Regency Shawl Hack Project

So I finished a project that was probably my quickest project to date. Two hours total!

Since my Regency dress is coming along so well, I'm now going on a Regency project binge. On the list of things I'm starting to brainstorm and put together to go with the dress are:

• a shawl
• chemisette
• bonnet
• petticoat
• stays (on-going WIP)

The shawl came first because I remembered a shawl hack that Jen from Festive Attyre had put together a while ago. Following her tutorial, I first started on ebay and selected a dark navy shawl that would go well with the red and matched a bonnet I started eons ago. Per the instructions, I purchased two of the shawls. I couldn't find the actual fiber content but at $7 a piece, I'm guessing it's a synthetic blend of some type.

ebay.com

These were just basic pashmina scarves and nothing too fancy. True Regency scarves, from what I can tell, are the same color on both sides of the shawl, excluding the paisley design areas. These are navy blue on one side, gold and red on the reverse due to the weave pattern of the threads.

The Regency Dress that Almost Wasn't

My latest project, the drop front Regency dress, is going along at a remarkable pace. At this point, I'm just doing finishing touches like binding the seam allowance in the arms, placing buttons, and hemming the bottom. I love the fabric choice and the style I opted for, but first I have to tell you about how this dress almost didn't come to be.

Back in 2014, I found my fabric and knew it would make a great Regency dress. I grabbed 5 yards at the time, figuring it would be enough. I had recently completed another Regency dress and was going to use the same pattern from Sense and Sensibility. Then Laughing Moon came out with their drop front dress pattern and I fell in love with it. 

Laughing Moon #126

I loved this view with the ruffles on the arms and it looked like the design would work well with the print of my fabric. The other reason is because View B is based off an original held by the Kent State University Museum, the same museum where I interned at while doing my graduate coursework. When I saw a picture of the original, I'm pretty certain I saw this dress while going through storage for class materials. The original is from 1810 and made of printed cotton.

1983.1.28 KSU Museum

Additional photos of the original dress are on my Pinterest board. 

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

I opened up the computer this weekend to find I had been nominated by Gabriela by Pour La Victoire for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. A very big thank you!

Official Award Rules: 

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site
2. Put the Award logo on your blog.
3. Answer the ten questions sent to you.
4. Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer
5. Nominate ten blogs.

So here goes everything:

1) A big thank you again to Gabriela at Pour La Victoire! It's this type of recognition that encourages me to keep up with blogging and posting even when the projects can get discouraging at times.

2)

Finished 1890s Bathing Costume

The weather was lovely, my sister was at the house, I remembered that I needed to photograph my costume... So here it is in all its green splendor!

Front with the skirt over top

Back of skirt with pleating

TBT: My First Victorian Dress

I have been wanting to do a Throwback Thursday for a while, but my days off and free time don't always line up exactly with Thursday. So we'll go for posting this one on Friday since I have a quick moment before getting started on today's to-do list.

This flashback goes way back to the beginning when everything first started. So here it is, the very first Victorian dress that I made:

Kent Heritage Day Festival - July 2010

While we all have to start somewhere, I look at this and simultaneously shudder in horror but also snort in laughter. This was supposed to be a mid-1890s day dress. I had only done some minor research on how dresses of this period looked, knew nothing about cotton vs. poly blend vs. poly fabrics, had no proper undergarments, and had not touched a sewing machine for about five years before starting this dress. At least I made a wise selection where my patterns were concerned!

Regency Drop Front Day Dress

In between finishing up the last little bits of my swim costume and the new boater hat, I finally got around to starting my new Regency dress. Hoorah, since I've only been wanting to do this project since last year.

My last Regency dress buttoned up the back and the difference with this one is it has an apron or drop front. While it might not seem like a huge difference, it is for me because this will make it easier for adjustment in Lack of Cleavage department.

Unfamiliar with how the pattern even went together, I did a mockup of the bodice area to see how it would fit. Lucky me, everything fit well the first time around and the only thing I will have to actually adjust is the muslin lining that ties across the front of the bust area.

A Quick Summer Boater Hat

So I've been holding off on photographing my new swim costume because I wanted to make a boater hat to go with the ensemble. Although I have a swim cap to go with it, I wanted a decorated boater hat for any "out of water" antics.

Most of the boater hats I viewed were decorated simply with a ribbon band, but I wanted something a little more but nothing too extravagant at the same time. While I'm making this to go with my swimsuit, I also want it for some other projects I'll eventually make. I started by purchasing a basic straw boater from Amazon.

amazon.com

Accessories I purchased online from etsy, going off of how I wanted to make it so it could be used for other outfits. It took a couple of weeks, but I finally got all of my supplies gathered together just last Thursday.