A White Swiss Dot Blouse

This blouse is white cotton lawn with some leftover white rayon challis as lining. It's a good blouse. I think it could stand to have a little more flair in the bottom, and it could be maybe an inch longer. I have spent so much time thinking about how to accommodate pregnancy, post-partum, nursing, and recovery body(is that a thing) into one item of clothing, and I'm not sure it's really possible! I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about a piece of black velvet I've had for five years now. It's just cheap polyester stretch velvet, and I think I've finally decided to make a plain maxi skirt with it. Something nice to wear to church. But then the question is, how fitted should I make it? And then my mind just went on and on from there. I do love the creative process of making clothes. It's just the challenge of the possibility of many different body shapes having to fit inside the same piece of clothing that makes it all interesting!

A Blue Summer Blouse

Rayon challis drapes so nicely and is light without being too see-through. It's also very soft, but not too difficult to work with. It does wrinkle easily, but I still like it anyway. So this blouse is blue stripe rayon challis, lined with some leftover cream rayon challis. I believe they both came from fabric.com.

It's a simple pull-over blouse. I wanted to make it loose enough to wear for early pregnancy and for nursing, should that come about again. I can't afford to have a wardrobe for each specific stage of life!

The stripes meet in the center front. The back has the stripes going straight up and down with two small darts at the waist.

The waistline has a peplum skirt- I hemmed it by hand. Rayon can be pretty bouncy so hemming by hand gave a better look than a rolled him would by machine.

The sleeves have alternating stripes for the cuff.

And that's it! I was very careful making this so hopefully it wears for a long while. Next post, a white swiss dot blouse that I plan to wear to the Very Next Wedding.

Grey Wool Coat

Fall break was fun. We went out to eat Greek, had donuts and cider to celebrate Fall; went for a walk, bought steaks(John cooked me dinner) and generally just enjoyed being all together. Now it's back to the grind, and I'm shipping out the grey wool coat today!

Twelve buttons down the front.

Two very large pockets.

Three back pleats/vents

A three inch tall stand collar.

A rather bulky back pleat and lots of hemming.

And a very nap-ready Baby M with the finished product. A fairly basic coat, fun, and I look forward to seeing a picture on the customer!

Back and Settled

We're done with travel for a while. I'm in post vacation denial. I don't want to work, but too bored not to do anything! We so enjoyed seeing family for one more time this summer, and on top of that, a total eclipse.

Baby M

Baby M is growing fast. She's popping teeth and that makes her crabby sometimes, but overall she's a happy baby, and especially happy to be home and out of her car seat.

I bought this ladies' Medium blouse for .50, and it's brand new. I cut it up into a bunch of little bits and made this baby dress.It probably took way more time than it was worth, but oh well. I'm hoping to get my usual Fall rush of sewing orders, and I want to spend my sewing efforts in the meantime on baby clothes!

Shirt changed to baby shirt-dress

I also made this checkered knit dress, very Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. I bought the fabric from Girl Charlee- I'd been wanting to order from them for a while. The faux apron is a vintage handkerchief. I had never tried putting buttonholes on a knit before- and it didn't work. I should have just reinforced them and done them by hand. So I'm not going to show you the back because it looks bad. Maybe I'll go back and fix it someday!

The Navy Coat

Order finished! It was the navy and buff linen coat and breeches, with domed pewter buttons. The fabric was really striking, and they looked real nice. I took pictures to share- but accidentally deleted them. Ugh. So there are no pictures of the beautiful coat and breeches.

Baby Shirt Dress

Other than that sewing, I have on my work table a continual pile of baby clothes which are more for fun than necessary. I fiddle around with them when I have a baby-free minute. Also, Baby M's first costume is ready and waiting. Made from linen scraps, it's not historically accurate with elastic at the neckline and a faux shift underneath, but it is linen with mostly hand sewing. And I think she'll be cute.

First Baby Costume

Maternity Clothes

Figuring out some form of maternity clothes to cover the growing, kicking baby, and still keep my standards of modesty. I hesitate to buy too much labeled as maternity because of the price, and without seeing it in person; so far I've purchased one Pink Blush maxi dress off Zulily and a skirt and dress off Motherhood Closet. I have a few more options I'm considering on Amazon(high neck tunic? Loose knit pants?), but we'll wait and see on those. I also haunt Pinterest, which has become something of a demise since I got morning sickness, for maternity sewing ideas.

