18thc. Gown Workshop Recap

I'm still working on my post about the "Mercy Bradford" cloak at Pilgrim Hall, but watermarking the photos is taking a while when real life gets in the way! Instead, while fresh in my mind, I'll give a recap of the gown workshop I attended this weekend put on by The Hive at Minute Man National Historical Park.

This was the second gown workshop I've been to that was put on by Hive instructors Miss Hallie and Miss Stephanie. The first one I went to was back in July 2011, when I did my printed cotton gown. I was wholly unprepared for that one; they are not kidding when they say it is a very intense weekend! Back in July I knew nothing, had really never sewn anything, and was a ball of anxiety. I know a little bit more now, and though I am not as close to completion as some of my workshop peers, I have no anxiety at all, whether about the workshop or my gown. I'm still pretty darn slow at sewing, but that will speed up with practice.

So, for the first time, I worked with silk. I had purchased this goooorgeous yellow silk taffeta from Hallie when she was clearing out some of her stash, and it's a great silk for a beginner to work with. It's not slippery, it takes a finger press really well, and it's just plain ol' pretty. The first time I pulled it out at the workshop there were some gasps, and lots of, "It's like a ray of sunshine!" comments. My silk doesn't hold a candle to the drooooooool-worthy red silk damask another participant brought; no one wanted to stand too close to it for fear of drooling on it. Seriously!

I think one of my favorite parts about these workshops is drooling over everyone's fabric (in addition to getting to handle an extant gown that is used for study). I'm becoming a fabric whore and as someone who is very tactile, working with textiles is just a pleasurable experience (when I go clothes shopping, I have to touch every. single. thing.). Everyone is always willing to chat about where they got it, how much they paid, "Of course you can touch it!" One lady had a really nice ivory linen and looks so good on her.

The way this workshop was run was different than last July, as Hallie and Steph are always learning something new and what works and doesn't work in terms of workshop flow. In July, we started with sleeves and over the course of the first day, we were fit to a pattern this. This time around, all of the fittings were done prior to the workshop, and sleeves were homework. I really liked this format better; by the time day 1 is complete, you feel confident enough to go home and make your sleeves. When day 2 rolls around, all that's left is to attach the sleeves and gown skirts; after that, you're done (unless you didn't hem, then you have to hem the skirts). Things may change for the next workshop, but I really enjoyed it this way!

So, where am I on my gown? Well, not quite as close as my fellow "mantuamakers" but WAY ahead of where I was last July. When I left the workshop for the second day in July, I only had the center back panel done. It was lined, with the en fourreau pleats stitched down, and ... that was it. This time around, I have all of that PLUS the two front bodices on! The lining still needs to be whipped in but that's an easy step. I have one sleeve done and am working on the next. First, though, I need to finish my stays.

All in all, I cannot recommend this type of workshop enough. Every item you sew should teach you something, and I've come away with more knowledge than I did the last time. I am comfortable enough with starting another gown on my own (I know, can you believe it?!). Most importantly, it seems to have finally stuck in my head that it's just fabric. There was no anxiety this weekend (well, there was, due to a dog medical emergency but it was completely unrelated to the workshop), and if I keep stressing myself out over this stuff, it's not going to be fun anymore. It took me nearly all day to cut out the pieces out for my printed cotton--and I had 11 yards of it, so if I made a mistake, no biggie, right?--but my yellow silk, that I had only 5.5 yards of, one hour. That is a mega improvement! My title of "Queen of Anxiety" is quickly leaving me, and I couldn't be more proud of that one single accomplishment.

My new mantra is "Keep Calm and Carry On." I will keep calm, and carry on, in all situations. Now, I must go sew my stays, as that gun to my head is getting awfully close ...

A (better) stomacher.

My printed cotton is positively lovely, but it is very lightweight and tends to get a bit mushy and stretchy (especially when I'm warm). This is very apparent over my front-lacing stays, as seen in this photo from the first time I wore it:

Very wrinkly and buckling.

This could also have been because the stomacher above isn't finished; I'd only attached the fashion fabric to the linen on the top and bottom and not the sides (ran out of time at 2 am). Plus, the linen I was using was just crappy stuff from Joann's that I'd bought to make a practice workbag. But, I decided it would be best to do two layers for strength, and I needed to be in the gown for a photo shoot on Friday anyway, so Thursday I ripped out the stitches and cut a second piece of linen.

The fashion fabric pinned to the layers of linen.

I cut the second piece of linen smaller all around, so when I folded the fashion fabric and outer layer of linen inward to sew together, it would be nestled between them. The fashion fabric already felt like it couldn't stretch and warp as much just when it was pinned, and as I sewed it together I found this to be true.

The three layers together, before cutting the second piece smaller.

I used the same stitch on the stomacher as I did when hemming my sleeves; I believe it's the overhand stitch (could also be the underhand, ha!). It was rather easy, I just had to be careful and ease any bubbles in.

The back stitches and the front.

It came out really well, and when I pinned the stomacher to my stays on Friday, I was very happy with how it laid very nicely over the lacing! Now if only I could get my gown on correctly every single time ...

2am realizations.

The beginnings of some juicy raspberries.

I have been working diligently away on the embroidery. I am really so in love with embroidering, it's very zen and soothing. Saturday night, I ended up staying up until 2 am because I had no concept of time while embroidering! It goes by really quickly though, and I wasn't even tired. I had to force myself to put it down and go to bed.

Finished berries.

However, at 2 am I had the realization that I have been embroidering on the wrong side of the linen since the start. I noticed this when looking at the berries on the linen and on the color code; they were reversed on the linen from the color code. Flipping over the linen, the black ink could still be seen ... and I felt like an idiot! I wasn't ripping all of my hard work out, and in any case, no one will see the pocket. So I know for my next one, don't do it on the side with the ink!

