Time for some new rump support

So the last time, I had some spare time left, and because I don't have all the materials for my new costume for in april, I did what I do more if I have leftovers and some patterns to match with it. I'm cleaning my stash and make some new undie's for under the costumes. This time it was some support I needed. So I made from the same fabric like my regency apron (the leftover from the fabric where perfect for this two little projects) an bumroll and an bumpad. This especially for tudor and baroque dresses, and the pad more for edwardian dresses. I'm planning to make perhaps also an late 18th century bumpad, because i'm planning to make a late 18th century dress. 

Why I made them? Not only because Some underpinnings needed replacement, but because if I'm going to make a compleet new outfit an other time, I don't have to make all the new underpins, time saving, and for this time well spended. 

So a few weeks ago I made first the bumroll, and yesterday the bumpad. 

 I know, I made begin this year my baroque gown, so why would I made the bumroll so late? My first bumroll was last minute made. Just before the gala, nobody would see the ugly little creature, and so I made the first roll from an old pantyhose filled with leftover fabric, he served me two times and after that he died. I was always planning to make a decend one, but never came the moment. Untill a few weeks ago. So this is the result. 

 

 I used the pattern from simplicity 2621, an tudor-ish pattern. Really historical accurate I don't think so, but with the bumroll you cannot do much wrong. 

It was not difficult to make it, only two pieces, so in les than an hour you have a new bumroll. 
So why didn't I make a proper one in the first place? I stuffed the pantyhose the same evening as the gala, in an hotel room.... 

It are the same stripes as the regency apron, old pink with light grey stripes. I made also an embroidery reticule from the fabric, but that is for another post. 
















So for the Bumpad, I was more planning to make an new 1887 dress first before I would planning to make an 1903 dres, but for both dresses I know what it would look like and just because I have to make an compleet new outfit, underwear, corset, outerwear, etc. I wanted some of the things spread over time. So when times come for the costume, it would no longer be a big pill of things to make in a few weeks. 

For the 1887 dress, it means I going to make an new bustle as well, I have an short one, but this time I would see some longer and bigger one, perhaps lobstertail.

 It was not in the patterns, but I like ruffles, it was only to late that I realized that this thing is going under the corset so the ruffles was no fuction -.-" Yeah, it is clear I haven't research this era like I have done with other era's, because I hadn't the intention for making an costume from this era. That changed.

So I made the bumpad from Truly Victorian E01 an 1903 edwardian corset pattern, it comes with bumpad and bust improvers to improve the S-curve more. The bust improvers scares me a little bit, because the look like short sausages. I don't like sausages. 

maybe I order the bust improvers from wearing history, they look cute. But that is for another time. 

And here you see are the stripes back again. It was the last of the leftovers, so there is more space for in my stash. That means: new fabrics! 


I'm very happy with these two new underpins, they where fun to make and not difficult, and the stripe is and linen, so very comfortble to wear. 







Till the next time. 

going vintage

It is almost a year ago that I decided to change my garderobe. Not only because I weare the same old clothes since I was 15-17, Yes I'm very frugal, and yes Sometimes I bought something new, but still, there are things that I have, and still weare from another decade, haha. Not old enough to beeing vintage. 

But after almost a year when I decided, it going very slow to change the old with the new-old. I have an small wallet, so buying new shoes and other stuff to make the picture compleet, I don't have. I have 2 pair of shoes that are vintage appropriate, one pair of heels and a pair of flat oxfords. For now it is alright, but for upcoming summer I like to see a pair of sandals. Later on that. 

I began my new garderobe with new pants and a flower skirt, this in 1930'- 1940's style. these where already made clothes, only the skirt I made some adjusments to look more 1945's 

So this was the skirt I found in a second hand shop and made only an adjusment on the front. 

You see, like the skirts on the right picture, I stiched the pleated front for a part sewn up.

For the top, I came a cross this picture online, when I was researching for 1940's blouses and tops. It was the drindl top in the middle what took my intrest, because I had already an high drindl top in my closet. So for me first blouse I was settled for the first combination of last spring. 











 



Soon I found a shop close by my previous appartment where the sold new retro clothes, for me It was a little bit to much pastel and baby collors ( I like more darker colours, still a bit a gothic haha) , but there I found my first 1940's pants and heels. Till today, these pants are my favorite piece I wear. 

The shoes I bought from my birthday money, come from an american company, you can find more on there website http://shop.misslfire.com/vintage-inspired-shoes/womens-shoes/Bernie?colour=black

I find it a pity they don't deliver private in Belgium of the Netherlands. 

