Resources and Quick Tips for Historical Sewing {Vol. 1}

I've been doing historical sewing for awhile (seven years) and sometimes I wish that I would have had a mentor when I was just starting out. Of course, I had mom and Grandmom to teach me the basics of sewing, but neither of them had sewn a corset before! So, I've been my own trailblazer and that's taught me a lot.

 

Now, I shall endeavor to be a mentor of sorts to those of you who are just starting out on your journey of historical sewing.

I remember picking up a pattern and thinking

 

Where in the world do you find wool these days? Maybe Pa can pick some up when he goes into town for white sugar and chicken feed! Hope he'll bring me some hard candy this time!

 

That's what it felt like, anyway. Thusly, I had to forge my own path and figure things out for myself. Thankfully, we have a lovely new-fangled thing called INTERNET! And that is from where I am writing you this day.

 

This is the first of several articles in which I put out of some of my favorite resources for historical sewing. I'm not going to share links to sites where you gasp, "I can't spend $50/yard on fabric!!!" Hey! I'm on a tight budget, too. Occasionally, you buckle down and save up for the fabric that's going to make your garment perfect and it's totally worth it. But, I'm thinking of you ladies (and guys, I suppose), who just need a little nudge in the right direction. That's not to say that these resources aren't helpful to those seasoned seamstresses, but I have the beginners in mind today. Without further ado...

 

 

Sense and Sensibility Patterns

 

Jennie Chancey's patterns and articles have probably been the single most influential springboard into the hobby that has turned into a source of income (costume design) for me. Even simply reading the pattern notes on the title page of the instructions is a learning experience! Simplicity and McCall's patterns (though sometimes necessary) don't hold a candle to the caliber of design and versatility of Jennie's patterns. I started with her Regency Dress pattern after seeing Pride and Prejudice (2005) for the first time and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Historicalsewing.com

 

This site is especially for those of you interested in the Victorian Era! Jennifer Rosbrugh's mission is to make historical sewing more accessible and she does a wonderful job. I'm subscribed to the emails and they're fantastic. I could spend hours scrolling through her site and learning. See? I just took a break from writing this post to read through about 5 articles; I am now a smarter person. Be a sponge. Go to historicalsewing.com.

(And I'm going to highlight THIS article. Because it has basically changed my sewing life.)

 

Music

 

This is my personal advice to you. I have about a bazillion Spotify playlists (because I can't afford to buy all those yummy soundtracks). I like to listen to film soundtracks or classical music from the era I'm working in. For example, as I work on a 1912 picnic dress, I will listen to the Miss Potter soundtrack. And if I'm working in the Regency era, well, you know. And French music goes with literally any project (Hugo, anyone?) I would love it if you would follow me! My "Jane Austen and Friends" playlist has some great selections from Regency, Victorian and Edwardian films.

 

 

Pinterest

 

 

This might seem like, "duh, McKenna", but Pinterest is an amazing resource for costumers! Tutorials like THIS one (above) are amazingly useful and they're all over the place! And articles and images galore! For a quick peek, click HERE to go to my historical costuming board. Find and follow other historical costumers and see what they pin, too! It's very encouraging and inspiring.

 

R. Turner Wilcox

 

 

 Any book by R. Turner Wilcox is a goldmine. If you're looking for straight up historical costuming commentary, here's your chance! The value of information contained in her books (which, to buy, most are not expensive at all) is, in fact invaluable. And the drawings are detailed and positively drool-worthy! Go to the library. Get yourself some knowledge! This one of the finest resources I ever have or ever will find.

 

 

That's it for now. Were these resources helpful? Do you have a favorite pattern company or tutorial that you use? A favorite costuming book? Let me know in the comments below. Or, if you have additional questions or just need some encouragement, please don't hesitate to drop me a line at missmckennaray[at]gmail[dot]com. Have a beautiful day, everyone!

 

 



2015 Dream Sewing

Sew...(pun-intended) I have big plans for sewing in 2015. I wish to expand my horizons. At the end of the year, we'll see how actual events will have matched up to my plans (I don't expect the comparisons to be similar by any means). I already have another Costume Designing job coming up (oh, glorious pre-production) but it should not interfere with my other projects *cough* *cough*

 

Anyway, starting from newest decade to oldest, here are the garments I'm looking forward to making this year!

 

 

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 A simple, yet elegant '50s dress. I absolutely adore this era! And I have so much fabric that works for this decade, it's really sad that I haven't made one in three years!
 

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Now, I'm not "into" the Forties as much as I should be. It's not that I think the styles ridiculous our weird; I just find other decades more exciting (I'm sure watching Agent Carter is going to fix that). But one thing I've always adored about the Forties is the sweet suits and business-casual side of fashion. I would love to complete a suit similar to the ones above.

 

 

The pure ingenuity of the women from the Thirties always astounds me. They had nothing and they continued to get up every morning, dress and put a bright face on for their families. Mommy still looked put together, so things couldn't be that bad. The styles are always practical, but elegant and those women emerged from the hard times all the better for it. I love all the separates that were more utilized in this decade. The skirts are flattering to any figure (particularly hip-y ones) and I would love just one evening gown *sigh*

 

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I'm just madly in love with so much about this decade! Oh, the styles just speak to my sensibilities. Elegance and optimism seem to be the theme of the Twenties. When most people think about the Twenties, they think flappers and The Great Gatsby and maybe the scandalous Miss Fisher (that TV show was a disappointment). I think of art deco and beading and feathers and fur and velvet. I think of also the simple calico, the eastern-inspired tea sets (I happen to own one), the t-strap heels and the Charleston and the magnanimous and endless variety of collars on those drop-waist dresses! I'm going all-out on the Twenties!

