Regency Shift

Sooo...back in February I was looking for something to work on and while going through my fabrics, found some yardage of combed cotton lawn I had ordered during the fall. I had ordered it from Dharma Trading Co. with the intent of using it for some Edwardian underpinnings. Then I put together my Regency drop front dress.

While I do have a Regency shift already, I was the first one I made from cotton/poly broadcloth and the entire thing is machine sewn. As a result, it is very bulky, not breathable, and very stiff. The neckline is also cut very high and sometimes peeks out from my dresses. 

Originally I had used Sense & Sensibility's Regency Underthings Pattern, but I opted for the Laughing Moon Ladies' Regency and Romantic Era Corset, which includes pattern pieces for a shift.

LM #115

As I cut out pattern and fabric pieces, everything is pretty much the same in that there is a large front and back piece, shoulder piece, sleeve piece, and underarm gusset. I did some research into the LM pattern though and one of the things I noticed were a lot of people had issues with the back running a little high. To see how the shift would work out, I made a "half" mock-up of just the upper portion to check for for fit and any additional alterations that might be needed.

Just like the reviews, the back did run high. To help adjust this, I added 2" to the back of the shoulder strap pieces, and lowered the top edge the same amount to accommodate the change.

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.

Regency Stays - Trial and Error Round One

Well I got my Regency stays finished to the point that I could try them on. So I did. And this is what I ended up with.

Regency Stay Cording

Waaay back in February, I began my foray into making some Regency corded stays. Then I was distracted by other projects. Now I'm back to working on the stays.

I got all my channels sewed finally and then started on the cording. Reading from the directions and recommendations within the sewing community, I got some cooking twine to use for the cording in the channels. Well the first time I went to thread a channel, I immediately discovered it was too big.

I double checked my directions, but didn't see any options outside of the cooking twine. Hmm. Then I remembered this thick cotton thread I had once used as a kid to try and crochet a head scarf. Possibility?

I found a 4 oz. package of Sugar'n Cream worsted cotton yarn at the local fabric store that matched what I remembered using. Took everything home and it ended up being just the right size!

Ophelia Bonnet Homestretch

In case you missed the squeals of delight on Facebook, my silks are finally here! Ordered in the middle of March, I endured shipping delays, wrong items being sent, secondary packages which were also delayed...

My beautiful silk from India! Color is actually dark navy.

Yeah, patience has certainly become a virtue where this project is concerned (it was started in early February). Along with my silk issues, I had supplies run out on multiple occasions, which resulted in more delays and frustrations that nearly made me throw in the towel for the whole project.

Before getting started on the covering and trimmings, I'll give a quick progress report on how the actual bonnet construction went.

This was my first venture into hat making where I constructed the base myself. Once I had all my supplies together, it went together very easily, much to my surprise (aside from running out of a few things - AGAIN - during the construction process).

Millinery wire taped and ready to be sewn to the buckram.

Finished crown, pipe, and brim. These are the pieces that make up the full bonnet.

The crown piece and brim are attached to each other using just a whipstitch around the wire and crinoline tape.

Finished form ready for covering.

Like most hand sewing projects though, very slow going but the outcome is certainly rewarding. Although the the buckram form has been sitting around for a bit now, I still look at it and go, "I made that?" Now looking forward to finishing it.

These are all my trimmings which I have been slowly accumulating during the project.

The plan is to cover it with blue silk and line the brim with cream dupioni (not completely period accurate, but this will be on the inside and not as noticeable). Still have to play with the ribbons, but the wide cream will be used for the ties, and the thinner cream and pale green for pipe trims. The flowers, bing cherries, and leaves will go at the very top of the crown, similar to the ones in my research plates.

Keep your fingers crossed that the next time I post about the bonnet, it will be finished!

And just for fun, a late night selfie from when I had actually finished the bonnet.

Ophelia Regency Bonnet Mayhem

When sewing projects decide to revolt, they apparently like to stage a very large protest. After the difficulties I had with my late bustle bodice, I decided to jump ahead and start on my next HSF challenge project, only to be waylaid by more delays.

We've now reached challenge #7 - Tops and Toes. This time it's creating an accessory to decorate either the head or the feet. I've been wanting to do a Regency period bonnet for a while so I took the jump back in time and started pulling things together.

The last time I made a bonnet, I purchased the pre-made buckram form and all I had to do was cover it with fabric and trimmings. This time I opted to build it from the - ahem - neck up. Not entirely sure of everything I would need, I purchased a bonnet kit from Timely Tresses which came with everything I needed to complete the bonnet for the pattern I had picked out.

Bonnet in a box!

Unfortunately, the kit arrived and was missing the wire connectors and the pre-cut buckram was not large enough for the pattern pieces. Although I did contact the company about the pieces being replaced, they still had not come after two weeks and finally opted to order these supplies on my own. For the record, Judith M Millinery has fast shipping and great prices on millinery supplies.

*Update 4/7/14 - The materials were received in the mail today. Slow mail truck apparently. 

With all the base supplies now in place, I pulled out the buckram last night and started tracing out the pieces and cutting them apart. Then I found that I would need some masking tape. Well, back to the craft store today.

Yes, that's a costume drama being used as a weight

In the meantime, more about the bonnet. The pattern selected was Ophelia, best for use during the years 1810-1820 approximately, and has a shaped brim with a stovepipe headpiece.

Ophelia Pattern from Timely Tresses

I started looking through online museum collections for references of originals, but was finding very little. Instead, I started pulled from fashion plates and there are so many examples! I'm glad I'm being paced by my materials because as of right now, I still have no idea how I want to decorate it. Something with flowers possibly...