All posts tagged: 1910s

The 1910 Little Miss Muffet at the Village Fête frock

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember when Felicity was extremely helpful with my sewing?  What she was mainly helping me with was this dress, which I am calling the ‘Little Miss Muffet at the Village Fete’ frock. First, the name of the dress.  I’m sure you’re wondering.  I have an elaborate and complicated mind, but this one isn’t too odd once I explain.  I first fell in love with the lace for this dress, because each little circle reminded me of a spiders web.  I like spiders!  The obvious person to wear a dress covered in sweet spider-web lace would be Little Miss Muffet, all grown up and over her fears.  I first sewed the lace as a straight line, but it was boring and lacked dimensionality, so I cut it in dags, which remind me of the bunting you see at summer fêtes.  So it’s a dress for Miss Muffet to wear to the fair! The dress was inspired by ca. 1910s ‘lingerie’ frocks and linen dresses such as this one from FIDM, and this one and this one …

Rate the Dress: A tea gown goes classical

Published by The Dreamstress

Apologies for the belated Rate the Dress post: sometimes life gets in the way of blogging! Last week I showed you Anna of Austria, in the full glory of 16th century continental fashions.  Her score of 7.7 out of 10, while very good for the  1570s, is typical of how much we struggle with the periods fashions. This week’s Rate the Dress pick is in total contrast to the dark colours, heavy fabrics, and restricting shapes of Anna’s ensemble. This 1910s ensemble in loose, floating silks carries on the tea gown’s tradition of elegant deshabille for wearing at intimate gatherings at home. The loose, draping underdress evokes Grecian chitons, and cranks up the risque potential  of the tea gown to the maximum with fully exposed arms and shoulders. While the gowns classical influences are clear, the elaborate lace embellishments are typical of the elaborate decorations popular in evening fashions at the time. For a little warmth, or a bit more modesty, an over-robe adds layers and modesty to the dress. One of the things that …

Tutorial: quick, easy, and tidy lace edgings (for historical undergarments and everything else)

Published by The Dreamstress

Someone asked about  the finish of the lace edging on my Wearing History 1910s camisoles/corset covers, and I thought you might enjoy a tutorial. I like this method because it is quick, easy, and provides a strong, neat, and tidy finish to necklines, armholes and hems.  And I’ve seen it used on at least one 1910s camisole, so it’s period accurate, even if it wasn’t the most commonly used finish. For the tutorial you will need: Cotton beading lace (for a neckline) or broderie anglaise hem lace (for a hem).  You can use this method with  any lace with enough coverage to hide the raw edges (I’ve also used it for the tiny bobble lace around the armholes of the camisole above), but it’s easiest to start with a cotton lace.  It doesn’t work well with beading lace where the holes extend almost all the way to the edges of the lace. A garment that needs its hem, armholes or neck finished with lace. In this tutorial I am sewing beading lace around the neckline …