All posts filed under: 19th Century

Rate the Dress: Pink bows at the masqued ball

Last week I presented a 1920s frock with lace and geometry, and you didn’t like it much. In fact, what you really didn’t like was the only part I found interesting: the lattice. But I can’t tell you exactly how much you didn’t like it because I used my weekly maths adding quota up on marking student papers, ‘kay? This week, I present a masquerade themed Rate the Dress. We can tell it’s a masquerade costume because she has a mask. Also, she’s at the masquerade, and it’s called Venetian Lady at the Masqued Ball. In addition to a mask, our pretty Venetian is very fond of matching: she’s got a profusion of picot-edged pink bows which perfectly match her pink skirt, and the delicate pink piping of her bodice. Even her black mitts are trimmed with matching pink ruffles. The only things that aren’t pink and black are her white undersleeves, and her mad feather-bedecked hat. So, dear readers, there are two important questions to answer here. First, what do you think she is …

Tutorial: How to sew flat lining

Published by The Dreamstress

One of my favourite sewing techniques is flat lining. Flat lining is used extensively in historical (particularly 19th century) sewing and couture sewing, but it’s a technique that is not frequently taught or used in modern sewing books or patterns, which is a pity, because it’s awesome, and opens up many possibilities for design techniques and fabric use. I used it to make thin, flimsy fabrics strong enough to make corsets and jackets out of, and to make bodices that shape and hide squish without adding bulk and weight. Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, flat lining is not quite the same thing as interlining. These days (according to Shaeffer’s Sewing for the Apparel Industry) interlining is used to mean the same thing to as interfacing, whereas flat lining is an underlining, and is never fused. According to the Singer Sewing Book interlining is meant to add warmth and bulk, while flat lining or interfacings adds strength and support, but bulk and warmth should be avoided. When picking a flat lining fabric, pick a …

Rate the Dress: Silk feathered Redingote

Published by The Dreamstress

I know I need to add up the ratings for Winnaretta Singer, and let you know what her score was, but tonight I just need sleep, so you’ll have to wait a bit. Sorry. UPDATE: What a fascinating discussion came out of Winnaretta Singer and her checked suit, with people divided on the outfit as a whole, and divided on whether we should consider just the outfit, or the woman and her outfit. I do think that the wearer is so important to an item – there are gorgeous frocks that would look stupid on me, and rather insipid frocks that I could bring to life. Ultimately though, while I completely disagreed with the reasons I concur with Cathy that the outfit was a fashion risk that didn’t pay off. I liked the androgynous silhouette – such a hallmark of late teens and early 20s fashion, and such a refreshing shock after the shapely ‘prettiness’ of earlier teens looks. It was a sharp, deliciously bitter amuse-boche between more standard tasty courses. The hat though, was …