Dressing Downton: Deconstructing an Outfit

Trying to figure out what's going on in a costume can be pretty tricky. If you're not lucky enough to live someplace that the Downton Abbey costumes are touring, you'll have to rely on other techniques.

You'll want to start by finding lots of pictures. Watching on tv can be helpful but it's nice to have a still image to look at. If you can't find a good picture online, you can take your own screen caps or check out this website.

Things to look for:

• full length shots
• front shots
• back shots
• side views
• detail shots
• shots where the garment is moving
• officially released shots

The piece I'm looking at today is the green skirt. I can tell it's ankle lenght with a belt and has a rather deep, handstitched hem. It's also a very different shape than the skirt Edith is wearing. It's much more aline than pencil.

Movement shots can help you determine a bit more about the fabric used in the garment. This one has lovely movement. This shot also has a nice crisp shot of the belt and buckle. The belt is exactly the right length (no room for post dinner expansion!) and has a square buckle with and oval hole. I don't see a prong. It doesn't look to me like a self-fabric belt but it could be a nice green leather.

This picture is not a good one to use because it's very dark and we can't see much of the skirt.

 

Backs of garments are the most difficult shots to find. This one is has loads of outfit details available. Mary's skirt has 6 buttons on the back. I suspect they are decorative as I don't see any button holes, but they may be there.

Another difficult thing to discern is closures. Cora's skirt in this shot has an obvious closure in the back that looks like a zipper. It may also be a more period snap placket. If the buttons on the back of Mary's skirt are decorative, her skirt must close on the left. I haven't found a nice shot of the left but front and right side shots show no closures. Edwardian closures are often tricky with each layer having the closures somewhere else to prevent one spot from being too bulky. The other option is to just say forget it and put your closure in where ever you want.

Candid shots are great for giving a different view of things. This skirt looks much less full in this shot. (Plus we get to see how they have perfect hair all the time!)

Official release photos are nice because they are crisp and often much larger than screen shots so you can zoom in and see all the details. Look at all of the types of lace on this blouse! I must learn some heirloom sewing techniques!

You can apply these techniques to any period (or vintage) movie/show that you like.

Youtube: Smooth 40s Page Boy Style

Enjoy!

50s Back Button Blouse

This blouse was also completed during my sewing mania! My 30s outfit was worn on Sunday and I wore this on Tuesday. Oh, the crazy weather continues. 

I snagged this lovely 50s blouse pattern on etsy last fall and even started grading it up. So I jumped on the chance last weekend to finish up the drafting and whip it up.

The Facts
⁃ Fabric: navy blue cotton with white polka dots (free)
⁃ Pattern: Butterick 9274 view B
⁃ Year: 1950s
⁃ Notions: one snap, 4 buttons ($3)
⁃ Time to complete: 2 hours
⁃ First worn: March 2012
⁃ Wear again? Yes, The darts ended up a bit awkwardly placed but you can hardly tell on this dark fabric. I always intended this to be a wearable muslin so I'm considering this a success. It was very fast and I'm envisioning loads more of these in my spring/summer wardrobe.
⁃ Total price: $3

I was a bit nervous about the neckline because I usually hate things that are so high necked but it turned out really nice. And my bra straps don't poke out!

It buttons up the back. I love it! I picked large white buttons to pull in the polka dot theme. I styled it with Colette Pattern's Beignet and a belt from Cassie Stephens.

The whole ensemble turned out very patriotic which was great since Ohio had voting yesterday with all of the other super Tuesday states and I voted.

1930s Sewing and Knitting

 

 
I've been wanting to add some 30s style to my wardrobe for so long and I finally did it!

The Facts
⁃ Fabric: rust and cream herringbone wool (free) plus lining from stash
⁃ Pattern: Eva Dress SE30-1399
⁃ Year: 1934
⁃ Notions: snaps ($2.50), buttons ($1.50)
⁃ Time to complete: 5 hours
⁃ First worn: March 2012
⁃ Wear again? Yes! I'm so in love with this matching set! And it's so much warmer and less itchy than I thought it would be.
⁃ Total price: $4

It started out as this huge cape that I got for free in my friend's destash. All I had to do was deconstruct it and voila! yards of free wool! When I saw this piece at the destash, I just knew it was destined for this pattern which was already in my stash. I've been wanting to make it up since I saw This Old Life's version last year. I put it off because I could never afford the large amounts of wool fabric this pattern called for.

I paired it with my 1930s sweater that I finally got finished! I'm so glad that I decided to reknit the back. It fits so much nicer now.

Look! No awkward bulges of fabric!

