Chestnut vermicelli - a traditional Austrian dessert - made with chestnuts, vanilla sugar and whipped cream. This recipe is from the Victorian era.
Edwardian fashion was characterized by the new S-bend corset and pouter pigeon shape. It was an era of luxury with elegant dresses and expensive fabrics.
Brushing the hair twice a day was recommended in the Victorian and Edwardian era to keep the hair and scalp healthy and clean.
In this tutorial I’ll show you how to recreate this 1850s braided hairstyle. Part your hair down the middle and across the head, so that you’ll get one bigger and two smaller sections of hair. Braid each of the three hair sections. Pin the bigger middle braid into a bun. Pin the first smaller braid … Continue reading 1850s Braided Hairstyle Tutorial (After An Antique Photograph) →
Artwork and Inspirations by Evelyn Kennedy Duncan
Did you miss Costume Analytics? This week we are taking a look at a portrait by Louise-Elisabeth Videe Lebrun, painted in 1785, of the Baroness Crussol. We can tell the Baroness was a very flamboyant lady, with her bright red silk jacket trimmed with black
It's been a long time since I've done a Costume Analytics, but I've found myself entering
Since I declared my sewing challenge for the year, yesterday, instead of getting things done for work or chores around the house I of course researched for the upcoming sewing projects. ALL DAY LON…
I made myself a Victorian bicycle sweater out of 100 % wool knit fabric and there was enough to make a matching beret, too!
I love the 1780s and 90s, particularly the mannish styles, like the Redingote. Something about those big collars and buttons, paired with big-ass Gainsborough hats - YUM! Lady in Light Blue Gown by Jean-Baptiste Soyer, circa 1790 Maria de Ron von Breda Portrait of Anna Lopukhina-Gagarina - 1792
You need this pants pattern! Get our full-size paper patterns with complete instructions and historical notes for man's breeches circa 1610s-20s. Perfect for fencers! Fits waists 28"-50". All sizes included in one envelope. Also included are assembly instructions, embellishment suggestions, and the extensive historical notes you've come to expect from Reconstructing History. Suggested Fabrics: wool, heavyweight silk, lightweight silk or linen for liningYardage Requirements: outer material & interlining: 4 yds at least 60" wide; lining: 3 yds at least 60" wide Notions: thread, 5-5/8" buttons for fly closure (optional), buttonhole floss, silk ribbon (optional)
272 p. : 19 cm
After two quick afternoons of sewing, I'm proud to say that my Curtain-Along contribution is complete! (If you're not familiar with the Curtain-Along, click here.) Everyone is making gowns, which I admire and all look great, but I wanted to do something different. "Sew" I chose to create an embroidered under petticoat. Crewel embroidered petticoat, 18th century August Auctions Mid-18th century petticoat, Vermont, linen plain weave with wool embroidery MFA Accession Number 38.79 Mid-18th century New England petticoat, linen and cotton ground with wool embroidery. MFA Accession Number 50.3175 Knowing that there are oodles of examples of beautifully embroidered under petticoat borders such as.... Crewel work petticoat border, 18th century New England. Linen ground with wool embroidery and worsted wool tape. MFA Accession Number 50.3123 Petticoat border, New England 1758. Linen plain weave with wool embroidery. MFA Accession Number 40.571 Petticoat border, 1758, Ipswich, MA. Linen plain weave with wool embroidery. MFA Accession Number 61.158 ...I used these as inspiration when curtain shopping. I searched online and found beautifully embroidered fabrics curtains like: Pottery Barn Margarite Embroidered Drape, starts at $129 a panel. Ballard Designs Crewel Embroidered Drape. This is no longer available but the sale/clearance price was $100 per panel. I wasn't willing to pay anything close to that amount. It seems to defeat the purposes of Jen's initial inspiration of the curtain fabric being similar to the reproduction fabric, yet much cheaper. Thanks to Etsy I eventually found a vintage pair of valences. Made from, most likely, a polyester yarn, the embroidery is done in chain stitches, which is accurate, and the design seems relatively 18th century in inspiration. The fabric on a Joann's-type osnaburg. At $25 it's a good fit. A detail of the embroidery. There's a great embroidered under petticoat from the UK National Trust that's all pieced together, which I used as my curtain-along inspiration / documentation: Petticoat 1740-1760, linen and cotton National Trust Collections Inventory Number 814614.8 Initially I thought I would unpick all the machine stitching and sew the whole thing by hand. Given the time consuming nature of unpicking machine stitches, I bagged that. I sewed the valences together; and then I sewed the valences to three pieces of a beige linen fabric--all on the sewing machine. (This is a big accomplishment for me as I'm much better versed in hand sewing.) Since this project is more costume-like than reproduction-like, I decided to keep the rod pocket seams so the valences retain their "curtainness". I pleated the waist and whip stitched the tape in place... ...and before I knew it, it was done! A peek at the inside. Some day I'll make a reproduction embroidered under petticoat with beautiful images. In the mean time, since students often ask about the many layers of 18th century clothing, this makes a great talking point.
