Victorian Sewing

Wow I actually do sew costumes still! It has been so long since I have done it I was beginning to wonder myself. This isn’t one of the fanciest dresses (well skirts now but will be a dress soon) that you would see at a large SASS event by any means but it is a big deal for me. I am not usually that good at going off on my own. If I have directions I tend to stick to them. I am fine if I start something on my own but if there are directions I am lazy & just following along like a lemming off a cliff. So for this one I really kind of took a picture of an outfit & made my own version from this & that, making it my own.

Let me give you a little crash course on Victorian Era Fashions. There are basically 5 periods; Pre-hoop & Hoop 1830-1869, Early Bustle 1869-1876, Natural Form 1877-1882, Late Bustle 1883-1889 & Belle Epoch 1890-1901. There are very distinct characteristics that set these periods apart & I do not claim to be an expert by any means. I just know the basics & just try to research the rest as I go along.

I like wanted to make a Natural Form dress. The big thing about the Natural Form period is that as the name suggested they primarily did not wear styles that required a hoop or bustle to hold the shape of the dress or at least nothing as elaborate as the earlier or later periods. When hoops & bustles could be huge! Also I should add that sewing patterns where nothing like what we have today they came in magazines all the pieces printed on one large page all over lapping in black ink, the lines of each piece in different combinations of dots or dashes. I will have try to find an example to show you all some time.

I drafted the overskirt from Fashions of the Gilded Age Vol #1 & the underskirt was made from Truly Victorian’s Fan Tail skirt, the trained version.

This was my inspiration from Fashions of the Gilded Age:



Here are my fabrics:

I used the diagrams in the book as best I could to get the general shape for the over skirt. Then I just pined & repined until I got the look I liked.

Here is the nearly finished product:






I still need to add a pleated ruffle to the underskirt & make a bodice, but I am so happy with the way that this turned out I had to share! I am still trying to decide what to do for the back. Here is a picture before I added the ribbon trim:



I will be sure to post some pictures of me wearing the finished dress hopefully at The SASS World Championships in June.

100th Post!!!!!!(finally) & Big News!

Ok kids lets get to it. I know, I know this has been a long time in coming but I think that once you hear the “Big News” you will understand. If not well that is just too bad, right?

So here is what I have cooked up for my 100th post give away: 3 of my purses.

I took inspiration from several places & have been working on getting these just right. So who ever wins will have to let me know what they think & give me some feedback & suggestions for any changes.

#1) I have the Springtime Pond Fiona Purse, named after my wonderful friend Fiona that received the first one I ever made! I have made a couple changes since then but the over all shape is the same. She made is made from vintage lily pad fabric for the pockets with vintage buttons. The lining is of chartreuse green variegated cotton with printed white polka dots & the exterior is of tan cotton. There is also an interior pocket.

#2) Next up the Poppy Fields Amber Joy Messenger Bag, named for my baby sister. She is a fun & practical bag that is made from vintage re purposed yellow poppy print fabric for the strap & lining with a vintage button on the front. The exterior is of green re purposed linen fabric. There is also an exterior pocket on the back & an interior pocket.


#3) Last but now least the Hippie Summer Fiona Purse. She is a hip purse made from vintage retro Daisy & Daffodil print fabric for the front pockets with vintage buttons. The lining is made sunny yellow & white gingham. The exterior is of navy re purposed linen fabric. There is also an interior pocket.

I will draw 3 winners on Sunday night (May 6th) from all those that comment. When you comment just let me know if there is a particular purse that you would like to be entered for or if you want to be entered for each of them, but you can only win one. Gotta share the love. So there you go Dears, I hope that it was worth the wait & best of luck to everyone!

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So now the reason that this has been so long in coming. We are moving to The Land of Enchantment, New Mexico!!!!! John was offered a job with the company that he worked for in FL & it is a God sent for sure. Many of you know that MI has not been kind to us. We are still dealing with our “house problem” that has no definite end in sight, but we have decided to forge forward & start our new life come Hell or high water.

As we can’t even begin to list our house here much less actually sell it at this point we are looking at some unconventional living arrangements in NM. We feel however that this is much better than the alternative, which is being apart for who knows how long.

So we are working out all the details but our hope is to be in NM no later than June 18th so that we can attend this which is all of 15 min from where we are going to be living! How exciting is that???!!! (Well if you are a SASS member it’s exciting, everyone else maybe not so much, but pretend with me ok?) I am so excited that I will finally get to me my friend Gina who makes this kind of beautiful stuff!



So in preparing for our move I have been trying to get as many projects done as possible & organize some so that I can still be creative when everything else is in storage. Also I have been looking at a lot of sites like this. Seeing as the first time I will be in NM is the day that I drive the moving truck across the state line. I really enjoyed reading about Finny & Kelli's Santa Fe adventure (high on the list of must sees in NM) & would love to hear anyone else's NM stories.

Let the adventure begin! I will try to post as often as I can to let you all know how it’s going.

Wish us luck & good luck to everyone on for the drawings!