Boots, Petticoat, Bonnet and Mitts

I must say, I can not believe the 1861 Girls School is right around the corner! I have been working full time which makes it harder to gather all of my things, especially the projects I am sewing! Slowly but surely, I have managed to get most of my belongings ready to go. (I'll have to do a 1860's closet review soon!) I have also found a new friend in Goodwill! No more paying for yards of plain cotton, I am buying sheets from now on!
    This leads me to share with you one of my many projects, a new petticoat! I found two drapes that had beautiful lace detail at the bottom, which I am turning into a lovely petticoat.  This will be much simpler than a skirt but same process. Sew the sides together, cartridge pleat the top, sew the waist band. I don't have to hem since the lace is sewn to the bottom! Huzzah for less sewing!

     This week I've been planing a trip to Blockade Runner, which is a civil war shop full of camp things, ladies garments, gentleman's clothing, hats, shoes, books, basically everything one would need to get involved in reenacting.  It's a dream come true. I went over there in search of ladies shoes and a new hat. (Let me mention something about period correct ladies shoes, they are extremely hard to come by and if you do manage to find them, be prepared to crack open the piggy bank and loose a limb.)  Luckily, I managed to search around online to find that Blockade runner had the perfect shoes starting out at, get this, $89!!! Naturally, I wanted to make sure I had a good fit so I decided to go and try them on. Here is my beautiful period correct shoes:

I must say, they are very slick on the bottom of the boot though.
     I also found a very pretty grey felt bonnet and I may get their longhorn hat in cream later if I have some extra funds.

I must say that the people who work there make good quality products and are very friendly! The last thing I have been working on are my hand crochet mitts.  I have never crocheted gloves of any kind before which makes this very interesting, especially with no pattern!  I am currently working on the second hand but here is a look at the first one I've made:

With all of that said, I am slightly closer to having everything ready... Ok, maybe not, but I am getting there. The last of the list consists of a ball gown, a corset, a pair of black gloves, a chemise and drawers, tortoise shell hair combs, a mourning veil, dance shoes, and corset cover. Oh and I'm still debating about one more dress, a sheer plaid cotton dress. So very tempting...
Yours Truly,
Shayla P.

Merida Inspired 1860's Dress

I am beyond thrilled to share with you my finished product of my Merida inspired 1860's dress. I went through a phase of procrastination but when I finally realized how soon I would need all of my finished garments, I surprised myself by getting it finished quicker than I thought. (It's amazing what a little motivation will do!)
     Let me start off by showing some of the patterns I used.  I used two patterns for the shirt and did the skirt by basic knowledge( Basically I cut three panels of the material and sewed them together, gathered it, put it on a waistband, and hemmed it).  I used Simplicity 8735 a Renaissance pattern that had the gauntlets,

                     

Simplicity Renaissance 8735

  and Period Impressions basic shirt pattern.

    I used the one on the right minus the trimmings.  I had the hardest time setting the sleeves with the choice of material I used though. I do believe it was a chiffon of sorts, but it is sooooo soft I had to buy it! I chose to use a different material for the sleeves since I used gauntlets to go over over a lighter material(which is perfect for Tennessee summer heat).

   Alrighty, enough of my ramblings, here is the dress in all her glory:

                                              

My Grandma's old buttons

I had a blast making this and I can't wait to wear it for the Girls School this summer! Now I just need to make my ball gown, corset cover, dance slippers, new under garments, get a new corset, bonnet, and set of boots... No biggie. 

Yours truly,

Shayla P.

Ball Gowns, Broadway and, Beauties, oh my!

I know It's been awhile since I've posted but I thought I would post a few things that been going on lately.
So for starters, my procrastination has been undoubtedly strong in my Merida inspired dress but I've finally got the skirt in the home stretch.  Just the waistband and hem and I'll be done....and then on to the shirt. (I'm still trying to figure out how that's going to go together.)
Second, I took my sister to our first showing of Wicked! Oh my that was simply amazing.  Reminds me how much I miss theater but also how much I love sewing.
Thirdly, I've introduced my sister to civil war reenacting this passed year and we've been obsessing over ball gowns ever since.  We have come up with multiple ideas but the one she loves best is a Cinderella type skirt and lots of purple (her favorite color of course). In honor of ball gowns I thought I would post a picture and small description of my first ball gown for last years Christmas Ball in Columbia, Tennessee.

Sugar Plums and Gold

     My first ball gown is made of rose and gold silk. Black lace is trimmed around the scallops and jacket which is detachable from the bodice. I had such fun making this dress! I used previous patterns that I owned so I saved some money on that and I already had the lace. The material is what really cost me, I think it was around $60 or so.  

This was my inspiration for the dress.

I hope you all enjoy the weekend!

(Pictures of the Merida skirt will be up within the week!)

Yours Truly,

Shayla P.