DIY 1920s Evening Bag

When I designed my senior fashion design collection for school last year I found this AMAZING black swirl velvet. I mean seriously, swirl  velvet  in black! Sadly I cannot buy more of this fabric, last year I bought all there was left on the bolt, which was about 4 1/2 yards. I made a dress for my collection, which is very pretty (and not my size). So I have been holding onto the scraps of this wondrous fabric for a long time trying to think of a way to incorporate it into my wardrobe. I finally decided that one of the more strangely shaped scraps would make a great little purse!

I came across some delicate metal purse frames at Joanns recently and knew it was time to DIY myself a little 20's style evening bag to pair with my 20's dresses. I sort of winged the design based on some examples of vintage bags on pinterest. I also had some spare gold tassels hanging around from all of the gold trimmings I bought for my Cleopatra costume last year that I figured I could use.

To make a little evening bag for yourself, you will need:

- A metal purse frame (available at Joanns, and prettier ones available on etsy)
- Fabric for the outside of the bag
- Fabric for lining the bag
- Paper to make a pattern
- A ruler
- Preferably a sewing machine (but hand sewing works just fine too)
- Needle and thread
- Chain or ribbon for the handle
- Embellishments, sequins, tassels etc.

First take your purse frame and trace it onto your paper. Add a line a half inch above this first line for seam allowance.

To create my pattern I drew lines down from the edges of the frame at a 90 degree angle and then a point at the bottom. However, conceivably you can make these bags in any shape you want. Round, square, trapezoid, whatever you'd like!

I learned from an unsuccessful prototype that you then want to cut your pattern down the middle and stretch/add a half inch of width to the middle. I had to expand my pattern a half inch to get it to fit my frame. A lot of ease apparently gets eaten up in the sewing process (especially if you are using velvet). You may want to make a little muslin first to see how much ease you will need for a good fit.

Next cut out your lovely pattern from your "fashion fabric" (the fabric you see on the outside) and your lining fabric. For each, pin around the edges leaving the top (frame) edge open.

Once the edges are sewn you will have two little pockets. Pull your lining inside out and slip it into your fashion fabric, so that the right sides of the fabrics are together. Pin the "pockets" together along the top edge but leave a small section free so you can turn the whole thing right side out when its sewn.

Once you sew the top together, turn the whole bag right side out and slip-stitch the opening you left closed.

Then sew the top edge of the bag to your frame. This seems a lot more challenging than it actually is, just stitch up through the edge of the bag through the holes in the frame and repeat.

Finish by adding a handle to your frame, attaching it at the highest point not the hinge so that gravity doesn't work against you. I used chain but you could also use ribbon or a beaded strand, its up to you! I also added a gold tassel at the bottom point as embellishment but you could add whatever you like! Beads, fringe, sequins, appliques or whatever else you can imagine!

This style of bag can work for earlier in the century as well, though well to do women didn't really carry purses in the early Edwardian period as much. Mostly bags and purses became a fashionable thing to have when women started wearing make-up and needed a place to store their compact and lipstick when going out. Makes sense I suppose!

I still have a bit of this amazing fabric left and I can't decide yet what to do with it. I don't have enough for a skirt or dress on its own so i have to find a way of combining it into something pretty. If only I could get more! Back to the sketch book to dream something up I go!

More 18th Century Jacket Progress

This weekend I managed to work on my 18th century pattern a bit more, but now I have a dilemma! I finished my new basic 18th century pattern, traced it and then added the flared skirt and "swallowtails", the points at the center back. My basic pattern closes by being pinned in the center front and I almost want to keep that type of closure for my jacket! Now I can't decide if I want to modify my pattern to be like the original Willamsburg jacket, or keep it like I have the pattern now.

Here are my sketches, the first is the historic jacket and the second shows my current jacket pattern. I really can't decide! I'm not sure how I would trim the current pattern. Possibly just a pleated trim out of self fabric at the neckline and sleeve cuff...hmmm...I'm just not sure yet!

Woman's Jacket, printed, 1775-1785 

This is the extant Willamsburg jacket, it seems to have sadly lost its stomacher somewhere in time.

Cotton jacket, 1775-1799 

The second example here has a similar front to my current pattern, though mine is shorter. I also cant decide if I should just even out the center front and chop off the point. So many decisions to make on this pattern! I just have to commit and then I'll be ready to start the final jacket!

Closet Histories #1.2: The Tudors

It seems the Renaissance has been quite sensationalized as of late. Between the Borgia's and the Tudors (and lets not mention Reign among them because...no...just no) there have certainly been a lot of historic costumes on our TV screens in recent years. However, not all historic costumes are created equal, nor are they often very historically accurate. So after all the questionable polyester satins and sequins (which are still very pretty, you will never catch me really hating on sequins) let us cleanse our palate with some truth.

