Adventures of a Costumer

c.1887-89 Dress Project

2013-04-26T12:26:00.001-04:00

I am busy finishing up my thesis! I patterened and will reproduce this stunning dress from Shippensburg University Fashion Archives and Museum (SUFAM). It belonged to Sara Boher, originally from Philadelphia, who was a member of the faculty at Shippensburg in the 1870s and 80s. She taught drawing and etymology. And, she obviously had impeccable fashion sense.

I saw this dress on display a few years ago in SUFAM's exhibit, "Nineteenth-Century Costume Treasures," and knew right then that I would have to reproduce it someday. And what better way than with a pattern drafted from the original?

I just purchased these two books by Frances Grimble to comare my patterns from this original. Perhaps I will be able to date the dress more precisely?

And...I finally broke down and ordered these fabulous black velvet boots from Bordello. They will be worn with the dress. In many ways, they are very similar to original shoes from the time period.

A New 1860s Silk Dress

2013-04-08T08:26:00.000-04:00

My mother just completed a new 1860s dress for herself and I wanted to share pictures with you. While fabric shopping together over Christmas break we discovered this lovely silk fabric that I fell in love with. I thought that it would make the perfect evening gown, but since silk is expensive, we decided that it should also have a day bodice. The finished dress has a pelerine and pair of pagoda sleeves that can be worn with it to make it appropriate for day wear, and for evening they can be removed. The dress is in the style of the late 1850s to early 1860s. The undersleeves are made of cotton net and are based off of an original set. I helped her with the design and she constructed it.

Here she is pictured with the lovely Glenda Jardel at Wheatland in Lancaster, PA.

Glenda's bonnet is made by the very talented Beverly Lister. She is a wonderful bonnet maker with an eye for period detail.

My mother's dress trim was inspired by these two stunning original dresses.

And her undersleeves were based off of this original pair.

Millinery: 1860s Bonnet

2013-03-17T02:04:00.001-04:00

In Millinery class last year I created this 1860s Green Silk Bonnet. I just recently photographed it. I created the bonnet pattern. The bonnet is made from buckram and covered in silk taffeta. The trim was inspired by an original bonnet (see below) and the fabric flowers were hand made.

I have always had a love of millinery, having dabbled in it over the years, and I'm looking forward to making more bonnets this summer!

Hand made fabric flowers.

I found Helen Gibb's book "Secrets of Fashioning Ribbon Flowers" to be the most helpful book on the subject. Her ribbon flowers look the most like real flowers. Some of her ribbon flower tutorials are available on HGTV.com.

Original Bonnet from which trim was inspired.

Mask Making: Thermoformable & Leather Mask

2013-03-08T11:01:00.001-05:00

First, I know what you're thinking - super creepy, right? Last night I completed the thermoformable and leather mask that I have been working on recently. I'm happy with the way that it turned out. This was a difficult process. The thermoformable is a plastic with holes in it that can be pulled over a surface when heated. That part was easy and fun. Covering the mask with leather proved a little more challenging. I had trouble pulling the leather into these complex shapes without tons of wrinkling. Eventually I created hidden seams at the sides of the nose. This seemed like an excellent way to deal with the extra fullness that needed to be removed form the mask. The leather was then glued to the thermoformable with barge cement. The mask was lined with black felt. Then the entire mask was dyed using leather dyes. Finally, the leather was polished with shoe polish to give it some dimension and an aged look.

Mask Making: Latex Bird Mask

2013-03-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

I just finished my latex bird mask! This was one of the projects for Mask Making class. The mask is a Palm Cockatoo. To create the mask, a mold of my face was created and a plaster cast made. The bird face was sculpted on top of the plaster cast and a mold plaster mold created. Latex was then poured into the bird mold to create this mask. Once the latex cured it was removed from the mold, cleaned up, and painted with a mixture of acrylic paint and liquid latex. Feathers were then inserted into the latex. An elastic strap holds the mask on the head.

I am also in the process of creating a paper mache mask and a mask from thermoformable material covered in leather.

The beautiful Palm Cockatoo.

1860s Silk Dress Reproduction

2013-02-28T23:22:00.001-05:00

Recently, my mother, Nancy, completed this beautiful green silk taffeta day dress based off of an original. The original was a dress that I have admired and wanted to reproduce for awhile. The dress design was selected to work well when worn with the original red paisley shawl that my mother received as a Christmas gift. The only modifications to the design of the original dress were the replacement of the pagoda sleeves with coat sleeves.

Here the dress is worn in the home of President James Buchanan, Wheatland, in Lancaster, PA.

A CDV with similar skirt trim.

The original dress and inspiration for this reproduction.

