Patting the Dirt on Fashion's Grave

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108042/the-relentless-rise-of-power-jeans

AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

OK, OK, jeans have their place, and I'm not 100% against wearing them. Denim is a lovely fabric with hundreds of possibilities. You can cut fire wood in it and not get splinters in your legs. You can shovel animal dung and not worry about getting icky stuff on your good clothes. Your kids can wear them to school and spill whatever they want on them... slide into home base in them (though jeans aren't really the best sports wear in the world), put holes in them, outgrow them and pass them down to lil' bro or sis.... well, you get the idea.
Jeans are one of my favorite things to wear when I'm going hiking through the woods or helping a friend move, or doing just about any kind of heavy or semi-heavy labor.

The styles & cuts have minor variations, but in reality jeans are jeans.



With the notable exceptions of bell-bottoms.. sorry no bad picture unless I scan one of my aunts, 80's stonewash jeans or those horrid "whale tail" low rise things... and who could forget the dreaded "I see London, I see France, I see Jimmy's underpants"?



Denim is truly one of the most practical fabrics we have today.



BUT I DON'T WANT MY PRESIDENT WEARING THEM TO A MEETING!


This is not the type of fabric that says "take me seriously, I mean what I say."
It says "I'm having a great time!" "Get out of my way, this I-beam is heavy." "It's Friday at my mid-level relaxed office job and I'm looking forward to a beer after 5:00." "I'm wearing these pants to church because you are making me go, I really don't want to be here."



I'm not sorry to say that unless you are actually applying for a job at Apple or on a road crew, you really shouldn't be wearing jeans to any job interview, meeting or formal function. No matter how creative you want prospective bosses to think you are.

Flame me if you want, but denim belongs on kids and hard-working folks, not in the board room or political forums.

1830's day dress

I've been wanting an 1830's day dress for quite some time. I finally made one for myself!
Still have to make the corded petticoat & hat...












I bounced between this pattern:
I think this is from costumes.org, but not sure.

and the one out of Cut of Women's clothes.

Guess which one won?
Yup, Norah Waugh is indeed the goddess of historic fashion.

One of the main reasons COWC won is that I didn't have any sheer cotton, linen or silk that would work with any fabrics that I had enough of to make those wonderful double sleeves in the pattern above. I also HATE the shape of the pelerine. Not flattering to anyone. Had I chosen to make this dress, I would have changed the pelerine to a more square-on-the-bust thing, rather than this monstrosity. You can see a close reproduction here which is a wonderful site for fun pictures of 1830's dresses, but not my cuppa'.

So I made the 1834 Day Dress from COWC on whatever page that happens to be.

When I got the initial pattern done, I was shocked that the bust was something like 46" and the waist was 31". I later discovered that you really do want 3-4" of ease in the bust and you want the waist to be pretty fitted, with only about 1" of ease... so that accounts for some of it. On the other hand, WOW! Talk about corseting! I don't mind cinching in my waist, I've got enough squish that I can go 4" or better... but 15" is a bit extreme even for that time. 10 years later and it wouldn't have surprised me in the least.

I had no trouble adjusting the pattern to myself. I guessed at 1" higher than my natural waistline in back, and it worked out very well.

As always, the pattern went together like a dream. The only thing I would change is how far the bib front of the skirt is slit down. Ms. Waugh's pattern is slit almost 20" on both sides, and tends to flare out and show the petticoat when I walk, very annoying. I will whip stitch this closed to about 9", and that should take care of the problem.
I would also love to have the dress close in back, but that makes it awkward at events. "Hello Mr. Neighbor! I know we just met, but could you please help me hook my dress?" Yeah, that's the way to make friends & influence people.
Putting this dress on is a bit tricky, as you have to step into it, while it rests on a chair or bed. Tie the front-skirt around the back and then shrug into the top. It gets funny if the top drops onto the floor. The only solution is to yell "Mom! Help!" or chase your 'tail' like a fool... in a corset.

For the test-garment cum actual dress, I used a lightweight cotton print with mums? on it. It's mostly orange & black, and I did check to see if that print was used. Though not super-common I've found a few examples of similar fabric. (The best would have been stripes with flowers, and that will be the next fabric-hunt I go on). I paired it with black cotton, as I had just enough of the floral to make the top (test garment), and wanted to see how the bottom went on. I ended up piecing the skirt between the black & floral to get enough fabric, and got my stripes that way. Not perfectly historic, but for a first-go, not bad.

