This dress is made entirely from a heavy weight plaid fashion fabric, which has a texture similar to wool (with a much smaller price tag)! It’s trimmed with green material of the same weight and vintage lace. It’s a two piece ensemble, with a bodice that buttons closed at the front, and a skirt that … Continue reading Plaid Civil War Era Plaid Dress
Last Thursday I drove by the prettiest sunflower field, and was overwhelmed with the desire to make something inspired by it. I also wanted to make something that could be photographed in the field. Unfortunately, sunflower season is really short and I didn’t expect them to be around for another week. Which meant I had to make … Continue reading The Sunflower Gown : Making a 1830’s Dress
This post is long overdue. I’ve attempted writing it at least a dozen times, and I never get past the first paragraph. But I was determined to get it up before the end of the month, and I managed to make that deadline! If you hadn’t guessed by the title, this post is an end … Continue reading A look back at 2016
Last month I finally felt brave enough to revisit a period I always seem to fail at: The 1700’s. The eighteenth century seems to be the favorite of historical costumers, but my attempts never seem to turn out well. In 2014 I devoted October to 18th century projects which ended with two finished dresses that both … Continue reading Making an 18th Century Robe a la Turque (or something similar), Part One
Today I’m talking about all my recent projects – which means there is a LOT to talk about! Though I haven’t finished a whole lot in the past months, I have a ton of things in progress and a bunch of recently abandoned projects. I did a big sewing room cleanup yesterday and came across a lot … Continue reading Progress Report : Recent Projects
So this post is probably going to be really long. And it’s also long overdue – most of these pieces were completed back in January! These were made to pair with a few turn of the century gowns that I had planned (including this taffeta dress), and were some of the first things I made … Continue reading Making Turn of the Century Foundation Garments
Today I had planned on posting about making a shirtwaist to go with my 1890’s cycling costume. But I didn’t get the video that goes along with that post edited in time, so i’m writing about a new project instead! This project is a relatively simple three piece Civil War Era costume. It will consist of a … Continue reading Making an 1860’s Plaid Blouse
Today’s post is an exciting one…or at least it’s exciting for me, because it’s a fabric haul! Which means new materials and new projects to work on. The week before my birthday my dad and I went into the garment district and this is what I got during that trip – plus a few Jo-anns purchases … Continue reading Fabric Haul, April 2016
This post is the second one about making my Civil War Era evening gown. Part one talks about making the bodice and can be read here. This post will cover the process of making the sleeves and include photos of the finished bodice. I really enjoyed this part of the project. Puffy sleeves are relatively easy to make … Continue reading Making a Pink Sateen Ball Gown, 1860’s Inspired, Part Two
I’m a little late with writing this – but not as late as I was last year! So hopefully that counts for something! Like the title of this post implies, this is going to be a look back on what I made in 2015. I’m going to share my thoughts on each project, my goals for … Continue reading A look back on 2015
