1918 Armistice Day outfit

For two upcoming events, I made a 1918 outfit to wear to the Armistice Day Brunch, and to a Costumed Walkabout at the Del Mar Antique Show.
Patterns I used were Butterick 4092- Basque skirt with button down wrap around and Folkwear 210- Armistice blouse.














The fabrics would be a Navy blue linen blend for skirt & white linen for blouse

I ran across this extant blouse dated 1918 that is very similar to this pattern. I like the lace idea and it could really dress up a skirt.

















In a LiveJournal community group, Lamode Illustree, someone posted a fashion print of a woman wearing a blouse and skirt very similar to this, with a jacket and very nice looking hat too. It was neat that it was the exact blouse I was making. It’s called a Sport Suit, and I can see finding a nice fabric for a jacket for mine too.

I started the skirt on 9-27-09. It went together very easily except I sewed all the way down to the bottom of the fake pleat, and realized it’s only supposed to be sewn 2 inches in so it has a “flap”. So the seam ripper went to work.
This skirt style is high waisted and it cuts in very tightly from the hip, so a good fitting is needed. I’m still waiting for someone to help me fit that.


I found a blue straw hat in antique shop, & temporarily wrapped the crown with white eyelet, plans for using white with something red on it.















I started on the white linen blouse while waiting on the skirt, and it too went together very easily. It has a self fabric belt that is sewn to a gathered section on the back of the blouse to tie around to the front to give it some poof.



















I decided to use a white crocheted cotton lace to sew around the collar and cuffs. Then I attached the collar to the blouse and here we have it.

I’m going to do the tucked panel that goes in the center of the bodice, called a vestee. If I’m understanding this right, one side of the front will be sewn to the vestee, the other will be attached by hooks and eyes, and snaps. I was told some extant examples have lots of snaps holding it together instead of buttons and buttonholes. They have buttons covering them though. The thought of making 14 tiny buttonholes makes me glad I won’t have to do them now.
The tucked vestee was a little easier than I expected but handling the 1/8 inch tucks was hard. I made tiny pencil marks along the pattern lines off the pattern but didn’t draw lines so I wouldn’t have any showing when I was done. I folded over each tuck and pinned them, and found if I didn’t pin them the correct size, I “lost” part of the material for the next tuck, so I had to be careful.



There are only 4 tucks on each side of the center line so it didn’t take me very long to do them. I had to also be very careful sewing them on my machine to keep it to the 1/8 inch. The first one was a tad bit bigger but not enough to make me want to try and rip it out. I was happy with the finished tucks.


After I turned under both sides and the top, I sewed a row of the crocheted lace across the top. It lines up just above the bottom edge of the collar. I slipped stitched the right side permanently to the front of the blouse and started sewing eight of my ¼ inch buttons I’d inherited from my aunt.
I was told according to some extant examples of this blouse that they used lots of snaps and hooks & eyes instead of buttons and buttonholes. So I was happy to only have the buttons as decorations. I’m sewing snaps on the opposite side of the vestee underneath the buttons, and will have a couple hooks & eyes on some stress areas.
Today I think I trimmed my hat to where I like it. I found a white embroidered ribbon in my stash and tacked that around the crown, along with a small bow, and tucked a black feather tuft in the side over the bow.















I found these Mary Jane-style shoes at Target that I’m going to wear with this outfit now. I’ve noticed a couple photos of gowns where they’ve worn spats with this type of shoe, so I’m looking at a pattern I have for possibly making some.









While watching a movie the other night, In Love and War, based in 1918, I saw this beautiful outfit on Sandra Bullock, and took pictures of it off the screen. It’s a much fuller skirt than the one I’m making, and I love the jacket she’s wearing with the blouse collar hanging out.

The rest of the blouse is still going together fairly easily. It took me a little while to figure out how to set the vestee in. It’s sewn to the blouse opening on the right, and then the left side would have the closures. I sewed the 14 tiny buttons down both sides of the blouse/vestee, and sewed snaps on the backside of the left just underneath each button. The very top on the left wants to pull away, and I tried another snap but it still pulled. So I tried a hook and eye, but it still pulls and the hook can be seen. So now it has a snap and hook and eye, and looks better but still wants improvement. I want to make sure it has a sturdy closure since all you have to do is pull on the snaps and it will pop open.




