Fabric Painting: Silk Painting

2013-01-31T13:15:00.002-05:00

My most recent project has been photographing my work for my portfolio, so I'll finally be able to share some images of the projects that I've been working on over the past three years at CMU.

You may remember the silk painting that I was working on for Fabric Painting class two years ago (See posts HERE and HERE). This was painted on silk. Gutta was applied first to outline the design. This keeps sections of color from bleeding into one another. Fabric dye was applied like watercolor paint. Winter sidewalk salt was sprinkled on the background after it was painted to create a mottled texture. The salt soaks up the dye in interesting patterns as it dries.

Dancelight 2013

2013-01-28T19:52:00.001-05:00

Photography by Louis Stein

Dancelight 2013 was magical, inspiring, and rewarding. I had a delightful time clothing the dancers from CMU's Dancer's Symposium for their rendition entitled 'Anna' and inspired by the final chapter of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, where the main character's thoughts culminate in her tragic death. The dance was choreographed to Infra 5 by Max Richter.

Photoraphy by Louis Stein.

Dancelight 2013 Inspiration Boards

2013-01-25T00:35:00.001-05:00

Today is opening night of my most recent project, Dancelight 2013. Dancelight at CMU is a compilation of 20-25 dance pieces choreographed and danced by CMU theater students. Each piece is assigned its own lighting and costume designer. Every year the pieces are all amazing and the costumes are always fabulous. This year I've had the opportunity to work with the talented CMU Dancer's Symposium to design and create their costumes. The piece is inspired by the turmoil that Anna Karenina faced near the end of her life and the choreography is a blend of traditional and modern ballet. At the beginning of the design process the piece had 8 dancers, but it is now down to 6 dancers. The costume budget = $0.

For the costumes, the dancers wear black leotards with navy blue chiffon full length circle skirts (in reality each skirt is two circles full). The time consuming part of the costume production was the hand made necklaces inspired by the above images. I created fabric flowers with rhinestone centers to replicate the flower necklaces above by Vera Wang.

This is the makeup inspiration board. Dramatic eyes and lips.

And the hair inspiration board. We ended up going with everyone wearing their hair in a high bun atop their head with a french braid at the back. Very dramatic. I was excited to use hair donuts for the first time ever to create this look.

Pictures to follow as soon as they are edited.

Couture Techniques: Inspiration from Antique Garments

2012-12-17T20:02:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I made a trip down the street to the CMU School of Drama warehouse where the historic costume collection is housed to view originals with the Couture Techniques class. I snapped a few pictures of my favorite couture techniques for future reference.

Above it a bow trimmed interior coat pocket, now in shreds. Below is a similar style pocket with the addition of pleated trim. The bows and trim on the pockets make the pockets look pretty as well as aiding in guiding the hand to the pocket. I thought the addition of the bows was adorable.

Above soutache trimmed buttons. These would be easy to create to add interest to fabric covered buttons.

Pin Tuck Buttons - another great way to cover buttons to make them interesting.

The interior of an antique bodice showing the carefully bound seam allowances with bound notches.

Fabulous color combination and trim on a jacket.

This trim is fabulous and easy to create. The trim is created by drawing the fabric over two rows of cording to create a gathered look. So creative.

Delicate cut steel buckles and velvet trim. Isn't the color combination fabulous, too?

I have been pushing myself to make bolder color choices in my modern wardrobe and I want to also push myself to make bolder color choices and color combinations in my reenacting wardrobe. I'll look forward to future trips to the collection.

Tomorrow I leave for a fabric shopping trip to NYC to purchase fabrics for the dress(es) that I will be creating as part of my thesis. I'll be keeping an eye out for fabulous fabrics for 1860s dresses as well! Wish me luck!

Millinery: c1910 Wire Hat

2012-12-14T14:47:00.001-05:00

After having to set aside work on the c1910 wire hat earlier this semester, I have finally found time to work on it once again, and this time it will be completed. The frame was constructed of millinery wire and wired together - you can see the thin silver wire holding the elements in place in the photo above. The metal wire on the brim was thread wrapped to cover it. Where the sideband attaches to the brim the connection was wrapped with black hug snug hem tape. The brim was then sandwiched between two layers of black silk organza. Antique black lace was carefully gathered and applied to the top of the brim, and the edges of the silk organza were scalloped and pinked at the edges to mimic the scallop of the lace.

Next, dyed royal blue rayon/silk velvet will be draped over the sideband and crown and trim applied. The interior will be lined in dyed royal blue china silk, and a black grograin sideband sewn in place.

Brim underside.

Where the lace edges met, the lace motif was carefully cut out and whip stitched to hide the seam.

Above is a picture of the original hat upon which my reproduction is based.