T-shirt Maxi Dresses

So far the most I've done in sewing for myself is refashion $2 tees from the thrift store+ $3 maxi dresses, also thrift store =very comfortable T-shirt dress that fits the current me, is cheap and easy to make. I prefer to wear a blouse, sweater, or bolero over top as well, just because otherwise it really does look like you're wearing one big t-shirt. I haven't found any good local place to shop for ready-made maternity clothes, but it's on the to-do list.

T-shirt dress with blouse

Peaks and Valleys

I've just been chilling with my mango, which is turning me into a pear. My morning sickness seems to be fading. I'm very grateful to be feeling much less nauseous; but still tired!

Breeches front.

I've had six orders of trousers and breeches in the past two months. Definitely my best-sellers, but I do get tired of those leg plackets especially. Getting paid is nice though!

Breeches back.

I also have a pile of projects that haven't been touched those months of being sick: a baby quilt; maternity clothes; curtains for a friend; slip covers for a new gifted rocking chair. A baptismal gown! I'm slowly trying to get those done.

We went to the nearby town of Granbury over fall break and had a wonderful time. It's a wild west sort of town, with a man-made lake surrounded by new resort-style hotels. We stayed on the square and confined our outings to that older part of town. We had good food, saw the local Presbyterian church(they still use the bell!), visited the library book store, and stayed in a historic hotel. Very relaxing and much needed!

Neighbors: A Summary

I'm working on finishing up my current order of breeches and a waistcoat. It's a heavy wool twill lined with linen. It's really too bulky for breeches, so I don't plan to do that again.

When I line breeches I hide the inseam, and just finish the outerseam together. With the front flap detail it just seems to work best.

Leg plackets: the worst part. So fiddly.

So now that we've been living here for a few months we've had time to give our neighbors code names. Our complex is in a U-shape and there are seven townhomes on our strip. To our right is a phantom family who we almost never see coming or going. Then there's the Grill family, who own at least four grills parked on their tiny strip of concrete. Just next door to us is the unhappy family, whose parents always seem tense and the children hyper. They're the ones we hear the most, endlessly running back and forth on the other side of our shared wall.

On our other side we have a Korean family; the husband seems friendly, the wife doesn't speak English, and the daughter very inquisitive and also energetic. The wife also broke campus law and planted tomatoes outside her door. I'm jealous of her rebellion. After that there's the only family we've really gotten to know a little bit; we started out calling them the fundamentals because we guessed they were fundamental Baptist. They're really not, but it's too hard to change their name now. After that is another phantom family who just moved in this spring.

We don't know much about the other neighbors in our U, except we know there's several more Korean families and one bi-racial family we've named the screamers, because their little girls are constantly, fervently, whole-heartedly screaming.

I've officially finished my corset and need to move on to my dress, with the goal of finishing by the end of July. It is amazing to me just how different this style of corset feels compared to my 18th C corset.

Corsetry

Way back when before our May trip I signed papers to volunteer at the Log Cabin Village. Before I start, though, I have to make that new 1840's outfit. Well, I got hung up on making the stays/corset. The 1840's seem to be that odd era where things started changing from stays to corsets, from shift to chemise. It's all very confusing. I've made several pairs of 1770's stays, but that's the only type of corsetry I've ever made. This is when bodice shapes started transitioning from the almost looser late-Regency style to the mid-century hourglass.

Eyelets and binding left.

Since this corset is for myself, and since everyone else on site is already less accurate because they don't wear corsets, and because I am now in a hurry to finish, I feel that gives me license to just fudge it through. For a base I used Past Pattern's 1840's stays pattern, kindly loaned to me by a friend. This pattern has cups, while later corsets do not. This pattern is corded, while later corsets are boned. I decided to blend the eras a bit and add boning, not cording.

For fabric I used two layers of cotton sheeting and two layers of leftover linen/cotton. All very affordable, all fabric I had leftover from something else. I did buy a center-front busk(Etsy!). For boning I'm using my favorite, plastic zip ties. I know some people say they can bend from heat, but I haven't ever had trouble with my stays becoming mis-shapen. I think I didn't wear them often enough, and that's also probably more of an issue for larger women.

