What’s better than one new Scroop Pattern? Two new Scroop Patterns!
Meet the 1915-18 accurate Seatoun Skirt:
And its modern sibling, the Tara Skirt & Pinafore!
The Seatoun Skirt has been in my development pile for quite a while (early versions of it got worn to our 2021 Historical Sew and Eat Retreat!), but it kept getting pushed back because I already had the Kilbirnie Skirt pattern out.
When it finally got close to finished I realised how much I desperately wanted the amazing pockets on a modern skirt.
(I mean, look at those pockets!)
I was also going through the responses to the Scroop Pattern survey, and one of the top requests was historically-inspired skirts with elastic waistbands.
Combine the two, and what do you get? The Tara! And of course I had to add a pinafore top, because everyone loves a pinafore.
In testing options for the Tara it became obvious that the best fit required a completely different pattern to the Seatoun.
Making a totally different pattern allowed the perfect fit, and it gave me the opportunity to add lots of fun extras to the Tara, like the option to cut it on the bias:
The design link between the two is clear, but every single pattern piece, even the pockets, is different.
The construction for the two patterns (including the pockets!) is also completely different, which is why the Seatoun and Tara are being sold as totally separate patterns, instead of having the historical + modern option of the Fantail Skirt.
The separate construction techniques allow you to do fun things like this with the Tara pockets:
Although they are completely separate patterns, you can still buy the two patterns as a bundle, and save a satisfying 20% when you do.
No need for a code: the discount is applied automatically at checkout. And if you get the bundle, the 15% is on top of the 20% combined discount price too.
Or, if you are in the US, you can pre-order the paper version at VirgilsFineGoods.com and get 15% off there was well!
The Seatoun Skirt is named for Seatoun: the seaside suburb of Te Whanganui a Tara/Wellington which sits on the Miramar Peninsula looking out at the entrance to Te Whanganui a Tara/Wellington Harbour.
The te reo Māori name for the Seatoun area is Kirikiritatangi, after the rhythmic susurration the sea makes as the waves rattle the small rocks of the beach against each other.
The Tara Skirt & Pinafore pattern is named for Tara, the explorer whom Te Whanganui a Tara (the Great Harbour of Tara) is named after, and the te reo Māori word tara, which means point or peak (like the pocket shape the patterns share). Tara is also the te reo name for the white fronted tern frequently seen flying in graceful flocks over Seatoun.
We photographed the wonderful models, Lindsey and Taylor-Rose, in the Seatoun skirt on the coast near Seatoun, and in their Tara Skirts & Pinafore’s on other places along the Wellington coast and in Wellington.
I hope you enjoy making and wearing the pattern just as much as I have!
Do you know when I last published a Rate the Dress? July!?! How the heck did that happen. Somehow all of August and September and most of October just disappeared on me…
A very mixed reaction to the last dress – rather like my own. Some of you loved it, some of you found it too fussy, and some of you loved elements, like the colour, but felt that the outfit was less than the sum of its own parts.
The Total: 7.9 out of 10
A fair rating for the mixed reception.
This time: A 1908 Paquin ensemble
It’s not quite the 1909 Paris fashions I showed a few blog posts ago, but hopefully this is close enough for you to enjoy the comparison.
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
Also up for comparison is how different an ensemble can look depending on lighting!
Walking dress and jacket by Paquin, Winter 1908
This Paquin ensemble was sold at auction back in 2017. In the auction photos it looks tomato red:
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
But there’s another set of photos of the outfit on the internet, and in them the ensemble appears as a dark merlot:
These certainly look like the same pieces. The damage to the fur and the delicate tucked net on the sleeves is the same.
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
It’s quite interesting to see how different the colouration makes the outfit look, and the different details that come into focus in the different lights.
The auction photos, as they should, show the garment as clearly as possible: stains, tears and all. Their job is to both show off the beauty of the outfit, but also its flaws, so the buyer knows exactly what they are getting.
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
The darker photos, on the other hand, are museum or collection pictures, and aim to show the outfit in the most attractive light possible, and to hide the flaws as much as possible.
Walking dress and jacket by Paquin, Winter 1908
I do wonder what colour I would say the dress was in real life!
Paquin, Paris London, Winter 1908, ‘Carloman’, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017
Ridiculous side note: thinking of the tomato red of the one set of photos, and the wine of the others got me wondering. Could you make tomato wine? As the infamous Peeps wine post showed us, technically wine just needs sugar, yeast and time. Do tomatoes have enough sugar for wine? Presumably it would be awful, but how much worse could it be than Peeps wine? And in any case, I’m a teetotaller, so the respective awfulness of wine is completely immaterial to me!
That aside, what do you think of the outfit?
Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10
A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment. Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting. It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.
As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5. I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.
I’ve been burning the midnight oil working on not one, but TWO new patterns for Scroop Patterns and its time to see who wants to help test them!
These patterns are a response to some of the requests I got in the Scroop Patterns Survey I did earlier this year.
There were a lot of different requests, but some that came up over and over again were: wearable everyday historical items, skirts with elasticised/flexible waistbands, and more 1910s – particularly more blouses (working on that!), and a 1910s skirt that could be used as a more basic template for other designs.
Also, things with pockets. (ALWAYS!)