Progress!

When this pocket is completed, I'll be buying a second pocket kit in the same style (the Salem). My biggest concern with getting closest to the end of the embroidery is putting the pieces together. I'm sure it will be fine, but from reading the instructions over I'm already confused! One at a time, one at a time.

My list of things to complete/begin is ever-growing, especially since I'm now planning on attending a ball in early January, so I'll be making a formal silk gown for that. My yellow silk gown is a practice attempt for silk, and I consider this more formal gown a practice gown for the summer garden party in 2012. But there's still a lot to do!

• Finish rewhipping a small section of the lining down in my cotton gown
• Sew and hem the pumpkin petticoat from its basted state
• Finish pleating the back panels of the cotton petticoat, then join the front and back and hem it
• Buy wool broadcloth to make a short cloak for an event on Nov. 19
• Pick out silk and linen lining for January's gown
• Buy linen lining for the yellow silk gown
• Make sleeve flounces
• Make panniers and a hip roll to keep the pannier steady
• Make silk mitts
• Maybe a new, fine linen shift with lace edging on the neck?

So much to do, but thankfully it's all fun stuff!

The makings of a stash.

Miss Hallie has been clearing out some of her fabric stash, and I couldn't help but jump headfirst into it. What better way to get some great fabrics that have already been vetted for accuracy and authenticity? I love looking at the fabrics when she posts them, even if I don't buy any of it, because it gives me an image to compare when I'm browsing around fabric sites (especially printed/painted and embroidered/brocade/damask textiles). I've not yet made the leap into purchasing something exquisitely expensive (like a $35/yd damask), and I would sure as anything have Hallie look at it first, but it's nice to have something from her to start my stash.

What did I end up with? A beautiful, golden yellow silk taffeta. It's not shot, but it almost seems to change from a yellow to a deeper, golden yellow. It's absolutely lovely. There was only 5.5 yards, so it will be a practice silk gown that I will use for a runaway impression. It will also double as a simple silk undress/informal/day dress. I plan on quilting a petticoat for it, as well as using other colors of silk for plain petticoats. Every time I walk by it, I have to reach out and touch it (I also do this when I'm shopping for modern clothes). Good thing I'm getting into fabrics, eh?

And since we're talking about silk, I came across an interesting article courtesy of the Tufts Museum Studies blog: conservation scientists at the Smithsonian Institution have developed a technique to date silk items! It's a very interesting article, and the technique only uses one millimeter of silk to give a range of 50-100 years. If the textile has been stored in museum-quality environments, it is even more accurate. Well-dated and documented textiles and garments were used in the study, including a 1740s man's coat from the Museum of the City of New York. Yay science!

What a weekend! Part 2 of 2.

That mound of sewing I was talking about yesterday ... oy. Though I'm nearly complete with what needs to be done, it still was stressful and intense and I can't lie, I thought there was a chance I'd be borrowing a gown for this weekend.

Luckily, I have a fabulous support system and I'm really on my way to completing my very first gown.

After the photo shoot, I donned my stays, pulled out my gown and we set straight to work. I though I was almost done; but those damned sleeves! My sleeve pattern ended up having to be redone, the sleeves that I'd backstitched in were taken off, and we found out that one of the back pleats needed to be resewn as well. At first, it was believed that we didn't actually need to take the sleeves off; I'd accidentally caught a bit of the fashion fabric while backstitching the left sleeve in, so cutting that thread should solve the problem. Right?

No.

In the eleventh hour of Saturday, the sleeves came off, and with a new pattern I cut them from my remaining yards of fashion fabric. If you've been keeping track, that would be pair number three of sleeves. Then, I accidentally made two left sleeves, so I had to redo one. Three-and-a-half. The theme of Saturday was, "Thank God I bought eleven yards of fabric!"

The skirts are pleated and basted in, but one part needs to be reworked, then I have to stitch them down in a spaced backstitch. I've already backstitched the sleeves in, both on the bottom as well as on the top, both under and over the robings. The lining is whipped down to the front of the bodice. Friday, I'm going back down to Hallie's and we're hemming the sleeves, making cuffs, and putting the back turn down on the top back of the bodice. I also need to hem the gown before then.

In addition, I have one-half of a petticoat, with a second that needs to be made, and I still have to make my linen work bag with embroidery. I would really like to get to the embroidery since it will be practice for embroidering my pocket. I'm borrowing a cap and neck handkerchief, but eventually will be making my own.

Phew. That's a lotta work! But I'm up to the challenge, and looking forward to it. I've already decided that my next gown is going to be a runaway impression; I had so much fun portraying a runaway that it would be neat to research my own for that specific event, though my main impression is middling class. Plus, runaway ads are excellent research, and I'll get to make other pieces of clothing with it, as they usually took a number of things with them.

And big huge bonus: Hallie has an extra dressform that will become mine! I've been working on the flat, and had I been working on a form, I probably could have recognized that something wasn't working and stopped. So that makes me extra excited for making more garments.

Sew alone, but don't measure.

There is a reason why there are such things as dress forms and models and assistants. Thankfully, it doesn't really matter to me, because it's a $30 cotton shift that I needed in a pinch. It had a drawstring neck and sleeves that were too long, also with drawstrings to make a ruffle. Those don't exist anymore. But the neck may be too big and the sleeves too short. And I'm okay with it! I can make a neck handkerchief, and the gown sleeves will be fine. I won't have this shift forever, instead I consider it a practice garment. Yes I'll have to wear it, but I'm not walking around reenactments in my 18thc. undies! It's been a fun experiment, and I've proved to myself that I can do this. Woohoo!