theplushseamstress

2024 Sewing Projects

So 2023 was…let’s just say, a very interesting but taxing year for me. I had so many projects I wanted to do, but health issues and other things pretty much kept me in survival mode. But I am hoping for 2024 to be better! Especially in regards to my historical sewing and crafting! So here is what I want to do!

Do a better job at documenting and recording my sewing process for my projects.
Take high quality photos of my finished projects (as a professional photographer who can pull magic no matter what space I am in, I am embarrassed that I can’t photograph myself well! 😅)
Complete at least two full 18th century outfits for my husband (one for daytime wear, and a fancier one for balls and dinners.)
Complete at least two regency era outfits for my husband (again, for daytime/nightime).
Make proper underpinnings for my daughter (who literally won’t stop growing! 😂)
Make my daughter her pink regency gown to match mine.
Make an 18th century gown for my daughter.
Make an 18th century outfit and a regency outfit for my son (he keeps getting taller, but he still can fit into a size 4-6 kids at the waist, even thought he is 9)
Make two wigs. 1 is inspired by Queen Charlotte’s In Bridgerton, and and another 18th century updo wig.
Sew the Amalia jacket and a petticoat for a Galentines Day tea with my friends in February.
Sew a zone front robe a la anglaise
Sew a Robe à la française
Make all the hats I want! Edwardian, Victorian, 18th century- I want it all!
At least 1-2 daytime regency gowns
Redo my purple velvet open robe
Sew a Victorian evening/ball gown to wear to a fancy dress dinner that my friend is hosting
Get over my fear of my serger and learn how to use it 😅
Possibly take on some commissions

I find that making an inspiration board for a project helps immensely, I’ve done two so far:

This was the finished open robe. I plan on detaching the skirt and reworking the pleating.

This is my upcoming project for an event in February.

Georgian January-Day 5

So for Day 5 of #georgianjanuary2024 it is: Town. here are two photos in the towns we visited. The first one is at a colonial tavern called @jessopstavern, which is located in the town of #historicnewcastledelaware . The second was from our anniversary trip to the @innboonsboro , in the town of Boonsboro, Maryland. Both places, I love dearly. Jessops has AMAZING food! And the InnBoonsboro has themed rooms based of famous literary couples. We stayed in the Darcy & Elizabeth room.

Georgian January 2024

georgianjanuary2024 Day 4 is Travels. So it’s is my goal to go to Venice for Carnevale, but in the meantime-I’m stuck here. But a highlight of my 2023 was when I went to Harrisburg for a book signing and interview for the Queen Charlotte series, and @juliaquinnauthor saw my outfit, and asked to take a picture with ME! I was totally fangirling. I also got to meet @matta_of_fact , whom I follow on twitter and love her videos. After the book signing, I went to a really cool air b&b that had themed rooms (and cats to pet), and enjoyed some food and wine and got some rest before traveling back to Delaware.

Making a Regency Era Open Robe

Yall know i love all things Bridgerton, So watch me make a velvet open robe to wesr over my satin gown. The fabric is from the silk baron, and its an absolute dream to sew with. Although it wasnt finished completely, im glad how it turned out, so i will be finishing it once i complete other projects.

Georgian January 2024-Day 3

Today’s post is fauna. So for this day, I didn’t really know what to post, but I just saw the post that @modernmantuamaker did with her muff, so that’s what I’m going with. My muff is not actually a muff, but a vintage stole that I got a few years back when I randomly stopped at an antique store after doing blood work 😂. In fact, on my Facebook memories, this picture was taken when my husband and I went to a colonial restaurant in #historicnewcastle called @jessopstavern . So yeah, all I did was just fold the stole in half and pin it so it can stay in its shape, and voila! A muff for my chemise a la reine!

Georgian January 2024 (Days 1 & 2)

So over on Instagram, one of the amazing historical costumers that I follow, TheModernMantuaMaker is hosting her #GeorgianJanuary2024, in which everyday there is a prompt and you post an image in your Georgian era/18th century clothing. I typically don’t stick to challenges for more than two weeks 😅, but I hope to this year. Here are the prompts!

And here is what I have posted so far on my Instagram:

Day 1: I rarely stick to all the days for challenges like this-but let’s get Day 1 of #georgianjanuary2024 started with #opening | I’m Marisa. I’m 3 pandas in a trenchcoat masquerading as a human. I’ve been costuming for A LOOOONG time, but I do take a lot of shortcuts and usually do my own thing when it comes to pattern drafting and such. I didn’t get into #18thcenturyfashion until I hopped on the #hamiltonmusical train like 2-3 years after it came out, and since then I’ve been hooked. Last year was my first year at making an actual 18th century gown using a period pattern (the #angelicagown from @scrooppatterns), and using actual historical sewing techniques (I STITCHED THE MOCK UP AND THE FINAL VERSION ABOVE LIKE 85% BY HAND!). It he running joke is I have a chaotic sewing goblin in me that will bust out sewing an ensemble right before an event so I can get that ADHD dopamine hit as I enter crunch time 😂 The next ensemble that I am going to be working on is a 1790s ensemble to wear to a galentines tea with friends in February. And damnit-one of my resolutions is to sew a little each day so I’m not waiting until the last minute! 😅

