12.14.2017

1890s Walking Suit

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

Well hello there, friends! Long time, no blog! I've got to be honest, I've got a lot I'm excited to write about in this post, and making apologies for my blog absence is pretty darn low on that list! Also, my resolution for 2017 was to apologize less, especially for things like going AWOL on my own stupid blog! So! Ignore the cobwebs and dust bunnies that have collected in this space, shoo the raccoons out of the attic, flick the daddy-long-legs out of the dishware, grab yourself a beverage and get ready for a loooooooong post!

I may have been silent on the blog front, but I have been more than active on the Instagram front, so for many of you, this post is no surprise. For the past several months (really since August) I've been working on my second - ever - historical costume. Like last year, this costume was made for Dickens on the Strand, a Victorian themed Christmas festival here in Galveston, put on each year by the Galveston Historical Foundation to celebrate and honor the historic architecture on the island, much of which dates from the Victorian era (1837 - 1901, the years of Queen Victoria's reign in England). For the past three years I've been asked to be one of the judges for the historical costume contest (which is honestly the most fun thing ever, and I'm simply tickled that I get asked!) so I'm really on a quest to up my Victorian dress-up game!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

Like last year, I was mostly drawn to the Late Victorian styles for my dress - specifically the 1890's. I'm not totally sure why I like the 1890's so much! I think part of it has to do with the fact that, at least the Dickens event here in Galveston, no one wears the 1890's! No one wears the 1830's or 40's for that matter, either, which, if we're being picky, is more appropriate for Charles Dickens. No, nearly everyone in historic costume wears the 1850's through the 1880's. Well, really most people wear steampunk, the rest dress as pirates (pirates! I ask you...) a good number are in shorts and t-shirts, and then the rest are 1850's - 1880's. So I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for 1890s simply because no one else seems to care for it!

It's not just that though - some of my favorite literary and cinematic heroines are from the late victorian years, like Anne of Green Gables (puff sleeves, Anne?!) Also, some of my favorite guilty pleasure artists, like John Singer Sargent, and Edouard Vuillard. It's also the decade when the women's suffrage movement really took off. I see it as a bit of a transitional time period in fashion - gone are the stuffy, frou-frou looks of the "true" Victorian era, but we haven't yet ushered in the elegant, femininity of the Edwardian era. There's a sense of practicality to the clothes (as practical as one can be in a long gown, 3 dozen petticoats and a corset!) Skirts you can walk in. Separates. Suits. For the first time in history tailoring methods are being used in women's wear, and the smart jackets and masculine details are representative of a new kind of woman - a woman who leaves the house, who goes and gets things done, who (gasp) works!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

Oh yeah! There's also those sleeves! I freaking love a good sleeve! Historical fashion that features a strong shoulder line are always some of my favorites (1830's, 1890's, 1940's, 1980's...) And, 2017 has been called "the year of the sleeve" by... whoever says those kinds of things.

I could probably write a whole blog post on my personal and cultural fondness for the turn-of-the-(last)-century, but as I said earlier, I've got a lot to write, and I suspect some of you might be interested in the actual making of this baby. So I'll move on!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

After settling on the 1890's I set out to find some patterns to work with. I had an idea of what I wanted in my head, and even made a few sketches early on, but definitely did not feel confident enough to draft something from scratch - despite the numerous books on historical costuming I've pored over in the last year.  One of my little disappointments with my costume last year is that the time period is somewhat vague - it takes a little from the early 1900's, a little from the 1890's, but it doesn't feel firmly rooted in one particular style. Not being a particularly confident historical costumer (it was my first time making one, after all) I simply followed the Butterick pattern and crossed my fingers it would come out looking like the pattern envelope, and it did! (I'm not dissing on that pattern, or my dress, I'm simply saying that I learned from it, and I wanted to grow). This year I wanted something that felt firmly historically accurate, and perhaps reflected more of my own vision. And I knew to get that I was going to have to frankenpattern.