The cuffs were the most interesting. It has a cuff, then a folded back cuff that has lace sewn into its seam. I made a mistake with the lace when I sewed it sandwiched right sides together with the cuff and cuff facing, where not enough of the lace was left free. So only a tiny portion of it shows. But it still looked nice, so I decided that was good enough.
It was a nice change not to have overly large sleeve caps for once, and I only had to ease the sleeve into the armhole instead of gathering bunches of fabric where it looks like wings.

I’m still happy with how the hat is looking so no more changes have been made on it yet.













I must add that I adore working with this linen. It even presses nice sharp edges with your fingers. The backside of that is it wrinkles but since it’s not pure linen, it’s not too bad.
I finally finished the skirt, which just needed it’s waistband, hemming, and buttons sewn on the front fake wrap-around.
For the waistband closures, I used four hooks and eyes, and three snaps to keep it flat. The pattern calls for 3 or 4 large buttons down near the bottom. I came across a fashion print with buttons running down the full length of the skirt, and liked that better, since it’s a rather plain skirt. The buttons are 2” across, so it only took 6 of them, starting just at my hip.





















So now my outfit is done, and I get to wear it twice this month.
*Added on Nov 16*
Here I am wearing my outfit at the Armistice Day Brunch at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in San Diego.

Overall I'm happy with it but am taking in the front a little since the neckline is a little too big. I figured out all I need to do is taking the stitching out along the left side of the vestee, and just move it over. I'll be covering up one side of the tucks but the other side is still visible. So other than taking out that handstitching, re-stitching it, and re-sewing the buttons back on, it was an easy fix.
However I wasn't happy with my hat when it kept sliding forward from my low bun pushing it up. So I'll be wearing a different wig, a short curly bob, with it this Saturday at the Costumed Walkabout. I hope to get some better photos of it too.

Making Victorian mourning brooches

Recently my costume guild planned a mourning walkabout in Old Town San Diego, and with plans to wear appropriate attire. I decided to make myself a mourning brooch, using a technique I had successfully tried on an earlier costume.
After a little more thinking, I decided to make one for each of the 12 ladies attending the event. So I started at Michael’s Craft Store to look for some cameo brooches. They sell them individually for about $3 but with a coupon, can be half price. I couldn’t find a photo of the exact brooch I bought but here are some in a set on their website.

There’s usually some kind of ceramic design in the middle that you use as the base for your portrait. They come in a couple different shapes too.
So then I did a search for “Victorian portraits”, and came up with a link to some being sold on ebay. Most were cabinet portraits, and some were actual brooches for sale. I copied and saved a bunch of them that looked good, and in focus.


I made a Word Document by Inserting each portrait on the page, and shrinking it down to a size that looked like the face area would fit onto the brooch.
I made a template from the center stone of the brooches with paper, and laid it on top of each portrait to include the areas I wanted to keep on the brooch. Using a stiff vinyl or plastic template may give you a better view of the portrait before you cut it. But I didn’t have any problem doing it this way.
I used some black Americana tole paint and rubbed some of it with a paper towel along the edges of the silver brooch to age it.
Then I brushed some Modge Podge (a decoupage paste purchased at Michael’s) on the face of the cameo with my finger. I laid the cut portrait on top of it and tapped it down with a clean finger. Again using my finger, I put more Modge Podge over the top of the portrait, making sure it was all covered and wet. It looks pretty white but it will dry clear. This acts as a glue and a sealant. Nothing else is needed to finish it.
Most of the brooches had a loop for hanging it on a chain; some didn’t but had a loop as part of the frame. I wanted to make these a pinned on brooch, so I tied a narrow black velvet ribbon to each one, and at this time put a safety pin on the ribbon so the ladies could pin it to their blouses. Another option would be to glue a pin back on the back of the brooch.
This is the one I made for me.

These are the ones I made for the other ladies, and you can see the variety of shapes and designs they came in.

Here are two of us wearing our brooches in our mourning outfits.

1870s Purple Floral Polonaise

I started this gown along with two others (The Celery Polonaise & The Polkie Dot Polonaise) from the same pattern, Truly Victorian 410.


I bought the polyester fabric from the Los Angeles Garment District last year,

and flatlined it with a lightweight black twill to give it some body, just in the upper bodice area.
I planned on wearing it over a solid black silk taffeta skirt that I already had. I thought it set off the floral print on the bodice fabric better.


The polonaising in the back really came out nice and the peplum in the back



looked really crisp, but it really needed some subtle trim. And I wanted the trim to pop.
So I decided on putting a ½” pleated trim made from a wide black ribbon on it, but when I started on that, I couldn’t find the ribbon. So I made my own from my black silk taffeta. See my blog on making these trims: http://timetravelingincostume.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-pleated-trims.html




It looked really nice going around the neckline and sleeve ends but I ran it down the front of the bodice. Then it really made the buttons stand out more.

