Another Perchy Hat

The hat I wore last weekend to the impressionist picnic, is one that i have worn many times before. Infact this single hat has had more variations than any other hat i own.

Starting out originally as a 1930's hat:

Then becoming the little dinner plate hat for the light house dress last summer.

And finally after going back to a 1930's hat it become the little perchy hat for the big striped dress :)

I love when you can get so much use out of a single item!

Impressionist Picnic

Yesterday was our Impressionist picnic held out at one of our new favorite places for events.  The Rancho Camulos, is just outside of Six Flags theme park, tucked into a valley surrounded by orchards and growers fields.

The place is so beautiful and peaceful and made the perfect setting for our little gathering. We spread ourselves out on the back lawn in the shade of two huge old trees, next to the large fountain. The day was warm but was kept from being too hot by a strong breeze from the coast.

Everyone brought food to share and the buffet table was loaded down under numerous tasty treats and sumptuous desserts. Michael and I shared a small lunch of roasted lamb shanks and cold asparagus with a lemon tarte for dessert.

 

The afternoon was whiled away with conversation and general fun. There was a silly game of nine pins (okay i made it silly with my horrible aim and constant giggling), and plenty of opportunities for lovely photos in the roses and among the old building.

I got to meet a friend and fellow blogger for the first time which was a lovely surprise! Loren from The Costumers Closet: http://costumerscloset.blogspot.com/, was so much fun to spend time talking to and she wore the most striking black and white polka dot dress. In fact everyone looked really splendid, from the men in their linen jackets and plaid trousers to the women all in their light colored finery.

  

I finally wore my crazy pink and white bustle dress! One friend said I looked like an old soda fountain or ice cream parlor and  i couldn't agree more :) The dress was fun to wear and actually quite comfortable, there was no finicky trimming or overly long train to get caught up in, something that normally happened to me. For all the bows and big stripes the dress is rather simply trimmed.

As always it was a wonderful day spent with great friends doing what we love!

18th Century Robe Battante

So even though I had thought I was going to make a Caraco jacket. yesterday I had found that extant photo of a Robe Battante, the last photo in the post, and really fell in love with the look.

So now I have decided that that is what I will be making for the Curtain Along! That and the other deciding factor is that Michael's new 18th century uniform is early, 1740s to be exact. And the robe Battante is an early style.

Curtain Along Inspiration

I'm thinking that I will make the short jacket like below :

And then I saw these! And it's not at all what I had planned but it's so cool looking and really tempting :)

Moving on to the next project

. . . Which is going to be an 18th century dress as part of The Curtain-along hosted by Festive Attyre.

The Curtain Along is about using a modern curtain available at most home goods stores to make an 18th century dress. The curtain print is a very good looking indienne print that comes in three base colors: creme, scarlet, and black. Festive attyre can explain it way better, check out her multiple posts as the project grows: 
http://www.festiveattyre.com/search/label/curtain-along

I already have my fabric/ curtains ;) I am going with the creme version as I think it will look best with my blue quilted petticoat. That being said I'm not really sure what style I am going to make. I was thinking a Caraco jacket but now I'm not sure . . . 

One thing for sure though, I love the idea of using curtains as fabric! I actually have multiple dresses that came from curtains :) It's usually an easy and cheap way to come up with yardage. 

Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #8

HSF Challenge #8: "The By The Sea challenge is all about nautical fashions, whether you make something to wear on the sea, by the sea, or in the sea (or lake or river)." 

For this challenge I chose to make a Victorian swimsuit! I have always loved them and never had a good excuse to make one until now :)

Fabric: because I could I made this out of wool which is what they would have used. The wool is a deep navy, almost black and with a light weight hand, it's probably a mid weight suiting, it's also the same fabric I used to make the big Hussars dress for Dickens' last year.http://cursewordsandcrinolines.blogspot.com/2012/12/getting-closer.html 
And then a dark navy cotton for lining.

Pattern: from my last post, I found a Folkwear Pattern -http://cursewordsandcrinolines.blogspot.com/2013/04/pattern-for-bathing-suit.html
It wasn't too bad but definitely goes together like a modern garment rather then a historical one. But I just adjusted around it as needed and it worked out fine, and I didn't have to mess with draping and all that time consuming nonsense. 

Year: I'd put this style somewhere in the late 1880s to about 1900. No later then that.

Notions: the usual thread and buttons from the stash, also a little elastic for the leg and arm openings. Then a fair bit of white grosgrain ribbon for decoration.

How historically accurate is it: I'm gonna give this one an 8 out of 10. The materials content are correct as is the cut and decoration. Even the machine sewing is in its favor. I dock points for the pattern though.

Hours to complete: I'm gonna go with about 20 from cut out to finish.

First worn: not yet, not even for photos :) I will try to get those up later today. I finished it up last night, took one look at myself in the mirror and said yeah that can wait till tomorrow when I look more human. I'm not sure when it will be worn out to an event though as I don't have one in mind yet, but I'll find something :)

Total cost: $10 for the pattern, $30 for the wool and the rest came from the stash. 

Yes I even made the silly little cap to match ;)!

Pattern For a Bathing Suit

So when I initially started looking into this project I figured I would need to draft my own pattern to get what I wanted. But then while scanning the interwebs I found a pattern! 

It's a Folkwear pattern:

I have never made one of their patterns before so I am moving slower and more carefully then normal. And while nothing is standing out as obviously wrong yet, I am already making some small modifications. 

So far all I have is everything cut out. I am using a dark blue light weight wool and lining it in a dark blue cotton and I have a lot of white grosgrain ribbon for the decorative trim. 

Victorian Bathing Suits

So I am switching focus here to work towards the next HSF challenge which is seaside themed.

I am going to make a Victorian bathing suit, something I have wanted to add to the collection for years. I have a pattern in mind but i am not sure how I want to embellish it so here's a look at what I am looking at for inspiration:

HSF Challenge #7

Challenge #7: Accessorize - "A beautiful dress is one thing, but without the right accessories, the picture isn't complete. Accessories add polish to your outfits, helping to create the perfect historical look."

I am using my lobster tail bustle as my accessory to the stripe dress.

Fabric: honestly, and old bed sheet ;)

Pattern: I used the recently created pattern by the American Duchess, 

http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2013/01/v346-how-to-make-victorian-bustle.html

it was easy to follow and came out great I feel! I think it needs a ruffle but it's not critical with this skirt.

Year: Victorian, 1870s - 1880s

Notions: I used grosgrain ribbon for my ties and round reed for the hoop bones, all from the stash.

How accurate: I'll give it an 8 out of 10. The materials are all appropriate, cotton base and ribbon and reed bones. Though not likely, reed could have been used, steel would be more likely.

Hours to complete: about 4 hours give or take. Basically two evenings after work last week.

First worn: not yet, it will be worn in two weeks with the striped dress for an impressionist picnic.

Total cost: $0, all stash!