So, hope you’re excited about this pattern duo: a 1910s A-line skirt with two fabulous pocket options, and its sister pattern: a modern skirt/pinafore with elastic back waist and the same fabulous pockets.
If you’d like to apply to help test one of the patterns, keep reading to learn more, and how to apply…
The Patterns:
There are two patterns. Testers will only be testing one pattern, but will get the final pattern for both patterns.
The application will ask you if you want to apply to test one pattern, or either.
The Historical Pattern:
A classic A-line skirt based on original garments and patterns from between 1915-1918. It has a boned internal waistband and a faced hem. View A is cut on the fold with no center front or back seams. It has triangular bucket pockets placed on the front of the skirt. View B has center front and back seams and shield-shaped bucket pockets placed on the side seams over the hips.
It takes me approximately 4.5 hours to make this skirt from start (cutting out) to finish (hemming).
The skirt takes between 2y/1.7m (60”/152cm wide fabric, smallest sizes) and 3 1/8y /2.7m (45”/112cm wide fabric, largest sizes) of fabric, depending on fabric width and pattern size.
The Modern Pattern:
The Skirt & Pinafore pattern is the modern sister to the historical Skirt pattern. It takes the classic A-line shape and fun pockets of its historical inspiration and gives them an easy-to-wear 21st century update, with shorter lengths, a comfortable elasticised back waistband, modern sewing techniques and notions, and a pinafore option.
View A has a pinafore bodice based on Edwardian apron bodices, triangular sail-shaped bucket pockets placed on the front of the skirt, a center back seam, no center front seam, and is designed to end at mid calf. View B has center front and back seams and shield-shaped bucket pockets placed on the side seams over the hips. Both the skirt body and the pockets can be cut on the straight grain or the bias, so you can play with stripes and patterns for a range of looks.
It takes me approximately 3.5 hours to make the skirt from start (cutting out) to finish (hemming), and 4 to make the pinafore.
The mid-calf length pinafore takes between 1 1/2y/1.4m (60”/152cm wide fabric, smallest sizes) and 3y /2.7m (45”/112cm wide fabric, largest sizes) of fabric, depending on fabric width and pattern size.
The just-below-knee length skirt takes between 1 1/4y/1.2m (60”/152cm wide fabric, smallest sizes, on straight grain) and 3y /2.7m (45”/112cm wide fabric, largest sizes, cut on bias) of fabric, depending on fabric width and pattern size.
Testers:
For this test I am looking for testers who are low-intermediate or higher level sewists. The pockets & placket (historical skirt only) can be fiddly, but other than that this is an easy make. Testers for the historical skirt will need to have a 1910s corset to wear with the skirt.
To be a tester you will need to:
Be able to print patterns in A4, A0, US Letter or US full sized Copyshop paper sizes
If you are applying to test the historical skirt you will need to have a 1910s corset to wear the skirt over, and provide a link to yourself in that corset as part of your application.
Have the time to sew up the skirt. You’ll have two weeks to make the skirt, and provide feedback, and a further four days to provide photos.
Be able to photograph your make being worn, and be willing for us to share your photos on this blog and instagram.
Be over 18 years old.
Provide clear feedback
Agree to a confidentially agreement regarding the pattern
I would hugely appreciate it if testers would share their finished make once the pattern launches, but this is not mandatory. I’m asking for TESTERS, not marketers.
As always I’m looking for a range of testers. I need a spread of geographical location, body type, sewing experience, and personal style.
Based on previous calls for testers, there will be 30+ applicants in each of the most common size ranges (34-42 bust), so if you aren’t chosen, it’s not that you weren’t fabulous, it’s that there were so many applicants.
Social Media
Having a social media presence helps your chances of being chosen as a tester, but isn’t necessarily a requirement. I’m significantly more likely to choose testers who have an online social media presence, as that means I can really see and analyse their sewing, and how they think about sewing, when I’m choosing testers. I do occasionally choose testers who don’t have social media, especially if they fill a less common demographic.
The Timeline:
Applications to test the dress are open from now until 10pm Tue 17 Sept, NZ Time (unless I receive so many applications I won’t be able to consider them all properly, in which case I’ll close applications early)
Materials:
If you’re selected to test I’ll let you know and send you the materials requirements, line drawings, and the full pattern description by 10pm NZ time on Thur the 19th of Sept. This is Wed the 18th for most of the rest of the world.
Patterns:
I will send out a digital copy of the pattern to testers before 10pm NZ time on Friday the 27th of Sept.
Testing & Reviewing:
Testing will go for two weeks, with a further four days to provide finished photos..
Testers will have until 10pm NZ time on Fri the 11th of Oct to finish their skirt and provide feedback.
They will have a further weekend, until 10pm NZ time on Tue the 15th, to provide photos
What you get:
Pattern testers will get a digital copy of the final pattern, lots of thanks, and features on my blog and IG.
Testing also offers testers an opportunity to get group and 1-1 feedback, assistance, and sewing tutorials. I’m modelling our testing process after an online class, albeit one you don’t pay for, because you’re letting me beta test the pattern on you. There’s an online group that testers can join as they wish. I’m committed to making testing as beneficial to testers as it is to me, and to improve my testing process with every pattern I do.