The buttons were a vintage reproduction gum drop shape from JoAnn’s Fabrics. Because the bodice edge continues down to the hem of the skirt, I knew I had to keep making more pleats. I ended up cutting 6 strips from the 60” wide taffeta to make all the pleat fabric.
I basted the pleats all along the neckline and down the front of the dress, and then around the sleeve ends. Then I top stitched it by machine close to the fabric edge.

The back over the peplum needed a bow, and I continued with using the silk taffeta and made a large bow out of it.



I looked at the dress sideways, and it really needed bows there too. So I cut out two more lengths of the taffeta, and added a large bow on each side where it gathered up on the skirt.

A hat I’d made earlier turned out to be perfect for this outfit, even down to the vintage purple flowers I had on it.


The purple doesn’t match the fabric exactly,but I liked the variety of the colors.
OK, I knew I'd not stop with just one trim, and after digging through my stash of trims, thinking I'd just find a black soutache or something, I came across a fancy beaded one on black velvet that I had lots of, and would be perfect for this gown. I really would have liked to run it all the way down the front and around the hem but because of the buttons and pleating already being there, there wasn't any room for it. I may yet find a way to add it to the hem somehow.
I only have a bit sewn so far but here it is on the neckline.

ETA on Oct 17: I wore my polonaise for the first time at a walkabout in Old Town San Diego for our A Haunting We Will Go, and I was very happy with it's completed look.

Making pleated trims

This post is kind of an addition to a previous one where I'm making a purple and black floral 1870s polonaise to wear to a Halloween Walkabout this month in Old Town San Diego. We're all wearing black mourning costumes, and along with having lunch there, we're touring some of the historical buildings and the cemetary.
I'm trying to improve my historical costuming skills by adding more trims. In the past, my gowns were rather plain. Because of this being a busy print on the fabric, I wanted my trim to be a little more subdued. So I decided on a pleated trim around the neckline and sleeves.
My first idea was to buy some wide black ribbon, and pleat it on my sewing machine with the expensive pleater foot I'd bought. Except I couldn't find the ribbon in my sewing room, which I'd just purchased a couple weeks ago. So next best thing was cut strips of black silk taffeta I had and make my own ribbon, which I'm really happy with! I cut three inch widths of it, then folded it in half and pressed.
Next I tried my expensive pleater foot *note sarcasm* but the best I could get was a rather loose 1" pleat, and it looked more like a ruffle. I know I must be doing something wrong because the photo on the box shows a lovely 1/4" pleat. But times a'wasting.
So I went back to the manual method of pleating, and found a piece of plastic zip tie that was the perfect 1/2" that I needed.
I folded in the outside end of the ribbon, laid the zip tie next to it, and folded over the ribbon, then back to create the first 1/2" pleat.

I slide the tie to the right, since pulling it through was catching on the threads with the rough edges of the tie. After pinning it down, I placed the tie next to it, and started the next fold.


It’s a slow process, and I need about 40” for where I want to trim the dress.

After I had about 30” pinned, I sewed down the pleats with my sewing machine so I could pull out all those pins, and pressed it.
I recently read that spraying a mix of ½ vinegar and ½ water on it, then pressing, will hold the pleats forever. I’m going to test this on a piece of my fabric and see if I can do it without damaging the silk.
I finished enough length of the pleats, so that I was able to pin it on my bodice to see what it’s going to look like.

I really liked it going down the front where it set off the buttons, so I decided to make more pleats and continue on down the front to the hem on both sides. I think I've now cut 6 lengths of the 60" wide silk taffeta.
Once I was done making all the pleats, I basted it along the inside edge of the neck, front closures, and sleeve ends, then top stitched it just near the edge of the fabric.
Now that that's all sewn on, instead of finishing off the raw edges of the ribbon that are on the inside of the gown, I'm going to use my scalloped scissors and trim it off. I used those before on silk taffeta and it doesn't unravel then.
*See my upcoming blog on the completion of the Purple Floral Polonaise.*

Red Floral 1770s Polonaise

This was the first gown I ever made for the 1770s. I was encouraged by a friend whom I'd met at Costume College, and who worked in Colonial Williamsburg, to make one and wear it to Williamsburg, VA, the next time we visited there. She promised to dress up with me and take me around to some costuming background locations at Colonial Williamsburg. That was enough to entice me.
Two years ago I had made a costumey version using a Butterick pattern for a costume guild event at the Marie Antoinette movie. I was unfamiliar with how the dresses were constructed and totally confused by the stomacher but this pattern wasn't meant to be historically correct. I made it from a white cotton with orange flowers, and a petticoat made of a moire white polyester. The dress was ok but not what I wanted to repeat.
At the recommendation of friends, I used Period Impressions 1770s Polonaise pattern.

