Looking back on 2014

This year has flown past! So many things have happened, but as most of them have concerned my personal and family life, not that much of it has been said on the blog. So what have happened….

We moved to a new town, a year ago Friday. Amongst other nice things (such as good friends only a one minute walk away) it also meant I got a sewing room – what a luxury! As we don’t have money to spend on storage at the moment, it’s a bit of a mess, with fabrics, notions, period clothing, etc. everywhere, but still - happy me!

 The mirror still on the floor, parts of my folk costume and some 

14th century hoods hanging on the door, lots of white linen and plain cotton in the shelf.

 Hats, some fabric (coarse linen for a gambeson, wool for period clothing, fabrics for contemporary projects), 

a loom for weaving tapes and ribbons, boxes with UFO:s, my seldom used sewing machine, 

this and that.... The cupboard is filled with striped, checked, and reproduction print fabrics.

I was pregnant and very tired for the first half of the year, and so didn’t get all rhat much sewing done, but I did manage to sew:

 an early19th century shortgown

 a sewing roll inspired by local folk costumes

 a babynest for the baby to sleep in

 a patchwork quilt for the baby

I also, thanks to a cousin and a sister who modelled them for me, got pictures of a couple of dresses (the Pre-Raphaelite Medieval, and the Elvish Maiden) I made years and years ago, but never had decent pictures of.

Then little baby H arrived, and pretty much everything had to adapt to his needs, and economy was still a factor. Being a student family with two young children, that is not surprising. We didn’t go to any events this summer, at least not any that we bothered to dress in historical clothes for. One can still take pictures though, and when the baby was a week old I swaddled him, dressed myself and B in our 14th century clothes and took some pictures.

I also got some sewing done:

 I finished my Hobbit outfit UFO

 got a lot done on an 1840’s outfit; a shift, bum pad, cap, collar and dress

 made some 1840’s baby clothes; a petticoat and a dress

 and a witches bonnet for Halloween – I don’t mind spending time in more than one fantasy world ;)

I’ve also hosted a sewing class with a friend (in the green silk dress), sponsored by the event Thomanders Jul i Lund: eight women with varying experience in historical sewing made 1840’s style shifts, stays, petticoats and dresses. It was an educational experience for me, who never taught a sewing class before. Some of the ladies (as well as little H and I) are in this picture. The styles of their dresses cover pretty much all of the 1840's - don’t they look wonderful? Unfortunately I don't have a picture with my friend/co-teacher Maja also in it, as she had a pet emergency that morning.

Picture (c) Lena Birgersson.

Not my most productive year, sewing wise, but not the least so either. Even when I wasn't sewing myself, I was kept busy being a co-moderator in the Historical Sew Fortnightly (HSF) Facebook group, and will continue being so next year, though of course, the challenges will be monthly now (HSM). Hopefully I'll be able to complete more challenges myself now :) 

 

For Christmas Tobias gave me this book that I’ve wanted for a few years. The title can roughly translate to “The Tailor, the Seamstress and the Fashion” and is all about how the making of women’s clothing in Sweden changed from being a men’s business to gradually becoming a women’s business. It also has diagrams of stitches, seams and patterns taken from period clothes.

This year have been very much 19^th century for me, as I’ve felt a bit burned out on the 14^th century – last year I sewed like mad to get ready for the season, and never got to attend a single event with my group, and that just made me sick of it all. Now though, I’m beginning to feel the pull again, so hopefully there will be more medieval things in the coming year.

Thank you for reading my blog this past year - I hope you are all well, and will have a Happy New Year!

An 1840's Baby Dress

As little H have only just begun to taste solids, and is thus still dependant on me for food, he naturally had to come with me to the event at the Tegnér Museum I mentioned in my last post. Of course he needed to be properly dressed as well. I looked through my stash, and found some old cotton curtains I’d bought for the fabric a few years ago. It was all bleached on one side, but the other side was in good condition. The fabric is similar to what is used in this extant dress. The dress was hand sewn using linen and cotton thread.

The bodice is high necked – it is winter after all – and bound with a self fabric bias strip. It closes in the back with mother of pearl buttons from my stash. It’s lined in plain white cotton, and then eased into the waistband. 

The skirt is tightly cartridge pleated to the waistband, and has numerous tucks – more than I had planned; the result from cutting the skirt too long. The tucks help a lot to prevent the skirts from clinging, they look pretty, and of course, can be let out if needed. 

When I came to the sleeves I was beginning to run out of fabric: I’d used some of it in my eldest boys patchwork quilt three years ago. I decided to make short sleeves cut on the bias – very 1840’s – and have longer ones under them.

The longer sleeves are pieced, with plain cotton sheeting where it won’t show under the shorter sleeves. They are only loosely sewn in, and can be removed in summer. They are pleated to cuffs, also closed with mother of pearl buttons. 

 

The dress was worn over the petticoat I’d made previously. A little shift should have been worn as well, but I didn’t have time to make one, and the medieval one I tried before turned out to be too bulky. It worked well anyway. He also wore tights, to keep warm and hide the very modern nappy. Little drawers would have looked nice, but lack of time…

I think H looked absolutely adorable in his little dress! Quite a few discussions on baby clothing in the past was the result of people assuming he was a girl. Several people recalled that they had pictures of their grandfathers in dresses when babies. And thus the boy in a dress issue was diffused.

The Challenge: #22 Menswear (Yes, I’m stretching this, as the dress could just as well have been worn by a girl.)

Fabric: Different cottons.

Pattern: Drafted my own from looking at pictures of extant baby and toddler dresses.

Year: Roughly 1840’s. 

Notions: Cotton and linen thread, mother of pearl buttons.

How historically accurate is it? As usual, as best as I could make it without looking at extant dresses in person. Period materials, constructions and stitching.

Hours to complete: Mmm… maybe 8-10?

First worn: For the pictures and a small event at the Tegnér Museum in Lund, Sweden, on the 29^th November.

Total cost:  Nothing at this time, as fabrics and notions came from my stash.

1840's Maternity Dress

The blog has moved and this post can now be found HERE.