The most disappointing part of this pattern is in the scarf. It calls for a bound button hole that you are supposed to slide the other end of the scarf through but my fabric is so thick, it won't go through! Oh, well. I just put that side on the back and it's mostly covered.

Adjustments to the pattern:

• I made the cape shorter because I didn't have enough fabric and also left off the arm holes as they weren't necessary for the shorter length.
• I added extra width to the hips because I, ah, .... don't have the ideal 30s figure.
• I made the opening on the side of the skirt much lower. On my wearable muslin, I have to pull it over my head instead of stepping into it. Oh, hips!
• I also shortened it to midcalf as it was a bit long on me.
• And the pleats came out one way on my muslin and another way on the skirt. Not sure which way is right but that's ok.

And I got to wear my 30s style suede gloves from Target! Super cute!

I decided to enter this in the Eva Dress competition so I'll give a shout out when it's time to vote. Hopefully, I'll be able to make the matching blouse next fall/winter!

Lady Mary's Closet: Powers of Fascination Dress

This stunning red dress comes from S1.Ep3 when Evelyn and Mr. Pamuk come to stay. I choose the name from a quote that Matthew says to Evelyn when Mary passes these two suitors over for the exotic foreigner. "We should brush up on our powers of fascination."

This dress features a rather simply shaped sleeveless red underdress with a floral embroidered sheer over layer. It looks kind of sparkley in this photo so maybe there are metalic threads or beads on the top layer. It also has the characteristic between empire and natural waist waistline of the period with a wide red sash. The fun red sleeves are made from a darker sheer red fabric.

This full length shot shows that the sheer overlay goes only part way down the dress and has the same pretty scalloped edge on the bottom as on the neckline. It also looks like there may be a small train. And I do believe the sheer layer is a smidge longer in the back than in the front.

Here's a close up of the front and a bit of the back reflected in the mirror. Looks like the sash may have a bow in the back.

Mary styles it with a midsized necklace with dark (red?) stones and elbow length evening gloves.

I really love this dress! If I do ever get around to making an evening gown for Costume College, this one is a possibility.

Topstitching Tips and Tricks

Topstitching is one of those sewing techniques that sounds simple but can be really frustrating! Here are my tips to successful topstitching.


1. Test first.

Test out some different styles of topstitching to see which one looks the best. A single stitch creates a thin line while triple stitching creates a much thicker line. Contrasting thread pops in your projects while matching thread is more subtle.

For this thick fabric, I opted to do a triple stitch because the single stitch was just so invisible on the fabric.

2. Press first

I hate pressing but it's always a good idea to press the seam you are going to topstitch so you get a nice clean fold on your fabric.

Clean topstitching!

3. Go Slow!

It can be very tempting to speed along but going slow is key to getting a smooth, straight line.

4. Find somewhere to line up your fabric.

Having a guide for your fabric is a must! I like to use a machine foot that lines up with where I want my topstitching to be. You may need to try a few before you get one that fits. Also, you can use a post it note on your machine if you need to line something up in an unusual place or deep into the fabric.

Be careful! Not all positions on your foot are equal. On one side I lined up the seam with the center of the foot and had the needle in the left position. On the other side I used the center needle position and had the seam run along the inside of the left prong of the foot. They didn't come the same width. This goes back to #1 Test first!

 5. DON'T PANIC!

Don't be overly stressed if it's not perfect! You can rip it out and do it over if it's really bad but most people won't be looking close enough to notice all of those little jiggles in your topstitching lines.

Dressing Downton: Modern Mourning

 I have been sewing up more Downton Abbey inspired pieces. There have been a few hiccups but I'm still pushing through for these lovely costumes. This month, I replicated a blouse Mary wears in S1.Ep1. to the memorial service for the late heirs.

It features white trim along the top edge and another row right below. And there is a row of cute white buttons. She pairs it with a high waisted tuxedo looking jacket and a black skirt. I also adore Sybil's military inspired jacket and the scalloped collar of Edith's blouse.

For my version, I reached for the ever handy Sorbetto blouse. The drafting was very easy! I added piping to the neckline and across the middle of the shirt. I stole a sleeve pattern from another pattern and slapped them on there.

I was going to try and use the white piping as the neckline facing but all of that white was really distracting so I used black bias binding for a much cleaner look.

I covered buttons with some white bias binding (after lots of pressing!) so they'd match the white of the piping. I hate it when blacks and whites don't match.

Mary's has a straighter neckline and probably had long sleeves but I wanted a simple, wearable piece and I'm super happy with how it turned out.