Before I made the gown, I had to have the correct stays to wear under it. I used a Butterick pattern, also recommended to me, and got started on it in a class with Shelley Peters in November 2007. I made it out of a powder blue silk dupioni I'd bought in the Los Angeles Garment District. When I finally got around it finishing it 6 months later, it was too big. I took it in but later it was still too big, so I made a second one. I used the version where it ties both in front and back to make it easier to put on.


I made my muslin from the measurements it had, and the first time I tried it on, it fit. So I didn't have to do any alterations. Although a year later I did have to take in three times due to weight loss.
My fabrics were both linen blends bought in the Garment District. I bought the red floral fabric after overhearing Sally Queen recommend it to some students she had during a private tour after Costume College. Some time later I went back and bought a solid red linen to go with it. I flatlined the bodice with a lightweight twill, which made it kind of bulky, not knowing that a linen or cotton would have been more acceptable.
Here I'm wearing it while partially constructed.




I made a pocket to go under the petticoat from a brown paisly patterned cotton fabric but it's too small so I'll have to make a bigger one soon.

My reproduction shoes bought from Fugawee. I liked these because I could change the color ribbon tied on the latchets but they were too tight in the toe box so I'm having to buy a different pair of shoes.




This is Barbee and I on our carriage ride in Colonial Williamsburg in April 2009. This was right after a breeze had blown off my cap and hat, and I pulled it back on. So it's really sloppy. I found out from Janea Whitacre, who works in the Milinery Store, that I needed to cut my neckline lower. It should barely cover the top of my stays. The neckline level on the pattern is generic, and is to be cut according to each person's size. So when I got home, I started altering it. Once that is done, I hope to have another photo posted here.

The Celery/ Green Stripey 1870s Polonaise

I'm finally close to finishing the green striped polonaise. I had a deadline of today to get as much done as possible since I was going out of town. Of course having a deadline always makes you work harder.

Again, this is the pattern I used, Truly Victorian #410.
I'd seen someone else's gown who used white eyelet beading as trim around the neckline, down the front, and along the hemline. They ran a narrow ribbon matching the color in their gown through it. I tried to do the same with a matching green color but the celery green stripe was such an odd color that I couldn't find anything that matched, or even came close. So I decided on a yellow ribbon to pick up the yellow in the green color.
The openings for the ribbon to run thru the eyelet were really small, and it was taking me quite awhile to bend the ribbon to go through it. So I used a lacing needle that I'd bought to use on my corset and ran the ribbon with it. It worked out really well.

I had some vintage white buttons that I thought would look nice with this, and did machine sewn buttonholes

I'm having problems with the neckline where it buttons closed; it's a little too wide for me and it gaps out a bit. I thought I corrected that when I made up the muslin. But I think after I add a yellow bow to the top, it will cover that up.

This is without the boning in it. I've got the eyelet beading sewn along the neckline and down the front, and around the hem to the back.
And here is the side view showing the polonaise point on the side and the trim on it. I've seen this part tied back like mine is, or not tied back at all and it hangs straight. On mine I think I like the tied back look.
And my bonnet is coming along. Right now it's ready to be worn with a hat pin holding it on, which is period correct. But I've also seen it with a ribbon tying it under the chin. I might do that. The grapes are vintage and have a few holes in them but I think it gives them character. I glued a white striped translucent ribbon around the crown, and put a bow and tails on the back. The front has a similar bow and some bits of yellow velvet ribbon to tie in the yellow. I also saw one bonnet with a lace trim along the edges. I dug through my stash and found a pretty one I'm going to try. I think it needs more of something on the other side. I'm going to keep my eye out for some little yellow flowers or daisys.
I'm still sewing the boning in but looks like it will be done in plenty of time to wear for the 1870s Picnic in Wilmington (Long Beach) at the Banning Residence Museum.
UPDATE ON THE BONNET:
I found some yellow ribbon in 2" & 3" widths today, along with some tiny yellow daisies that "looked" vintage instead of plasticky. So I added those to the bonnet, and I think I can call it done now.
Side view:
Back view:
Front view: And on me: I plan on wearing my braided halo hairpiece with the chignon attached to the back with this.