Head Weeks - Part 4

The more Hats and Bonnets I make, the more difficult it gets to store them away...
Not every Item is fitting into a round Hatbox, or it is impossible to find a suitable size, or the asked price is too high - you name it...

So what to do to prevent my treasures from dusting away?

A few weeks ago, when I searched the internet for Bonnet inspiration I came across a most peculiar item:
A Bonnet Bag
I have never seen such a thing before, but I wanted to have one that very minute!

This one:
 An original Bonnet Bag from the mid 19th century.

Museum of fine Arts Boston - Bonnet Bag

I just had to make my own!

Before I get to my Bonnet bag I have to confess, that I have absolutely no talent to indicate fabric contents...

So it happend after the first cut into my chosen fabric (an old tablecloth from grandma) that I realised (a little too late) I just had cut into a vintage SILK tablecloth... Sorry family...
In my defense I have to add that I pulled the fabric from my stash and when we collected all the stuff from grandma's apartment my mother knew that I would use it for sewing.

The damage was done, so I made the best of it:

The bottom was formed by sewing reed to a linen base. I originally planned on adding two lines, but it was so fascinating to watch my sewing machine do all the work without me touching it, I ended up with eight rows.
The bag itself is a rectangle piece of fabric sewn shut on the short edges. The boning channels are constructed in a similar way like a corded petticoat, not filled with cord but reed. The drawstrings are cotton twill-tape.

When not in use the bag can be stored flat

Hmm. Maybe a bit too large for my mid victorian bonnet...

The solution: Two bonnets in one bag!
To protect the silk-lining of my newest bonnet from the raw straw of my oldest one (sill untrimmed...), I put a scrap piece of the same tablecloth between the two bonnets.

 

Hurrah! Two bonnets safely stored instaed of just one!

Watch out - there is more head stuff to come soon!

Head Weeks - Part 3

I finished an UFO!
And a really old one, too! The early victorian bonnet I started in february last year is finally done!

At that time I made the buckram frame and the mulling. I stopped there, because I wasn't satisfied with it. So last month I removed the old mulling and did a new one. When I went fabric shopping for my Regency Bonnet I bought enough silk taffeta to cover the victorian bonnet as well.
The edges are trimmed with gathered taffeta ribbon.
I used the same ribbon to trim the bonnet both inside and outside.
The pattern is Lynn McMasters L32 "Early victorian Bonnet"

Without further ado:

 

preparing the ribbonwork trimming

The ribbon roses cover the stitching fom sewing on the outside trimmings

 

 

 

 

Be warned: this was not the last post on headwear...

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Last week I was surprised with my first ever Blog Award! And not just one, but two!
Both Nessa of The Sewing Empire and Ségolène of Dentelles et Macramés nominated my blog for the
"The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award".
Thank you so much Nessa and Ségolène!!! This was truly a surprise and I am so happy, that you like my sewing adventures so much to honor me with an Award for it!

 

The Award Rules are the fallowing:

1.Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site
2.Put the Award logo on your blog.
3.Answer the ten questions sent to you.
4.Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer
5.Nominate ten blogs.

Since this Award has been given to all of my favourite costume bloggers these past few weeks, I will not continue nominating.
 Vanessas questions to me:


1. How long have you been blogging?
 I started my Blog in November 2013 to have a way to submit to The Historical Sew Forthnightly aside from Facebook. And also to show off my work since most of my friends and family don't share my enthusiasm for historical costumes and sewing.

2. What is / are your favorite topics to blog about?
 My favourite posts are those about finished items. These are the ones you'll find the most on my blog.

3. Do you have a favorite book and or author? And what do you love the most about them?
I read very much! Usually romance novels of all kinds. I do not have a favourite author. My last books to read were:
Jane Costello's "The Love Shack"
Marian Keyes "The Woman who stole my Lifw"
Cecilia Ahern's "The Year I met you"

4. Which is / are your favorite historical (sewing) periods?
I love the Natural Form Era! All the beautiful dresses with these HUGE trains! I LOVE trains!

5. Do you have a piece of clothing in your wardrobe that you really love?
I have many items I am really proud of! The item that makes me really happy every time I see it is this one:

6. Which sewing / crafting technique would you love to learn?
Making Bobbin Lace! My equipment is almost complete, so maybe I'll try to learn it someday in the future...

7. If a time traveler offered to take you anywhere in time and space, where would you go?
 19th century England, please! The ultimate age of Corsetry (and I love all kinds of corsetry) ! I couldn't decide on a decade, though...
I love
the simple cut of the teen years,
the padded hems of the 20s,
he sleeves (omg the sleeves!!!) of the 30s,
the bonnets (and caps) of the 40s,
the amount of petticoats in the 50s,
the crinolines of the 60s,
the gorgeous trains (especially the long and ruffled ones) of the 70s,
the bustles of the 80s
and finally the hats of the 90s.

