Corded Petticoat

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Swedish mid 1800's Commoner's Dress, a.k.a. The Insanely Pieced Dress

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Silver Linings

Still no baby in sight. It has its upsides though, waiting. I managed to finish a new wool winter skirt a few days ago. I’ll mostly just show you teaser pictures and hardly any descriptions of the different projects right now, as I want proper pictures taken post baby.

After finishing the skirt, I found there’s no point in me starting any new projects right now, as I might not have time to finish them in a foreseeable future, so this past week I’ve been working on a couple of things from my “in progress-box”. I finally finished my corded petticoat, inspired by Sarah Jane making one recently. It took me long enough, though of course, I’ve had a lot of other projects in between. I’ll post about this separately and more in detail later.

I also finished an apron, for modern use, that’s been cut out ready to be sewn for a year or so. I have a regrettable tendency to spill or spatter when cooking, and rather an apron getting the worst of it than my clothes. The fabric was originally a couple of charity shop-bought cotton curtains, rather small but with deep hems and I made the most of them, so if you look closely, you can see the old stitch marks. Not that it matters in a working apron. As I wear skirts or dresses most of the time (when I’m not having a very lazy stay-at-home day and wear old sweat pants) I like my aprons slightly flared and long enough to cover them.

I cut the pocket and waistband/ties on the bias, for visual interest. To prevent the sewing thread in the ties breaking when the apron is being used, I had to keep them well stretched when sewing them, so the seams look a bit loose when not under stress. I was a bit unsure about having ties cut on the bias, but I’ll think it’ll work ok.

I made a decision recently to try and make peace with my sewing machine, and have since tried to sew more things on it rather than by hand than I did before. Thus, the apron is mostly machine sewn. I must say it is pleasant to be able to finish things so quickly, provided the machine behaves itself properly, and I think I’ll be able to learn not to mind the more clumsy hemming (on some things) that is one of the draw backs. I might even become good at sewing on the machine... I’ll try and reserve hand sewing to historical clothes that wouldn’t look right without it and other things that really does look better hand sewn. I believe my elderly self will thank me for it in future. Besides, depending on baby’s personality, I might not have very much time for sewing for a while, and must make as good a use of what time there is as possible. That being said, I’m spending the evening working on my regency stays – by hand.

More Cording

This week I’ve begun my last clinical. I’m at a neonatal unit, and it’s the most fun clinical I’ve had yet. Caring for all these small (in some cases, very, very small) babies and their families is a great blessing, but I pray none of my children will be too premature. The stress of the parents and siblings are enormous, as is the stress of the babies. Interesting as it is, it’s a very new environment for me, which means a lot of concentration to learn as much as possible, and to be attentive to the needs of my little patients and their families. When I come home I usually just crash into bed. I had the day of yesterday, and I slept for eleven hours that night. Wow. Usually I never sleep that long.

With me being so tired all the time, I haven’t got much sewing done (I sound like a broken record, huh?), but I’ve finished the 60th row of cording on my petticoat. I want a few more groups of three cords before the single cords.

I’ve also worked on the back of my regency stays, whip stitching the top fabric and lining together at centre back, and sewn a cord in on each side. Between the cord and back there will also be boning, and on the other side of the cord, eyelets for lacing.

Not a very interesting post, but it’ll have to do as I’m of to the hospital again soon.

Cording This, Cording That

Whew, I’ve had very much to do in school this past week. Bleh. Still not done, I have a few more things to hand in before the weekend is over. On Thursday morning there was a frost, and it tells me to get a move-on with the coat – but it takes a bit of concentration, which I haven’t had for anything but school. Only projects that don’t need too much of my time, brains and energy have been worked on.

My corded petticoat is coming along nicely; I’m working on the 49th row. And, I did find evidence for corded petticoats in Sweden – huzzah! One example was in a book I bought in January (Underkläder – en kulturhistoria (2008), by Britta Hammar & Pernilla Rasmussen), but somehow it had not registered, even though I’ve looked at the picture a few times – it is a pretty small picture, and the corded petti was lying amongst a lot of other underwear, stockings, dresses and toys. It had belonged to a little girl who died in 1855, 4 years old, and a lot of her possessions were later donated to a museum. A search on the digital database of some other museums gave me another one, for a grown up woman. The cording is woven in, of course, but I still think sewing them in is a very good next-best-thing. The fun thing is, that I have grouped my cords in a way very similar to the extant ones, so that at least is period correct.

I also got a sudden stroke of inspiration for (finally – I’ve wanted some for years) making regency stays. I bought a white cotton fabric with woven in checks of a sort of dark brick red in a charity shop a couple of weeks back, and I would like to make a regency dress from it (no, it doesn't look like a kitchen towel in real life - the material is quite fine and sheer) - I hope there is enough material. I must have the right underpinnings first though. Regency dresses, when done right, can be some of the most elegant frocks in history, but if done wrong, you’ll look like a pregnant hippo in a nightgown, which is less elegant…. When I was a slim, almost bony teenager I could have gotten away with short stays, but nowadays I have a more feminine figure, so long stays are essential. I base mine mostly on a pair described, and with the pattern pieces drawn out in small scale, in the same book I referred to above. It’s in Swedish, and full of Swedish examples of underwear from the 18th century up till now, which is not all that common when it comes to fashion history. I also look at the ones from the book Fashion from the Kyoto Institute, and one from another Swedish book (Empirens döttrar – kultur och mode under tidigt 1800-tal (2009), by Anette Kindahl, Katarina Olsson & Ingrid Roos) I recently bought. It’s interesting to see how similar they all are – makes one wonder if the Swedish ones might have been imported. Either way – there’s evidence for them from here, which is the important thing.