I used Simplicity 4156 (OOP) as my starting point. This pattern seems to be rather beloved in the historic costuming world, perhaps because it so unabashedly screams EIGHTEEN NINETY FIVE!! With its beach ball sized gigot-sleeves and standing Dracula collar. But I think the real reason is that it has good bones. Change the collar, change the sleeves, change the waist shaping, and this bodice could work for a wide variety of eras. 



I'm not going to lie, the version on the pattern envelope left a lot to be desired for me personally. In fact, the only thing I was really down with even in the line drawing is that chick's hair! But I had seen versions online of people doing wonderful things with this pattern, so I had hope!

I knew right off the bat I wasn't going to use the gigot sleeve. While I know nothing says 1890's like a ridiculous poof ball of a sleeve, I felt like there were other sleeve options out there with similar silly proportions that would look better and feel more balanced. Like the leg o' mutton sleeve! You can quote me on this: Leg o' mutton trumps gigot any day of the week! For my sleeve I purchased the Truly Victorian 1898 Eton Jacket (I had considered making this jacket early on in my costume plans, so the pattern purchase wasn't just for the sleeve, though it did come in handy).

After finishing my Victorian corset (more on that later) and petticoat to get a sense of the skirt girth, I set about muslining the Simplicity pattern with the Truly Victorian sleeve, and boy am I glad I did! (Please excuse the quality of these photos, many of the 'in-progress' pictures were taken with my, or my husbands, cell phones).

Spot the Molly photobomb!

In order to get the bodice to fit my boulder shoulders I had to cut the largest pattern size in the envelope - which was a 12 (it was one of those patterns that grouped sizes into two different patterns). This pattern definitely suffered from the tell-tale Big Four excessive pattern ease. According to the pattern measurements I shouldn't even be able to fit in a size 12. Instead, the 12 fit my shoulders, chest and back perfectly, and had somewhere between 4-6 inches of excess from my bust to my waist. Granted, I was wearing a corset, which reduced my waist measurement by 2 inches, but still! In the picture I'm pulling back the waist to get a sense of how it will fit once I take it in. So I set about pinning out the excess (with the help of Nick) evenly around the bodice. I was also unhappy with the sleeve fit. It's hard to tell here but the forearm was very loose and I felt it looked kind of frumpy. I pinned out the excess from the elbow down to the wrist, and basically ended up redrafting the sleeve entirely. I also completely redrafted both collar pieces. 


I marked all my changes on the muslin, removed the pins and resewed the seams and this was what I ended up with. Much better! I had to true up some seams, and make a few more changes before I unpicked half the muslin, ironed the pieces and traced them to make my pattern pieces. 

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

The majority of the bodice is constructed from 4 layers of fabric, with spiral steel boning in every panel. For my fashion fabric I used this beautiful periwinkle silk dupioni from Mood Fabrics. I was drawn to this fabric because I wanted something light and crisp enough to hold the sleeve shape without needing some kind of internal support, and silk dupioni with its dry, papery hand is perfect for that! The color is also really special, and changes depending on the light - sometimes more purple-y, sometimes more blue. For the underlining I used white cotton lawn I bought in bulk from Dharma Trading company. And for the lining and center front insert I used this orchid and cream striped shirting fabric, also from Mood.

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

For each section of the bodice I basted a layer of the silk to a piece of cotton lawn, then a layer of the striped shirting fabric to a piece of cotton lawn, with a channel sewn in for the boning.  I then basted these 2 sections (4 pieces of fabric thick) to each other and treated the whole thing as one, sewing all major seams with right sides facing. The raw edges were stitched and pinked, which is both historically accurate, and expedient. I also happen to love the way a pinked seam looks! One of my favorite things to come across when I was researching historical garments was documentation of the interior. As a sewist, these are the things we live for - sure it looks great on the outside, but what does it look like on the inside?! Many Victorian garments are surprisingly messy on the inside, with the main reason being that since women owned so few gowns they were meant to last a lifetime. Seams are easily accessible so they can be let out and taken in frequently (which they were), and there is often evidence of visible mending, sweat stains, and extreme wear.  Another thing to take into account is that women in the 19th century (and earlier, and even well into the 20th century) wore much more substantial undergarments than we do today, so lining clothing for comfort really wasn't as much of a thing. 

