HSF#12: Pretty Pretty Princess

It's Historical Sew Fortnightly time again! This challenge was pretty pretty princess! "Channel your inner princess and her royal wardrobe. Pick a princess, queen, empress, arch-duchess, or a de-facto queen as inspiration for a fabulously royal frock (or other garment). The occasional prince is also most welcome."

Tada!  I took a bit of a different approach to this challenge. I love historical masquerade and fancy dress costumes so this is my 19-teens does Elizabethan fancy dress.

I was inspired by dresses such as these:

 See this pinterest board for sources.

 I ultimately decided to focus my design on the bottom left dress from 1916.

Fabric: 5 yds red home dec ($45), 2.25 yds sheer embroidered leaves ($16), 2 1/3 yd white crepe ($10)
Pattern: VPLL Ladies Dinner Dress c. 1918, Simplicity 3782 (and some drafting)
Year: 1916-1918
Notions: 150 glass pearls (mostly stash $3), snaps ($3), hook and eye ($1)



How historically accurate is it? Ok, so it's made completely from polyester so no good on the fabric. I tried to pick colors and styles that I thought would be a bit of Edwardian and a bit of Elizabethan (and a dash of whatever I felt like). The construction is a bit of each period too. The skirt and sleeves are from a period pattern but the top is a modern Elizabethan costume pattern. Mostly I was just going for the look.



Hours to complete: 30 (hand sewing pearls......)
First worn: June 2013
Total cost: ~$80

I'm pretty happy with this dress. The fit of the sleeves is a bit off, but not so much that I can't wear it. The neckline was a bit wonky in this shoot but I've fixed it. I really like the way the bustles/poofs look on the skirt.

I also whipped up this hat and used the feathers from my Blonde Swan Elizabethan hat. Why? Because feathers are awesome.



Yay, yay gala dress!!!

Inspiration post

Skirt FO post

More photos on Flickr

Photography Date Night

Last Friday, the hubby and I hit downtown with another photographer and his wife for a photography double date night! And it just so happened that I had a brand new dress to wear.

This is the tropical print rayon I snagged in the garment district last year. I finally got to sew something with it! :D

Fabric: rayon ($4/yd)
Pattern: Eva Dress D40-3863
Year: 1943
Notions: snaps
Hours to complete: 5
First worn: June 2012
Total cost: $15

This dress was pretty crazy to make just because I had to do 4 separate FBAs because each layer of the wrap front needed an FBA on each side. It was kind of complicated to figure out but I think it worked out ok.

It was a really fun dress to wear and I think the print looks amazing in these photos.

The other photographer's wife and I took turns being the model so sometimes I got to hold the reflector.

We also went to a hat store down town called Brim. It was super fun trying on hats.

This hat so had my name written all over it!

I also adored this great tilt hat! Alas, both were way out of my budget.

I had such a blast hamming it up for the camera!

Youtube: A 1950s Hair Cut

It's hair cut time again! And I decided to be bold and do it myself! Enjoy!



Have you ever had a period hair cut? Or do you prefer to stick with a more modern cut?

To Garden in Style

I have to admit that gardening is not my favorite activity but I help out with the 1st - 5th graders at church and they grow a garden every year. It was just too perfect of a place to show off my latest sewing project!

I conquered denim and sewed up some overalls!

Fabric: cotton denim 7 oz. ($13/yd)
Pattern: Wearing History WWII Homefront 1940s overalls
Year: 1940s
Notions: jean buttons ($4)
Hours to complete: 14
First worn: May 2012
Total cost: ~$25

When I saw Wearing History's latest pattern, I knew I just had to have it and make a pair (or three!)

So far I've made the playsuit in blue linen as a wearable muslin, these overalls, and a pair of denim shorts! You can bet you'll be seeing loads of this pattern from me this summer!

I did make a few muslins of the short part first just because I know my shape is no where near the ideal 40s shape. Since the pattern said it ran a bit snug in the hips and I was between hip sizes, I went with the larger size and had plenty of room. I definitely recommend muslining this pattern just because the 40s pant shape can look frumpy real fast if they don't properly.

And for just a bit of effort, these came out very comfortable but still super flattering! So many other 40s overall patterns and repro overalls just look frumpy and manly but these are so cute and feminine!

These took a while to make because I did double topstitching on most of the seams. Note to self, next time you want to do this much double topstitching, buy the double needle! It wasn't hard. I just had to go slow to make it look good.

In fact, the pattern sewed up just swimmingly until I got to the buttons and button holes. My machine gave me a bit of attitude when doing the button holes so there was a bit of weeping and gnashing of teeth but I made it through all of them. Then I got jean buttons that are two pieces that you hammer together through the fabric. NEVER AGAIN! It was sooo hard to hammer in straight and they kept getting all bent and then I'd have to try and rip them out with pliers without destroying the overalls.

On my playsuit, I did do a button hole under the pocket but it was such a pain! And I really had to do the wiggle dance to get my hips in, so I lowered the opening on the overalls. (If you're hips are big for your waist size, you'll probably need to do this too.) So I just did two snaps under the pocket instead.

I decided to line the bodice, waist band and pockets with this cute bird fabric instead of using bias binding. It gives a really nice clean finish. Plus it's so fun!

I paired the overalls with my Wearing History Smooth Sailing blouse.

I just adore my new overalls! I want to make another pair (and the pants too!) but I think I need a break from sewing denim for a while.

Sew Bossy

A while back, Paige of Lux Per Diem asked if I would join up with her for a Sew Bossy challenge! And I said yes! Sew Bossy is the brain child of Oona of Oonaballoona and Heather Lou from Closet Case Files. In short, you get to plan a sewing project for another seamstress, sending them the pattern, fabric and notions that they have to sew up.

Paige sent me McCall's 6696, a darling shirtwaist dress pattern. (To see what I sent her, go here.)

And here's my version:

I just adore shirtwaist dresses! So classic! This pattern came with separate pieces for A, B, C, and D cup sizes and I decided to give it a whirl without an FBA. And it came out great!

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before I started. It's been so long since I've sewn with a Big 4 pattern that I really had to pay attention and think through sizing again.

It turned out quite nicely though. I just adore that this dress has pockets! I also love wearing this dress with a belt to help break up the print a bit.

Today I went for a retro casual look rather than full on vintage. This dress is great for walking on either side of that line.

Thanks, Paige, for being Sew Bossy!

Youtube: How to Wear Hair Combs

I never thought I could wear hair combs with my super fine hair but I finally found some that work! Part review, part tutorial this short video is an intro to the world of hair combs.

A Pretty Dress for a Pretty Day

Sunday was just perfect weather wise so it needed a really pretty dress!

 I love a nice 50s dress! And this one has pockets!

It's Simplicity 1097 from 1955.

I originally made this dress for Thanksgiving last year, but with a a different belt and hat, it's almost like having a new dress!

It was a bit breezy so my bangs are all over the place!

I love this little pink hat! The print on my dress has black, gray, white, pink and purple so there's loads of accessory opportunities!

I really want to make another version of this dress in something a bit more drape-y. This fabric is quite stiff so I don't even need a crinoline!

Wishing you all some lovely early summer days for pretty dresses!