Breaking down.

Awkward this.
 Have the man's frock coat all but done, and could have fudged the photos, have the start of the lady's wear to show, and did a one day workshop in breaking down.

some of Karen's kit- play spot the Vaseline and matting agent.

Don't really want to share the coat trauma or really the corset drama until they are sorted out and fit for public appearances.

so....breaking down  - not emotionally, but trying to make new clothes look worn. No point in creating a shabby, tired character, carefully making the costume and then having  them arrive on stage all shiny and new. Not convincing.

Tutor for the day was Karen Stott, and by the time she'd unpacked the buckets, bleach, paints and then the flame gun, it was looking most promising.

Karen described the process as balancing and characterisation. Sometimes the white shirt or a colour is too bright under the lights so a subtle tea, coffee dye or bleach bath will knock the toothpaste  squeaky clean look out. Details on a costume may disappear from a distance so gentle enhancement of contrasts is needed - exaggerating seams, darkening behind buttons to make them stand out and so on. Some details may stand out too much - bring out the acrylic matting agent - good for over enthusiastic sequins or dulling down too shiny buttons. Think of it as make-up for clothes.

steamed distortions on my wool coat fabric.

  It is the characterisation that seems to be most fun- mimicking wear and tear, faking mud, sweat, grease or worse. It would be the most nerve wracking - imagine having put heart and soul into making as perfectly as possible and then .......

We began with aggressive steaming and pressing, stretching, distorting, pulling seams- deliberately
wrecking the precision and fit of the costume. The iron was applied without mercy, shoulder pads wilted, elbows, hems, pockets and vents were tugged, bullied and dragged out of shape. I like the idea of heavy stones and damp newspaper stuffed in pockets  or shoes and left to dry. It really didn't take long to add saggy  age. These effects could be enhanced with colour, abrasion,  etc.

enhanced creases.

Surface wear was even more violent - sanding, grating, abrading- distressing the surface of the fabric. It began with the iron, creating those shiny slick patches on old suits, then reversible wear - changing the surface with Vaseline or various acrylic meduim, rubbing in chalk or  pigments. Sandpaper and files were the favoured method of scuffing the fabric, round files can do wonders for buttonholes.   The least reversible technique was the flame gun, taking the nap off wools, cord or velvets so they go thin and show the underlying warp and weft. The idea is not to set fire to it, honest.

flame damage - look very closely - this wool was all but indestructible! 

Vaseline, chalk and pigment - trying to look more like flamed wear and tear  than the flame actually did

never paint on hairy wool. Looks good from a distance .......

It was an entertaining and informative day - lots of notes, hints and tips, as well as full of advice. 

Next week will be the coat- promise.

1830s Waistcoat Week!

This was the week for waistcoating... in fact it took far less time than this, minimum button therapy and only 2 icecreams.

Recap - 4th week of the course at the  Northern College of Costume, working from Ron Davis' pattern for an 1830s single breasted, shawl collar waistcoat. Patterns were drafted and toiles fitted. This now is the waistcoat proper....

From the toile the modifications were pretty straightforward, just lengthen at the waist  by 2 1/2" at the front and 1" at the back.

The fabric is a grey blue with a dull metallic broken pattern woven in. It is a kind of twill weave and manages to have very little substance - it's like that annoying friend who only says 'I'll do whatever you want to do' or 'I'll have what ever you are having' and then looks miserable for the rest of the day. The lining is a dull, dark duck egg blue, heavier and more substantial but reverts to floss when it frays. I imagine that any natural fibre content was purely accidental.

The fabric was cut and flat lined with a light calico and interfaced on the front and collar pieces.

front - with pocket!

inside front - facing and lining

After flat tacking to mark the key lines assembly began. Initially it is very clear - pockets (perhaps I should admit to pocket traumas - working out how to set them on the slant and how to minimise bulk, distressingly simple once the penny had dropped),  sew the centre backs to make complete back units, attach collar piece to front, collar facing to front lining, and join fronts to backs at side seams.  From this point on life gets more complicated.




side seams done - looks like bat sign




 I have never yet found the definitive simple way of putting a waistcoat and lining together, it seems I am not alone. This time we  placed rightsides together and sewed  around the armholes, front edge and front hem line. This meant that it could  still be turned rightside out.  The top 1/3 of the front
edge was left open so that we could get in  to sew the front shoulder to the 2 backs on machine ( The front lining would be turned under on the shoulder seam to hide all of the raw edges later on). 