After handstitching the velvet ribbon trim to the peplum (which was purchased locally - and a freaking pain in the ass to sew on to such a curved area (can you put a parenthesis inside a parenthesis? Probably not, but I've never been a die-hard grammar fanatic (as you can probably tell) Anyway, my digression within my digression is this: hot tip for sewing annoyingly straight trim onto a curved section of fabric - gather the one long edge with a basting stitch and use small slipstitches to evenly distribute the excess) End digression...) I faced the peplum with more of the striped fabric. That's it. That's all that paragraph was about. I'm a freaking fantastic writer!!! Is anyone still reading this?

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

All those layers and boning made for an extremely substantial garment - it almost feels sculptural! 

The sleeves were also underlined with cotton lawn, then lined with a fitted sleeve cut from the striped fabric, so when you wear the bodice you don't feel like you're wearing this giant sleeve, rather it sits quite close to the body. The outer sleeve head was gathered and sewn to the bodice by machine, then the lining sleeve was slipstitched into the armsyce, creating a neat finish. Because I removed virtually all the wearing ease from the lower half of the sleeve it was necessary for me to insert a placket so I could get the darn thing on and off! This was a great opportunity for me to add the sweet little detail of covered buttons and fabric loops.  There is something extremely dainty and ladylike about doing up all those little buttons at your wrists as the finishing touch of getting dressed. 

The bodice opens and closes by hook and eye tape sewn into the center front, and the high collar closes on the sides with snaps. The lace trim (which is actually 3 separate trimmings - the beading, lace edging sewn to each side, and velvet ribbon run through the beading, because I couldn't find an all-in-one trim that I liked!) and velvet bow at the throat conceal the openings.

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

The skirt was a much more straight forward sew, but perhaps equally as time consuming simply because of the sheer volume! I drafted this skirt based on instructions for an early 1890's skirt in one of my historical costume books. It consists of seven gores, with the two back panels cut extra wide then gathered into the waistband to give the rear a little extra "oomph"! Each panel was underlined with cotton lawn, and the bottom third was interlined (sandwiched between the silk and the underlining) with cotton flannel to help weigh down the skirt and to give the trim some support.

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress


For the hem I cut a 3 inch bias facing of navy cotton velveteen with some gathered lace sewn to the inside. This helps the skirt stand away from the body, and acts as a kind of "dust ruffle" for the skirt. All of this was catch stitched to the underlining so it's not visible from the outside. This might seem like a random little step, but I have to admit that one of my pet peeves whilst judging the historical costume contest at Dickens on the Strand is flimsy hems. I know, I know! I sound like such a bitch! But guys, this is why they ask me to judge! No one else is side-eyeing the hems!! I know it's much simpler to just sew a skirt and hem it any old way, but a skirt with weight and heft and body to it just moves so much nicer! It's not going to catch the wind and show your ankles (god forbid!) it's going to swish while you walk, and you might even be able to get away with the fact that you're only wearing one petticoat (gasp!) rather than the de-rigeur two or three, because, guys, your weighty hem has got this one covered. Yur good.

The velvet trim was sewn on by hand over a long Thanksgiving weekend.  I feel like I should complain about it, but I actually found it quite lovely.  Well except for the part where I was staring down a deadline and starting to worry I wasn't going to finish in time! The skirt closes in the back with a hook and eye placket, which is concealed by deep pleats and the back gathers.

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

And now... let's talk about the underwear! Undergarments have got to be one of my favorite things to research and make for these historical costumes.  It is my belief that a period look is built from the ground floor up.  Can you wear a historical dress without all the undercrackers? Sure, but if you wonder why you look kinda rumply and limp and not like the ladies in the tin-types, well! I got news for you, sister: the devil is in the details

*Obviously I'm joking here! Historical dress-up is about having fun and indulging in fantasy. If doing everything by the book sounds like fun to you, go to town! If 'fun' is just digging through your current wardrobe to find something that looks vaguely period appropriate, that works too! This is a judgement free zone. I want you guys to have fun.

