Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Latest sewing projects

Lately I've been working on half a dozen waistcoats and a new set of stays. As the reenacting season starts up again and we gain more opportunities to perform through our dance group, I am becoming resigned to the fact that our costume collection(we already have two plastic tubs full) is doomed to be always growing. Not only do I have a large family to outfit if I want them dressed historically, but the more I organize costume events the more I will (apparently) need to have costumes on hand to loan out. I enjoy the sewing, but the end product just takes up so much space!



As for the stays, I've been wanting to sew a second set for a while now. The one set I have is only a few years old and little used, but they are made of very thick cotton and just a tad too big, which can be uncomfortable in such a fitted garment. I'm using the same pattern that I used for my first set, and I'm finding it easy to recreate again. I had help the first time which makes it easier to remember the instructions. I'm using blue linen as the outer fabric and white linen as the inner lining. These stays are much more dainty than my other set and I look forward to using them well.

3 comments:

Peter Bringe said...

You know that you are serious about history when you have more historic clothing than other clothing :). Our family knows what it feels to be the local arsenel of historic garb due to my mom's skill, and the fact that we keep outgrowing our clothes.

Oh, and I cringe some when people call reenacting attire "costumes". Costumes are for stage plays and Halloween.

-Peter Bringe
Deo Vindice

Anna Naomi said...

I know what you mean about needing more room for costume storage! My costume collection grows and grows and grows... Thankfully they let me store things in some closets at church!

The Marchioness said...

Well, not all of our get-ups are reenacting attire, but we're working on it. I'm also trying to get people who attend dances to be more conscious of what historical dress is, because what most people wear to a dress-up event is costume.

Anna, I cannot imagine how many dance costumes you must have!