Think the bit in the middle
 is the shoulder seam!

The under collar's centre back  seam was joined  and then it was  sewn to the  neck line. The top parts of the collar were sewn at the centre back and then the

centre back joined and sewn
 in place along neck line

front edge seam completed all the way round.  It did get confusing but was nowhere as fiddly as I thought but..... nothing can ever be that easy - we had misread the pattern a little and the facing  did not match to the shoulder seam - emergency surgery was required and with the help of the new best friend, Fray Check, disaster was averted.  Closing the remaining shoulder

back inside - the horizontal seam is the collar edge

seams and closing the last part of the neck by hand calmed the tattered nerves a little and it was on to the final stages.

The back has two layers so the hem allowance was folded up inside ( thanks to interfacing for helping to create a nice firm edge to sew along)  and hand sewn closed. Then key hole style button holes. By hand. All of them.
 Ok, did cheat a little- zigzagged down each side, punched the round edge and fray checked it before hand stitching. These are something to be practiced, and practiced, and then practiced again.

 Add the buttons, eyelets and attach the tabs ( still need ties) and it is all done - one complete waistcoat.

Distractions- let out to play with power tools - refixing Pauline's eyelet punch to its tabletop - starting to look for work placements for after the course, and creating a monument to Wednesday to keep those malevolent midweek spirits appeased.

Thursday was a part day  so did I sit in the garden reading, rescue pets in the on line games, clean the house? Yes, but also made a  waistcoat for Gwen. Went from  drafting all the way through construction.  How sad. But that emergency surgery on the facing had rankled, I needed to work this through and make it happen. Understanding the mistake did make life easier. Instead of days it was completed that same evening apart from the tabs. The fit is good considering  Gwen is definitely female - the back waist is too large and I had to put in front darts but it has worked! Not bad for a 50p upholstery sample and some left over pink and dotty cotton.  May be a bit too much frill on that shirt?














Coats next.......

 

1830s Cossack trousers and excellent distractions

Never heard of these Cossack trousers before  starting this course. It seems to have been a popular style -  pleated front and tapering legs- rather more forgiving than the straight cut. These from the V&A are more gathered  than mine and look to be a split fall front, but the idea is the same. They have a curiously feminine silhouette - narrow flat waist, curving hips and narrowing legs- and are pulled straight by the stirrup loop under the instep.   

We already had the toile made to the Ron Davis pattern outlined in  Men's Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Costume: Cut and Fashion  so roughly knew our way through the process but this time it was in the 'real' fabric and with all those interesting details like button flies to do, and this time it matters that they are dead straight and fit into the trouser properly.



Step one was revising and redrafting the pattern pieces following the fittings, fortunately not a lot was required - raising the waist at the front by an inch and then compensating for this at the back.  The hems were left over long as we want to put in an arch over the foot which  shapes down into the  stirrup  straps like these.

Step 2 - cutting out in calico - this will be the inner lining layer, they were marked up with all the seam allowances, lines, darts etc and then used to cut out the top fabric. My fabric was fairly fine and stripey in greys, black and brown, it behaved well but could fray for the nation when cut square across the grain.

Step 3 - Prep - The calicos were separated and flat tacked to the back of the top fabric pieces  and each long edge on each piece was overlocked.( go too fast and  the industrial overlocker sounds like a freight train in a tunnel, nearly fast and the poise lamp bounces, less fast and anything on the table dances around before throwing themselves over the edge, or slowly and it purrs ( still have to work on my relationship with this machine)) - The extra layer should help to extend the life of the trousers as well as helping to stabilise the top fabric.  All pleats and darts were sewn in  and then.....

one inside out leg

Step 4-  Assembling !  There is a great satisfaction when a garment changes from 2 dimensions  to 3. Outer leg seams then inside leg, part sew the crotch seam and they look like trousers! Only button flies, facings, waistbands, buttonholes , hems and hand finishing to go.


inside the body, the brown band is the back facing,
 button holes for the fly at the bottom ,
the unfinished pleats for the waist show up clearly in the calico.

 In fact the easy bits were over.

