All posts filed under: Sewing

Things I sew – historical and modern

TVEO1, 1900s Edwardian corset thedreamstress.com

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

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!

My 2019 Historical Sewing Year in Review

If I did a 2018 sewing round up, or set myself sewing goals for 2019, I don’t remember it, and can’t find it. So 2019 was a blank slate: I got done what I got done. And that’s kind of nice. I’ve been trying to be less demanding of myself. I wish I could do all the things, all the time, and I tend to beat myself up mentally when I can’t. So for the last few years I’ve been trying to just be happy with what I do, and I think I’m getting there! And I did do pretty well! Three Scroop patterns out, including the incredible hydra of a pattern that is the Augusta Stays (seriously, the amount of stuff we included in that pattern…it’s really four patterns, and was certainly the work of four standard patterns). A bunch of wardrobe sewing for me, a bunch of sewing for my mum (I packed more clothes for her than for myself in my recent trip home!). And actually quite a lot of historical sewing …

A dress made from a 1919 pattern thedreamstress.com

The 1918-19 ‘Not Another Blue Dress’ details

I wore the 1918-19 ‘Not Another Blue Dress’ at Costume College, and loved it just as much as the first time I wore it. I made a few improvements to it, and got some help from friend for a few more, and paired it with my Costumers for Climate Action sash. For improvements, I loved the detailed yoke I’d made, but felt the sleeves were a bit plain in comparison. I had just a few scraps of the yoke fabric left, and by careful placement (and one small mend, which you can just see in the photo below if you look closely) I managed to cut a set of cuffs. I’d paired the cuffs with fancy cut-glass buttons that imitate jet, and added matching buttons on the shoulder, where the yoke opens. For more texture and visual interest, and a little bit of colour, Hvitr the tassel queen made me a set of tassels: And Madame O the embroideress extraordinaire embroidered little motifs taken from a 1910s embroidery manual on the sash ends – no …