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

As I mentioned previously, I made a new corset for this costume, as my previous corset was an Edwardian S-bend corset dating from 1903 and gives a completely different and unique shape that wasn't seen in the Victorian years. I also made a petticoat, which was incredibly straight-forward and kind of boring, and hopefully I will add more exciting petticoats in future years to expand my petticoat wardrobe, because, as we've already established, one petticoat is just not going to cut it! The most exciting thing about this petticoat is that the ruffle at the bottom is a full nine yards, yes nine yards of fabric! Thank goodness my past self bought all that cotton lawn with no idea what I was going to use it for...

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

But let's talk about that corset, because that's where the real fun began! I started this corset back in August.  All the specialty corset materials - the coutil, and boning, and busk, and lacing - were purchased from Farthingales Corset Supply, whom I cannot recommend enough if you're looking for high quality corsetry materials. Originally I planned on making the Truly Victorian 110 which is described as an 1880 Late Victorian Corset. I used a Truly Victorian pattern for my Edwardian corset and really don't have anything bad to say about it. However when this pattern came in the mail, for some reason I began second guessing my choice. I really wanted a corset that would create a dramatic, curvy shape, and many of the versions I was seeing of the 110 online appeared a bit straighter than the look I was after. 

A quick aside here about corsets (actually, I could say a lot about corsets, their history, who wore them and why - they are a fascinating article of clothing, but I'll spare you) but achieving a dramatic shape isn't solely the job of the corset. A corset is a piece of cloth with some bones and lacing. It can only do so much. That dramatic look I was after was always going to be hindered by, well, me. True story: the more you've got to squish, the more dramatic your curves will look in a corset. The less you've got to squish, well... there's only so much that can happen! Women with a more muscular core aren't going to be able to lace down as small, since muscle isn't as happy being squeezed as soft flesh. I'm not saying I'm the most muscular, but, well, I've never been the curviest either, and no corset was going to give me the hourglass I was after. sigh. Once again, my buxom, rubenesque dreams are dashed by reality!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

I did have dreams however of perhaps creating the illusion of curves (and therefore a smaller waist) by padding out my bust and hips, and so I happily (and ignorantly) started adding bust and hip gores into the TV110 pattern, only to quickly discover I was wasting all my coutil on something that was virtually unwearable.



At this point I abandoned the TV110 pattern and went searching for something with a more built in curvy look, and I landed on the Atelier Sylph Ref S pattern.  The Atelier Sylph corset patterns are all drafted from the owners own collection of historical corsets, so they are one size. This pattern seemed sized close to my measurements, was from the correct time period, and looked fabulously curvy. So I gave it a go!

Unfortunately I think I may have done something wrong, as my corset ended up being able to close completely in the back, and the waist measured 26 inches, which is... my natural waist measurement. (cue sad trombones). So no fabulous corseted waist dimensions were achieved, and even worse, it flattened my boobs out!


At this point I had gone through a lot of cotton coutil - which isn't the cheapest of materials - and it was now well into October, and I hadn't even begun to muslin the rest of my costume. But! I believed a wearable corset was in my near future (and I'd also got much faster at sewing the damn things together) so I decided to give it one more shot. I adjusted the pattern to remove a total of 4 inches in circumference all over, then added a bust gore to help with the bust shaping. I actually had planned on adding two bust gores, but the memory of my first fail with adding in gores willy-nilly was fresh in my mind and at the last minute I bailed on the second gore. I wish I had left it in. The result is the corset you see before you! This gives me, I think, a very Victorian silhouette, complete with curved Victorian lower belly! Yes, I wish there was more room in the bust, and yes I wish my waist was smaller, but this laces a full inch smaller than my Edwardian corset and, if I'm being honest, I don't think I could take much more!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

Before any of you ask - yes I can breathe! And eat, and drink (just not in large quantities, and no carbonated beverages please!) and no, it's not comfortable. At least not when you're comparing it with leggings and a sweatshirt! I am not 100% happy with this corset, and I do think I will continue tweaking the pattern. I learned a lot (like, do not place your boning on your hip gores... ouch!) and I think I can continue to improve this pattern to get something I'm really happy with in the future. 

