Repairing a 19th Century Hair Comb

I found this Georgian beauty last year and loved it, despite it's toothless grin. I thought there had to be some way to fix it.

Well, this afternoon, I finally took it to the jeweler, and they said no go. The comb is an alloy, probably pinchbeck or ormolu, and they didn't have the ability to repair such a material. Ah well. But not to be defeated, I ran straight up the street to the craft store.

They did clean it for me, though, which really shined it up. It was kind of crusty before. 

The seller had kindly included a spare coral bead, which was faceted like the rest of the beads on the comb, but just a bit bigger. But two were missing, so I picked up some similar beads and some thin jewelry wire.

Ta da! 

Pretty darn close, all things considered. 

And the wire is just wrapped around the comb, so I didn't resort to glue or anything permanent that could damage the comb.

So yay! Now she has a new life. I think I will wear her to the Jane Austen Evening at the end of the month. Just think, two hundred years later, this lovely diadem gets to attend another ball. And hopefully many more after that!

2014 in Review

As the months go by, I always think to myself how many things I would like to sew and I feel like I never get anything done, but then, by the end of the year, I look back and, wow, I actually made quite a few things!

This year was sort of empty, event-wise, so I didn't make up too many full outfits. I kind of wandered around from era to era, stitching up some things that struck me in the moment, and some that lend to vague plans for future outfits. 

All in all, I was pleased this year at the quality of my work. I think general sewing skills, as well as historical accuracy were expanded upon, and while I didn't get everything I wanted done (impossible lol), the things I did work on and/or complete, I'm quite happy with. Yay! I also made my first foray into vintage sewing, which I thought was really fun, since they can be worn modern context. 

So, here went 2014!

I started off with a whole outfit for the Jane Austen Evening. I made some adjustments to my Regency undies, made a dress and petticoat, shoes and a reticule.

The New Years Dress

Happy New Year, all! 

Ok. So I decided I like the dress. Yay!

It wore it to a New Years party last night and it was very fun to wear, very comfy and stretchy, and very warm, too!

It's Butterick 5533, from the 1930's, made up in cranberry and navy plaid wool crepe. I'm not sure what year, exactly.

I ended up deviating from the pattern, which called for a continuous, lapped CB placket and buttons, and went with a side zip. I just sewed straight up the back to close the slit. Didn't have time to mess with all those buttons. 

The zip worked out great. Because of the nubbly nature of the crepe, the prick stitches almost disappeared around the zipper.

I faced the hem, cuffs and neck with self bias facing. The extra weight around the hem worked out nicely for the drape of the skirt.

And the belt.

And for the neckline, I didn't have a drapery weight, so I used a 5p. Aw, the Queen :)

The belated Christmas dress (that I may or may not hate).

After the quick and easy success of my wool trousers, I thought a dress would be a breeze. I was going to see The Nutcracker Saturday evening, so on a whim Saturday morning, I started in on a 1930's frock, somehow thinking I could finish it in a day. Crazy, I know. 

Well, I actually got pretty far. I gave up a half hour before I had to get dressed to leave. I was one hem and closure short of a wearable dress.

The closure, though. Ick.

I'm not sure what to do, now that I have no deadline to finish (maybe New Years?...). In my speed race, I was thinking of slicing the back open to the hem (currently it ends in a slash that goes into the CB skirt piece) and putting in an easy zipper. The pattern, however, calls for a continuous lap placket, closing with worked button holes and buttons. 

But in all honesty, I don't know if I'm going to like this dress enough to commit my time to all those button holes/loops. I'm not sure what to do now. I could do tube button loops. Not that that is much easier. Not to mention, hard to get in and out of! Or do I close up the back with a seam the length of the dress, and put a sneaky zipper or hooks in the side seam? Help. Opinions, please!!

Well, it's on it's way, I guess. I don't know if I like it, though. It's kind of a weird fabric, which is not terribly flattering on the body. It even makes my mannequin look fat! I might change the sleeves, which may help, since, in general, the dress kind of swallows me up. Maybe the festive little flouncy sleeve on the pattern envelope... Something needs help.

And it looks so chic in the illustration. Haha, I thought this had a chance of being a one day project! Bah!

HSF #23: Modern History. A pair of 1930's trousers.

The Challenge: #23, Modern History

Fabric: Lightweight wool suiting in a green Glen plaid

Pattern: Wearing History's Smooth Sailing Trousers

Year: 1930's

Notions: Thread, buttons

How historically accurate is it? Good, I guess.