 

 

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Anna Pavlovna

I liked the NineTeens before Downton Abbey made it cool *pushes glasses up with finger*. It might seem like I'm covering every decade, but I'm not. The first half of the 20th century is absolutely my favorite! I have a lovely pattern by Andrea Schewe (I don't normally take Simplicity costume patterns seriously, but Ms. Schewe does her research). I have big plans for a dinner dress at the very least. And you can't go wrong with a huge velvet hat with silk flowers just as big!

 

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I do love the 1870s, but I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for it yet. It remains to be seen if I do end up bustling up in the end. I actually haven't made anything Victorian (aside from a girl's dress HERE )

So, I'm going to start with 1840s and move on from there. It may or may not happen this particular year.

 

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The 1830s, '40s and '50s are going to be my springboard for entering the world of Victorian fashion. My HSM project for this month is an 1840s-90s corset (I guess you could call it an all-purpose corset). Again, I doubt I'll attempt the 1870s, but I'm going to be hanging out here for awhile. North and South is what got me interested in Victorian fashion in the first place and I think I'm going to try and duplicate one of Margaret's dresses. Maybe eventually, I'll catch myself a Mr. Thornton of my own ;)

 

 

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Here, ladies, is my sweet spot. Regency! I don't normally make a goal to do more, but it's so easy for me, I often overlook it. A huge, huge thank you to Jennie Chancey for her wonderful

 Sense & Sensibility Patterns.

Her beautiful and easy-to-understand patterns were what got me into historical sewing in the first place! A must-have for me this year is a cross-front gown. Probably white (the 1790s-1830s was the era of the "Little White Dress"). I don't have any solid calico drawstring day dresses, so that must be fixed (not even kidding, it takes me about a four-hour afternoon to make one) and one can never have too many open robes!

 

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It would be positively heinous of me to put all the painstaking time and elbow grease into making a Georgian Corset and not make myself something other than a Carico Jacket and a few measly petticoats to wear with it. This year, I'm hoping for some pretty day dresses and maybe a ball gown with side hoops!

 

 

By Raffaello

I'm also looking into some French/Italian Renaissance pieces, but it's certainly not priority. My sister, for her 5th birthday, wants a reproduction of that Ever After gown on the top. I love it!

 

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And finally, I shall continue dabbling in Medieval/Faerie-Tale Gowning. I would like to do at least one practical gown and one Royalty gown. And a crown. One can't be a queen without a crown!

 

There you have it. Most of this will fit in one or another of the HSM categories. It will be interesting to see how this list compares at the end of the year.

Willy Wonka Jr. or The Month of July

This is the explanation post for my month off of blogging. I was costume designing! I had the pleasure of working with a talented cast and dedicated crew to pull off a production of Willy Wonka, Jr. The "Junior" part entails that all the cast was age 18 and under. The real work started in July with making patterns for the Oompa-Loompas and recruiting four very talented seamstresses to create 60-some white suspendered pants and skirts with bloomers. It took up almost all of my time for the month of July, so I was barely even leisure computering at all!

The ginger in the pink sweater is my go-to hair stylist! She works with my sister and I on photoshoots and filming projects. She's awesome!

Most of the main characters' specialty costumes were made or altered by myelf. The wardorbe of Wonka, Charlie, Mrs. Gloop, Augustus Gloop, Ms. Teavee, and Mrs. Bucket took over my life for a few weeks. There are a few of our adorable Oompas below :)

I don't know why this picture is off to the side :P

 Above is Wonka entertaining some of the younger kids; below is me altering Augustus Gloop's lederhosen.

[L-R: Mr. Bucket, Mr. Salt, Ms. Teavee, Grandma Georgina and Mrs. Gloop]

Wonka and the Candyman get along quite well; they're business partners, you know. I had the fun of making Wonka's waistcoat, frock coat and bowtie. The buttons down his waistcoat spell out "Wonka" :) 

Most of the Bucket family [L-R: Grandpa George, Grandpa Joe, Charlie, Grandma Georgina, Mrs. Bucket]

Amazing picture Marley got of the curtain ropes!!!

 Below is me and the cast singing at the top of our lungs, "Nilla Wafer Top Hat Time" by Rhett and Link. [L-R: Veruca Salt, Mr. Salt, Mike Teavee, The Candyman, Willy Wonka, Grandma Josephina, me]

What a set! Our set guys were AWESOME!

The Reporter "Phineous Trout"

"Charlie, would you like to have my factory?" It was such a fun project to help with. Working with the cast to build up their costumes was especially rewarding. To a costume designer, there is nothing better than hearing from the actor, "I wish I could keep the costume" or "I don't want to take it off!". And I had the joy of hearing that over and over! All these pictures were taken at the dress rehearsal, so not all of the characters were fully dressed until the next day. I wish I had more pictures to share! If I ever get my hands on some from the parents and audience, I will certainly share them with you! There have to be more, because there were 1,399 audience members between the three performances!!!

And finally, Charlie, Augustus and I. I know I look like Gazerbeam, but I was unable to fix my redeye :P