The Singing Costumer

       This is the last installment of my blogs on my new Edwardian undergarments set. I have 3 petticoats. I shall write about them in chronological order as I finished them.      The first is a white cotton petticoat trimmed with lace, shown below. I made it at least 4 years ago or more. I used the Free Hoop Petticoat Diagram on the Truly Victorian website for cutting directions. I don’t think I followed it exactly to the letter. I just did two tiers total. It was way too long, but I had already attached the lace at the hem, so I couldn’t just cut it. So I instead made rows and rows and rows of tucks at the hem. It only took 5 million hours. It is beautiful, though. This was simple to make, but tedious. This will continue to be a theme as I write about each petticoat. The top edge is pleated and sewn to a ribbon for a waistband. This is meant to be worn under my Belle costume, so I chose a pretty scalloped lace for the hem to match her petticoat. One...

YouTube video associated with this blog We had a major ice storm here recently. What a perfect time to sew a summer playsuit! I really, REALLY hate winter with a passion. It helped my seasonal depression a little bit to sew this and remember that summer will come again. For the 1960's, I was really stumped! For the longest time, I could NOT find a project I was excited to sew. I didn't want to make just another panty and bra set. I thought about sewing a girdle, but decided against it. Didn't sound like fun and it would be lots of work for something I would wear once. Then I remembered Vogue 9255, a reprint of a pattern originally published in 1960. It includes little shortie shorts, a bikini top, and a loose coverup blouse. I just made the shorts and the top this time. Maybe I'll have time to make a coverup for next summer. I have had this lovely fabric for quite a while. It's a denim fabric I think, with a lace pattern woven in it on one side. It's one of my f...

My YouTube video associated with this blog The next step in my continuing quest to become a Gibson Girl was to make a bum pad. I knew I needed a little more oomph in the back then nature has provided me for a fashionable Edwardian silhouette. This period is all about curves and flowing, smooth lines. Padding strategic areas was a common period trick to create curves. It is lovingly referred to as my Ruffle Butt. Because who doesn't want ruffle butt? The fabric is scraps from a green polyester brocade tablecloth. It's a pretty design, although the fabric was a bit of a hassle to sew. It's prone to fraying. If I recall correctly, it was from Joann Fabrics, in one of their seasonal spring collections. I've had it for years, and this is the year of “Reduce the Stash”. And it looked beautiful with the other pieces I've already made, so it was a win all around. I wasn't sure how I wanted to make this at first. I didn't really want to pay for a pattern, and I d...

YouTube video associated with this blog post Like I said last time, I thought I would go for a very sassy look for this project. Black gives quite a sophisticated look, doesn't it? This project gave me a bit of trouble, I won't lie. For the projects featured on the blog this week and last, I used PDF patterns by Mrs. Depew on Etsy. They are reprints of pattern in old French sewing magazines. While I love them, the lack of well-written detailed instructions might make it difficult for a beginner sewist. There was a Sew-along for both these projects in 2012. I might have bought the patterns way back then. It was hosted by Anna Depew of http://afewthreadsloose.blogspot.com/ and Sarah of http://www.ohhhlulu.com/ . They called it the “ Ooh La La Pin-Up Sew-Along”. So cute. I found these posts to be very helpful in completing these two items. For the body of the bra, I sewed it the same manner as the garter belt. I basted the fashion fabric and the lining fab...

YouTube associated with this blog post: https://youtu.be/e5Vf3-DzxFo For the 1950's, I thought I'd make something a lot more sassy then I usually sew. I've had this pattern for at least 6 or 7 years. It was too advanced for me at the time, but I fell in love with it and I bought it anyway. Mrs. Depew has the most beautiful patterns in her Etsy. She takes vintage patterns, many from French magazines, and makes the, available to all. There are many patterns in her shop I'd love to make. For this project, I used two of them. They are #2002 1950's Garter Belt Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/corsets/french-corset-garter-belt.html ) and #2001 French Bra Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/brassieres/french-bra-corselet.html ). I will write about the former this week, and the later next week. These patterns are PDF downloads, which is very convenient. These come in only a few sizes and don't include seam allowances. I printed t...

