HSF Challenge #19: Inspiration

Another fortnight, another challenge! After seeing this lovely pair of under-sleeves by The dreamstress, I was inspired to make a pair for the Bright Copper Penny Dress.

The material for these sleeves started out it's life as part of a set of curtains found at the goodwill. They were originally going to be a dress, but one of the panels decided to shred in the middle while it was in the wash. The fabric's a wee bit sheer on it's own, so I lined it with some cotton voile I had lying around.

             I like this fabric so much that I just might make a chemisette out of the leftovers.

                                          And here's what they look like with the sleeves:

The Challenge: Inspiration

The challenge you were inspired by: The dreamstress' engageantes

Fabric: Embroidered cotton and voile

Pattern:  Nope

Year: 1850's-60's

Notions: Thread, hooks and eyes

How historically accurate is it? Machine and hand sewn

Hours to complete: 3

First worn: Not yet, probably to Dickens Fair

Total cost: $2

HSF challenge #15: The great outdoors...indoors

 Every December, my family visits the Great Dickens Christmas Fair. Victorian London is recreated (streets and all) inside San Francisco's Cow Palace, and the sheer volume of people generates a considerable amount of heat. My plan this year is to wear the Bright Copper Penny Dress with it's newly made over-sleeves, and I needed something that will cover the dress's low neckline when I'm out in the "streets" without roasting me alive. 

So I de-stashed some claret colored velvet, bought some spicy green cotton to line it with, and voila!

Claret and spicy green is my favorite winter color combo and luckily, they both go well with the dress. Another plus is that I don't have to make a bonnet to wear with the dress (although I may make one at a later date.)

 It is, I am aware, In desperate need of trim. But I thought I'd wait until a little later in the year to sew it on.

The Challenge: The Great Outdoors

Fabric: Silk velvet, green cotton and cotton batting

Pattern: KayFig 1860 winter hood pattern

Year: 1860

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it? Machine and hand sewn

Hours to complete: About a week

First worn: Not yet, probably to Dickens fair in December

Total cost: $15

I'ts Alive! (Mostly...)

 Happy Holidays everyone! I would have written sooner but was laid out for the past two weeks with a very aggressive cold. Since my last post, I have weathered November and most of December (cold notwithstanding,) and have a few blessedly free weeks before the next big project.

Victorian Ball was a lot of fun, as i got to dress up two of my friends and introduce them to all the dances. Oddly enough, I was asked to dance more usual and I had a wonderful time.

Dickens Fair was glorious! I saw all of my friends, ate entirely too much food, and got shanghaied by the crew of the HMS Hatefish! The entertainment was brilliant as always and there was a fabulous  new attraction this year: The Empire of Wonders, a mini tour that kind of reminded me of a ripley museum. I also visited the Adventurers' Club and watched Prince Albert present his plans for the Great Exhibition! The stage shows were hilarious, the food was wonderful, and I wish I could do more than one weekend a year.

I managed to finish my dress in time, and I have to say it turned out pretty well. I wore it with my sheer black bonnet and my velvet pelerine and got a lot of compliments on it. 

 Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of it as my tablet was out for repair during most of the construction.
                                                     

And now, a breather before the next project. Codename: The Blue Eugenie.

The awesomeness of ebay, and the fact that I am a great big klutz

As you've probably guessed by the title of today's post, I'm a big fan of Ebay. Whenever I need fabric or trim, an hour or two of dedicated searching has given me exactly what I was looking for nine times out of ten. So when I went looking for some fabulous trim for the black velvet pelerine, the great Bay of E did not let me down.

 Black satin tassel fringe! Isn't it lovely? It's about two inches wide altogether and stitches on like a dream.

Here's a view of the front. Since the pelerine resisted having either a hood or a collar, I used some of the extra tassel fringe to trim the neckline. The front doesn't have any closures yet, but I'm thinking maybe some black chinese toggle buttons, any ideas?

And here's a view of the back. 

Apart from that, the skirt for the dickens dress is cut out and pinned together, and the lining and interlining for the bodice are cut out. The outer fabric itself would have been cut out yesterday, but I managed to gouge a big chunk out of my hand with a pair of scissors, so that kind of got put on hold while I figured out whether I needed to go to the ER or not (I didn't, thank goodness). I don't have a picture of it, so here's a picture of Esca being adorable instead.

Well, back to work.

Is it procrastination if you have a legitimate reason not to do it?

The news on the Dickens Fair outfit is... there is no news. But I have a legitimate excuse! Unfortunately, I find myself in need of a new corset.
The story is this: After my last corset died, I needed a new one quickly for an event and therefore purchased a budget corset online from a suttler for about eighty bucks. While it gave me the basic silhouette I needed while still being comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time and dance in, it's true that one gets what one pays for. It was made of the cheapest material and boned with plastic coated braided cable (which I didn't find out about until one of the seams split. The description had said spring steel boning.) and two years of wear has warped it so that it is neigh unwearable. I am many things but a corsetier is not one of them, and so the short and long of it is that until I have a new one, I'll have to put the dress on hold.
The good news is that I'll be able to work on the accessories while I wait. I'm re-trimming the black tulle bonnet to match the general color scheme of the outfit (purple and black) and I'm going to need a pelerine to go with it.
I'm aiming for an 1840's late mourning dress. Cotton preferably, since Dickens Fair can get pretty warm indoors, in a nice deep purple. The pelerine will probably be out of black velvet since that's what I have on hand.
And now I'm off to see a lady about a corset!

Next post: Accessories