All posts filed under: Sewing

Things I sew – historical and modern

A late 18th c bum rump

In my continued effort to not have this blog turn into one of those sites where the blogger starts a pattern line and never talks about anything but her patterns ever again, I present my latest totally-not-Scroop-related* historical sewing make: A 1780s bum rump! To make my bum rump I referred to: The tutorial in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking; plus Demodé’s excellent post exploring late 18th century skirt supports; plus Extant images and mentions The American Duchess book has a great tutorial on making a 1780s bum rump, and I used it as my starting point. However, I have noticed it makes a slightly ‘corner-y’ bum, that pokes out in a square at the sides. It still looks amazing under anything with a full skirt, like an ‘Italian’ gown or a polonaise, but not so good if worn with a little jacket. To see if I could make a less poke-y shape, I consulted Kendra’s great blog post, which has been the inspiration for most of my 18th c skirt support …

A St Birgitta’s Cap

Published by The Dreamstress

There’s a slightly funny story to this post. I finished my St Birgitta’s cap back at the end of January, photographed it, and wrote most of my post. And then my Costume History students at Toi Whakaari picked their topics for their first research paper, and I remembered that I’d given them a picture of a St Birgitta’s cap as a research option – and it had been chosen. Ooops… So obviously I couldn’t publish a blog post (even a fairly lightweight one using only the most obvious basic internet references) about making a St Birgitta’s cap until the student had turned in their paper. But the paper was submitted this afternoon, so here’s the blog post! (and I haven’t read the paper yet, so I’m not cheating off it either…). I’d always put St Birgitta’s caps in the ‘too hard and time consuming’ basket, but then Hvitr made one and wore it to our 2019 Historical Sew & Eat Retreat. Now, Hvitr is infinitely more patient and precise than me, and makes notoriously crazy …

TVEO1, 1900s Edwardian corset thedreamstress.com

Come hear me talk about corsets at Fibre Fest at Te Manawa

Published by The Dreamstress

On Sunday the 8th of March I’ll be part of Fibre Fest at Te Manawa in Palmerston North, talking about corsets and corset history Buckram & Bones: Corset Materials & Construction 1700-1930 Explore the construction techniques and materials used in support undergarments, from cane & whalebone stays in the 1700s, through corded Victorian corsets and the introduction of front busks, to the move towards streamlined unders in the 20th century. You’ll get to see original historical corsets from Toi Whakaari’s historic costume collection, and handle reproduction stays & corsets by Leimomi. I’m on at 1!