What wa it with Mrs. Bamford and cloaks? Her inventory includes a ton of them! One is described as a “Goldlaced blue Sattin Cloak”, which sounded extremely luxurious and lovely. After a bit of sleuthing, I figured out that “goldlaced” didn’t mean “laced up with a gold cord” or something like that (and how do… Continue reading Never enough cloaks!
Tag: Tutorial
Silky Smooth 18th Century Cloak
The Ann Bamford Inventory saga continues! In this chapter: White silk cloaks. Mrs. Bamford seems to have had an affinity for cloaks in general, there are nine of them in her inventory, and three of them are of white silk. Why? I haven't a clue. Perhaps they were fashionable when and where she lived? Perhaps… Continue reading Silky Smooth 18th Century Cloak
Does my bum look big in this?
So, once upon I time I was signed up for a steampunk larp. Steampunk is kind of retro-scifi. Can you imagine how people used to think the future would be 150 years ago? Yup, that's steampunk. Sort of. Now, the larp was cancelled, but I still got to enjoy some period appropriate shaping underwear! The… Continue reading Does my bum look big in this?
A bit of a skirt
I like skirts. I like dresses too, but skirts are so simple to sew, and can be used with everything. I wear them on top of dresses, with blouses, sweaters, T-shirts and a cardigal... So I thought I'd teach you the simplest way of making a skirt. This is the most useful skirt. It can… Continue reading A bit of a skirt
We’ve come full circle!
I love the circle skirt. It should be on the curriculum of every school, it is the best combination of maths, arts and crafts and history ever! Did you know that the circle skirt, which was important to Christian Dior's "New Look" from 1947, was so provocative and problematic in the 1950s that Queen Elizabeth… Continue reading We’ve come full circle!
That’s (t)hat!
So, when there is only a couple of hours until you've got to be ready packed and in your car, heading for a caribbean island alá 1792... What do you do? You make a hat. Obviously. Time for a history lesson/tutorial! Broad-brimmed, low hats were really, really popular during the last part of the 18th… Continue reading That’s (t)hat!
What is indeed up in the hood?
What do you do when you live in one of Norway's wettest cities, and the forecast promises that the heavenly sluices will open on the National day, when I'm going to be parading the streets for hours? Sensible, or less patriotic, people would have stayed at home. I, however, am not a girl to miss… Continue reading What is indeed up in the hood?
THE MOST USEFUL SKIRT PATTERN YOU WILL EVER FIND!
This is not an exaggeration! Have you ever wanted a really large and nice skirt that took little time to make, that was adjustable, and that looked really fancy? LOOK NO FURTHER. 18th century petticoats, my darlings. I made two, in one evening, sewing by hand. How, you ask? Why, the secret is simple, flat… Continue reading THE MOST USEFUL SKIRT PATTERN YOU WILL EVER FIND!
About hold-in and push-up!
It took hundreds of hours and millions of stitches, but these are my hand sewn 18th century stays! And here is how they were made: I used this pattern, and did the 1780s model, as it had the supportive "flaps" over the hips to help carry the weight of petticoats and dresses. First, I made… Continue reading About hold-in and push-up!
Gore galore!
Chemise number two! Done exactly the same way as the first one, only without sleeves, and it works really well. Need ironing, other than that it's done! Here follows a small tutorial on how to do side-gores on skirts and dresses. This is by no means the only way to do this, but it's my… Continue reading Gore galore!
The Petticoated Swashbuckler 