2015 Year in Review

My year review is coming up a little late, but normal work keeps me occupied like always. Despite health issues during the springtime and a full-time work schedule, I got a number of small projects done a couple of big ones as well.

At the start of the year I finished two cross stitch projects that had been in progress for a VERY long time:

Mermaid of the South Seas

The Kiss

Young Girl's Historical Underthings

Another post-holiday gift posting. In October, I started on a set of matched underthings for Lexie, the beau's younger sister. She had already received a dress and accessories, so I figured it was about time to outfit her with some proper underpinnings.

I did attempt to do some research for the project, but finding extant examples of undergarments for children is a hard thing to come by. The only things I found was this underdress from The Met.

Petticoat 1838 - The Met

It matched the pattern I had in my stash from Butterick - B5901 Girl's drawers, underskirt, and hoop skirt. While the style matches, there is no particular date attached to the pattern, so it definitely makes it usable across a broad date spectrum.

Butterick B5901

After obtaining my measurements, I started work on the pattern according to the instructions. The drawers were super easy to put together and match many of the patterns I've put together for full scale women's drawers. They have the split crotch seam, waist ties, and pin tucks along the eyelet lace at the bottom of the pantalettes.

Christmas Reticules

This is one of my heavily delayed posts due the content containing Christmas goodies. For my friends, this year I decided to make some reticule hand bags for everyone. I used two patterns for my bases - Butterick 3485 and B4411, both out of print.

They are both very easy to follow and I made only slight alterations to some of the bags. Because of this, there aren't too many detail constructions. Each bag is listed below with the pattern and materials used.

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Pattern: Butterick B4411 View A
Modifications: No major modifications outside of deviating from the instructions on how embellishments were sewn on
Fabric: Red and black silk dupioni, heavy duty interfacing
Notions: Black woven trim for the edges and front decoration, braided black trim for the bag handles, black poly satin ribbon, plastic canvas, matching thread