Several new patterns of mine are being released today, as well as a couple for which I've just done the patterns and samples. Over the next couple of weeks I will devote one or two blogs to each of these patterns to explain the choices I made and show you how things were sewn.
22 Comments
Yesterday I showed photos of the samples I made for the Tudor gown and underpinnings. Today I will show you all the photos I took while making this hood. I got most of these hat making techniques from the book "From the Neck Up" by Denise Dreher, one of the books I think any serious costume maker should have. Anyway ... here are my photos. Please note, these are not complete instructions.
The hair is worn inside the hood, pulling it through the opening and, if the hair is long, allowing it to hang down inside the veil.
Well, in this installment of "From my library" we are back on the dining room table because it is a smaller group of books, eighteen in all. These are non-serious costume books. Or you could think of them as fun costuming books. Or another way to look at it, these are books for costumers in a hurry. And I think we have all been there at one time or another. The largest subcategory is costuming for amateur theater. I strongly feel this is a much harder job than professional costuming where there are so many more resources and usually a group of costumers with years of experience between them. The amateur costumer has fewer resources and most likely the people helping her are not too experienced AND, she/he probably has a full time job Monday through Friday. Below are my favorites ones from this group. "Costuming made easy - How to make costumes from cast off clothing" by Barb Rogers really shows what can been done with thrift store stuff. This is probably the cheapest and fastest way to cobble together costumes for an amateur play. "Broadway Costumes on a Budget" by Janet Litherland and Sue McAnally is full of lots of useful costuming tips, but what this book is really good for is teaching how to organize and delegate all the work involved in costuming a show. And, the thing I like the best is how they have made categories for shows that share the same kind of costumes. This can be very useful when reusing or borrowing costumes. If you were only going to own one book in this category I would recommend "Stage Costume Techniques" by Joy Spanable Emery. She covers basic clothing history, fabric choices, pattern making, how to set up a workroom and the costuming process, meaning what the costumers responsibilities are. Generally a good book. She also runs an amazing collection of home sewing patterns from the beginning of home sewing patterns at the University of Rhode Island. A book I acquired recently is "Patterns for Costume Accessories" by Arnold S. Levine and Robin L. McGee. This book has loads of patterns for useful costume accessories such as these gaiters. These three books are basically kid's costume books. The book on the right, Jane Asher's Costume Book, is really fun though. Jane Asher, the British actress, has come up with many funny and very quick costume ideas, Such as this statue on a Pillar. Above is my collection of vintage costume and masquerade books. I have a reprint of one from 1892, one from the 40's, a 50's book for making costumes out of crepe paper ... really! ... seems like a fire hazard. But, my favorite one is from the 20's. I plan to devote an entire blog to costume wearing in the 1920's. They don't call it the "Roaring Twenties" for nothing. This last book doesn't show how to make costumes but it is so fun, I've been trying to find a way to show it to you, so I'm doing it now. It is a book that gives an overview of costume history from Roman times to the present, in the humorous way only the British can do. It is considered a kids book, but every adult I've loaned it to has loved reading it AND has actually learned some costume history. I looked at Amazon and there are some used copies for sale starting at $.01! Well worth it. This should take you to Amazon. We still get the actual paper copy of the New York Times every Sunday. It just isn't Sunday without lolling about with an extra cup of coffee and the Times. Maureen Dowd is always fun to read and today she wrote about underwear! An historical look at underwear at an exhibit in Paris to be exact. And, her article is provocative to read, as usual. One thing I learned was the word "lingerie" comes from the French word to wash, which makes so much sense, I should have know that before!! Since most clothing back in the day was pretty much impossible to wash, the best people could do was to wash all the underclothing they wore next to their skin ... their lingerie!! So, I would love you all to read her article, especially you "Extreme Research" folks and please comment on Ms. Dowd's assertions. Click here to go to the article. Click here to go to the official site for the exhibition. It's in French, but there is a little British flag up top you can click on that has a lot of neat stuff in English and there is probably a way to translate the French. Please chime in, if anyone knows how.
Hi. Martha McCain again. I consider the picture above to be “extreme research.”Why? It’s an original pattern from Journal des Demoiselles, 1860. I even get extra points because it’s in French. Extreme Research, to my mind, involves looking at material created in the period you’re studying. This includes fashion magazines, tailoring and dressmaking books, patterns, artworks, and - of course - original garments. Right now I’m writing a series of highly illustrated monographs to share some of the information I’m collecting. Each pamphlet “stars” a garment from a private collector a small museum. I’m taking patterns from the originals, photographing details and explaining the construction. Below is the first in what, I hope, will be an on-going series: I’ll be delighted to talk more about this project at another time, but I want to tell you how I got involved in such deep delving. My background is in theatrical costume design. Both as a designer and a draper, I wanted to know about the shape and style of period garments. But if a zipper or Velcro got an actor on stage faster, I didn’t consider tiny hooks and eyes essential. And if a dancer looked prettier in fluffy tulle petticoats than an authentic hoop, so be it. Also, the stage can cry out for costume silliness. In a production of Mandragola at The Folger Shakespeare Theater, I exaggerated the silhouettes by lining the costumes with foam rubber. When I started designing patterns for Simplicity, my approach was often too theatrical and most definitely too difficult and time-consuming to make. The headdress on the right is made of horsehair braid held in the shape by clear plastic pony beads. I wonder if anyone ever made this... I suggested doing a line of Civil War costumes for Simplicity. That led to my meeting some really dedicated reenactors and collectors and scholars. and to learning how serious a credible “Fashion Historian” has to be. On another visit to Andrea’s blog, I’ll share some of the research I’ve done in museums, old magazines, and on line. (Love the books that Google has scanned!)
Where do I do my research? While I don't specialize in period correct historic costumes, I take them very seriously and do my best to provide a pattern that will be useful to the people involved in reenactments. So, when asked to make a new 1860s dress pattern, I wanted to make a day dress, because I know that is what is worn most. I searched on line in various library archives and costumer's blogs for fashion plates and photographs from the Civil War until I found a pair of dresses that were different from anything else Simplicity had published AND could be made with mostly the same pattern pieces. There is only so much room in a pattern envelope and this is an issue I constantly have to deal with. Here is the Godey's Lady's Book image I used from 1863. See the two ladies on the right? Those are my gals ... I even had a hat specially made to be worn with the aqua dress by Lynnette Miller at Miller's Millinery. Wouldn't it be fun to make every dress in this illustration! For fun ... here is a photo I took just before sending these dresses into Simplicity. Please forgive the hoop showing. I didn't put a petticoat over the the hoop skirt. This photo was just taken for me, at that point I didn't dream I would be writing about my work! If any one has a made up this pattern, it would give me so much pleasure to see what you've done. Please send me a message on the contact page and then I can tell you how to send me an image. Thanks!
|
From AndreaI am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"! Archives
August 2019
Archives by Subject
To search for blog posts in specific categories, use the drop down menu above by hovering over the word "Blog" Andrea Schewe participates in Amazon's associates program.
|