Like their Italian counterparts, English women of the early to mid 1500's wore a layered ensemble; again consisting of a linen chemise, some sort of bodies or stays, a petticoat (underskirt) and a gown. The chemises were often embellished with blackwork embroidery which, as you may imagine, consisted of black thread designs on a white linen fabric. The farthingale held out the petticoat helping to create the very hourglass shape with a stiff conical bodice and flared skirt. The split skirt showed off the petticoat underneath or in some cases a separate elaborate fabric triangle shaped forepart, a section of fabric often embroidered and embellished with jewels or pearls.

The gowns had square or bowed curving neckline and were trimmed with metallic braid or lace and often jewels and pearls. The distinctive style of sleeve en vogue during the first half of the century was called the trumpet sleeve. The upper arm of the sleeve fitted closer to the body and then below the elbow flared out dramatically and was usually folded back over itself to show off a beautiful velvet or fur lining. To these basic layers were again added partlets for modesty or decoration, detachable under-sleeves, a whole lot of jewelry and distinctive headdresses.

To model the quintessential English Tudor look we have the above full length portrait of Kathrine Parr from 1545. As a queen of England (albeit not for very long, from 1543 till 1547 when Henry VIII died) she had the status and wealth to wear the very finest of dress (and was apparently very fond of jewels, though who isn't really).  Katherine wears a gown of golden brocade with a forepart and lower sleeves of rich red brocade (or voided velvet perhaps? hard to say). The trumpet sleeves of her gown are lined in a lush white (ermine?) fur and the neckline of her bodice is trimmed in jewels. In addition to the jewelry on her gown she wears a brooch, necklaces, a jeweled headdress, several rings and a long jeweled girdle. Originally made of fabric, the girdle was essentially a jeweled metal beaded or chain belt with a long "tail" down the front of the gown that ended in a tassel or sometimes a small prayer book.

Though the look displayed above is the classic Tudor style, lets look at some more portraiture to get a wider idea of Tudor fashions in England leading up to the Elizabethan period.

Fig. 1                         Fig. 2                               Fig. 3

Fig. 1 is a portrait of Elizabeth of York, daughter of king Edward IV, wife of Henry VII and mother of king Henry VIII. This portrait, from the late 16th century, portrays her in a wide square necked gown of red velvet with relatively close fitting sleeves and ermine fur cuffs. Her gown is trimmed with gold and seems to close in front,  possibly overlapping and being closed with pins.

The Denver Art Museum's Thread Studio

Last week I told you guys about the awesome quilt exhibit currently on view in the Denver Art Museum's textile arts gallery. Well adjacent to that gallery is the Thread Studio, which is one awesome space if you are a fan of needlecraft of any kind!

Thread Studio is a space all about fiber, textiles and related arts including; spinning, knitting, quilting, embroidery, lace making, fabric dying, weaving, crochet, and any other type of fiber/needle craft you can think of! There is an interactive space for children (an adults) to try embroidery for themselves, or make a quilt pattern with fabric magnets. My favorite part of Thread Studio are the cubbies that line the walls. Each is filled with examples of different types of crafts and techniques related to fiber and textiles. As someone who loves to embroider and adores finding old sewing ephemera, I especially love the case full of tiny scissors.

The space also has some nice seating and a screen loaded with dozens upon dozens of interesting videos on lace-making, indigo dying, textile production and much much more. It's just a really great space for exploring fiber and textiles, so I again implore any Denverites or visitors to check out Thread Studio! If you happen to visit on a Thursday you can also check out Preview, where you will be able to chat with conservators while they work on the next set of textiles to be displayed in the gallery. There are also occasionally textile specific tours and events so check out the museum's website for more information!

Photo from Spatial Poetics Design

Photo from Spatial Poetics Design

and no, the Denver Art Museum is not sponsoring these posts, I just genuinely love the place!

Closet Histories #1.1: The Funeral Dress of Eleonora di Toledo

Today I discuss what arguably will be one of the greatest treasures I ever personally behold. That sounds very epic, but I cannot overstate how important to me seeing this gown was. When I said a few posts ago that clothing from the Renaissance was very rare, I wan't over simplifying the matter. That's why the survival of the funeral dress of Italian Renaissance noblewoman Eleonora di Toledo is incredibly amazing.

