This simple looking bedgown turned out to be a fight to make, all because of the linen fabric. 

Stay 'tooned for more on that.

 

A Brief Post

I need to head to the sewing machine as I am in crunch time, so it's a short post today.

I am making myself a bedgown from this fabric - probably my favorite 18th century block print ever. I want to finish it this morning and then get Mila's jacket cut out and stitched.

Meanwhile, here are two cute doggy pictures to enjoy.

Pepper protecting her most favorite toys while triple dog daring Tammo to just try, just TRY to steal one. He ALWAYS falls for that dare. (Which is why she does it! LOL)

Tired after a hard day of playing, going to the park, treats, pets, more treats, and naps, the poor doggo friends share my feet while they nap. Which essentially means that I'm not going anywhere, but hey, I was tired, too!

Sewing with Block Prints

I love to use hand block printed cotton fabrics when I sew 18th century period clothing and I'm getting quite a stash of them waiting to be stitched up into all kinds of garments.

Since they are printed by hand, you often see evidence that they are hand done. 

See how the pattern in the center is off a bit? That's what I mean. I love the authenticity that that adds to the fabric.

Block print fabrics are perfect for men's 18th century voyageur/work shirts.

Every single one I took the Feast sold.

My next event is in March and so I am already trying to get ready for that.

I've gotten a good start on the shirts,

but I decided to make some bedgowns from the block print fabrics and see how they sell. (The pleats are pressed and pinned in place to keep them looking nice which is why this bedgown looks a little slouchy.)

I showed this bedgown to Leslie and she texted back, "Use more block prints!!" 

I guess that's a green light to continue!