Lately I've been working on a waistcoat to go under my Snowshill riding habit. I really love the look of this menswear inspired style, but before jumping in, I needed to take a closer look at the evolution of the waistcoat throughout the 18th century. Lancret,
Wearing History #E102- E-pattern- Edwardian Bust Improver This listing is for an E-Pattern to print yourself at home on your home printer's USA letter and A4 sized paper. --- DESCRIPTION --- This pattern is inspired by an original extant garment in a museum collection, and is suitable for looks from 1900-1908. It helps achieve the S-Curve silhouette of the early Edwardian period This is meant to be worn under your corset, to help pad out the chest and achieve the "pouter pidgeon" look. --- Included in This Pattern --- This pattern includes two pattern sheet files. One for a small chest, one for a medium to large chest. You may need to make adjustments for your preference and size. This look is very eggagerated compared to what we are used to today. No illustrated instructions are included. Basic written instructions are included. This is relatively simple to construct, so experienced stitchers should be able to put this together with little difficulty. No cutting chart or yardage is included. --- Materials Required --- To make this you will need a base fabric of medium weight cotton, bias binding to match, lace beading, ribbon of a size to fit through the lace beading, and a flat lace to be gathered, or a pre-gathered lace. You will also need a stuffing fabric, such as fiber fill, or to be period correct, cotton batting (not flat quilting batting). No cutting chart is included. --- HOW TO USE THIS E-PATTERN --- YOU WILL NEED ADOBE READER, A FREE PDF READER PROGRAM, IN ORDER TO OPEN AND PRINT THIS PATTERN. This pattern is formatted for USA Letter Size and A4 sized paper. You will need to print this pattern to 100% scale. Open the "READ-ME-FIRST" File for instructions on printing and piecing your pattern. This pattern is tiled into letter sized paper. You will print these documents on your home printer, cut, and tape them together, to form a larger pattern layout. Then you cut and use your pattern just as you would a normal home sewing pattern. 5 total sheets of 8.5" x 11" sized paper or A4 sized paper are needed to make each size of this pattern. This pattern file is formatted to fit on both sizes of paper, and there will be varying thicknesses of white border, which will be cut off, according to pattern instructions. 3 pages for small pattern sheet, 3 pages for medium to large pattern sheet, 1 page for printing and assembly instructions, 1 page for the pattern illustration cover. --- USE POLICY --- By purchasing this pattern you agree to the following terms: This e-pattern is licensed exclusively to the person who purchases this pattern from Wearing History for the sole purpose of home sewing use by the individual who purchases the pattern. Commercial or production use or making items to sell from this pattern is prohibited. Do not share this pattern by email or any other form. Remember, I make my living by using my talents to make these patterns available. Help support indie small business by telling your friends to purchase their own copy of this pattern from http://wearinghistory.etsy.com Please view my other items by visiting my store, and read my shop policies prior to ordering. Thanks!
Lately I've been working on a waistcoat to go under my Snowshill riding habit. I really love the look of this menswear inspired style, but before jumping in, I needed to take a closer look at the evolution of the waistcoat throughout the 18th century. Lancret,
The weekend before American Thanksgiving a few friends and I enjoyed a little jaunt to Williamsburg. We dressed up one day for a carriage ride in the historic district:
Despite being a tongue-in-cheek depiction of girls in uniform, Albert's Bergeret's collection of playing cards entitled 'women of the future' turned out to be an eerily accurate portrait of the modern world.
Made from parchment color silk pique, gathered front and back, square yoke. The front closes by the means of little black velvet buttons. 3/4 sleeves. Pattern consists of 5 pieces: 1 Front, 2 Back...
The pattern, a manteau-de-lit, bed-gown from garsault 1769. Lack of posts about sewing doesn’t equal not sewing at all. I’m trying to finish J’s banyan that I cut out two years ago. When I pulled it out again I couldn’t remember if I had abandoned it because I didn’t have enough fabric or if it was for another reasons. As it turned out, I do have enough fabric, but as the lining has a more narrow width than the shell fabric, there is a lot of piercing going around. Very period, very boring. Actually, I rather feel that this project is cursed because despite being such a simple garment, nothing goes right with it. First I managed to put in the gussets on the shell fabric (lovely thunder blue taffeta) the wrong way. Then the piercing on the lining was a total hassle as it is lightweight silk satin and therefore slippery. When done, I realized that I had measured the piercing on the sleeves too short and needed to put in another piece. And managed to cut those without seam allowances. Sigh. Well, at least the shell fabric and the lining are now ready to be sewn together. I wonder what will go wrong next… I had planned to make a 1940’s blouse in green silk noil to have with me for our trip on the Orient Express on October 13 (and I look forward to it very much, we are flying to Venice, which I haven’t visited before and take the train to Paris.) However, it turned out that it wasn’t enough fabric for the pattern I wanted and lost heart about the whole project. I’m slowly working away on the 1630’s bodice. I will start to put in the sleeves now and then it is just the stomacher left. I am also sewing on the collar; it is my “pocket project”, which I usually have on my bag to stitch on when I’m stuck somewhere like a doctor’s office or on the train. Source Working on a toile for the 15th century brassiere, I’m just about to tackle the cups. On November 15 there will an 18th century party that I can actually go to. Apart from out of doors summer events I haven’t had the chance for that since December last year when we went to Finland, (and we will go again this year, yay!). And suddenly I feel that I want to sew something 18th century, more precisely a little jacket. It ought to be a fairly quick project as I have a good basic bodice pattern. I want to make this c. 1740 jacket from The Snowshill Wade Costume Collection, patterned by Janet Arnold in Patterns of Fashion 1. Source I have wanted to make it before and even went so far as to draft the basque and sleeves, and I feel confident enough to cut the toile from the lining, thus saving even more time. The only problem I have is to decide which fabric to use. I don’t want to buy fabric, but I have enough fabrics in my stash to make it difficult to choose. At first I thought of using a piece of silk brocade, but on inspection it looked much too modern. I plan to wear it with a black taffeta petticoat and I have enough fabric to make a matching jacket, which will give me a complete black ensemble. But then I thought that I don’t have anything really warm in my 18th century wardrobe, so why not wool? Only, I have wool in black, white, dark green and red and I just can’t decide. I think all colour could go with a black petticoat. What do you think? Source I do wish, of course, that I could get my mitt on the brocade it was originally made of. So gorgeous! Source