8. Describe your ideal dress fabric.
Silk taffeta is my favourite. Unfortunately it isn't exactly cheap, so I don't use it very often. It has all qualities I want in a fabric: It is natural fibre, a good level off stiffnes and you can get it in many colours and designs. It is also quite easy to work with.

9. Which is your most important sewing or crafting tool?
My beloved sewing machine!

10. Are you more of a lace or a ruffle person?
 Lace. and Ruffles. Ruffles of Lace. All of it please!

 Ségolènes questions were in french originallly. I don't speak french, so I asked my sister to translate them for me:

1. Which movie inspired you the most?
When I watched Sissi as a little girl I was so in awe of all the beautiful dresses that I could never forget about them. So I learned how to make them myself:-)

2. If you were a costume, which one would you be?
A trained Ballgown of the late 1870s. Did I mention I love trains???

3. Which time period is your favourite?
The Natural Form Era - see above.

4. Which recently read book inspired you?
Reading is not the right word for it, since it contains mostly drawings. Nancy Bradfield's "Costume in Detail" is like a magnet to stick to. After I finished it I had like 15 new projects in mind that I just *have* to make!

5. What made you learn sewing?
When I was young my mother made a lot of clothing for me and my sisters herself. When I was about 12 years old I wanted to use her machine (sick of handsewing already back then;-)), so she teached me to sew on it (an old Bernina she inherited from her grandma). My first machine sewn Project was a fleece jumper and I wore it proudly until it "died" a few years after.

6. What is the item I would never part with?
Not an item, but my bunny Michel:

7. Which exhibition was your last to see?
I don't go to exhibitions often. Usually on vacation only... My last trip of that kind was to paris in 2012 and I visited Versailles with a friend. Not an exhibition exactly, but still something one has to see in person once. It was so amazing to see the buildings, furniture, art and the beautiful gardens.

I will return in costume one day!

Head Weeks - Part 2

I promised more Headwear, so here we go:
Back in snowy Jaunary I made a regency Muff from some really expensive Fake Mink Fur. The original plan was (and still is) to complete the set with a fur Tippet or capelet to warm myself properly in winter.

Winter is gone and its close to 25°C on my Balcony, but since I just bought a lovely new Pattern using fake-fur, I decided to make a winter Bonnet anyway.
The Pattern is the Regency Bonnet from Lynn McMasters. So far all my hats are made from her patterns (and I love all of them), but I must admit, that I bought my first TV Hat pattern recently. More on that one soon...




All hats are constructed in a very similar way, so I spare you the construction pictures. They kind of look the same for every hat/ bonnet I make.
Please comment, if you'd like those back in my hat-related posts and I will happyly share them again with future  hat projects!

The Bonnet frame is made from heavy buckram and millinery wire. I attached the wire to the buckram and hemmed the ties by machine, but everything else is handsewn.
For historical accuracy I bought a petrol-cocloured cotton velvet and black silk taffeta for the ties and lining. The fur is fake as mentioned above, but I am absolutely happy with that!

I am so happy on how well the lining turned out! For the first time I managed to sew it in nearly invisible:-)

 

 

I didn't make any adjustments to the pattern, but if I'll ever make this kind of bonnet again, I will lengthen the ties a little. They seem a little too short after binding the bow...

 

I am really tempted to use this as regular headwear in winter, since it looks so "modern" from front. We'll see, if I actually dare to do so in 5-6 months.

Stay tuned for more Hats, Bonnets and stuff to be put on the head!

Head Weeks - Part 1

So,
I stayed at home during my vacation and decided it was time to sew something! Surely you've noticed, that I wasn't overly productive these past 3 month. I managed 3,5 herniated disks and had one of them surgically corrected. That's why...

The pain is gone and now I am sewing something!!!

Currently I am very passionate about headwear of all kinds and I decided to expand from making hats to style my first wig.
Of course this is not exactly sewing, but it is costuming, so it counts;-)

Last year I purchased Kendra's Wig Book (18th Century Hair & Wig Styling) and last week I finally made something from it.
I can only recommend this book! It is super detailed, lots of pictures and easy step-by-step instructions.
For a start I bought 2 cheap wigs and transformed them into one big one...

My Attempt is a 1770s High Stylecalled "Dorothée".
Here is my version:

Since I never worked on a wig before I bought a cheap one from ebay to start off and started curling, teasing, frame making and so on...

The Styling is worked over a wire mesh frame to gain it's height

A LOT of teasing was required to form this pile of hair!

 

To finish the Style "buckles" are pinned on the finished wig. This was actually the most complicated part and took a good amount of patience.
And it made a mess of my sewing space...

But it was worth the work, because a day later I rewarded myself with my very first 18th Century wig!!!

I'll probably add one more buckle on top of the side curls...

A Bow will cover the airband when worn.

It is not perfect, but it was my first attempt and I am very happy with it. Now I really need an Outing!