What I am pretty happy with is the look of the whole thing. The mustard flossing (a type of functional embroidery used to protect the fabric from the bones rubbing through) and bias binding paired with the light pink dotted cotton coutil makes for an adorable combination, if I do say so myself!


For the final version I used the coutil as the outer layer, and used some leftover salmon pink taffeta (from last years historical costume) for the inner layer. I then used strips of the taffeta to create boning channels which I stitched onto the inside of the corset (sadly I don't have a view of the inside of the corset once it was all boned and finished).  For the boning I used white spring steel bones throughout. This is something else I think I will change in the future, switching out the spring steel bones for spiral steel bones through the sides of the corset, because they offer more flexibility. 

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

The rest of my undergarments - my chemise and drawers - are all the same ones I wore last year. They are technically Edwardian patterns, but I think they are so beautiful, and for heaven's sakes! No one sees them but me! So if the prettier Edwardian underthings make me happy, then so be it! I do think I might make myself a lower-cut chemise with a smaller shoulder strap one of these days, just to have options (you know, in case I decide to do an evening look... *rolls eyes*)

Oh yes! And I made a hat!



I wore this the first day of Dickens, but on the second day I was looking to remove anything that could potentially make me uncomfortable - so the shoes were switched out, and the hat, with its pointy hat pins, and all those bobby pins in the updo, were out.  Instead I wore my hair half-up with the navy velvet bow like you see in the rest of these photos, and I actually thought it was more flattering! It's a bit of a juvenile look for the time period, and seeing as I'm 32, and married, I'd probably never be seen in public with my hair down, but I thought it looked really charming, so I'm sticking with it!

Periwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking DressPeriwinkle Silk Dupioni 1890's Walking Dress

Phew! There you go guys! Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments if there's something you're dying to know that I didn't cover! 

All in all I'm incredibly pleased with this costume. It was a real labor of love from start to finish, and I enjoyed every second of the escape it gave me into my fantasy life.  The thing I'm perhaps most pleased with is that this dress feels much more seamless to me than last years costume, like it's one step closer to making an actual historical recreation, rather than just a costume.  I also feel like it somehow manages to reflect my personal style in some crazy way! When I look at these pictures I don't think I look odd wearing these clothes. They seem to fit me! In the same way that my favorite pair of Morgan jeans feel like they just fit me. I don't know what this says about me, but right now I'm digging it!

But these types of projects can be all consuming for me, and it is definitely time to move on, to turn my attention to the many areas of my life I neglected over the past few months. To clean up my goddamn sewing room! But that doesn't mean I haven't still been thinking about next year! I'm curious to hear your thoughts, should I do 1890's again? I do feel a real kinship with this decade. Or should I challenge myself and try another decade? I'm toying with the idea of doing an 1870's natural form mourning dress.... think lots of black in various textures... silk, velvet, lace... maybe a veil... and creeping long train... very Victorian gothic.... Of course it would require an entirely new set of undergarments... thoughts????

And finally, thank you. Thank you guys so much for reading this post (if you made it this far). Thank you to everyone who supported me and cheered me on through Instagram. And the biggest of thank you's to the Galveston Historical Foundation and Nick Barbee for giving me access to the historic 1859 Ashton Villa to take my photos! I think we can all agree that they make for a stunning backdrop! Extra thanks to Nick for putting up with me the last few months (xo). And A final thank you, once again to GHF for putting on Dickens on the Strand, inviting me to be one of the judges for the costume contest, and fueling this new passion for historic costume making! The best friends enable my most crazy of rabbit holes! Thanks guys!

xx


7.01.2017

let's give them something to talk about

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

Hello there! My goodness it's almost the end of June.  I can't believe it's taken me so long to photograph this dress and write a blog post about it.  I had been saving it to do a Mood post, but kept pushing it back because I was having trouble getting it photographed. Between battling the weather (rain, rain, and more rain) and camera batteries I thought I'd never get this thing documented! But finally I decided I was going to get a photoshoot done, no matter what the weather, and I'd just have to pretend I'm cute with my umbrella as a prop and the rain was all part of my plan from the start. Spoiler alert: I didn't need the umbrella after all and managed to sneak these photos in during a couple dry moments between passing clouds.  But the insane greenery of the background is proof that, indeed, it's been a rainy June!