They should be made from white or cream cotton satin, but I didn’t have any, and didn’t want to waste the opportunity either – inspiration comes and goes with me. I might make another pair sometime, in cotton satin with the embroidery done in yellow silk like the originals, but for now, a simple cotton fabric embroidered with cotton will have to do; I can look at it as a smart mock-up, and I won’t feel guilty. It’s not like it’ll show anyway – I wonder if not the fabrics might behave differently, though. The stays will have a combination of boning and cording, like the ones in the books. I’ve made the pocket down the front for the busk, with cotton cording down each side, and the channels for boning radiating out from that. I also made the eyelets for securing the busk. I haven’t done the bust gussets yet, since I don’t know what size they’ll have to be – I want to wear the stays and experiment, but for that to work properly, I’ll have to finish the boning and eyelets in the back first, and pin front and back together so I can try it on. So that’s next – starting on the back panels. Eyelets are a bit tedious to sew, but I find I really like cording – it’s fun to do, and it looks nice.

Now - back to my school work.

So Tired

The last couple of weeks I’ve got increasingly tired, going to bed at unnaturally early hours, and taking naps almost every day – so not like me. I wonder if it’s just the shortening days or something else. Either way it leaves me with a lot less energy and inspiration to work on school or any textile related thing than I’d wish. I can't help it, but I’m feeling a bit listless.

I’ve managed to get a little work done however. I’m working on the 43d row of cording on the petticoat. The group I’m working on now will be as wide as the one at the hem, and then I’ll make groups with fewer cords in them, probably three or four cords/group. It’s very convenient sewing when you can’t seem to work up anything that looks like brainpower to do something more complicated. You just go round and round and round and round….

The Bayeux-inspired embroidery has all that was drawn on it sewn, so now I have to figure out what I want to do on it next. The borders need to be embroidered – the upper one should be simple enough, I’ll just take whatever figures captures my fancy from the original. The lower one is the problem – I could do something similar to the top, but I think I’d prefer to add the events that happened before the major scene. That way I’ll get the whole story, with less work. And then I’ll have to figure out what the text should be, and what language I want it in. I think I’ll stick to Latin as the original, it looks cool. And I think I’ve decided to do more scenes after this one – the question is which ones; the burning bush, perhaps, and then Moses and Aron before Pharao? Decisions, decisions…

And lastly, lo and behold, I have started work on my winter coat again! I haven't done much (almost nothing to tell the truth), but I've got the ball rolling, so it should be easier to just continue. I will post about that separately. Right now there seems to be a good chance I will be very happy with it when finished.

Working on Old Projects

Last time I posted I said I was coming down with a cold, and that was some cold – I had a headache and fever for four days, which returned briefly over the weekend, and I’m still coughing. I missed the first three days of school, so a week into the term I’m already behind – smashing….

The good news is that I’ll be able to do most of my studying the coming two months from home – my own dear home! (Happy dance!) That gives me quite a bit of hope.

Since I’ve been feeling first so bad and then so tired the past ten days or so I haven’t really made any progress to boast about in any of my projects. I’ve done some sewing on the petticoat, and begun the 36th row of cording.

The other day I took out an old project that’s been hibernating for a few years – my English wool embroidery inspired by the Bayeux tapestry. It’s not intended to be a copy at all, but I’ve been heavily inspired by the look, colours and technique of it. I wanted a story that would have other people than soldiers in it, and one most people would be familiar with, and feel medieval enough, so I chose the Biblical story of Moses. The plan was, when I started it, that I’d embroider the whole story, but we’ll see how that works out. If I only ever finish this segment it’ll still look nice on my wall. Of course, it would be more of an impact to have several scenes from the story.

It’s embroidered with thin wool yarn on linen, and I drew the figures myself. I'm not completly satisfied with them - they don't look odd enough. Anyway, this was easy sewing during my illness – no need to think, just to fill in the areas with colour, and listening to the Old Testament online.

I like to listen to the scriptures, as a complement to my reading, and now it was time for the Old Testament. I never read it through (I’ve read most of it, but not everything), so I started listening to it while knitting or sewing a while back, and it’s very soothing. Interesting too, you get a new perspective on the history-part of it, when you go through it so quickly. When I read the Bible, I usually study some specific event or doctrine, not cover to cover.

I’m working up the inspiration to finish a winter coat that I begun a couple of years ago (is this the autumn of finishing old projects?), my old ones being threadbare. I’ve got it hanging on my wardrobe door, in the hope that inspiration will strike. It will be in wine red wool, but that’s pretty much all I know for sure so far – the sleeves and hood are not cut out yet. I’m running out of fabric, so it will take some figuring out how to make the most of what I have.