All the piecing is flat-felled, all the inner seams are flat-felled, except the 'darts.' The vertical seams on the skirt are French seams.
*I do not recommend heavier fabrics for very full sleeves, as you have to gather a lot of material into 15-18" of space.
**I gathered anything that had to be gathered by hand with hand-quilting thread. I've found that with BIG things it works much better than fighting with the machine thread, and really cuts down on the "Oh $#^!" moments.

The sleeves are "giggot leg-o'-mutton" because they are very full at the top, cut very full almost to the wrist, but are pulled 'tight' on the forearm by ties, (the ties go from just above the elbow to the shoulder and create a great big puff). Really quite striking once they are in place. No supports necessary! I suggest lightly tacking the lower tie and then re-adjusting after you've fitted it.

The front closes with hooks & eyes and then a 2" belt that is sewn in back & side back, and loose in front. I have to find an actual buckle (that I like), I'm using a broach for the time being.




Here are some lovely 1830's dresses that I've ripped off various museum & internet sites, I'll quote sources when I've got them, and if I don't, and/or they are yours and you'd like me to remove them, just ask.

1830 Day Dress, printed cotton. U of Texas site (This is an excellent site for historic garments... though the fabric in this one makes me wonder if it's a reproduction or an original?)

1828, cotton day dress, V&A museum I really, really, really love this dress. And the hat. I will be making a hat to go with my 'final' dress, but probably won't get one finished before Halloween.

1830 French Fashion plate. I'm not finding the original site right now, but will edit if I ever run across it again. As I recall, the yellow is a walking dress and the white is a day dress... darned I can tell the difference. As far as I'm concerned, they are both 'walking'.

Here are some sites that I looked at for "how to's" on this project.

http://www.freewebs.com/behindthetapestry/1830dress.htm
this one is excellent, and fun, and turned out great!

http://wearinghistory.blogspot.com/2009/01/1830s.html
http://www.maggiemayfashions.com/romantic.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1830s_in_fashion
and as always, be careful that the images you are working from are historically accurate... unlike the first painting listed in this entry.

Mass Production Hiccoughs

I've got 3 days before my biggest and (thankfully last) event of the year. I've been in high-gear production mode for the past 2 weeks and my poor little sewing machine doesn't know what hit it. No time for hand-sewing at all. Poor Mom has been trapped behind her sewing machine too, and stuck on white of all things. ( We sold our last 2 white shirts to a theater company in Princeton NJ... and now our customers will have nothing to wear!!!). She also made me some petticoats because we were out of those as well.

Now I'm wondering exactly how much we can get done in the next 3 days.

So sew ladies sew!

Then nature hit me and I feel like someone tripped over my power cord, siphoned all the caffene right out of my veins and force-fed me sleeping pills all at once. So rather than doing what I should be doing (which is parking myself behind the sewing machine or cutting table), I'm blogging to re-charge the batteries.

Here is what I've been working on...


1775 jackets. I love these.
Yes the center one is on my husband's dummy, but it was the best fit I had... I made 4 of these, the black is pictured below on Mom.
They are as follows: polished cotton lined with green cotton. Cotton/linen blend in stripes, unlined (it's really pretty). Printed cotton bound with pink linen bias tape, unlined in a very small size... thinking of making a stomacher to go with it so it may fit more people.

Nothing makes One feel more special than placing One's husband & best friends' dress dolls on One's own dress doll stand... and they look like they are wearing paniers & a bum roll. Thankfully I've lost some weight since then.

Rev War procession anyone?
Late 1700's English gown in brown cotton, with matching petticoat & pockets, boned bodice.
I really like this dress. I want to keep it... My husband really likes it too. I told him if he wanted me to have one he'd have to buy the fabric for me. It's lovely. I really, really, REALLY want it. But alas, must fill the store.
1775 outfit, jacket with petticoat. She should have a cap, modesty cloth & ruffled cuffs too... but Mom looks so silly in hats it's not even funny... OK, it's really funny. We tried 3 caps and by the time we were done our faces were red from giggling so much.

How to make hand-sewn buttonholes

In all historic clothing (pre-1870) the buttonholes are hand-stitched, and many after that have hand-worked buttonholes. Sometimes they were worked using an overcast stitch, other times a button-hole stitch. Overcast buttonholes tend to be stiffer and are good for rarely-used areas. Button-hole stitch buttonholes (say that 3 times fast) are great for much used areas of a garment, they are flexible & last a long time. They use less thread than overcast holes and lay flatter.

Occasionally in modern clothing you will find that your machine won't make the necessary stitches. Either the fabric is too thick, slick or delicate... or your machine is out-of-wack & needs to be tuned up by a professional.
And sometimes you just want that beautifully tailored look that hand-sewn buttonholes give a garment.