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

I've shown this dress a few times on my Instagram account. I made it quite awhile ago now, while I was taking my blogging break this past spring. And I've worn it quite a bit also, which is actually kind of nice because I can really give an honest review of how this dress and fabric works for me.

But the inspiration for this dress goes back even further -- to the beginning of the year.  It was such an unusually warm and pleasant winter here, even by Texas standards.  The sun always seemed to be shining and there were long stretches with low humidity and just the most pleasant spring weather you can imagine. Everything seemed to stay green and go on blooming. It was really almost magical. This also coincided with a stretch of time that I was without my trusty steed -- my bike, and so rather than biking the 2 miles to and from work each day, I went by foot.  I've never been a fast walker (or really, fast anything -- one of my husband's earliest nicknames for me was Tortuga Sal) and walking upwards of 4 miles a day brought out the daydreamer in me, big time. And of course I was daydreaming about sewing -- because, obviously.

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

Specifically, I was daydreaming about the kind of outfit I wished I was wearing to saunter down sidewalks in a crumbling southern city in the U.S.A., shaded by drooping live oaks and palm trees, heavy hibiscus bushes, oleanders, and fragrant jasmine and gardenia.  It doesn't take much for my brain to meander off to the romantic, the literary, and cinematic, and so I cast my leading lady for the movie in my head.  She was someone who owned few nice dresses, or shoes, or hats, but each item was her dress, or her shoes, or her hat.  The kind of objects that are as much a part of her identity and expression as her eyes, or nose, or hands.  She was effortlessly feminine, and sensual, and she took her time walking across the uneven pavement, relishing the heavy scent of the southern greenery.


Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

I'd like to say she was me, but really, she was the version of me I aim to be on my most 'put together' days! So really, not me at all! Ha! But this is the magic of clothes, you guys.  I imagined this alternate reality "me" (as seen through a soft focus lens, of course) and I imagined her dress, and her shoes and her hat, and then I made her dress (and found her shoes on Etsy, and her hat from an online store) and when I put it all on, I felt like that character I had created in my mind. This is not to say that I'm using clothes to hide my authentic self, rather that my authentic self likes to play dress-up! It's a fun little game I like to play with myself -- "He he he... they all THINK they're talking to normal Sallie, but what they don't know is they are ACTUALLY talking to Future Sallie!" (Or Desert Sallie, or International Spy Sallie, or Witch Sallie, or...)

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

A much simpler way to say all this is that I like to have fun with my clothes, guys, and I think you should too. 

But you're not just here for the inner ramblings of a 30-something woman whose inner world is far more colorful than her reality! So let me tell you about this dress. This is Simplicity 1880 - an OOP pattern, but one that I'm sure many of you have in your stash, if, like me, you bought it way back in 2012 when Sunni did her sewalong of this pattern (so long ago that there aren't even images on her blog posts about it anymore! Yikes! Have I been sewing and blogging that long??) Perhaps, also like me, you haven't pulled it out or thought about it since! Well pull it out again guys, because it's a trooper of a pattern!

The first version of this dress I made was in a purple linen blend and featured the faux-wrap bodice (also, I used to have boobs... awww! Memories...) I loved that dress then, and I still love that dress. It's one I still reach for on the odd occasion. At the time I made that dress I remember being supremely disinterested in this version, the faux-shirtdress variation with notched collar and button-opening that ends at the waist. Funny how things change!

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

When I was imagining this dress I had this sort of mish-mash of 40's and 70's styles in my head, but any searching for vintage shirtdress patterns from either of those eras turned up looks that I was definitely not into.  In frustration I rummaged through my pattern stash and turned up this beauty -- with it's released pleats at the waist, gathering at the yoke, cap sleeve, flat collar, and swishy bias skirt it was exactly what I was looking for -- vaguely, but indefinably vintage inspired.  I especially love the skirt on this pattern - it's cut in 4 pieces and just utilizes the bias in the most flattering way. Both this dress and my purple dress have a way of skimming my tummy and hips, making me feel very womanly.  The dress has an invisible zip on the side, for ease of getting on and off, since those buttons only open to the waist.