In the meantime, I was looking and collect vintage and new vintage patterns, because the hole part of this was that I could make my one clothes. 

 

So I began last spring with the first two things. The simplicity 3688 skirt, the fabric that I had used was a dissapointment, so I don't think I gonna ever wear it. But the reviews of the skirt, pants and blouse are very good, so I will give the skirt another try with another better fabric. I'm also planning to make the jacket from the pattern, but finding reviews of it is very difficult. Only the adaptation of American Duchess was nice to read, okay, hers is more based on an original 1935 pattern. 

I want to try the blouse and pants as well, but for pants I find another great pattern. 

Nope! Nope! Nope! I don't like how the skirt is falling, So The skirt can go in an dark place in my closet and come out when he knows what he did wrong. 

For the blouse, I wear it here, but after good looking I wasn't happy how it felt on the back and front. My torso is little bit short in compering with my legs, and entirelly that piece from shoulder to buste. So the result was a baggy back, not the smooth version that you know of the simplicity 1590 

So I altered the shoulder line and the problem was solved, only it took me an half year before I had make the change on the blouse. 


But now I need a new skirt for under the blouse, because these typical shoulder line is not something from the early 1940's but made he's entry when the New Look in 1948 appeared. I need to make a total different skirt than the skirt I made in the picture above. The simplicity 3688 pattern is an remake off an original from the year 1941, mid war when fabric was short. So To match the blouse, there is need for a more voluminous skirt. 

 Here is the blouse altered. It fits now. 


It is made from two fabrics, the under fabric is an very good well kept, around 50 year old ecru white silk. This fabric got I from a friendly lady in my village and how follows me for my costumes. I was very suprised when shee gave me the fabric, because is was more than a few metres.

After 1948 the fashion changed repidly, the skirts were again longer because there was more fabric again. With the war years there was almost nothing left and it took mostly a year after war before this was changed. 

I took this picture because it is a good example, for the shoulder line, skirt lenght and fulness. 











 


 Here another example from the shoulder line and the longer skirts. 
I like the drop off shoulder line very much, I hope I have soon a machting skirt with it, perhaps maybe with christmas.













In the summer I found this blouse in the same second hand shop as where I found my flower skirt, It had the same typical shoulder line as, the shown above pictures. 

I'm planning to make some marine blue  shorts from the wearing history smooth sailing pattern for this blouse. 

And because I was more planning to make some shorts because I have only one pair off short pants... and he is also to big, I want some more off these shorts. 

I finished yesterday, the first pair as try out. 

 I used the Wearing History smooth sailing sport tog 1930's pattern, within is a blouse and pants, with an option for shorts and a belt. 

Because I only found reviews of the long pants and the blouse I dind't know how the shorts look like when finished. 

The fit from the pants is everywhere I looked discribed as "the best pants ever!" 

And yes, it is true. Even because mine are short, the fitting is ridiculous perfect! 

So these are mine short pants, the first pair. I choose a pinstrepe because if failed, pinstrepe I can find everywhere. These fabrics I had already in my stash, and because I have a fine orange-red tartan waiting at this moment to be made as the second pair of shorts, I dind't want to fail the tartan because I can't find it anymore. 



I chose for the buttons because it make it a little bit more innocent and less boring. I made a litte adjusment, I wanted pockets (duh), So these pants have pockets. In the original pattern there are no pockets, what can seen as an minus point, but drawing some pockets en cut a point of your pattern is not so difficult. 

I can't wait to make more of these pants, and very curious for the blouse. 

This tartan would be the second pair of upcoming shorts :)















So this is what I have got ready, not very much, but is an beginning. Because winter is half trough when I have the time to make something, I though let begin with the summer clothes, then you have youre summer closet ready. 

So hopily until next time. 

Greets Jessie.

1906 yellow child dress (for adult)

So with this post I will describe my first sewing instruction. It is for a short thriller movie called: Painted. And is directed by Laurens Van Der Veken. The setting of the movie is in het year 1908 and the character where I had to make the dress for was a very sweet young women with autism, her brother is a docter and because in that time they dind't now anything about autism she is declared psychotic  by her brother. So he held her short, and because of that she is treated as a child.

Her dress is child a like with very soft colors of yellow to symbolize her innocence. The brother and her (christine) where from a rich important family, but like many other family's in that time they lost there fortune. 

The dress is therefor inspirered from the fashion two years before the year of the movie, it has the look of they wanted to look rich, but they had no more money for rich fabrics like silks and stuff. But found a tailor that they could pay for a dress well made. So the dress it self has little details of aging, button repairs, ruffle fraying, fabric that look at it self a little bit old. But not to extreme to look like a poor women. 