Here is a simple method of making hand-sewn buttonholes (by no means the only way). It's on wool, using 3 strands of cotton embroidery thread for the finish.
Sorry about the dark colors, I've included line drawings next to them in case you can't see the photos on your screen. The photos are better than the drawings...
Click on the pictures for a larger view.


1. Mark the location of your buttonholes with tailor's chalk, or some other removable fabric marker.

Alternatively, you can use pins or tailor's tacks (those little knotted threads that you put through the fabric).

Make sure all of your buttonholes are marked evenly & consistently. (Three separate buttonholes are featured in this tutorial, the one at the collar is lower than the cuff holes).

2. Back-stitch around the buttonhole* using very small stitches. The buttonhole should be narrow-ish, but no narrower than 1/16" or you won't have room to slit between the fibers and may end up cutting fabric that you don't want to.
This holds the fabric layers together & reinforces the sides of the buttonhole. It also gives you a guide for your hand-stitching.
*You can create some really interesting buttonhole shapes at this stage.

3. Slit the buttonhole** with a razor or seam ripper.
**You may want to fray-check before you do this.
Start from one side & go to the center.
Stop.
Start from the other side & go to the center to complete the slit.
Doing it this way prevents the "oh sugar!" of slitting through your fabric.


4. Sew the buttonhole.
Secure your buttonhole thread from the back.
(no picture: bring the thread in from the side. Let the needle & thread come out between the layers of the buttonhole until the end of the thread is lost in the fabric. Insert your needle in the edge of the buttonhole again & loop the thread around it twice. Pull tight... gently... and tighten the knot with your thumbnail. The thread should be at the edge of the buttonhole. You may now start your buttonhole from the front of the garment.)

All work is done on the top side of the garment.
Starting from the open slit, pass your needle 1/2 way through the fabric to the outer edge of the back-stitching line. Stop.
Loop the thread over the needle once (like passing a car on the right in the USA, or passing legally in the UK) or twice (for an 18th c. buttonhole stitch).
See picture above (by #4).

Pull the thread tight, making sure your "knot" ends up right on the edge of the buttonhole.
Start the next stitch the same way.
The "knots" should be almost invisible when you are done.

-Make any corner stitches close together & keep your length-wise stitches even.
-Make sure all of your stitches are on the outside of the back-stitch line.

Continue until the buttonhole is competed.
You may want to provide some extra reinforcement on the end where the stress is (the outside edge) by making a few more stitches.
You can continue with the buttonhole stitch or use a tack stitch for the end of the buttonhole.

Tie off your thread the same way you attached it... wrap the thread around the needle twice. Pull the knot tight & pass the thread under the stitching on the back side, (you can go all the way around the buttonhole, but it's not necessary). Lose the end in the fabric & cut.

The back of the buttonhole is pictured here. You may be able to see where I "lost" the thread between stitches.


The really wonderful thing about hand-sewn buttonholes, aside from looking great is that you can do so many interesting things with them... without buying expensive cams for your sewing machine.

Most buttonholes (1" long) take about 10 minutes to complete.

Make buttonholes 1/4" larger than large buttons, 1/8" larger than small buttons. Check the fit after the first hole, or make a test version out of similar fabric before marking up your garment.
If you've never done this before, start on a test swatch, or some out-of-the-way place on your garment... don't make your first buttonhole at the front neckline of your bridal gown...

If you have any questions, or need clarification please leave a comment. I'm on cold meds, so the directions may not be as clear as I think they are.

How to starch a ruff

There are several good directions on how to starch a ruff using the "soaking in starch" method. Here's a version using spray starch & basic laundry & hair care equipment.

You can use this method for any kind of starched ruffle.
Anybody can do this... really.

Picture 1: Unstarched
Picture 2: Starched (to be added, it was very blurry)






Gather your tools:
Heavy spray starch
Iron - no steam
3/4" - 1 1/2" Curling iron with a smooth end (without that metal guard)
Hair dryer
Tailor's Ham or some kind of form to pin your ruff on (no plastic, you have to be able to iron on it)
Pins
Towel for work surface.




Begin with a dry ruff.***
Lay it over a ham outside up (the way you would wear it) and spray starch the first section of the neckband.
Use a hot iron on the band only.
Move around the neckband until it's a little stiff & then pin it to the ham or form.
Finish starching the neckband.