YouTube Video associated with this blog The next piece I made for my 1900's ensemble was the chemise. This was the first layer a lady would put on when dressing. A similar garment (called a shift) also functioned as a nightgown from the Medieval period to the 18 th centrury or so. But from what I gather, nightgowns and chemises were different items by this time period. A wealthy Edwardian lady would no doubt own many chemises and nightgowns, both everyday and fancy. A lady of more modest means might only own a few. I used more of the same green sheet to match the drawers. Again, I used the “Edwardian Undergarments” pattern by Truly Victorian. Overall, it's a easy-to-follow pattern. The only part that was challenging was inserting the front and back yoke. You have to gather the main body of the chemise to fit the length of the yoke. Then you attach the sides in a particular way. On the front yoke, I sewed on the beaded trim and on the back yoke I did not. Otherwise, ...

Link to my associated YouTube video The first item I sewed for my 1900's project was a pair of drawers. To be precise, French Drawers. This is made from the Edwardian Undergarments pattern from Truly Victorian. I made the shaped hem version, and that worked well. Essentially, it is two wide, flared legs attached to a waistband. It swishes and flows quite nicely on the body, especially when made in a soft cotton. This year, I am trying to make due with what I have in my stash as much as possible. Since I have no experience in sewing for the Edwardian period and no event to wear such costumes, I didn't buy new fabric. White, very fine linen would have been more historically accurate, but I like colors! And I happened to have a soft green bed sheet set. Parts of it have seen better days, hence it being in the stash and not on the bed. But there was still plenty of good fabric left. There should be enough for the whole set of undergarments. As of this writing, I have fini...

YouTube video associated with this blog So, it has come to this. The 1980s. The decade of my birth (though I don't remember any of that decade). The decade of the WORST fashion in the whole 20 th century. Especially for teen girls. Girls, what were you thinking? Perms and side ponytails? Oversize, boxy shirts and shapeless dresses in questionable color choices? But I digress. I found McCall's 3474 at a thrift store, I assume. That's where most of my vintage patterns have come from, so far. The pattern is dated copyright 1987 on the envelope. It includes a camisole or long nightgown, shorts or pants, and a full length long sleeve robe. I do enjoy the glamour and sophistication of the pattern illustration on the cover. It's very classy. I came up with this whole concept of “unmentionables thru the decades” years ago. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to include at least one matching long nightgown and robe set. It's just so stylish, classic...

Onward to the last few pieces of my 1920's project; a simple slip and a pair of elastic garters. The slip was the first piece I actually finished for my #unmentionablesthroughthedecades project. I would like to formally thank past Sarah from 2012 for saving so carefully this little bit of gorgeous lace. It was originally purchased to sew a pattern test for my first foray into historic costuming; Elizabeth Turner from the first Pirates film. This length of lace was just the right color to add to this slip. It is basically a tube with straps. It was very easy to complete in afternoon. I started with an old self-drafting tutorial from The American Duchess blog, and added a couple center pleats, as I have seen on some period examples. This is just to pull in the neckline a little bit and adds a bit of interest. But the lace covers the pleats, so they aren't seen anyway. C'est le vie. You live and learn. One item that could and perhaps should have been ...

In my Pinterest board for 1920's, I have many examples of period sewing instructions. These are from popular Women's magazines of the time. They showcase new trimming ideas for a dinner dress, or perhaps an easy one-hour afternoon dress (VERY popular, judging from the number I found). These were meant to keep the home sewist well-informed as to the latest fashion. Many of these instructions seemed to emphasize the ease of their directions and ideas.  This lingerie set was inspired by a dinner dress instruction page (detail of that page shown below). In particular, it had directions to bead a beautiful bow on a formal dress with tiny seed beads. The finished effect is rather like a necklace. I loved the shape of the bow, but of course I didn't want to weigh down my delicate fabric with lots of beads. And beads on undergarments is not exactly practical. So instead, I made “ribbon” from my fabric by sewing a 3/8 th inch seam, trimming the allowance, and then...