All posts filed under: Sewing

Things I sew – historical and modern

Frou Frou Francaise Sleeve thedreamstress.com

The Frou Frou Francaise: Sleeves & Sleeve Ruffles (& Felicity)

Some construction details on my Frou Frou Francaise sleeves and sleeve ruffles, for those who are interested.  And some photos of Felicity, for those who are interested 😉 I based my sleeve pattern on the from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion   The construction is a basic sew-three-layers-together-and-then-use-the-outer-fabric-to-hide-all-the-seam-allowances construction.  I don’t know if there is a less-wordy 18th c name for it! The fun part of sleeves, is, of course, sleeve ruffles! I based the punch pattern on my sleeve ruffles on this sacque in the V&A. There is a close-up image of the sleeve details in the 18th century Historical Fashion in Detail book (page 176 if you want to see it), but this image of the petticoat ruffle should give you a good idea of what the punch detailing looks like. To create my pattern I used the sleeve ruffle patterns from the American Duchess book (in retrospect I really wish I’d used the ruffle that corresponds with the Janet Arnold sleeve, but oh well) , and sketched out a punch design. I …

Frou Frou 1760s Stomacher thedreamstress.com

A frou-frou stomacher (based on an extent original) and making buckram

I made a very, very frilly stomacher to go with my Frou Frou Francaise! I based it on this stomacher, from the MFA Boston: I was searching for stomacher inspiration to go with my Frou Frou Francaise, because I wanted something a little more dynamic and interesting than the usual stripes-of-ruffles or bows (not that they aren’t charming, but this one just needed something different), and I stumbled across this one, and it was perfect, and (amazingly) it’s also the only extant plain blue silk stomacher that I know of. I realised that it would be the perfect project for the HSF Challenge #8: Extant originals, where you copy a period garment that is still in existence. I tried to replicate the exact shape & dimensions of the stomacher, but I just couldn’t get it to pin onto me and into my francaise and looking right. So instead I worked with a shape and dimensions that did fit my body and my dress, and adapted the trim to fit. To make my stomacher first I …

1760 Frou Frou Francaise thedreamstress.com

Five years later – Frou Frou Francaise progress (finally!)

It’s had a five year hiatus, but the mostly-Queen-Charlotte-inspired  Frou Frou Francaise is back on my sewing schedule. It hit the shoals of inactivity back in 2013 for two reasons.  First, the fabric was really hard to sew, and was aggravating the chillblains and other arm problems I have in winter.  Second I realised that I had two meters less fabric than I had thought, and wouldn’t be able to finish it without significant piecing – and even then without all the trimming I’d hoped to have.  The two combined were just too demoralising, and I packed it away in the naughty bin. I’m really trying to clear out my PHD (project half done) pile, so, inspired by all the people who were planning to make Robe a la Francaise based on the American Duchess 18th century costuming book, I pulled the Francaise back out after Costume College last year, and re-assessed it to see what I could do to finish it. When I set the dress aside 5 years ago, the petticoat was completely …