Now one could certainly argue that we shouldn't be cracking open tombs to retrieve extant examples of dress. That's a fair argument, some people prefer to leave the dead well alone. However, the Italians of today apparently are not those people. Ever eager for more information about the infamous Medici they first opened the tombs in 1857, and began reopening the family's tombs again more recently 2001. Some also may suggest it is pretty gross to be handling and studying a garment that someone was buried in, and it kind of is, but I think putting mummies in glass cases is certainly worse than burial clothes and museums do that all the time!

As I said, it was an amazing experience to see this gown in person. As a historic costume enthusiast and history lover I was in awe just being in that room with garments that had been worn over five hundred years previously.

Pictured above is the very room where the gown is now on display. Though the photo implies otherwise, the room is actually kept quite dark. Light is extremely damaging to textiles, especially textiles that are already very old and fragile. Reconstructed with supplementary fabric to fill the gaps lost to time and displayed flat, the gown certainly still holds a certain magic.

The photo above shows the gown as it is displayed, though in much greater detail as the light in the room is seriously dim. The gown (or sottana, if you will) dates from 1562 and is typical in style for a Florentine woman of Eleonora's status.

Eleonora di Toledo was born in Spain in 1522. She married the ruler of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, in 1539 and they went onto have 11 children, only 5 of whom reached lasting adulthood. Though initially unpopular in Florence as a Spaniard, Eleonora's popularity quickly grew as she proved herself to be a charitable and religious woman. She was a great patron of the arts and many portraits of her exist to this day. She also liked beautiful clothing, which was thankfully documented in said portraits!  It is believed that she contracted tuberculosis at some point and also suffered greatly from calcium deficiency which was exacerbated by her numerous pregnancies.  Though often ill, she was still an active consort for Cosimo and he even left her in charge as regent when he traveled, suggesting a great level of trust in her. She died in 1562 of Malaria.

There is evidence to suggest that this gown, her funeral dress was the last dress that had been made for her "The funeral dress seems to correspond with a description in the Medici Guardaroba: One with bodice and skirt in white satin with a band of brown sfondato velvet embroidered in gold and silver with narrow gold braid. It was delivered in August 1562, four months before the Duchess died, and the last dress made for her. It is not listed is the inventory list made after the Duchess died, according to the authors of "Moda a Firenze", which gives a strong indication of this being indeed her funeral dress. " (aneafiles)

The gown is made of white or light yellow silk satin with brown velvet and metallic trim. The trim has survived the centuries far better than the fragile silk and preserved the style-lines of the garment. The bodice seems to be sleeveless as no sleeves were found when the gown was recovered from the tomb. The bodice, which is presented as fully separate from the skirt,  laces in two rows down the back through eyelets originally reinforced with copper rings (which have disintegrated). This dress (along with another very similar example from Pisa) is one of the only physical records of how Italian Renaissance women's clothing was constructed outside of portraits.

The Ailing Eleonora di Toledo, 1556, Oil on wood,  Museo Bardini, Florence

The image above depicts Eleonora in a very similar gown to the one she was buried in. So similar, being possibly sleeveless as well, that I might question the date of 1556 and say it may be the same dress. We will of course never know, perhaps she just favored the style and had several dresses made that were similar.

This last image is the Janet Arnold's sketch of the funeral dress. The drawing shows how the dress would have looked in 3 dimensions while being worn. (Also, interesting, if not exactly relevant,  tidbit for those who know/worship Janet Arnold's work--the curator of textiles at the museum where I work knew Janet Arnold! They became friends while studying textile conservation together in France many moons ago! Crazy to meet someone who knew her well!)

This gown remains one of the best record we have of Italian Renaissance dress from the 1560's. I want to share extant examples with you for Closet Histories as much as possible as there is nothing better than the real thing!  Next week we move north to begin talking about Eleonora's English contemporaries, the Tudors of course!

Resources:

1. Funeral Dress of Eleonora de Toledo, 1562 

2. Extant Italian Dresses

3. Costume Gallery Pitti Palace, Florence
4. Eleanor of Toledos wardrobe unlocked Part one

5. The Ailing Eleonora da Toledo

18th Century Bodice Progress and Blog Fixes

I seem to have misplaced my basic 18th century bodice pattern. I don't know how things get sucked into a vortex when, hypothetically, they have never left my sewing room, but I digress. After finally trying on my  finished stays, I learned that they now fit perfectly and are the most comfortable pair I have made yet! Which was a relief, even though I still don't think they are very pretty with all the bias piecing. I shall make another pair...one day.

