Hey everyone!! It’s me again, it’s been a while school got very busy. For this dress i did a victorian era inspired gown with bows and some flower detailing, and i made a regency inspired lace hat! It’s made with silk taffeta and satin ribbon along with some miniature gold buckles and rose embroidery appliqués to the dress, and of course, some ruffles! This is a collaboration with shadesof_pemberly on instagram for lady catherine de bourg’s dress! If you eant to see kore pictures, my insta is historical_calico! I couldn’t bring myself to make another regency gown when I could do smth a bit more elaborate! The regency cap is probably my favorite bit if the outfit though! I used lace and rose appliqués to make it! Regency goes surprisingly well with Victorian era loll

Closures a bit simplified

hello sewists!

I'm noodling around with ideas for my next project, and have run into a few questions. I'm planning on making a bodice with a separate overskirt and skirt, style somewhere in the 1870s to 1880s. but I can't decide if I want to have a bustle, a demi-train, a fantail or...? so that got me thinking: were women's garments in the late 19th century "convertible," so to speak? did women wear a skirt bustled or not bustled depending on what they were feeling that day, or did the way each piece was cut preclude them from being dual-purpose?

so for example, would the bustles in pics 1-3 have been able to be let down? do you think pic 4 is bustled, or is that just how the skirt was constructed? could the overskirts like those in in pics 5-6 be bustled? and in the 1870s, when natural form/fantail skirts were all the rage, did women ever loosen the drawstring (or whatever kept skirts gathered like in pic 7) to wear more of a full skirt, like the one in pic 8?

also, has anyone found good resources showing diagrams of the bustle infrastructure?

thank you in advance for your advice and expertise!

Hello all! Seems like I'm going to be a frequent flyer in this sub. While I am starting the process of bodice mockups, I want to also do shoes and was thinking, would this silver pair I have be a suitable shape for the 1860s? Im going to bedazzle the ever loving crap out of them with rhinestones for the glass effect but want a somewhat historical shape. In the Claire Hummel fan art, Cindy is barefoot but obviously I can't do that in a convention hall. Any opinions? Thank you!

The plain fabric is a light sky blue and the printed fabric is a dark emerald green colour with blue flowers/plants and white butterflies, they look different because of the lighting in the room. Both fabrics are 100% cotton.

The printed fabric will be for the skirt part of the dress and the blue fabric is for the top and sleeves. The printed fabric might not be 100% accurate for the 1820’s, but is truly beautiful and it is hard to find printed fabrics that match 100% with actual fabrics from the early 1800’s (other than fabric with stripes which wasn’t what I was personally looking for). I have seen dresses from the mid and late 1800’s with butterfly fabrics.

If you’re wondering what dress I’m making, I’m going to make the dress using Black Snails Patterns, Regency dress with tulip sleeves. The pattern is based off of late regency dresses. I think with the type of fabric I’m using it would most likely be a more formal morning and afternoon dress or a more semi formal dinner or party dress (as to my knowledge evening and ball gowns from the early 1820’s would of most likely been made out of silk). But it could definitely be an evening/Sunday best for a working class woman.

I do have fabric for the undergarments, but both fabrics are plain white cotton, a lighter cotton for the petticoat, shift and part of the stays. The other fabric is a more mid weight cotton for the stays lining. I’m also going to be using Black Snails patterns, Regency underwear patterns. I might also make from the same pattern maker the Regency Spencer pattern, but I will see how the other patterns go first.

Hello all! I am looking to get into Edwardian wear- I like starched collars- from personal opinion, how often should you clean them? what should i do if there are no specialised laundry for the collars anywhere i live? What would be the process of washing and starching them?

Thank you! looking forward to hearing some sage advice!

I accidentally bought this when I meant to buy synthetic whale boning, it wasn’t until it was shipped out I realised it was steel boning. Would it even work for stays or corsets?