So here is my drawing for her. Child fashion of 1906 had little poof in the upper sleeve, but because we wanted that she looked like she was treaten as al little child I made some aspects a little bit more extreme, so there for the sleeves look more 1890's than more 1900's. It has to lean forwart almost like she is a doll, but not quite. For the same reason I made her skirt height a little bit higher that was acceptable for that time. The volume is there for than more wider that was seen in that time. But I wanted to hold on the S-line of that time. So her blouse has some volume in de front part and het skirt has a little bit more volume in de buttocks part.

The patterns I drafted partly myself and some I used from more commercial patterns, it has a nice balance and you have to search wich patterns I used. I had to remodel every commercial pattern I used for this dress to look like the design. So for after all, I used 3 commerical patterns, wich are al remodelt because they dind't had from natural the right look. Only the belt is mostly original, I only had to shorten the size. The pattern of the skirt is a draft from my hand. and for the blouse I used 2 different patterns and drafted a new piece extra. 

So I used:
Truly Victorian TV491 a 1893 blouse waist, I used the bodice and sleeve, redrafted the sleeve and draften an extra pattern piece for the front

simplicity 1772 a steampunk pattern, but I only used the pattern piece for the under sleeve what I extended and the sleeve is with a real button closure and not a fake one. 

butterick B5970 a 1900's patterns but I used only the patterns for the belt, what I shorten for the girl I made it. 

So I began with the skirt, I first drafted the pattern and made it before I began on the patterns for the blouse and belt. 


 


 Sorry for the terrible light, there is no better light in my work space for this moment. 

So the pieces go like very smooth in each other, the skirt is here a little bit to long, so after that I shorten it a bit. The skirt has a innerlining, so it is a skirt with 2 layers of fabric.

The back is pleated, but the skirt has a very round, almost a 1950's sort of volume and the side panels and back panels are like 1/4 of a cirkel. The pleats ensure that the back has a little more space for a little bump. 

You see that I alraidy used my undergarments. There is a puffer under it, a simple petticoat and even a little bumppad. 

So when I finished the length of the skirt, I sewed a little ruffle on it and some lace for a bit of decoration. The fullness of the skirt improves when I shorten it, and the look was more true on the design. 

 So the back is also better in look. Sorry for the mannequin, he was already a bit slanting. 

So after I made the skirt I began to put together the patterns for the belt. It was not very difficult. 

I dind't make photo's of the progress of the belt, because it was only follow the instructions of the pattern. 
















 After the belt I began with the blouse, the basics for the bodice where to big for the girl I was sewing for. So I had to remodel the pieces, and made a total new front panel. 

 























You can see the differents between the left and right picture. The left photo is taken before I altered the bodice to more fitting propotions for the girl. It was less poofy and sloby after the alterations.


 






















So here are the differents between the fronts. You see the bodice is not yet finished, but it take slowly his form. So when I was sure of the fitting I worked on the front panel, the bright yellow stroke was not yet finished and because I had to alter the shoulder fitting it was something I had to do later. 

When the bodice fitting was ready I sewed the buttons, and because the character was a girl with not a lot money, I gave it some history to use three different buttons. Sometimes people lose buttons and not every time you find the right buttons back. 

 The same thing I did with the sleeves, I used more than one kind of button. 

The sleeves where something horrible to put together. And because it was the last thing I did for the costume put it off a little bit. It was something I never had seen clear in my mind how I wanted to make it. 


 Here you see also a detail off the belt, I like the shape of it, I'm going to make for myself once if I have the time. 

 The total result after I figured out with the sleeves. 

The upper part of the sleeve is a new draft after the the mutton sleeve what was part  of the TV pattern. But because I used two different patterns it was little bit off a gues off it would work. It did fortunate. But still... 

The under part off the sleeve is a alterned version of a simplicity pattern what I lenghted and made a real button closure off it.  

So here are the front, back and side of the total result. 

It was fun to make, I learned very much. But extra time was sometimes I wished for. Five days off intensive sewing twelve to fourteen houres a day. 

 

 



 I like the result and I hope for myself that I can make the skirt once for me, with maybe purple and yellow? 














I have some photo's of the dress when it was worn. So you can see it on more than only a manequin. 

She wa a must to see, I liked it very much to see her play the role of Christine. 

There were some little details we had in mint, such as buttons that weren't closed, because her character was not used to dress her self, same rule was for her hair. 

 It was such fun to see the dress came to live and made his own history. I love the dress, I love the character, I loved to see the live it represented. Such a pleasure.