historical costuming

Autumnal Bonfire Party: The debut of The Angelica Gown & the black Chemise a la reine

This past weekend was just amazing. On Saturday I headed down to Virginia to attend my friend Jennys autumnal bonfire party. This was an all day into the evening party in which we donned our finest frocks, and the theme was dark & spooky autumn. There was no set time period to come in, so it was lovely to see the array of historical era’s displayed. As you all know, I have been working crazy hard since October to make an 18th century Italian gown, The Angelica gown from scroop patterns, and I had already made a black chemise a la reine for the event. And they both made their debut! I put the chemise a la reine on for the first half of the day, with the angelica gown for the second. Let me tell you, the way the angelica gown looks and moves is EVERYTHING! Believe it or not, I was originally going to go with a color named Hex from the Silk Baron, but by the time I went to buy it, it was sold out. So the color of the gown, Bruja, was a color they had just released and I knew it was perfect for me. The petticoat is a shot silk petticoat in a sapphire blue that I already had. But enough babbling, let’s go to the pictures!

Finished! The purple Angelica gown

She. Is. DONE!!!! Yes yes yes yes yes yes!!! 🙌🏾 I literally got done sewing the lace tucked on maybe an hour ago, and then I hastily threw her on the dress form for pictures, but y’all! SHES FINALLY DONE! And tomorrow, she will make her debut!

So a couple of things about making this gown. 1- The silk taffeta is a color called Bruja from @silkbaron (and I’m already eyeing other colors from them for future projects). 2- I was going to make a black petticoat to go with this, but I really like the way the blue petticoat pops, jewel tones for everyone! 3-this is the second version of this gown that I made, and the 2nd time around went much smoother. The pattern is the #angelicagown from @scrooppatterns. For the sake of time since I started working on this just under two weeks ago, the bodice/sleeves/and hems are machine sewn, everything else is hand sewn. 4-the gorgeous brooch that’s pinned on the waist sash is from @dames_a_la_mode . 5-not pictured are the shoes from @americanduchess .

And with that, I am DONE with making 18th century gowns for a while, next projects up are for my husband who has been a saint in waiting. If I say that I want to do another Angelica gown in the next 12 months, slap me!!!

Progress on the Angelica Gown V.2

So I am back from the wedding in CT, and from visiting friends in MA. For the first time in 18 years I did NOT do anything for Halloween since we were driving back home Monday afternoon through the evening. But that means that today I started attaching the skirts to the bodice. Well first I had to readjust the pleating so it can fit within the 28 inch mark line , but that was relatively easy.(taffeta is a DREAM to pleat honestly!!!
And once the pleats were adjusted and pinned, it was time to actually attach the skirts. Using silk thread for the very first time made a world of difference! I also learned that you should typically sew with the type of thread that your fabric is: so cotton to cotton, linen to linen, silk to silk, etc. This is news to me 😂
I have until Friday evening to get this finished. I still have to sew the rest 50% of the half of the skirt to the bodice, cut the sleeves and sew them, sew the straps, and hem this gown, and my black chemise a la reine. For the sake of time and my sanity, I will be using my sewing machine to hem it.
Tomorrow I plan in running by JoAnn fabrics for items for product photography for a couple of small businesses, but also to see if I can find a lightweight sheer cotton that would work as a fichu. I got the white fabric that I’m wearing for this one pictures below .

Oh! And I still have to make two petticoats to wear each gown! I have faith!!!
After all this sewing for myself, I’m going to start working on a couple of projects for my husband. Including an 18th century waistcoat, a sleeved waistcoat, and a new shirt.
Oh! November letters for my $10 tier patrons will be going out VERY soon!

