Month: November 2013

HSF Challenge #23: the Ettie Mae Hooverette Dress

When it came time for the HSF Challenge #23: Gratitude (make something utilises the tutorials, patterns and research that so many of the historical costuming community make available for free) I was in a bit of a quandary. I’ve got a list of tutorials and patterns that I want to use that is a mile long, and kilometres of fabric and lace that have been gifted to me by generous people, but every one of these tutorials and patterns was would be a very involved project. Stupidly I’d scheduled the ‘Generosity’ challenge right at the end of the university semester, and I was up to my neck in marking. What to do!?! I had a browse through the HSF photo albums and finished projects for inspiration, and was reminded again of the Hooverette dress that Jen did for the Robes & Robings challenge. It’s simple, it’s sweet, I’m madly in love with it, and I want one! Also, Jen did a bunch of awesome research on Hooverette and wrap dresses from the 20s-40s, making reproducing …

Historical Sew Fortnightly ’14 Challenge #4: Under It All

Published by The Dreamstress

The fourth Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge for 2014, due March 1, is the first repeat of a ’13 Challenge theme: Under It All. This theme is all about the foundations to a garment: the things that go under it to provide the right shape and support, and to protect your fancy outer garments from sweat and grime. What could you make? Chemises and shifts: Corsets (and stays and jumps, but not, of course, swiss waists): Petticoats and slips: Drawers and pantalets and tap pants: Hoopskirts and bustles and bum rumps: Plus garters and stockings and lots of other little bits! To sum it up, if it goes under your garments, it qualifies! For more inspiration, I have some pinterest boards with undergarments sorted by date: 1700-1750 1750-1790 1790-1820 1820-40 1840-70 1870-80 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920-40

Rate the Dress: Subtle stripes and purple pops in the 1820s

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week’s 1920s fashion plate got some interesting reactions that divided into three distinct categories: Oooh!, Meh and Blech. Balanced out, the resulting rating was 6 out of 10 – just above Meh, and not a rating that anyone gave the dress! To my surprise, many of you liked the orange dress better than the blue and green one – I should have done a Dress Off! This fortnight’s theme in the HSF is ‘Re-do’, which leaves the field wide open for me to pick Rate the Dress garments to go along with it. I’ve been feeling like it was time to post something 1820s for a while now (not sure why, it just felt like the right thing to do), and since Stripes is one of the HSF themes I’ll be ‘re-doing’ over the next fortnight, a striped 1820s frock it is: In addition to the fascinating use of stripes (and is that fabric a very simple warp-printed taffeta? I think so!), this dress attracted me because of its under-sleeves of gauzy wool in …