I started trying to reconstruct my basic bodice pattern by trying on a few of my old 18th century bodices, to see if they still fit, and if I even still liked my old pattern (the one that went missing). The waist was too short on the sides and the sleeves needed to be re-drafted, but otherwise the pattern still worked well. I also wanted to switch from having the shoulder strap in one with the front pattern piece to a more authentic separate piece. So I traced the pieces from the bodice that fit the best and then made my corrections. I always think it is easier to start with some sort of pattern, even a bad one, and then fix it. So I cut out my new pattern and an old one piece 18th century sleeve pattern that I had laying around.

The bodice I copied the pattern from, I want to fix up this bodice so that it is wearable as a little jacket because I still love this print! It would be so perfect for 4th of July too with a blue or red petticoat!

Trying on the quickly sewn together bodice muslin of the new pattern told me that, a. I finally had the side waist length correct and, b. the sleeve pattern I found laying around was a definite no go. I also had to adjust the shoulder strap a bit more to be more accurate looking. I don't actually own Costume Close Up, the book in which the Willamsburg Swallowtail jacket pattern is provided, so I will be modifying my own basic bodice pattern to create my version. I have actually never scaled up a historical pattern to use, I work more by modifying my own patterns until they closely resemble the patterns in Janet Arnold or other resources. Perhaps one day I will try just scaling up, but I figure since each woman's clothes would have been draped separately on the body and not cut from a pre-made pattern, that my way isn't exactly inaccurate either.

So I need to create a new 18th century sleeve pattern. Oh sleeves, thou art never fun! I will then make the modifications to the bodice to turn it into the Swallowtail jackets distinctive shape. I want to make a muslin jacket first to make sure I have everything correct before diving into my long guarded pretty floral fabric. I may go get some fun but cheap cotton/linen to make this rather functional mock-up so that if it works I can use it!

In other news, I have made a few small updates to the layout of this here blog! I may keep tweaking a few things, so if something on the page jumps around it is just me moving around code! I want to do a post about blogging soon, as I went from never being able to keep up, to posting at least every other day for over a year! I have been devoting a lot of time to learning about blogging, and have been loving the Blogcademy home school lessons! I certainly have a lot of fun posts coming up on my calender for you all soon!

For now I am off to work, but I may stop at the fabric store on the way home....

Closet Histories #1: The Italian Renaissance

One of my favorite innovations of the Renaissance has to be the advance in painting. How else would we have such a magnificent record of the textiles and clothing from over five hundred years ago? Fabric just doesn't last the way oil on canvas can, and extant pieces of clothing from the Renaissance are exceptionally rare. The rich textures captured by artists of the time allow us to to study the beautiful fashions that have long ago turned to dust.

In the early 16th century, Italy was not yet Italy. Made up of individual city states, each region was ruled independently and there was often conflict between the major players. Dress could vary in style from region to region, some city's having their own rather distinctive trends. The fabrics used were sumptuous; various types of velvet's, brocades, satins, and even cloth of gold (fabric woven with real gold metallic threads).

I want to address several different styles of Italian gowns found in portraiture from throughout the 1500's. The basics of women's dress throughout the century remained relatively constant and consisted of layers of dresses. The first, what would be later known as a chemise, then in Italy called a camica, was a loose usually floor length under-dress, made of linen and worn essentially as underwear. Over the camica went the gown (called the gammura and later the sottana) and then potentially over that went another over-dress (giornea). Other layers were added depending on the style, such as a petticoat (underskirt), partlet, or a zimarra (a wide overdress).

As the century progressed the main garment of women's dress, the sottana, changed in style. The styles in Italy were eventually influenced by those of the northern royal courts of Spain and France. The skirts got wider, eventually being held out by a farthingale hoop (a style originating in Spain), and the bodices grew more structured and rigid eventually leading to the wearing of bodies (later stays) to form the torso into a cylindrical or conical shape.

Fig. 1                                                                         Fig. 2                                                     Fig. 3

In fig.s 1-3 we can observe the styles of the early 1500's in Italy. Fig.1, a portrait of an unidentified bride by the famous Raphael, shows the higher waistline and removable, tied on, sleeves of the earlier 1500's. The painted is dated 1505, and also features a unicorn, so that's pretty awesome! The lady's camica is clearly visible at the shoulder, neckline, and puffing out through the ties of her voluminous sleeves. Her gown is decorated simply with graphic geometric lines and little else. The portraits showcasing this particular style are usually Florentine, suggesting the style may have been specific to that region. The higher waist and larger sleeves are both traits of the earlier part of the century, later giving way to more Northern European influenced styles. 

The second lady pictured is Bianca Maria Sforza (fig.2). Painted in 1493, Bianca (great name btw) is pictured wearing a high waisted brocade or voided velvet gown. Again her camica is seen puffing through her tied on sleeve. She also wears a heavily jeweled belt and a headdress seemingly constructed mainly of pearls. The fabric used for her sottana is clearly extremely luxurious, befitting a woman who would become the empress of the holy roman empire (via her second marriage).