Day 2: Day 2 of #georgianjanuary2024 is #flora. So, don’t judge my mirror, that thing somehow always has fingerprints no matter how many times I clean it (I blame my kids). But here is one of my 18th century pockets that I purchased a kit for a looooong time ago, forgot about it, found it, finished it, lost it, found it again, and here we are! #18thcentury #18thcenturyfashion #historicalcostumer

Watch me make wax seals

Wax Seals!

I absolutely love wax seals, and wax sealed letters. It makes me feel…fancy. Like I’m a character in a Jane Austen novel.

Anywho! I had a bunch of holiday cards to mail out, plus the December letters for my Patreon subscribers. I decided to get crazy and mix a lot of colors, and I love how they turned out!

If you like receiving wax sealed letters, I do offer two tiers on my Patreon. You can receive one wax sealed letter at the $3 tier , and monthly wax sealed letters at the $10 tier. Check out my Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/TheMarisaZimmerman1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hey everyone! I hope that you had an amazing new year! Ours was pretty low-key. We dressed up in some spiffy 1950’s clothing and hung out with our friends and sang musicals and had yummy beverages. So to update you all, January letters for the the monthly letter tier should be mailed out by next week. I need to buy more envelopes (which is cool, because I really love stationery). My first costumed outing of the year is coming up this Saturday. I am doing an Edwardian themed stroll at a gorgeous garden/historic location in Delware-Winterthur Gardens. I still need to finish the fur capelet (which I am converting from a faux fur jacket that was slightly too small), and convert a gorgeous white skirt I found on Amazon into pantaloons. I have A LOT of projects for 2023, and many of them include updating & adding to some of my current gowns. I started to write out a list of the projects I want to do, but I know how my brain works, and new projects will be added all the time. But in the meantime, here are some of the projects that I want to tackle:

-Finish my husbands 18th century waistcoat -Make a SECOND waistcoat out of the really pretty fabric that I purchased from SIlk Baron

-Add ruffled trim to my two 18th century hats -Make ruffled trim and sew on to my purple Angelica gown -Make the 18th century Amalia jacket and a new petticoat

-A new spring Edwardian era ensemble

-18th Century, Regency, and Edwardian pieces for my children (they grow so dang fast!)

After January, we have an event in February, that will double up as our anniversary trip. We are going to the Milford Regency ball, which helps fund activities at the Milford Senior Center. We are making a whole weekend of it by staying at the Mansion Farm Inn, only a few minutes away! I absolutely cannot wait! I already have a gown that I plan on wearing, my pink regency gown that I made to go see Mr. Malcoms List (by the time we were scheduled to meetup in our regency outfits, the movie was already out of theaters). I don’t know if I am going to add on to the current gown, or make an overdress to go with it. But we shall see!

2022 costuming year in review

My costuming year in review! This year I made the most ensembles and went to the most events that I ever did. I love this little #costumingcommunity 💜 Looking forward to #2023 – my projects will be bigger and better, and hopefully there will be more awesome events! (I may take my hand at hosting another one!)

Making an Edwardian Capelet Pt. 1

I am going to a costumed stroll with friends in January, and I can’t wait. Now while I have an ensemble already, I desperately needed outwear. My originally plan was to make a capelet out of wool, but when I saw this faux fur coat in Goodwill, I knew that I could turn it into a capelet. I actually left the store without it, got home and sat for about 20 minutes, before deciding to go back! This is what it looks like:

So to convert this, I first cut out the lining from the jacket, and then used a seam ripper to open up the arm seams all the way down the side seams.

I then laid the open sleeves flat, and pinned them to both side seams of the jacket, basically making the sleeves into gores. This now turned a jacket that was a bit too small for me into a capelet that closes all the way in the front. I also cut out the pockets, but left the pocket slits open so I can have a place to slip my hands through.

Now all that’s left to do is stitch up the seams (they are currently clipped together right now), and sew on two pieces of ribbon to the collar so I can tie it closed. I am torn between a wide black satin ribbon or a thinner velvet ribbon. So based on a lot of the garments I have seen, the length of this should be a bit shorter, so I may cut it to even the length out, but I am not sure. I have until the end of December to decide. I still need to make a muff to go with this though. I have the sleeves from a friends fur coat that he wanted me to cut the sleeves off, so I can do that.

But all in all, this project is coming along quite well, and I’m sure that hand stitching the seams with silk thread will go along quickly.

I’ll be sure to post it when it’s done.