Fusiliers Bodice Mock-Up

     Got the mock-up done! Fitting has always been stressful for me, but I think this one went okay.
My base pattern was Laughing Moon's Early 1860's Day Dress. The bodice portion with coat sleeves.

via Laughing Moon

     

     I made the armscyes bigger (they were digging in under my arms), narrowed the sleeves, widened the neck, and took in the waist about a 1/2 inch. I also lengthened the bottom edges a little. I decided that I may want to extend the bodice into the little skirt thing. If I leave a little extra room at the bottom, I will have the proper seam allowance to add that piece below the waist. Hmm... Maybe this shows what I'm trying to say: 

     This is Queen Victoria's riding habit. (Looks a lot like what I'm going for!) See the part where it flares out from the waist? That's what I might aim for. On the men's tunics, it's a separate piece sewn to the waist. Dunno what it's called...

Romantic Dress April 2014 Musings

     The third annual A-Bunch-Of-Crazy-Costumers-Make-Historical-Dresses-From-Certain-Time-Period-Gaskell-Ball is in April. The theme this year is the Romantic Era. It's one of my favorite eras!!! We each shall create an evening ensemble ranging between the late 1820s and about 1840.
     I have too many dresses I want to make for the occasion, so here's just a look at the inspiration pictures I've been drooling over .

     

     I purchased my silk already. A very nice ivory silk. I think it's shantung or taffeta, but can't tell the difference. I am leaning towards the last three designs as my main inspiration. Late 1830's. Simple cut and details. And I love the strawberries on the bertha on the last one! Very exciting....

Smooth Sailing Trousers Mock-Up

     Well, still no pictures of completed Wearing History's Smooth Sailing denim trousers, but here's the mock-up! Yeah, not super good quality pictures....

Only one leg hemmed and no waistband. The real pair
hist a bit higher on my waist. 

Blurry picture, but you can sorta see the way the darts
fit over my behind. Pretty smooth fit!

More photos next time. 

Wearing History's Smooth Sailing Trousers

     Recently, I purchased Wearing History's "Smooth Sailing" trousers E-pattern.

This is for the blouse, too, but I only bought the
trouser pattern.

     Wearing History is a small historical pattern company with patterns from about the 1870's through the 1940's. Great stuff. Check out the website and blog.
     I have never made pants before (unless you count PJ bottoms as pants) and I wanted to give it a go. I bought the E-pattern to try out that method, since I had heard good reviews. It printed out just fine and I began to assemble. Pretty easy business. I cut out out the pieces and set to work on my mock-up. It went together very fast and the fit was perfect.
     I am petite with slight curves and a high waist (which can often cause fitting issues), but the only modification I had to make was taking about 6 inches off the trouser length (which is a common adjustment for me). With that taken care of, the fit was perfect and super comfortable!
     For my not-mock-up (the real thing) I chose a jean fabric so I could wear the pants out casually. That went together just as well. So fast, that I got them done last night in just a few hours. In fact, I got to wear them today! They remained really comfortable and I got some nice compliments.
     I really recommend the pattern and have heard great things about the other patterns on the website.

     I will post pictures soon!