2012 Costume Year in Review

I think I can get this in just under the wire!

Here's what I said I wanted to do in 2012:

 1) Finish Sleepy Hollow windmill gown

Nope! Again.  I swear, 2013 is the year!

2) PotC peach gown

Ditto with this!

3) new 18c stays

Yes! I did do this!  http://costumersguide.blogspot.com/search/label/teal%20stays

4) Something with that red/white striped shantung

Yes! I did do this! I made my own version of the striped Met gown. I was really happy with how this gown turned out. Especially after all the sleeve issues, and that zone front was really difficult to get right. http://costumersguide.blogspot.com/search/label/red%20and%20white%20striped

Curtain-along Gown Done!

I finished my Curtain-along gown, and just in the nick of time as I'd wanted to finish it in 2012!  In case, you don't know what the Curtain-along is, lots of us are making gowns out of this curtain fabric, which comes in lots of different color ways.  You can read more on Jen Thompson's post.

I was inspired by Jenny Rose's ruffled jacket and this period gown:

So here is mine. It's a quarter-back anglaise with a two layered peplum. I like the little apron on it, but I'm not sold on the sleeve flounces.  But they're easy enough to take out.  I had the red ribbon set aside for this project (it came with a batch of craft stuff from my mom a while ago) and then American Duchess put a similar ribbon on hers.  I don't want to be a copy cat, but I like it, so I'm going to keep it. Plus, we're all using the same fabric anyway! ;-)

Annapolis holiday tea

I organized a holiday tea at Reynold's Tavern in Annapolis this past weekend.  We missed those of you who couldn't make it, but the 6 of us who did, had a lovely time!  The food was delicious, the company was good (I don't think we stopped chatting the whole time and it flew by!), we had a Yankee Swap gift exchange where everyone kept the gift they picked...  It was so fun! Here are some pictures!

(Costumes were "Georgian" so we could have people wear regency or 18th century.)

"Gothic" 18th century dress

Sorry the lighting in these isn't the greatest!

But I at least got a few pictures of myself in the "gothic" 18th century gown I made a few months ago. I wore it to a Georgian holiday tea that I organized. I'll have pictures from that in a bit too.

I need to alter the back pieces of my pattern because it's a little big for me now. I think I've done that on my curtain-along gown. I might try to take it in a bit.

1810 Cut Steel Comb

I bought this on ebay Germany (thanks, Julia!) It's a little comb (and it is small) made of horn and cut steel. I adore the crescent moon/arrow motif and it has a little hinge! The comb dates to 1810. I think I got it for a good price too.

Here are a few of the auction pics:

Antique button hook and awl

I found these on etsy, from the same seller. They were each under $15, and I thought they were really neat.

About the awl, the seller says: "Lovely old silver handled awl with embossed decorative handle.
The awl would have been part of a sewing set, probably late Victorian or possibly Edwardian, used for making holes in embroidery or tatting. The handle has a set of English hallmarks: the anchor showing it was made in Birmingham, and the lion showing it was made of silver, but the date letter is unclear. Ornate and very pretty scrolly pattern is embossed. The handle fits a plain steel awl, with a fairly blunt rather than sharp point. . Size 4" (11 cm) long from top to bottom...."

And about the button hook: "Lovely Victorian child's button hook with carved mother of pearl handle. The tool is just 3" (7.5 cm) long, about half which is the metal hook, and half is the elaborately carved handle. The join is covered by a tiny decorative metal band. The button hook was used for pulling tiny boot buttons through small holes. They were often part of sewing sets. This one is so small it was probably a child's, or part of a small travelling set."


I really love both pieces!

Another Georgian picnic photo

Here's one of Merja's pictures from the Georgian picnic that I liked.

My curtain along dress has been started!

Here's the very start of my Curtain Along dress. I'm going to do a petticoat with a ruffle, and then a jacket sort of similar to the one below. I don't know if I will do the fringe trim or not. We'll see!

Georgian Picnic Video

Squee! Cynthia's husband made a video of the DFWCG's Georgian picnic. So fun!

More Georgian Picnic

Cynthia and her husband both posted their Flickr sets (Christopher's are a selection of Cynthia's, punched up for color).

I loved every single pic! And it made me happy all over again to see them.

Look at this one - it's our group shot. And we posed in chronological order. As you do.

Here are a few more pics from Cynthia and Christopher:

Pumpkin Tea group shot

One more Pumpkin Tea update, since Stephanie just posted the group shot she took and I wanted to post it!

Georgian Picnic

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Dallas Forth Worth Costume Guild's Georgian picnic. We had a gorgeous day and everyone looked wonderful.  It was so fun to see new and old friends, and especially to meet Merja, who came all the way out from Finland.

Here are some pictures. Full set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie42/sets/72157632046555318/

Regency Peacock Sari drawstring gown

I made something else! I had this silk sari in my stash for a while - it has embroidered peacocks all over it and gold stamping.  I thought it would be really cute as a little simple drawstring dress.  The fabric is slightly stiff and a little bit sheer.  (I also washed it before using it.)

I didn't put my stays on the form again, but here are a few quick pictures of it!  (Also, it's kind of a blue purple, but the pics came out a little redder or yellower than it is in real life.)

Regency drawstring dress for Mom

I don't think I ever posted about this. I don't often sew for other people but I wanted to make my Mom a dress to wear for costume events.  I decided to do a drawstring gown since it is at least adjustable. I did one fitting with a muslin and just had to run with it. The fit could be better in the shoulder/sleeve, but it's not bad for a first effort!

Pumpkin Tea

This weekend I went to a Pumpkin tea hosted by and her mother. The food was awesome, the decorations were beautiful, and everyone looked amazing! Here are some photos!



(Mom's photo)

Pumpkin Tea

I went to a regency Pumpkin tea yesterday and had a great time! I'll have a whole bunch of pics to be posted, probably tomorrow.

For now, here's what I wore!

Credit: Gloria

For Sale

For sale! Regency American Duchess Pemberley shoes, size 7.5. They are just too narrow for me in toe box. They've been worn once, so they aren't new, but they are in good shape otherwise. They were painted with leather paint. They come with the ribbon clips you see in the picture. I'm asking for $59 + S&H. I take paypal.  If you are interested, email me at padawansguide at gmail dot com.

More on the shoes here: http://costumersguide.blogspot.com/2012/02/american-duchess-pemberlies.html

Halloween!

We got another wearing out of our Trek costumes at a recent Halloween party we went to!  I really like my Anovos dress. (Doug's costume I made.)

New 20s American Duchess shoes!

The pre-order is open for these lovely t-strap 20s shoes! http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2012/11/v304-introducing-23skidoo-1920s-t-strap.html

Regency drawstring gown and open robe

I just finished a new gown. I started with the open robe. I wanted something new for a pumpkin tea I'll be going to in November. I had some striped silk taffeta in the stash (thanks, Loren!), so I whipped up a quick robe.

Then I remembered I had some red embroidered sari trim that I thought would match it, and it did! And I just barely had enough! So I trimmed the arms and hem. I used antique abalone buttons on the front. Then I remembered I had a sari that had embroidery in the same tones. So I decided to put together a drawstring dress. I really like how it looks together.

As usual I made the skirt too long for fear of making it too short. But that's ok. I had to cut out and sew on trim on the back hem to match. Here are some photos and a few fashion plates that have similar things going on (stripes in the same tone, and short sleeves).

Also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpm-brighton-hove/5926332512/