A Very Pretty Month

1800-1810 Reticule,
Cotton & silk; lined with cotton, acorns of ? material.

I must confess, I did not want to hand this bag over.
Luckily I made 2 more!















Loving the blueberry!






Romantic red to go with the other petal sleeve dress!








1800-1810 Ball Gown
Whitework cotton with silk ribbon edging

For a Jean Austin Ball in May.
Changes were: tucking up the front lower sleeve petal so it curves in & moving the buttons out a little.

This was the most fantastic fabric! You can find it at JoAnn's for about $12.00/yd. They have some truly fantastic embroidered cottons & linens right now


Regency Petticoat (aka, slip)
this was the first try, which did not come out as I wanted. It has a button placket in front and does not support the bust as it should have.















The 2nd attempt was much better with a drawstring under and above the bust, and squared off shoulder straps and a back facing.












1730-50 Dress
Burgundy Linen (yes, I dyed it!), lined with handkerchief weight cream linen. Facings have a stiff cotton interlining. Front can be pinned or laced (preferably not with nylon ribbon)

Navy blue linen petticoat & giant pockets.

The dress is hand finished, cuffs are self-lined & tucked up to shape.



1730-50 Sleeveless Waistcoat
Cotton twill (jean cloth, aka denim), lined with cotton canvas

Buttons! I finally found good pewter buttons! Thank you Stitches in Tyme! Go visit their web site, Bruce & Darlene are great people & carry very good quality products.

A small rant on buttons: I love that we have many talented people in our Living History community who make pretty buttons, but a button must also be functional. That means, a needle & thread must be able to pass through the shank (ie; it can't be filled in with sharp metal bits), and the shanks must be smooth or they will cut through the thread like a knife rendering the garment un-close-able. The backs of the shanks must also be smooth or they will wear on the fabric from that side & tare it up, rendering the garment useless. So please, by all means, make pretty faces, but "back it up" with what really counts: what's underneath!