It’s Done!: The Angelica Gown (Mockup Version)

So it took just under three weeks, but the Angelica gown is done. HOORAY! (I repeat, HOORAY!). Even though I’ve been sewing and doing historical costuming for years, this gown was the first truly historical pattern I attempted, and boy did it kick me in the butt. I tend to take a lot of shortcuts and do what I want to do when it comes to sewing and using patterns, but this one has shown me that I can’t do that all the time UNLESS I already know what I’m doing. For example, I can knock a regency gown out with a sewing machine in under 2 days.

A couple of things I have learned from making this gown:

1-Historical patterns are VASTLY different from modern commercial patterns.

2-Some things just NEED to be hand stitched. I’m used to taking shortcuts and machine-sewing everything. NOT with this gown!

3-Hand sewing is not all that bad. I used to hate it but found out that I’m quite quick with it once I get a good rhythm going and focus

4-PRESS. OPEN. SEAMS. Trust me on this.

Now, the dress still needs to be hemmed, which I can do at any time since it’s a wearable mock-up, but other than that it is done! Here are some pictures:

Also, can we get a round of applause for these pictures taken by my 11 year old? Looks like she is following in my footsteps as a wedding photographer!

Now that the mock-up is done, I feel way more confident in starting the real version, and cutting into my silk baron tafetta! I have an event to go to on the 5th, and the theme is dark and moody. So although I already have a black chemise a la reine (which still needs to be hemmed), I am EXTRA, so I want a second gown to change into. But if it doesn’t get done, then I’ll be changing into edwardian.

Wish me luck and happy sewing!

Work in progress: The Angelica Gown

What can I say about this gown? For one, it’s the first actual historical pattern that I have ever worked on, and if you know me, you know that patterns and I never work out. Secondly, this thing has different techniques that I have never heard off PLUS there’s a ton of hand sewing.

So I started the mock up for this gown by Scroops Patterns and Virgil’s Fine Goods two weeks ago. It is being made out of a honey colored linen with a white Muslim lining for the bodice. Haven’t quite decided on the color of the petticoat yet, but I’m thinking of a black one since I kind of need one anyway, and maybe one with a gorgeous African print.

Here are parts 1 and 2 of the progress:

@themarisazimmerman1
♬ In My Blood – Vitamin String Quartet

@themarisazimmerman1
I will admit, the beginning of this project had me STRESSED, but it’s nice to see everything starting to come together. More handstitching on the bodice before I move onto the skirts!
♬ Bittersweet Symphony – Vitamin String Quartet

So now with the pleating on the skirts done, I need to baste them down to keep them in place, and then comes the exciting part aka stressful part: attaching the bodice to the skirts! I am so so nervous to do this. But I need to get it done, because I have to turn around and do this all over again with the main fabric. Let me show you! It’s called Bruja by The Silk Baron and it is seriously gorgeous! Perfect for my spooky themed costume meet up coming up in November (let’s hope I can get it done before then though!)

As far as the petticoat, I’m going to do with a simple black one so it can go with the mock up version and real version. May add some decorative ruffle trim, we shall see!

Other than that, I have to get the monthly rewards (wax sealed letters for my patrons done this weekend, along with a wedding tomorrow. Let’s hope the rain from this storm holds off so my couple can get some gorgeous sunset images.

So that’s it for now. Wish me luck in the finishing of this gown!

1950s style

So with the first week of my #28DaysOfHistorifalDress done, I wanted to show off the looks I wore for the first week. Let me just say this, I felt so beautiful! I always feel beautiful when I’m in vintage/historic stuff rather than modern, but something about putting a look together and taking the extra time to do my hair and makeup to fit the aesthetic, was worth it. I received so many compliments whenever I went out. The teachers at my kids school loved seeing me come in with a new look each day. So without further ado, here they are

So as you can see, day 7 started with Edwardian. I also have videos of the outfits on my Instagram & TikTok under the “28 Days of Historical Dress playlists.

This week I will be doing more Edwardian era looks, complete with the big hats! So if you want to see the process of all of that, including sewing my two Edwardian skirts, belts, and corset covers then check out my IG, it’ll be a few days before I update here again.

Happy sewing & costuming!