The reason I I got confused, is because it came up when looking for synthetic whale corset boning on Etsy and I thought it said it (though I did look through the people selling its other items so I might of clicked the wrong item, when trying to buy the one I actually wanted). Also in the photos it looked a lot like synthetic whale boning and I’ve never bought any type of corset boning before.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I’m looking for shoes for my wedding next summer, and I’m thinking about finally getting a pair of American duches. Unless you have recommendations for similar styles, that ships from eu? I’m choosing between those two. I love the ties on the Gibson, but on the other hand the heals might be a bit to high.

My problem is that I have some issues with my feet and knees. I need good padding under the sole or I get sore feet and shins. I generally don’t wear heals for long periods, the best I’ve found was a pair of dancing shoes with a 5cm heel and silicon insole. I’ve however read that the American duchess are better than many others, so I’m considering trying…

Anyone who own these shoe, can you answer a few question?
1. How much padding/shock absorption do they have?
2. Are they easy to walk in? Compared to “modern” heels?
3. Are they sized to wear normal socks, or thin nylon stockings? I’ve seen people say that the Astoria can need half a size up, but I’m thinking - if I need to add a sole, maybe I need to go up one size? Can I change if the size is wrong?

The “Pumpkin” sleeves were the biggest challenge and it took a lot of efforts to build a cage right. Now us happy

This was made for me as it is beyond my skill level of sewing. But On a side note. This could be worn as everyday clothing in mild weather.

Hello,

I'm watching this Gnagy's tutorial : https://youtu.be/_I2OIce0E9g?t=343 and he stitches pads (wool) to the green interlining such, that the curvature is with the pads facing out. But later on, he sews his outer fabric to the green interlining.

And I am confused how Gnagy got his curvature other way round after his pad stitiching? That interlining faces out, as well as the curvature.

(Here is the example of something making sense to me: https://matsukazesewing.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-next-piece-stripey-doublet-of.html John makes it that pads are facing in, whereas the cuvature is now out, together with the interlining. But sewing like that requires pads to be under and making difficult to follow their countours while sewing?)

I'd be grateful for hints.

I have a odd heavy size (44-39-44-48) that I only acquired after a surgery 6 years ago and I've never quite gotten used to it. I can look presentable in modern clothes but everything feels so tight and clingy. I already wear a cottage core style so I'm looking into historical fashion and undergarments to see if I can find something more flattering and comfortable. Having structured undergarments would help gently smooth over my lumpy bits without the pinpoint pressure of elastics. But I don't know what era would work best for this.

My overall look would be closer to history bounding so I'm not looking for perfect authenticity but good quality pieces or things that could be tailored. I'm not able to sew due to chronic pain so "learn to make it myself" is not an option. I'm asking for resources or online stores that could get me started down this road to see if it would even work. For in person stores, I live in an area where NYC is a reasonable travel time, if that helps.

If I should be asking this question in the history bounding sub, just let me know but I chose to ask here specifically for advice on undergarments because all I've seen so far says that modern corsetry would not be my friend. I don't care about making my waist smaller, just smoothed out and structured. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I'm from Malaysia, and my company's annual dinner has a “travel around the world” theme where we're supposed to dress as a country we'd like to visit. I've chosen Greece.

I'm trying to brainstorm ideas for an outfit that's recognisably Greek, fun and relatively affordable to put together.

I've considered recreating the traditional Amalia women's costume, but I'm also open to other ideas.

If you were doing this theme, what would you wear or how would you approach it? Are there any interesting Greek traditional outfits, historical styles or cultural details you think would make a particularly fun outfit?

I'd love ideas that I could realistically recreate with affordable clothes and DIY accessories, rather than buying a complete costume.

Thanks!

Some criteria of mine: Female outfit, no sleeveless or above knee dresses.

Fantastical Follies Costuming has a great tutorial on how she sizes up Patterns of Fashion and it SAVED me on this Cinderella because I was close to throwing in the towel tonight. ​Just in case anyone else is mathematically challenged like me! Obviously I will be making copious mockups but this is so helpful

I rarely get full photos of myself when I am in historical dress and at a party. But there was a Photo Booth at my friends Halloween costume party they we went to last week, and I was able to see myself in full length.