Hours to complete: The prep took an afternoon, and the sewing another afternoon. Very quick.

First worn: Last weekend, for a Christmas party

Total cost: I think I got the wool on sale for about $7/yd. And it took about 3 yards, I think.

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Well first off, Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday season.

Over here it's been pretty busy, but I still found a couple afternoons to whip up a new pair of 1930's trousers. I so love the Wearing History pattern! It goes together so nicely and quickly and just makes a really good looking pair of pants.

For this pair, I used some lightweight plaid wool. I deviated from the pattern by adding a lapped, side closure with buttons instead of a zip. Next pair, I want to add some pockets!  

And they're comfy enough for playing with the pups, too!

"One man's trash...," they say. Or, why is corset busk in the middle of the desert?

In the middle of nowhere, miles even from the nearest ghost town, guess what I see on the desert floor? A corset busk!

And a button.

Why are these things here? Well, I've mentioned Goldfield before. It was a big deal city in Nevada during the mining boom in the early 1900's. The city was massive, and then it was basically leveled by fires in the 20's. 

Between a major flood in 1913, the fires in the 20's, subsequent rain and water flow, wind and the elements, and general dumping of garbage, during the period, the surrounding desert is scattered with 100 year old trash. And it's fascinating.

Owing to the remoteness of the location and the lack of population, the surrounding desert has been left untouched for a century. Over the years, as it rains, and things that were buried work their way to the surface, it's truly amazing what can be seen. 

And so why were we in Goldfield again? Well, we bought a historic building!!!

My husband and I are so jazzed to have the honor of restoring this gem and contributing to the history of this town, which we have so fallen for.

Below are some early pictures that were given to us by the former owner. It shows the building though some of it's incarnations. It was a bank and pharmacy, with office spaces on the upper floors.  Later it was a restaurant and bar. 

It was actually partially destroyed in a fire, in 1924, which shows in the photo below, and then rebuilt promptly after. In some of the upper rooms, charring from the fire can still be seen when you lift the windows and look within the framing!

We might even be inheriting a ghost! Legend says that Claudia haunts the building, after an untimely death in the 1920's. We shall see!

Can't wait to start this adventure! Happy Thanksgiving, all!

A bit more on the sontag and dotted sheer.

Front, flat.

Just a few more close up's of the dress and accessories from my last post.

The sontag is done up in navy blue wool yarn, in a garter stitch. As I had mentioned, a knitting instructor cobbled me up a pattern, I believe from Ravelry patterns. I added the loops and ties and tassels. The loops and ties were done by knitting two stitches over and over again, slipping to the opposite needle before each pass, so instead of knitting two stitches back and forth, they create a little square cable. Very handy to learn.

From the back.

I added a yarn-covered button to the center back, to anchor the loops. I can't remember if I had seen this on originals, or if it was in the pattern, or if it just made sense.

I'd really like to add some trim to this piece. Maybe soon!

And a close up of my jewelry accessories. I didn't add a picture of the belt, as I have worn it plenty before. The brooch is micro mosaic. I could't get a close enough picture to be clear, but it is amazing to see all the little bits of material that make up the flower motif.

And some pictures of details on the dress. Nothing terribly exciting. I used the same Truly Victorian pattern as my last sheer dress. The bodice is basically the same, except I substituted pagoda sleeves for the bishop style in the pattern, to match the original dress, which lives at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

For the trim on the sleeves, I gathered strips onto cord, stitched them down and then removed the cord. I did the same for the ruffles on the skirt.

To finish off the hems of the sleeves, I faced them with self-fabric. I think the extra layer added a bit of stability to the otherwise floppy sleeves.

Inside the sleeve hem.

The waistband was done the same as the pattern, with gathering at the center back and finished off with piping along the waist. The skirt was gauged to a separate skirt waistband.

A bit of piping at the armscye.

The neckline is piped and finished to the inside. The shoulder seams are pressed toward the back, which I have seen on an original.

The inner lining is done to the pattern specifications. I fastened the waist with hooks and eyes and left the rest of the front free. The neckline closes with a brooch.

The skirt has a large ruffle at the hem, that covers the foundation skirt and hem tape. Two smaller ruffles overlap it. Third to come!

The under sleeves are two large tubes of spotted cotton organdy, gathered to a wristband, and fastened with little china buttons.

And to add to the fun of the weekend, the reenactment was in the Sunday paper and my dress made an appearance! How fun! 

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend. Cheers to a great November ahead!