To starch the ruffles, spray the inside of the ruffles, (2 or 3 at a time).
Using the curling iron on high, set the starch by "curling" the ruffles for 4-5 seconds then move to the next section.
Work back & forth over the ruffles until they are relatively dry & standing up-ish.
You'll get a feel for this pretty quickly.
They will still be damp.



To make it really stiff, use the hair dryer on hot air / low pressure to "fluff" up the ruffles. (Safety tip: tie up any long hair)
- Spray the outside of the band & the base of the ruffles again.
- Blow directly into the center of the ruffle** & hold the hair dryer there until the starch is dry. ** You may have to gently pull each ruffle straight out as you do this so they don't crinkle up.
- Dry everything completely with the hair dryer.
(sorry there's no picture of the hair dryer, it was too hard to manage that much stuff on my own).


Unpin & put on a storage form, or ready to wear.
Wipe the starch off of the cold iron & curling iron with a damp cloth.
Wash your work surface towel.


To wash the starch out, soak in warm water, rinse; use mild soap, rinse, then wash normally. Line dry. Re-starch.


*** The ruff I'm starting with has wire ribbon in the "hem" to help keep it stiff. This method will work well even if you don't have that. It may take longer to get your ruffles to stand up, but stand up they will!

How 'Bout Them Apples???

I spent today canning & drying apples and making venison jerky. Mom made pickled & frozen peppers.







Putting up the apples came from three thoughts.
One: "I'd really like some dried fruit to go camping with."
Two: "Gee, I'm tired of paying for corn syrup in my applesauce!"
And Three: "Wow, those apples on the hill look REALLY good... am I too old to climb a tree? Te-he-he!"

And so, with pack basket and garden rake in hand, I traveled up the cat path, fought through the lilacs, tromped down the golden rod and made my way to the glorious apple tree!
After picking what I could reach, I hooked a few branches with the rake & gently shook.
After shaking off the lower ripe apples I hoisted myself & said rake up into the tree and hooked & shook some more.
With basket full and very little gone to waste I again fought my way through golden rod, rose bushes & lilac's back down the cat path to put the rake away & begin the long day of cooking & canning.

(Mom says the apples are "strawberry apples" or "sheep's nose", they are a very old variety. If you bite into one the taste screams "APPLE!!!"). They are prone to worms & seed rot, so you can't just cook them, you have to cut them in 1/2 and core them. The cores tend to be crooked, so have a paring knife handy.





Dried Apples
Use fresh, pesticide free apples. They should be very flavorful or tart.
Cut out any bruises, rotten spots, worms, etc. You can leave the peels on if you like. You can even leave the cores in, just remove the seeds. They have to be really perfect.
Slice 1/4" or thinner.
Soak in citrus water (orange, lemon, lime, etc. will work great).
Put in a food dehydrator & dry according to the directions in the booklet, or dry in the oven on 150 for 5-12 hours.
Check every 3 hours, turn over for even drying. Remove from heat once they are dry. Some may take longer than others.
Store in a sealed container at room-temp, in a dry place.

--I'll be lucky if any of them make it to the Eastern. I'm replacing candy with these things. And 4 or 5 slices are a perfect snack.




Applesauce
Core apples (peeling optional)
Boil in water & 1 tbsp. lemon juice about 20 minutes.
Put through Foley Food Processor to remove peels, or just mash to leave peels in.
For every 2 lbs of apples, Mix:
1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
Refrigerate over night to serve that week, or can to serve all year.
See below for canning instructions (they aren't the best, check out some other directions).

I think there's something you can do with the peels, but honestly, I just tossed them.




Apple Butter
Any apples, peels, cores that are OK. No seeds.
Boil in water (just enough to cover apples) for about 20 minutes, remove from water & put through "NEW Foley Food Processor!" to remove skins & other hard-bits. (Or you can use a spoon & colander like I did the first time... it's a pain. Get the food processor.) Set aside.
For every 4 lbs of apples combine:
2 cups brown sugar (make sure it's all natural).
1 cup water that you boiled the apples in (or apple cider if it's all natural & no preservatives... just use the water, it's there, it doesn't cost more.)
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
3 tbsp lemon juice or juice from 1 lemon + zest.
-Mix it all up & cook on low heat for a long, long time (about 1 hour for each 4 lbs). Stir a lot to keep it from burning on the bottom. Get a book & prepare to be burned several times in the last 30 minutes.
-Or you can do like Betty & instead of stirring like mad for 2 or 3 hours, you can put the whole mix in a crock pot on 200 overnight, and only stir once in a while. I think Betty is super-smart.
-When it glops & stands up on it's own (like when you dip your spoon in it and it doesn't slide off without shaking it, it's done). It will reduce by about 1/2.
-To can it: Pre-heat your lids & jars, have your water for hot-packing ready to go.
-Put the yumminess in the jars 1/2" from the top with a canning funnel.
-Wipe the rim & tighten the lids on the jars.
-Put jars in the water bath & heat to boiling. Boil 10 minutes, let sit 5-10, remove & cover with a towel overnight. Check the seal on the jars the next morning. Anything that isn't sealed must be frozen or eaten soon.
-Wash your sticky dishes so you don't get ants & put that huge mess you just made back where it belongs.
-Remember to share the goodness with your friends, but don't expect your little jars back.
(yes, these last two instructions are part of making apple butter).