I've never used a center-front busk before, so apparently I put it in the wrong order and so had to hand-sew it in. I definitely rushed the last part of making this, and it's not my best work ever! But I learn something every time I sew so nothing is wasted. Some people's corsets are really works of art; I actually don't sew costumes much for myself, and when I do I rarely spend the bulk of my allotted time on underthings. Here's another blogger who made this same pattern all by hand. I'm not that dedicated when it comes to my own underclothes!

Navy Linen, and Other Things

Family Stuff

We're back from my first post-marriage return to my home state and a nice, long family reunion. Now it's back to work! My current project is a 1770's civilian coat in Navy linen. It's fairly basic, but I'm glad to be getting back into sewing orders. This coat has no cuffs or collar; it has 10 plain pewter buttons down the front and three on each pocket flap. Lined in white linen, which was on sale from fabric.com for $6 a yard! I was worried that this linen would hang too loosely, so I used a $2 thrifted sheet as inner lining for the front of the coat.

Speaking of projects, I've added two listings to my Etsy shop: a customizable Regency-era waistcoat and basic shirt.

NEW Tablecloth: Periwinkle blue and vintage!

I visited the nearest Hancocks this week in honor of their upcoming demise, and bought fabric for a tablecloth. I even dredged up the courage to cut two of my vintage handkerchiefs to decorate the corners. I have a whole stack of fine linen and vintage handkerchiefs from my great aunt, which I always mean to put to some use.

Only two handkerchiefs were harmed in the making of this project.

Great-Aunt Elinor was quiet, a good writer, and loved animals, especially horses. She was an only daughter with two brothers, never married, and took care of her parents. We didn't see her often until her health declined and she went to a nursing home. It was a sad place. When Elinor passed, I ended up with some of her books, a quilt, and a box of handkerchiefs. I've already been using the bright ones as decorating in our oh-so-off-white apartment. God made colors and I appreciate them more than ever!

Finally Some Projects!

Finally I have some sewing projects coming up!

Very odd colored fabric for a new dress.

• A new dress for myself. I applied to volunteer at a local City Park that has several log cabins dating from 1840 up to 1870, which were moved to the site some fifty years ago. So that's one reason I sold my colonial dress- to fund a new dress for volunteering. I have to say, I haven't liked any of a 1840s fabrics I've seen that are darker, more practical colors. They are super busy and slightly oppressive to the eye! I'm a short person, and if I decorate myself in a busy fabric I'll look like a clump of Victorian wallpaper.

• A 1770's coat in navy blue linen with plain domed pewter buttons. It will be the same pattern as the green wool waistcoat, only with sleeves and a more curved front. It will be fun to get back to coat-making! And in linen, too. All the coats I've made previously have been in wool.

• A silk dupioni table runner. A simple project, but I don't get to work with silk much, so that's nice.

Green Wool Waistcoat, June 2015

So I got sick last weekend. Nasty sick. Bedridden. On Tuesday I was finally well enough to want to eat, so I peeled myself off my sickbed and risked fainting in the produce aisle. And I forgot to buy toilet paper- sorry, John! I had two mangoes, a grapefruit, strawberries and blackberries. And chocolate covered espresso beans. It was wonderful. But I'm still sick and very much looking forward to being healthy again.

Moving On- Maybe?

My grey linen gown was the first REAL Colonial gown I made for myself. I had made a trial gown before, out of terribly incorrect fabric, and then an experimental jacket. I made the grey dress itself in 2011(I think. I'm pretty sure.) to wear to the Providential History Festival:

From my 2011 Picture Folder: The original trim!

And I changed the trim for next year's festival; actually I pretty much changed the trim every year:

2012 PHF, wearing my quilted petticoat! And even four years ago, Andrew was taller then me.

I wore it to Camden, South Carolina, in 2013:

Epic Picture.

I wore it to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2014:

I think that petticoat and matching trim is my favorite.

And now here I am, in Texas. We appear to be a good four hours from any historical group or location where I could conceivably wear my Colonial gown. In the depths of reenacting woe, cursing the uncultured darkness of Texas, I've been thinking of selling some of the few costumes I have left. Which isn't many; I sold most of them before I moved. But I haven't quite been able to sell this dress yet. I'm still clinging to the sentimental thought of keeping it for a little while longer!

