Organizing My Fabric Stash and Projects

So I have tons of projects I want to create...

But its so hard especially without having a dedicated room to craft/sew. 

I am relegated to a corner of the den.

Unfortunately, that also means that 'lil bit' can (if she's being especially Indiana Jones like) climb over the rubber maid tote wall I placed in her path to keep her away from the many dangerous sewing implements I tend to use.... scissors, straight pins, irons...

So I have had to come up with a crafty (get it??? haha) way to keep her safe and my projects organized and in their place.

Besides being a "bin hoarder' as my dear husband calls me, I tend to try and group my projects and all their accoutrements in a bag (zip lock, reusable totes, homemade bags).

So I take the fabric, pattern, and any trims I will need and stuff it in a bag.

This keeps my project all in one place and helps me visualize my steps to complete the project.

It works most of the time unless I forget to update my pattern book (book with a picture and yardage list for each of the patterns I own). If that happens and I think of a new project I want to do, there might be a bit of panic as I think I misplaced, lost or did not buy a specific pattern!

Fool proof? 

No, but it works for me.

But, ohh what I would give for one of these!!!!

Fill it with baskets and place each project in its own cubby!!

Awesome sauce ! 

My Sewing + Historical Costuming Obsession= Broke

I always have to stop in a fabric store !

I can't ride past, even if I'm not driving I automatically request that hubby pull over so I can 'run in real quick' an check out what they have...

Lol...

 Not so great when unemployed and living off one salary!

So, I try to give myself a budget for every month.

Typically, I don't spend that much but I end up rolling it over to the next month.

Oh, and don't forget the wonders of thrift stores !

Goodwill has been very good to me the last couple times I popped in for a quick glance around.

Some people don't have that luxury budget to purchase silks and the like.

So I tend to haunt three different locations in my area the SAS Fabric store ( several locations) , Joann's Fabrics and Goodwill. 

SAS Fabrics has a plethora of trims and relatively cheap prices items.

 Satin and taffeta is typically $2.99 a yard and velvet is $7.99 for the cheap stuff and $9.99 for the silk blend!

I was able to score this gorgeous albeit bright taffeta plaid for a mere $1 a YARD!!

Goodwill is great because typically they don't realize that the fabrics they are marking for $2.99 or the like is a silk or brocade or wool or that's it 3-6 yards! 

Score for me! 

I picked up a couple pieces I really liked, this pretty paisley was only .99 cents and it was almost a yard and a half.

You have to choose your 'battles' so I try to really think hard on if I actually 'need' the fabric to finish a project. My sewing sensibilities always tells me to get it!

Me vs Fabric 

Fabric Wins every time! 

Till later !

I'm Alive-- Promise!!

Things have been hectic and although I haven't had time to blog I most definitely have been sewing.

Some things being sewn unsuccessfully others came out pretty spiffy if I do say so myself. 

I shall post a actual real blog post soon.

I just have to get pictures of all the stuff I've made lately!

Besides the year is almost over and I need to plan for next year!

For example:

CoCo 15 ......  YAY!!!!

AZ Renaissance Faire

And hopefully a couple other events...

We shall see :) 

In the mean time I will leave you with this pretty dress. I'm really loving the late 1890's look right now!

What say you ?

Yay or Nay ??

My Lil Bit Gets Costumed!

I've made a to do list for my 'lil bit' as well! 

Whether I get to them all who knows...

I do have to say that patterns for infants/toddlers (other than animals & flowers) is rather limited. 

That being said this necessitates that my patterns be self made and or from larger adult patterns I've worked with and have been able to scale down.

So to prepare I've been doing a lot of searching on Pinterest and created a board called Children's Historical Garb

And this is My 'Lil Bit's' Costume To Do List:

• Late Victorian jacket (possibly a matching dress)
  
  

  

  I have several options for black trim but they are packed away! I'll provide an update soon! Gotta work out a pattern...

  
  

  
  

• 
  

  

  Augusta Auctions 1810's Regency Dress

  
  

Such cute inspiration dresses! 

I picked up the above 100% Cotton Prints from Walmart for $2 dollars a yard!!! 

$4 bucks for each of her little dresses! 