Step 5 - buttoned flies - The fabric was thin enough to be used for all the layers, so an interfacing and overlocking fest later, the buttonhole piece, facing and buttonstand were complete and in place. This was Wednesday so nothing is ever straight forward -  now on sewing machine 3,  it seems even Berninas are not Wednesday proof. We consoled ourselves by rootling through old button tins - some fantastic Deco geometrics and outrageously ornate glittery ones. This should be recognised as an official  therapy in any sewing workroom.




Step 6 - The fronts have a waistband but the back does not, so this was the day to regret deciding to have the stripes horizontal on the band because everything had to be  exactly level and matched. Had to resort to basting!  The back facing was friendly and helpful, went on simply and directly. The facing and the waistband were joined at the side seam, so all that was left was hand sewing the inside of the waistband and turning the raw edges of the facing.














Step 7 - waist fastening - lovely mother of pearl button - inside out, of course, and a mini festival of pressing later, the beasties are complete!

They will need pressing again and fitting to sort out the exact positioning of the hem shapings. They are definitely too long at present, they come up to my shoulders, but pattern outlines for the foot arch, and what I can only think of as bunny ears, are drawn up and prototyped, so it shouldn't be a battle once we have the model's legs to measure against. And pressing again.  May be some more clipping to release the curves, and pressing, and then removing more tacking - each time I look I find more to be taken out! But they are complete - honest......except for more pressing.

Hopefully next time you see them they should have someone in them- and be an amazing fit!

As for distractions -
Pocket flap Monday - Jane gave us some excellent tips on getting real precision in the finishing  but the strain of being organised and tidy and measuring......

Wednesday- the Day of Revenge of the Machines - how many times did the overlocker threads snap?,  my sewing machine had multiple hissy fits, and so did the placement and then the replacement's replacement. (I think we have reached an understanding now) . Pauline must have dreaded the squeaks and mutterings of frustration  preceding the plaintive requests for help.

Thursday was Drop the Buttons Day - all 7 of us crawling around under the table retrieving them. Some made a determined break for freedom and evaded recapture for days.

Friday - 4th of July  and Miriam's birthday celebrations (properly the 5th but we scatter over the weekends) - a general surfeit of cakes and chocolate, including trying to set fire to a cupcake and a trip to York Cocoa House.

Saturday - Start of the Tour de France - stage one went through some of my favourite bits of country -upper  Wharfedale- and it looked beautiful. I think the degree of enthusiasm for the event took the commentators by surprise -  and they needed a better guide book to read out from.

Sunday - Grand Depart from York this morning - just started to tip it down after a lovely early start- hopefully it will clear in time - can't say I will be that enthusiastic about going out  to get soaked  so I can watch men in damp lycra whiz past. But the rain is easing - and some lycra goes quite see through when wet - could well be worth it!
And the Wimbledon Final - a proper day of sport - less of that footybally stuff and over grown scalextric........

gentleman's toiles

week II  - Northern College of Costume.  1830 Gentleman's outfit - toiles.


 Not a powerful lot to show for a challenging week. This was a preparation week - finishing drafting, drawing up, constructing toiles, a first fitting, and redrafting. In amongst this we also fitted a day of fly fronts and split fall samples. Add into that waistcoat collar and buttonhole  traumas plus a visit to the Quilting Museum to see the costume exhibition, and it seems amazing that it was only 5 days.
In fact it was so engaging that I forgot to take photos of most of it- again. Did get the camera out but not much further....

Main task of the week was finishing drafting and assembling the Cossack trousers, waistcoat and frockcoat for the 1830s gentleman's outfit.  We were working from the patterns set out by R I Davis in  Men's Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Costume: Cut and Fashion   which are long lists of  dot to dot  coordinates and instructions with line diagrams. Should end up something like this from the V&A.
 Getting started was scary - there was maths involved but thankfully  a logic in the construction  which helped. The drafted patterns were then transferred to calico,  cut out, marked up and assembled into the toile (test garment).

pattern for the frock coat



brave soul!

  The deadline for this was Thursday when my poor victim was coming in for the first fitting. This should have been traumatic as most of the measurements were guess work.( the one we actually had was wrong!) but it went very well. Some parts  - neck lines - have to go out a bit, the shirt collar redone completely, some parts have to get longer - the waist of both trousers and waistcoat plus the coat hem, and  we are creating a side seam in the coat to give the torso more shape.  These adjustments have been made on the pattern pieces and some have been redrawn ready for  next week when we make up the trousers for real.  I'll show the fabric and details of the design and construction in the next post.

