…meandering through how I met Ripeka, how I ended up doing what I do, WWI from a New Zealand perspective, STDs, the Fortnight in 1916 experience, bad moustaches, the cultural universality of socks and sandals, where to shop in Wellington, and things I loved in Germany…
Continuing on my series on making your own 1910s & WWI era wardrobe (with a focus on 1914-19), here are patterns for making your classic separates: blouses, skirts & suits. The patterns I’ve included here are from pattern companies I’ve made items from, or have helped students or friends make items from, and can recommend on that basis. I have not included pattern companies that I do not recommend, or pattern companies I have seen or tested in any way. I did not include patterns that are essentially modern blocks updated with a period aesthetic: I find that they rarely give the correct look. Other posts in the series include: Undergarments Dresses, Coats & Jackets Hope you find it helpful! Blouses: Multi Sized: Scroop Patterns: Selina Blouse (1913-19). A mid ‘teens blouse with detailed, fully-illustrated instructions. Wearing History: Edwardian 1910s blouse & guimpe: suitable for earlier 1910s impressions, and less up-to-date and fashionable later 1910s impressions. Wearing History: Elsie 1910s WWI blouse: a great mid-1910s blouse with period sewing instructions. Folkwear 1918 Armistice Blouse: …
It’s less than a month until Costume College 2018, and my instagram and facebook feeds are full of people panic-sewing for the event. I’m not going this year, but all the excitement has reminded me of the talks I did last year, and how I’ve never put most of that information online. In a timely coincidence, a number of people have asked me recently what my favourite Edwardian & WWI era patterns are, and how I built my wardrobe for my Fortnight in 1916 living-history project. One of my talks at Costume College last year was ‘The Great War Wardrobe‘: an in-depth exploration of WWI era home-front fashion, along with a guide on how to build a complete wardrobe from the period. I’m still working out how to turn the fashion history side of the class into workable blog posts, but will (hopefully) get those sorted and polished soon. For now, here is a quick series on where to get patterns to make a 1910s (with a focus on 1914-19) era wardrobe. Other posts in …