I made my entire ensemble. The gown is the Angelica gown from Scroop patterns. Basic silk petticoat underneath. My friend gifted me the fur muff (it even has a zipper with a hidden pocket!!!) I added a slightly ruffled black lace trim along the neck and shoulders.

For my husband, we got his outfit from Amazon. BUT, we did win best dressed couple!

Please ignore the buttons not doing up on my mannequin! I have a smaller bust size than the mannequin, it fits me perfectly! I’m really happy with how this came out but now I want to make a bonnet to match!

I have some hessian buckram that was given to me and I’ve had no idea how to use it until now. It’s a bit thicker than normal buckram however and I’m looking for any advice on how to get it to work? Also, I’m kind of torn between a big 1850s bonnet or a flatter 1860s bonnet. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Hi folks, first time posting here as i've finally decided on starting a project in order to finish it.

As the title says, planning an 11th century castillian noble outfit, based on the real life of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, commonly known as El Cid or Mio Cid.

This project starts thanks to my girlfriend who is also an avid history-buff and also wants to cosplay with me, i would'nt be making this post without her.

This project is also partially inspired by "Alex the History Guy" 's vid on a Norman nobleman's clothing.

So far i've planned to get a "Brial", "Sayo" and "Turnshoes" alongside asking for an option of the pants variety and possibly also hat.

And where to get them in Spain, my busget isn't that high as i'm starting to get into the labor force but i have a year to make it.

My first timestamp will be attending the medieval fair at Belmonte for next year around early/mid september (there's also a buhurt tournament) and the outfit must be finished by early october 2027 for Alcalá's "Cervantinas" the largest medieval fair in all of Europe.

Exactly what the title says. I figure the best way to make sure the stays will hold the ahem ladies in place, is to make sure that the mock-up has the same structural capability as the real thing. I got such amazing advice from the day, so I appreciate all insight you wonderful costumers (Is that the right word? LOL) can give me.

The Etsy page doesn't claim that this is even based on any historical design, the seller doesn't seem to have any focus on historical clothing, and it's a blend, but it's ridiculously cheap for a garment with any linen in it at all, and to my untrained eyes, it looks like it could pass for an actual historical tunic. Double checking here, of course, because I'm not experienced enough to say for sure.

I'm afraid I can't get any better images, the other four images consist of a sizing chart and three of this exact image badly photoshopped so that the shirt looks like the other three available colors.

Edit: yeah, after some consideration I will not be getting this.

hi, i got a good stick of olive tree roughly 1.70m long, i wonder if you know maybe some tutorial or tips on how i could turn it on a good stick for a spear or halberd from the ~14th century, i then plan to buy the metal parts on a renfair shop or to dedicated shops

I was wondering what fabric would be best for Regency era stockings. I know cotton and wool were popular choices. I live in a country that is hot and humid most of the year and doesn’t get very cold as other countries in winter (to me its cold but to most people it most likely wouldn’t be).

Any suggestions you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Hello all! I'm done with corset number 1 for Cinderella! The pattern was done by Michelle Fitzgerald aka Clockwork faerie and sewn by me. I'm so happy with it!

Notes and Fun

- I ended up using 10 yards of lacing instead of the 8 the pattern said. This was done for my personal comfort sake and because 8 just wasn't long enough for me.

-when i remake it in blue for a water fairy cosplay and purple for a Madame Leota one, I'll make sure to use a Dremel for holes in the bones to make flossing easier.

-yes I know my lacing gap isn't perfectly symmetrical, unfortunately God has cursed me with 52 inch hips to a 38 inch waist so no matter who has laced me or how many corsets I have done, my gap just hasn't been symmetrical. Perhaps one day when I hit my goal weight!

-also yes the chemise isn't the best, I am going to remake it now that I've made one. ​

I am soooo proud of this corset!!!