The other practical this week was samples for trouser fastenings; button flies and splitfalls.  Guest tutor Julia took us for this - we made calico and woollen cloth samples for the flies and just a calico for the splitfalls.
Flies seem to have an accepted standard layout but the splifalls seem to be more of a moveable feast, the principle remains but the number and placement of buttons, plackets, etc, can changeable. Where the photos  for the wool cloth flies and the splitfalls are I don't know! - just imagine them - like the example from Augusta Auctions, beautiful, precise, immaculate - I wish! The idea is that there are flaps that crossover and fasten with buttons behind the front panel that covers all the draughty bits and buttons up like a bib front. The 2 buttons either side at the waist are for braces.


example from Augusta Auctions

 The first revision is done - replacing the shirt collar was completed yesterday - lounging on the sofa, munching raspberries and cashews, watching a borrowed film- The Company of Strangers- worth a watch if you are after something intriguing and quiet rather than dramatic.

man's shirt c 1830s

Northern  College  of Costume, York.  Summer Course- wk 1 -shirt

Actually started! This is a costume course - not a 'lets make a historically accurate garment down to the very last detail' course. Modern machines and techniques are used so don't expect a purist's outcome. In other words - overlocked and machine sewn.

From V&A, earlier but similar

project one -  gentleman's ensemble c 1830s



Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men's Clothes, 1600-1900

First the shirt - this was based on the Norah Waugh pattern for the 1700s/early 18th C. The cuffs are changed to  fitted ones and a stock at the neck rather than cravat. It is fitted at the neck and cuff, quite tight at the armhole - but  most of the rest is just gathered in almost all directions- and with gusset mania .  There is a huge amount of fabric in the body and sleeve- it is hard to imagine it 'fitting' anyone except the Michelin man.

Also, being a forward thinking and highly organised person I did take a camera everyday to record the process - then forgot to use it. The construction images are from a mini version done yesterday as a 'revision' exercise.

Task one -
First scaling up and drafting. This was simple enough - it is all right angled blocks - although my fabric pieces tended to change shape somewhat after their experience of the industrial overlocker. Must remember not to giggle.

 The construction  should have been straight forward enough as well but there were one or two tricks and ideas (and gussets) to play with-

frill and placket on my small version

A small  dart into the centre front at base of the neck opening was new idea 1 for me. This gives a small allowance for the placket and it worked well. Having the placket behind the top fabric was different- the buttons on the chest are hidden.





New idea 2  was to  put in a  gusset into the shoulder seam at the neck.  This  gusset is folded into a triangle and  opens out the seam to give some shaping at the base of the collar to allow for the slope of the shoulder line. On the photo, to the left of the frill, the folded gusset is quite clear, sticking up above  the flat line of the shoulder seam.

underarm gussets, raw edged and partly felled

On to gussets 2. This was not a thing I was looking forward to but it went well - just had to be careful about leaving seam allowances at the first and third corners  and lining up the seams at right angles. Locating the second part of the underarm to complete the  gusset (corner 3 &4) did get a little confusing - first find the back of the sleeve in all of those billows of fabric!
Another folded gusset  (number 3s) opens the  bottom of the  side seam.


The rest was familiar territory, which means it was more frustrating to make errors.
I had a proper Wednesday which  was frustrating - it was collar day. The process is simple enough but there was plenty of fight left in the shirt. There is gathering all round the neck, with tucks at the shoulder on the gussets. Problem one gathering evenly, problem 2 stopping the fine fabric of the collar from rucking and pleating as I was machining, and problem 3, of course remembering to fold the top placket back underneath the shirt front before attaching the collar. Once all of this was sorted out ( unpicking skills to the fore) the iron decided to strike and mark the fabric as it was pressed. It will come out in the wash, it will.....

After this it was sleeve plackets and then cuffs. These we cut with a slight flare to go down onto the hand and to be buttoned at the wrist. Guess who got the buttonholes muddled?  My model - the Phantom Man of Mystery -will use cufflinks now. I shall cite one of the V&A examples if challenged.










