All posts filed under: 20th Century

Thinking green: a mid-1920s evening gown

For the HSF ‘Green’ challenge, I’m keeping it simple, and making a mid-1920s evening gown out of some fantastic dark jade & ecru silk that I bought over four years ago, and have been waiting for the opportunity to make up ever since.   The silk is a heavier habotai, and it instantly reminded of the fabulous textile that Raol Dufy designed for Paul Poiret’s 1911 ‘La Perse’ coat: Dufy’s design was printed on cotton velvet, rather than silk habotai, and is over decade earlier than the date I’m aiming for with my dress.  However, there is evidence of similar prints in later ’20s fashion. This Lanvin dress is made from warp-printed silk taffeta.  The fabric is a bit ‘sweeter’ than my print, and so is the cut of the dress.  I think my fabric needs a slightly more sophisticated, slinkier cut to show it off to its best advantage. Not quite this sophisticated and slinky though: This has distinct possibilities: As does this: I’m can’t find an exact example of the idea in my …

A late ‘teens sweater

Just in time for the end of winter, I’ve finished a late ‘teens, early ’20s inspired boiled wool cardigan jacket: I had intended this to be another ‘Outerwear’ entry, but as I was sewing it I realised how much it was like a robe – the cut is nearly identical to my favourite robe pattern, just shrunken.  And since my poor robe a la francaise is still pottering along, very slowly, I’m VERY excited to finally have finished a Robes and Robings entry of any sort. For something that is essentially robe shaped, this cardigan was stupidly hard to make.  It’s not a hard pattern: I just got caught up in my own brain as I sewed, and turned something that should have been a doddle into a complicated mess. I started out wanting to make this: I’m still madly in love with it as inspiration, but as I tried to sew it, I realised that the look really did need to be made out of blanket weight woven wool, not lighter boiled wool knit. …

The Chocolate & Roses 1930s capelet

A long, long time ago, Maryanne mentioned that no-one ever made her wearable items as gifts.  Now, as a rule, I never make anyone wearable items as gifts (with the notable exception of the occasional wedding dress and stuff for my mother), but Maryanne is pretty special, and I thought it was high time someone did. So, a long time ago (confession: this project was meant to be done for Flora & Fauna) I had a voucher for fabric from The Fabric Store, and they had just gotten some luscious silk velvets in, and I offered to make Maryanne a version of my 1930s Capelet in the silk velvet of her choice.  She chose a glorious chocolate brown.  Thich was quite fun for me, as I love chocolate brown but it really doesn’t love me.   I offered to supply the lining as well, but she already had a beautiful silk dupion embroidered with Poiret roses in her stash that she wanted me to use, and no wonder: it’s AMAZING. So I started making the …