Apple Butter was a Colonial American favorite. It was traditionally cooked in an huge cast iron pot over an outdoor fire with a lot of people helping. They used a HUGE paddle to stir the pot.

Late 1820's stays

My most recent "me" garment is a pair of late 1820's stays from Corsets & Crinolines by The Goddess of Historic Fashion, Norah Waugh.

Since I didn't go camping over Labor Day weekend, I decided to park myself behind the sewing machine and skip on into the Regency & Romantic eras. (The next "me" garments will be Federal & Romantic day dresses).

Way to take a weekend off Gail!

The stays went together like a dream in less than two days, but are completely machine sewn. I figured none of my thread-counter friends will ever see this, and I wanted it fast.

I used 2 layers of very stiff, tight-weave cotton. The inside is mis-matched colors that we couldn't use for stock garments (slightly pink vs. slightly yellow). The outside has some staining, but the fabric is sound. Stitching is in a darker cream color, and the 1/4" wide bones are plastic. I sewed the channels at 1/2" and that seemed to work very well.

Materials:
1 1/2 yds tight-weave cotton
1 yd stiff linen or coutil (interlining, optional)
cotton thread
plastic boning (cane/reed/metal, etc).
3 yds double-fold cotton bias tape for binding
old yard stick / wooden busk
ribbon / cotton cording

Tools:
scissors
sewing machine
ruler
pencil or washable fabric pen
saw or utility knife & sand paper (if cutting yard stick for busk)
(I didn't use pins for this, you can if you want).

This pair is almost exactly like the ones in the book, the main difference is the 'quilting.' I used the presser foot as a guide and was rather sloppy with the inside decorative stitching (setting 13 on my machine, it's kinda triangles/zig-zag). It works well to stiffen up the fabric.

As there is no stress on the ties, I decided to use machine buttonholes. They seem to be working fine. I sewed them in vertically, so the stress is on many threads rather than a few, and poked the holes with an awl rather than slitting them. It's a pain to lace.

Basic Directions:
1. Transfer pattern from Goddess Norah Waugh book.
2. Re-size to fit you (4" smaller than bust, underbust, waist & hips... waist & underbust should be the same measurement in the stays, they will not close).
3. Cut 2 outside, 2 lining, 2 interlining.
4. Sew gussets in bust & sides.
5. Sew all pieces together, leaving back open.
6. Sew lining to fabric, turn & press.
7. Align seams & sew up either side of them for added stability (I've found this makes the stays/corsets last longer without pulling out... it doesn't always look great, but it works beautifully).
8. Mark boning channels & stitch.
9. Do decorative quilting / cording (optional).
10. Measure for front busk pocket, sew right sides together, turn & press. (this is not part of the original pattern, it's my own answer to the 'flap' problem).
11. Sew busk pocket in front & make button-holes or eyelets in flap.
12. Sew button holes or eyelets in back, spiral lacing.
12. Insert boning & cording.
13. Sew on binding.
14. Sew on ribbon for busk pocket.
15. Cut yard stick to length, sand & insert in busk pocket. Lace it closed & tie a pretty bow.
16. Lace up & wear!

This isn't as "flat" a shape as earlier Regency stays, and not nearly as curved as Romantic & early Victorian corsets. It does put my bust up around my chest when I sit, but I think it will look fine once I've got clothes over it.
Beware this pattern if you have larger than a C-cup... you can compensate by lowering the bust gores & slits, that should help quite a bit (I lowered from 3 1/2" to 4 1/2").

It's pretty comfortable. I've worn the stays for about 18 hours all told, but 8 hours seems to be the limit for a day. The main area that gets uncomfortable is the shoulders. If I ever make another pair for myself, I'll move the straps in about 1". Straps should be lengthened to sew them on the front, but it may be better to use ribbons like I did to make them adjustable.

And Mom's home!!!