The fabric is also a major player in my love for this dress. This is the American Beauty, Nightshadow Blue and Tinsel Digital Flowers Printed on a Viscose Woven  from Mood Fabrics online. I love that this floral print is pixelated, making it look like a needlepoint cushion, or cross-stitch sampler.  It's a nice nod to hand craft. It's also kind of grandma-ish, but in a really fun way, and I think it works really well with this pattern.

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

This viscose woven is very similar to a rayon challis - lightweight, breathable and drapey.  It also frays easily like rayon challis so any seam that wasn't concealed in the pattern construction was either bound with bias binding (the front facings) or run through the serger (sleeves, waist and skirt seams). 

I agonized a bit over the button choice for this dress. Originally I was planning on covered buttons in self-fabric, but the plethora of covered button kits I thought I had in my stash was a total fantasy.  I made a few attempts to go to the Houston fabric stores -- one of which has an extensive and really fantastic button selection -- to see if I could find something really special, however I kept getting the hours wrong, and after an hour drive I'd show up to find them closed (no no! Not still salty about that wasted gas at all *eye roll*). In the end I only scuttled up the highway a little bit to go to Joann's where I was just going to buy the covered button kits and call it a day, but I came across these dark fuschia and black beauties that were just such a perfect match I would have felt like an idiot not to use them!

Mood Fabrics Printed Rayon Challis | Simplicity 1880

I can report, with full confidence, that I love this dress. I actually reach for this exact look about once a week these days. It also happens to be the kind of dress that, when I'm wearing it, I get a lot of compliments (always a nice confidence boost) -- but not necessarily on the dress itself. More just... on me. And that's a thing I love - when clothes reveal the person who's wearing them, rather than hiding her. And that's the magic that I was talking about earlier.

I'm going to end this post by encouraging you to play a little game of fantasy with your clothes and see how it works out for you! Life is so full of the mundane, and I'm actually very grateful for this, but it's a nice balance when you can find small, personal joys in things like getting dressed.

Happy sewing, and dressing, my friends!

xx

P.S. If you want to see this fabric in action in absolute glorious fashion - go check out Oona's make over on the MSN! I love when this happens -- two sewists working with the same (or similar) fabric and even a similar idea (shirtdresses) and having the outcomes be so different and so uniquely them. This is one of the things I love most about this community!!

5.26.2017

indigo days

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

Hey guys! It's been a hot minute. Or maybe more than a hot minute? Lately I've definitely fallen prey to the instant gratification of Instagram over the longer format of a blog post, but I'm trying to make myself sit down and actually blog, because, quite honestly, I've got a lot to say, and there's only so much one can put into an Instagram caption!

I took a break from blogging for the Mood Sewing Network for a couple of months this past spring to get my "life" into some semblance of "order"... whatever that means.  And if I'm being completely honest, to find my way back to enjoying fashion again.  My love for sewing and creating hadn't really waned, but my interest in clothes was just... not there. I've felt a bit off in my personal style, and really meh about current trends.  I feel like my body has changed, and keeps changing, and day in and day out it was just so much easier to wear gym clothes than try to come to terms with what looked the best, and (more importantly) felt the best on my body.

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

Honestly, I feel like what's finally kicked my butt back into gear has been participating in Me Made May! There's been a lot of Me Made May action happening over on Instagram, and I've felt very inspired by what many of my online girl crushes have been putting together for their daily outfits. In particular, I've been getting major wardrobe envy from Ebony H and Sophie of Adaspragg.  If you don't already follow those two, go and follow and let me know if you similarly want to wear everything in their closet!

The other really great benefit of Me Made May has been documenting my own outfits.  It's no challenge for me to wear handmade everyday, at this point, and so the past few years my participation in Me Made May has been very half-hearted, at best.  But this year -- perhaps because it hit during a time that I was feeling some major wardrobe doldrums -- seeing my own outfits has really helped me to get a handle on what I like wearing, and where my personal style might be going. In my mind, this is really the benefit of doing these online challenges.