Now that the shirt is done the rest of the ensemble was begun - Cossack trousers (pleat fronts) waist coat and frock coat, had to be drawn out and pattern pieces made. Ron Davis' patterns were the guiding light for these, they are not hard but do require some maths, precision and care - all of which were in short supply on a Friday.  A minor concern is the elusive nature of my male model - only 3 confirmed measurements ( or is that sightings?) - I am beginning to visualise him as somewhere between the Cheshire Cat, fading in and out of existence leaving only traces, and the Scarlet Pimpernel, - we seek him here, we seek him there....  We have done best guess patterns based on a similar guy and will run up the toiles next week  for a fitting. It is going to be an interesting time!
Photos and reports on these next week.......

.



1795 Round Gown - the accidental dress.

This is a dress that never was meant to be -it is  an accidental dress; I couldn't think my way through a construction so decided to make a mini version to test ideas.
Sensible decision?
 Seeing as it wasn't meant to be happening most of the making hasn't been recorded.






 Moving on from the chemise a la reine-

my illustration for my chemise a la reine based on a
Gallerie des Modes original.

KCI round gown 1795ish

 it seemed right to stick to the drawstring idea but move it on 10 or 20 years.  The KCI (Kyoto Costume Institute) has a lovely light linen example - printed with carnations-  but as usual in these things a full 360 eluded me, so had to make up the back.

 The gowns have a lot in common - the drawstring reigns supreme and while the round gown skirt  has more fullness at the back  but is gathered all the way round.  The sleeve is still shaped and in two parts,  but I can not see clearly enough to see if the shoulder strap is still a separate piece or not. The  shapes and fitting, however,  are changing; the back is cut and fitted and the waist is migrating  rapidly upward.


The model I chose to make is a real hybrid - or transition piece. The back is panelled and  semi fitted, the separate shoulder strap is now part of the front bodice piece, leaving a diagonal seam on the back  It is still depending in drawstrings for fitting at the front and has a decidedly fuller back skirt. For mine the bodice and skirt are made separately and joined at the waist.



bodice pieces

 The dress began with the bodice - shoulder seams and bodice front first, because I wanted the neck complete to start making the channels for the drawstring. The bodice is lined and the channel is made by the stitching for the neck edge  and a second run of stitching parallel to the edge. The drawstring is threaded between the 2 layers of fabric and tied at the centre front. But where to attach the strings? Some seem to go all of the way round the neck, others just the front neck. Mine are anchored to the seam allowances for the front bodice piece so only that central area is gathered.  And then to lace ruff or not?  No - this is an accidental dress not a full production piece.

rounded sleeves!

cuff and top stitching along front seam.

The side back panels were then sewn in place  and sleeves made up.  These  were fun - I top sewed the seams running up the arm - it really did make them rounded tubes - they very nearly managed to stand up but kept over balancing.  A simple binding was added as a cuff rather than the pleated example on the KCI dress. ( colour - the one on the left is accurate - it is the vile berry cloth I've used for linings! The more attractive rusty red is because of the late evening sun)




With the bodice complete the skirt was sewn up and attached.
About 3/5s of the volume is gathered and stitched down at the back. This looked so heavy that I introduced a couple of small pleats  on the centre back panel - a bit counter intuitive but it did work.  The front section was loosely gathered and sewn on.  The  channel for the waist drawstring was made using the seam allowances - folded upward inside and top stitched. Not ideal  or elegant but it served. I tried adding tape covering the seam and threading the string behind that but the additional bulk prevented it from gathering evenly.

A spot of hemming and it was done.  As a round gown - it functions. As an attempt at an accurate round gown - oops.
 Do not like the waist - the raw edges should be buried between the lining and top fabric- it should look effortless. ( the desire to see the mechanics and bones of  construction came much later!). The back should be more exaggerated - a real diamond with points at each corner- mine belongs to a slightly later period.






Was this wise to make? Ummm. It has tended to reinforce the problem areas and to confuse further.  It has also highlighted the 'maternity' quality of the style. Poor Gwen does look as if there are only a few weeks to go!  I hate the feeling of dissatisfaction with decisions made, even compromises should be happy ones.

 " 'Never mind' said the HMIs. 'Never mind.'"

Problem is - now part way through making a full size version of a round gown for me and am getting that same sinking feeling......
Time to go and attack a bush in the garden - something is bound to need brutal cutting, slashing, sawing, or  at least hitting!
 Oh, Happy Sunday!