For the Victorian ball in Bath in May, I’ll be making a ball gown out of white silk and black lace. It’s the perfect opportunity to finally use some of the antique lace I’ve had in my stash for a while. Something like this is the plan: However, I am somewhat limited by the antique lace that I have. I have one very wide piece 4,8m long, and one, slightly less wide, piece which is almost 3m long. Most 1850’s skirts are rectangles, and have a hem circumference of about 4,5-5m. But this means that any piece of lace which goes all the way around the skirt also needs to be at least 4,5m long, or ev ..read more

I’ve been wanting to do a more proper photoshoot with my 1850s dress since wearing it for the first time in Bath last year. Although I have pictures of the event, the dress just is so perfect for a moody Victorian shoot. The breakfast/rowing pictures of Bath are amazing memories, but don’t fully fit the heavy mourning vibe. Yesterday, I finally managed to go out, and had my partner be ‘living tripod’ (keep clicking the shutter button while I pose). The late afternoon sunlight was quite nice for pictures, and the winter foresty vibe goes really well with the full black dress. I had a lot of fun ..read more

The first step towards making an 1850’s ballgown was to create a new crinoline cage. I have an 1860’s one, but that one is elliptical and rather large. Although fun, it’s not super convenient to dance in, especially if you’re dancing with another lady also wearing one (yes, I’m speaking from experience). So for the Victorian ball, I’m aiming for an earlier, rounder, and slightly smaller type of hoop. I decided to use the TV 1858 crinoline cage pattern, as that was what I had on hand. The main construction is to first make the bag for the bottom, and sew the channels in place while keeping the ..read more

After the re-cap, it’s time to look ahead! As usual, I don’t really have the full next year planned out. However, I do have some events lined up, and plans are probably going to center around those events. I’d been working on my 1780s stays to hopefully get them wearable for an event end of January. Unfortunately, the event has been postponed until later in the year. I’m quite close on getting the stays wearable though. Just the bottom binding to finish, so I’ll probably try to do that soon anyway. After that, the stays still need all the stiffening, the bust rail, busk pocket, seam covers on ..read more

A very happy new year everyone! It’s the time of year again to look back and forward, so let’s have a look at what I made last year. The year started with an event end of January, for which I firstly made this black wool ca. 1905 skirt. It’s based on a pattern from de Gracieuse. I wanted something versatile, but with some details, and I quite like how it came out. 1905 Wool walking skirt The second thing I made for the event was a 1905 lace ballgown. I also wore this for a 1910 ball later in the year, where this picture was made. It was really nice to be able to wear it twice already, even tho ..read more

The main bit of sewing I did for myself last summer was to make myself two new pairs of summer trousers. I didn’t really have pants that were both full length and would work with really hot weather. Although skirts and shorts often do the job, I found that I was really missing some long-trouser options, especially for work occasions. I wanted something with a high waistline, wide leg, and at least vaguely vintage style. I also wanted something which wouldn’t be too tricky to make or fit, as my split skirts were the only real trousers I’d ever made. In the end, I picked the Eastbourne trousers ..read more

In June of this year, I had the opportunity to volunteer as ‘set dressing’ for the Kasteelfeesten at Castle D’Ursel. Held once every two years, this is a historical event with some reenactment, activities for families and general fun in the theme of a historical year of the family which inhibited the castle at that time. This was my first year attending as volunteer, and our job was basically to scroll around looking fashionably historical, enjoy the day, and participate in some small reenactments. The year it was set in was 1910, and that meant I did need a new dress! For the day outfit, I sc ..read more

People who know me, know I have a bit of a penchant for black clothes. It’s not super obvious in my costuming wardrobe, but it’s also not a coincidence that my first big historical project was a black velvet ball gown. One of my favorite black gowns is this ca 1850 mourning gown in the Amsterdam museum: It’s not a flashy or fancy gown, as a mourning gown usually is not. After all, it’s about restraint and lack of ornament. But in it’s relative simplicity, it’s a very clever design. The sheer wool fabric means there’s a depth to the skirt tiers, and the little pleats in the bodice draw the eye ..read more

I finished my new 1890s ensemble just in time for Halloween, so decided to take advantage of the time of year to take some appropriately moody pictures. They are edited to help the mood along a bit further, but I’m really happy with how they turned out. These are taken as a lot of my images are nowadays, with me setting up the camera, and my partner kindly acting as human tripod and clicking away while I pose ..read more

After finishing the skirt of the 1890’s ensemble, it was time for the bodice! I used TV493 as a base, and started with a cotton mock-up as I usually do. The advantate is that I can usually re-use the mock-up as flat-lining fabric. After that, I could cut the main fabric and the organza overlay. I’m using the black silk organza I also used for my green 1890s ensemble, as I still have a lot of that left. For the back, I cut a wider piece of organza and pleated it in place. It was then stitched down in a lot of different spots to keep the pleats somewhat in place. For the front, I first mad ..read more