One Year

A couple of days ago it was a year since I started this blog. Woho! It’s been very fun, and a good way to share my interests without boring my family and friends to death. Thank you all who follow and comment on my blog, I appreciate you all very much! I hope the next year will be an even more interesting one, project wise.

As for right now, though, it’s not that interesting. I have so many ongoing projects lying around, and list of others I’d like to start, but with school almost upon me, I don’t really have the time, energy and inspiration right now. . . I’m also having a cold, which doesn’t help. I’ve been working a little on my corded petticoat (which have been woefully neglected), since that is easy, mindless sewing. I love how it looks!

I talked to my Mum earlier today, and we agreed that it’s this kind of projects, that takes forever, and no one will ever see (or if they do, won’t appreciate) that makes it clear that you do it for the simple pleasure of the work itself, and the joy of looking at the finished result, not just to show of. On the other hand, even if you do it for your own pleasure, it's always nice to hear that others think it's nice - and that's partly why we blog, isn't it?

Now I’ll drink some hot milk with eucalyptus pastilles in it, for my sore throat. Have a nice weekend!

"She is too Fond of Books, it has Turned Her Mind"

The past two weeks have been worthless as far as sewing goes. One reason is I've had another cold. The other reason: I've been reading. I always read a lot, but sometimes it gets much worse, and then reading is all I do, when not sleeping or working. Now, I've read so much I'm almost (but not quite) sick of it. I'm not really sick of the reading in itself, but my body is stiff, and almost aching from being still so much. When I've finished the book I'm reading now (only about 200 pages left), I'll hopefully get some serious sewing done. The silly thing is that I've already read these books before, more than once. It's not that I don't know whats going to happen... but a good book can be read innumerable times, and be just as interesting every time. There's always something new to catch your attention, or the words are so familiar that it's restful to read them.

On Sunday it's the first of Advent, a very much looked forward to time in Sweden. In many windows, in both homes, schools, hospitals and companies, the typical Advent candlesticks and lighted stars have appeared this week. It makes the darkness of this time of year bearable (in this part of Sweden it gets light at about eight am, and by four pm it's dark again - in the north they only get an hour or so of light). Most people don't see the light but through the windows at school or work; it's dark when you leave home in the morning, and dark when you go home again. The lights in the windows really cheer things up.

Today I've been doing laundry, cleaning, and taken out some of the decorations of the season. Doing this I realized my cat is an absolutely worthless protector of damsels in distress. I hate spiders passionately (especially when taken by surprise), and suddenly I found one in my hair. Shudder. I must have been a sight for the neighbours, jumping around, screaming, and repeatedly brushing over my hair, face, arms and clothes to get rid of it. When I tried to set the cat on the eight-legged monster, he thought I was playing and didn't even see the thing. When he finally noticed it, he touched it very hesitantly, and backed away when it moved towards him. Sigh. I had to save myself in the end. Well, if he's not a great warrior amongst cats, at least he's loving and very cuddly, which after all is why I got him in the first place.

I have got a little bit of sewing done these past two weeks, with heavy emphasis on little. The third group of cording in my petticoat is done, and I've sort of started on the fourth.

This evening I took out a long forgotten project (new 18th century stays) from the "ongoing projects" box, and did some work on them. I really should stick to one period for a longer time, but it's so difficult. Since I usually don't have an event to wear my period clothes to, I don't have the pressure to get one set done before starting the next... But then, just like with my reading, sometimes I get obsessed with a certain project, and then it can be finished quickly. The "moderation in all things" I wrote about recently does not always come naturally....

First Day of Snow

First things first: it was snowing this morning! The air looked sort of fuzzy when I woke up, and when I looked closer, it was snowing! It stuck to the ground, but it didn't stay long, as it's a few degrees above freezing. So note to self: first snow of the season - 13 October.

I have worked so much the past two weeks, I've hardly had time to sew on the wedding dress. I wasn't working yesterday, so I did some sewing then. I had planned to do more, but I didn't feel well, and spent most of the day sleeping on the sofa, with the cat curled up close by. Still, all the front parts of the bodice is now piped and sewn together.


I did some sewing on my corded petticoat yesterday as well. I was tired, and didn't feel like the wedding dress was the right project for me right then, but the corded petti is a safe thing to work on when tired, not really a risk of getting it wrong. I've now finished the 26th row of cording. It was so fun to work on it, and I love the look of the pattern the rows of cords make. I really want to get that wedding dress finished, so I can work on my own projects again, with a good conscience.

Hopefully I can sew all the bodice pieces together, so that we can have a fitting later this week. Then there's the most difficult part on this dress: the tulle overlay of the skirt. I'm not kidding, it scares me. The hem of the dress need to be curved to look nice, but I'm using the embroidered edge of the fabric, so I just can't curve the hems on the tulle layer. Somehow, I'll have to make it work anyway.....

Starching a Petticoat the 19th Century Way

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I'm soon lost in the 14th century...again

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Update on the Corded Petticoat...and other things

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Musing and Sewing

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Working in the Garden

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Corded Petticoat, part one

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