The last image (fig.3) is a detail from a fresco in the Basilica di Stanta Maria Novella in Florence.The lovely lady in front is wearing the three layers of a traditional 1490's Florentine ensemble; the camica, the gammura, and the giornea. The outermost garment, the giornea, was another layer added for formal occasions to showcase the beautiful and intricate brocades only the most wealthy could afford. The rights of wearing certain garments and fabrics were also guarded by sumptuary laws which regulated who could wear what in Renaissance Italy.

Fig.4                                                                      Fig. 5                                                           Fig.6

The lovely ladies in our second section range in date from 1523 (fig. 6) to 1557 (fig.4) but are all wearing a similar style consisting of a rigid bodice and fuller skirt. The sottana was the main gown, the one that would be seen. The higher waist fell lower and grew more pointed as the century progressed. How the stiff conical bodice was supported is a matter of some dispute, over whether bodies--an early form of stays, which in turn were an early style of corset-like garment--were used or not. One of the earliest extant pairs of bodies was taken from the dressed funeral effigy of queen Elizabeth I, who died in 1603. Even that extant pair could date from as late as the 18th century and are therefore again disputed. It is clear from portraits that either some form of stiffing was sewn into the bodices of the gowns or was part of a separate garment worn underneath.

A Tropical 50's Dress

I would have preferred to shoot photos of this dress in front of some appropriately lush tropical ferns, or perhaps some swaying palm trees, but I live in Colorado and we just don't have many of those! So the local town hall will have to do, not that the building serves as a town hall anymore, it is instead a community theater. Still, a rather pretty building nonetheless!

I found this fabric for under $4 dollars a yard! That's right, crazy inexpensive for such a cool print! It is rather sheer though, so this dress is lined in black cotton. I was quite determined to finish this dress before tropical prints become completely inexcusable for the year as summer winds down. It could be my eternal love for black clothing ("It's cute, does it come in black?") but I really love how this dress turned out!

Dress: Made by me
Shoes: Target
Necklace: Vintage, Birthday gift <3
Earrings: Made by me
Bracelet: Target

So that's another sewing project done! I have one more dress I'd like to finish before summer truly ends, but I promise I am still working on my 18th century jacket first. So much sewing, so little time!

First Glance/Second Look: Quilts from the Denver Art Museum Collection

I have had the great fortune of spending my summer interning at the Denver Art Museum in the education and textile arts departments. I recently realized I hadn't told you all about the great exhibit currently on display in the museum's textile gallery through March 22nd of next year! The exhibition is called First Glance/Second Look: Quilts from the Denver Museum Collection and includes over 20 exquisite quilts!

Now I will be the first to admit that I didn't used to care at all about quilts. When it comes to needle-craft I am a dressmaker first, a costumer second, an embroider third and a milliner last; quilting has never been on my radar. That was before I spent most of my summer looking closely at these fine quilts and learning more about them. If I had ever felt affection for quilts before, it was for crazy quilts due to their use of silk and velvet, which I immediately found appealing. Crazy quilts remain my favorite, even as my appreciation for other quilts has grown.

The quilts on display range in date from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. Quilts can actually be quite useful to the historic costumer in many respects, most of all as a record of different printed textiles from a confirmed date. Crazy quilts were often made using scraps from ballgowns and even cuttings from wedding or christening dresses. I found the different embroidery patterns and techniques used in the crazy quilt below to be particularly inspiring as well!

This huge quilt was made as a bed-cover and the artist cut out each floral motif from chintz individually and then appliqued them onto the quilt! 

These detail shots above are from an early 19th century quit, costumers take note of the different cotton prints! wouldn't they make such lovely regency gowns?

This quilt is made of men's ties (mostly from the 1940's), check out the hot hula girl! She would have been a naughty detail on the underside of the tie originally!

This is a detail from one of the two house themed quilts, this being the louder and much more contrasting of the two. The design is traditional, but the fabric choices are not, as usually this style is made in more subdued colors and uses floral print fabric

I hope if you near the Denver area you will stop by to visit the exhibit and admire the wonderful quilts from the Denver Art Museum's collection. Adjacent to the main gallery is the fabulous Thread Studio space (which I will talk more about next week) where there is a second smaller exhibit of contemporary art quilts. These small scale quilts show the progression of quilting from the more traditional motifs showcased in the main exhibit, to the more boundary pushing art quilts of today. The textile gallery also shares the 6th floor with the European painting gallery and the small furniture gallery, which are naturally my other favorites at the museum!