Etsying Again

My Etsy shop is officially open once more!

The Marchioness Sews

Only my six main listings are up at present, mostly men's clothes. So if you need any pretty good quality garments for your reenacting man, check it out!

It's Bigger on the Inside?

Pretty much all I did at the shop in the week leading up to Hallow/Reformation Day was work on the Tardis dress. Simplicity 1095, it's a gored skirt, bustled overstkirt, corset, and bolero/hood. I changed the pattern, of course; no way was I going to take the time to make a boned bustle.

The Tardis Pattern

Anyway, I spent a good three days working full shifts on that dress, and the person for whom is was made ended up wearing for half an hour. But then it went in the shop window, labeled as "Sexy Tardis dress, $75 for rental."

The Sexy Tardis? I'm offended.

Otherwise, I've recently made several 70's vests, a striped Elf outfit, and five more "Tardis" hoods.

There was a rainbow at some point

Football is over. My sister-in-law had a baby. And there's nine weeks until the wedding. I finished my last commissioned sewing order, so now I'm almost officially on vacation until after the wedding. Just a few more days at the costume shop and I'll be officially, officially on vacation. And I can finally start sewing my own dress!

Football Star.

Actually, I am kind of on vacation right now: back in April I bought tickets to come back for a visit to the retreat center in South Carolina. It's been exactly two years since I volunteered here. So I had my tickets a long while ago, but the recent flooding here changed my plans a bit. I'll be spending most of the time with my old friend, Friend H, who I met in Russia exactly three years ago, and saw again when I was here two years ago. Friend H is married(to Mr. Z), expecting, and a homeowner, but still fun to be with. Today, my first day here, we went to her TWO HOUR maternity class- and then to the Old Mill Antique Mall in downtown Columbia. It's a cool place, really big, with good prices. When I came here in 2013 I bought all my Christmas presents there. On today's visit I bought two adorable pottery cups with little turtles on them. A good day!

A Colonial Long Waistcoat

Earlier this month I finished the custom order of the early American waistcoat. The order was from a returning customer, Dan, who is very tall and a very good customer. He bought breeches from me last year and we've been corresponding about another project for a while.

Dan wearing "my" breeches

It's bad, but whenever I send Dan an email my fingers automatically type "Dad" instead of "Dan." Or even worse, once I typed "Dam" instead. But I must have caught all the mistakes because Dan bought and got the waistcoat this June.

Dan's Waistcoat on my Barbie mannikin

 Materials Used

I bought the green wool from a friend who, I'm pretty sure, had bought it in bulk from Heritage Fabric. I've looked at their wool before, but a minimum order is 10 meteres, and that's a lot of money.

The buttons were pewter with star flower design from Jas. Townsend(buying two ten-packs saved us something).

The lining was my favorite, Kaufman Essex natural linen/cotton from fabric.com

The pattern was the J.P Ryan long waistcoat with the option of sleeves.

Even with money-saving measures like buying the wool at wholesale price from a friend, using a blend for lining, and ordering cheaper buttons, material cost is so crazy high. Usually when I'm making an item for the first time or if the customer is a friend or returning customer, I charge less, so when I list things on Etsy for the greater public it always goes up. But I still think my prices are decent, all things considered!

Welt pocket with flap

The pockets were new to me. It's just a basic welt pocket underneath the flap, but I'd never attached pocket flaps over a welt pocket like this before. According to the instructions they can be added in the welt pocket seam, or topstitched over the welt pocket. I felt that with this wool adding the flap into the seam might be too bulky, so I topstitched them. The concern there is that they might come loose sooner than if they had been in the pocket seam. So anyway, the jury is still out on that one.

All the seams were done by machine, and the welt pockets were by machine. The buttonholes and hemming were by hand. There were three buttons on each pocket, and twelve down the front. Since we got ten-packs there were two extra, so I added them to the back pleats for decoration. I didn't plug them both because I forgot to before I did them hemming, and because it's really hard to sew a plugged button back on. Putting buttons on the back of a coat is just a decorative way to save them for when a button falls off the front, I think.

So there's that! Another order, another garment explored.