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

And so, as we're rounding out May, I'd like to introduce you to one of the things I've made recently that just felt so so right for me at the moment.  This is the Kalle shirtdress from Closet Case Patterns, sewn up in a tencel denim from Mood Fabrics.

Many many many moons ago, when I still used Pinterest, I pinned an image of a woman wearing an oversized denim shirtdress.  Apparently it was in another lifetime, because for the life of me I can't find that image anymore, or login to Pinterest, but that's another issue! But trust me - this woman was the definition of chic. It's funny the things that stick with us. I hadn't thought about that image for years, but when Heather released her Kalle pattern, and I started nosing around in my stash looking for a fabric to make it out of, that image came back to me and I knew that this pattern, and this tencel denim that I had bought for an entirely different project, had to come together to make my very own oversized denim shirtdress.

It's not exactly a novel idea.  Denim shirtdresses are classics, and can be found, in varying silhouettes, pretty much every season in RTW.  Still, it felt like a total eureka moment to this humble sewist, alone in her sewing room, in her crappy apartment, in her broken down beach town, on a spit of land in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. I'll take my props where I can, okay?

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

The tencel denim was perfect for this pattern.  A pure denim, or even chambray, wouldn't have had the drape that the tencel provides, which I think is key in making this oversized silhouette feel effortless. Sewing it was pretty drama-free.  I enjoyed the fact that it was basically just a large shirt, with many of the fun shirtmaking techniques - like button plackets, collars, pockets, topstitching, burrito-method back yokes... you know the ones. But the drop-shoulder, kimono sleeve meant that fitting was basically a non-issue, and the construction stopped just short of that point in making a shirt (sleeve cuffs and tower plackets...) where I start to feel like it's getting a bit tedious.

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

The only time I started cursing was while doing the bias binding on the hem.  This mostly had to do with my blood sugar being low (you can ask my husband, my boss, my mom... strangers on the street... I turn into a monster when I'm hungry) sewing non-stop for too many hours on end, the fact that this fabric didn't like to hold a crisp press on the bias (has anyone else ever experienced this? It pressed fine on the straight grain, but on the bias it just kind of wanted to bounce back...) and just my ongoing feud with bias binding (curse you bias binding... curse you!). However, it really provided a nice finish for the hem in the end, so it was worth it. 

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle ShirtdressMood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

Some of my favorite features of this dress are the dropped shoulder, the topstitched sleeve cuff, and that deep box-pleat at the back, which billows out when the wind catches it. I also love the exaggerated curve of the hem (even if I am still a bit sore about that bias binding...) 

I kept all my topstitching subtle by using a navy thread.  It's a touch darker than the beautiful indigo blue of the fabric, so it gives a hint of definition, but still keeps everything in the blue family so there isn't much contrast going on.  

I'm pretty obsessed with this dress right now. I actually sent Heather a text after wearing it for a day that went something like "DUDETHEKALLEDRESSOMG" (I may or may not have been drinking, and Heather may or may not be my friend that I drunk-text.  Mind your own beeswax, people. Sheesh). It's so incredibly wearable, and it makes me feel put together, yet relaxed. Perfect for my very casual lifestyle. Also, it's a godsend to have dresses like this when, for whatever reason (you've lost weight, you've gained weight, you're on your period, you're sick, you've put on muscle, you've aged, you're hormones are shifting... the list goes on and on...) you're body is changing and you can't quite get a handle on how to dress it.  This dress just works, and yet I don't feel like I'm wearing a sack. 

Mood Fabrics Tencel Denim Kalle Shirtdress

I feel fairly refreshed from my sewing and blogging break, and I'm hoping that some of my renewed enthusiasm for clothing will stick with me through the summer.  Summer is always the most difficult month for me to get excited about clothes in because wearing clothes is, basically, disgusting. Ha! But I'm feeling optimistic! I got big plans, people! Big plans! 

...

Okay. Medium sized plans.

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Small plans? Look, we're just gonna try to keep trucking!  Thanks, as always, for following along. Love you guys!

xx