Can't beat those prices.. 

 `````````````

As a side point I've also have seen some of the most adorable child's boots ever! 

I don't know if it will be possible to make but these boots are Precious!!

Maybe if I find the leather and a website on shoe making....?

We shall see!

Ta ta till later ....

A 'Lil Red Riding Hood' for 'Lil Bit'

So, after completing a Ladies Jacket and Anglaise Gown for myself I had some yardage left over. 

What to do! 

Make 'lil bit' a outfit!!!! 

So I started searching the MET, Pinterest and one of my Colonial Williamsburg books. 

And I found these pictures...

Embroidered Linen Dress 18th C. Front

Back of Embroidered Linen Dress

 

Glazed Cotton Dress 18th C. 

 After finagling the remaining pieces of fabric I was able to work out the shape needed. 

What pattern did I use??? 

Why my 'Lil Bit', of course!!! When she woke up this morning after hugs, kisses, and some juice to start her day; she gladly obliged to my request to lay down on mommy's fabric. I simply traced her body out making sure to keep her arms straight out. 

From studying and enlarging the pictures researched, several things became apparent; 1) there were no front princess or waist seams, 2) the sleeves were not separate pieces, 3) there were only side seams, a somewhat pleated side and back at the waist area. 

Unfortunately,  I did not have enough fabric to make all the pleats in the skirt so I simplified my dress. I cut the back a tad too wide and made a box pleat at the top neck and ended it about waist length.

I rolled the neck hem and slip stitched it down.
The front and hem are folded twice and slip stitched as well. I wanted to be able to simply un-hem the front or hem to add extra width/length if she needed it.

On the extant dress and the descriptions provided with them, no obvious closures are discussed. Since I do want to be able to let out the gown I don't want anything to permanent and I didn't want to use pins. (Too dangerous for a toddler). So I will probably be adding some type of threaded loops with ribbon to laced down and close it at center front. 

With the dress 90% done I couldn't leave her with out her outerwear!

So I quickly cut a cape out of some red wool remnants.

Again, fabric was limited so the front panels are a little skinny.

The hood is lined with some white taffeta I found in my scrap bin.

The casing for the ribbon ties is bias tape, which has been stitched to the top inside selvage edge and slip stitched down.

I also used bias tape to hem the bottom. 

Here's a picture of 'lil bit' running away cause she didn't want to try on the cape.....

She's quick!! 

Hopefully, I can find some linen in my stash to make a bonnet and a petticoat or chemise to go with the outfit. 

Then we can take a picture of it all together!!

My Updated 2014-2015 Sewing List .... Why? Because I Think I'm Superwoman!

An continuation of my previous post...

Every year I try to make a to do list of the dresses I would like to create. 

Either I've purchased some fabric that I just must sew into a historical costume or upon perusing the infinite black hole of Pinterest, I come across a gorgeous extant gown, fashion plate or painting of the era...and I am smitten or hooked on recreating it (this doesn't mean recreating it to a 't' but more like the general feeling or major components of the gown).

Anyway, My Updated To-Do List

50's style dress Butterick 4790

Kirtle and Skirt

1860's Striped Work/Day Dress

Pink Regency Gown

Green and White Stripe Regency Day Dress w/ Chemisette

Black and White Plaid Regency Bib Front Day Dress w/Detachable Sleeves

Black Regency Bonnet

Pink Polka Dot Sari (For Costume College Ice Cream Social 2015)

Beauty & The Beast -Belle - Disney Princess of the 16th Century Concept Dress (Costume College 2015 Project)

1910's Walking Suit (Wearing History's 1910 Sew Along)

White Regency Day Gown

White Regency Evening Gown

Late 1880's Victorian Corset - Grey & Black (Truly Victorian )

1910's Edwardian Corset - Lilac and White Stripe W/ White Lace (Links to a Blog with Pattern & Directions!) 

I still have other items that keep popping into my head but these are the main ones.

I also have a UFO List (Unfinished Outfits)

And an 'lil bit' Costume List

Yikes!!!!

But that will be my next post.

Colonial America for The First Africans

Colonial America

 

Some of my earliest memories in social studies or American history class are about the 13 colonies and the several major Native American Indian tribes located in the areas colonized by the newly arriving European settlers. One of the major and only African American names mentioned is Phillis Wheatley. Born in 1753, Phillis was a young Senegalese girl of 7 or 8 when she was kidnapped and shipped to the colonies; she was eventually sold to the Wheatley family in Boston. Purchased to be a companion or slave to Susanna the wife of John Wheatley, Phillis was given various opportunities that were not offered to many of her counterparts. Phillis apparently suffered from ailments (which kept her mistress Susanna from training her as a house servant) and prompted Susanna to teach Phillis reading, writing, theology, Greek and Latin. 

Phillis eventually published her first and only book of poems and was able to travel to England to promote them. Unfortunately, soon after her return to the colonies both Susanna and John died. Phillis was given her freedom upon John's death in 1778 and eventually married a freed black man. Tragically all three children they would have died in infancy and her husband spent time in prison for debt. Phillis would later take a job as a maid and eventually die herself in 1784 at the seemingly tender age of 31. 

 
Phillis Wheatley Monument in Boston 

Phillis obviously seems to be an exception to the rule (for not only black Americans of the time but also women) but many people do not know that most early Africans transported to the colonies arrived as indentured servants not slaves. In 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. "However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in 1641 and Virginia in 1661 –and any small freedoms that might have existed for blacks were taken away. As demands for labor grew, so did the cost of indentured servants. Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land." Phillis's abduction in 1753 coincided with the turn in ideology and treatment of Africans in the colonies. 

Still, freed blacks did live in the colonies and although they wouldn't have had the gorgeous robe a la francaise or anglaise we adore and see in museums across the world, a short jacket or a  caraco (passed down or of a plain fabric) would have been worn (made of linens or possibly cotton) as cotton production was getting under way in the south. 

Some Examples of Ladies  Jackets:

Pattern Used: J.P. Ryan

A Fine Collection of
Ladies' Jackets
for Undress Wear

This very special J. P. Ryan pattern contains 10 pattern pieces which may be combined to create an entire wardrobe of 18th century jackets.  Four views are given, each for a different time period.    Because all the pattern pieces, i.e. sleeves, cuffs, backs and front, were designed to fit together, you may create additional styles, based on your own personal research.

 

My work in progress: 

I still need to create a hem for the fichu and a cap for my hair. 
Items still on my to-do list.

Which reminds me I need to post my Costume To-Do List for 2014 and possibly The Historical Fortnightly Sew Along Details. 

Till Later.. ta ta!  

Source Material

Phillis Wheatley. [Internet]. 2014. The Biography Channel website. Available from:http://www.biography.com/people/phillis-wheatley-9528784 [Accessed 08 Feb 2014].

www.pbs.org