'American Friends'

2012-12-11T22:48:00.001-05:00

Watching 'American Friends' as I sew a wire hat makes me look forward to returning to the reenacting scene this summer. There are several events that I'm looking forward to attending, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to find the time to make myself some new dresses and accessories. There are so many things that I've been looking forward to creating over the past few years.

Aren't the costumes in this movie just lovely? The costume designer, Bob Ringwood, did a fabulous job on the costumes. For the most part they look very accurate right down to the accessories and hairstyles. I love the sheer dresses with lightweight shawls and the beautiful parasols and antique jewelry. The shape of the skirts is also very nice.

Draping Class: Renaissance Dress

2012-12-05T16:27:00.001-05:00

This is my third and final year of a Costume Production MFA at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy, and we are coming to the close of our final draping class. Just one more semester to go until I graduate! Taking these pictures of my drapes makes me miss my first year in the program. Though it may have been the hardest year of my life with many a sleepless night, it was also one of the best. Each day I learned so much exciting new information and grew by leaps and bounds in my technical skills and as a person.

This drape is based on a professional designer's work. It was a rather simple drape compared to what I'm accustomed to. It is not historically accurate by merely a nod to the period as the designer intended. I love the trim (indicated in black)!

Because the designer did not indicate the trim style in the back I was able to come up with my own suggested trim lines.

This mock up could be shown to the designer for him to approve the drape. From this, the pieces could be removed from the form and transferred to brown paper and the lines "trued" (corrected using rulers and curves). The pattern would then be used to cut out a muslin mock-up for the first fitting. In the fitting the designer could still make changes to the design lines, and the fit could be checked and corrected where necessary.

1860s Fall Dresses

2012-11-15T18:34:00.001-05:00

Here are a few more images of the dresses that my mother and I wore to an event this fall. Fall is my favorite season, so I was very excited to make myself some new clothing for this event. I had wanted to make this black windowpane plaid wool into a dress for about eight years, so I was so excited to finally sew it!

I used my basic 1860s darted bodice pattern and changed it to have three darts. I was careful with the pattern matching of the plaid throughout the construction.

One of the best parts of the event was reenacting again with my mother. We didn't try to coordinate our outfits, it just worked out that way!

My mother wore her red check silk dress with red ribbon trim on the sleeves. I was in love with her outfit because everything coordinated so well! She wore her new red and black coral and gold 1860s brooch and red and black leather Robert Land boots.

She also wore an antique wool paisley shawl.

There are a lot of pictures of my dress in this post, but I will leave them in for those of you who enjoy looking at other's creations as much as I enjoy looking at all of yours!

The skirt is box pleated and the box pleat design is based off of an original wool dress from the collection of Wheatland Plantation in Lancaster, PA. The box pleats get larger as they go around the body to the center back, where there are a series of small knife pleats right at center back as you can see in the above picture. It's such an easy way to make a simple skirt interesting. I have done this same pleat design on several of my skirts and have sort of adopted it as my signature box pleating style.

The sleeves are 'coat sleeves' and are set into the armhole with three knife pleats at the top.

1860s Swiss Waist Ensemble

2012-11-11T23:00:00.001-05:00

For a recent event I was in need of an evening dress, so I chose to use items that I already owned and make a new silk skirt to wear. Several years ago I had made this ivory silk organza gathered bodice. The bodice is sheer and a ivory silk taffeta half-high darted bodice is attached at the waist inside to cover the corset and chemise. The sheer bodice is worn with a 'Swiss Waist'. This one is based off of an original 1860's waist and made from black silk taffeta with black silk taffeta pinked and box pleated trim along the top and bottom edges. This 'Swiss Waist' is laced up the back. There were many variations in cut, color, trim, and fabric choice for this style of garment. It often laced up the front or back or had a hook and eye closure. It could be high, like this one, or lower in the 'Medici Belt' style. Sometimes they had decorative straps that sat at the dropped armhole of the bodice, and occasionally these straps had elastic underneath to hold the straps to the body (this is really smart because otherwise it's hard to get the straps to lay properly without pinning them in place).

I made a fabric shopping trip to a local chic fabric store - Loom in the Pittsburgh Strip District to select this lovely blue-purple shot silk fabric. The skirt was knife pleated in to a waistband.

The ensemble was worn with my original Chantilly lace shawl. I wore matching gold bracelets, gold snake bracelet and gold earrings with a coral brooch and necklace with the look. I would have loved to have had time to make or purchase a hair comb or headdress to coordinate with the look, but this was a last minute outfit, so I'll have to work on that for a future time.

1860s Blue Wool Dress

2012-11-11T21:41:00.001-05:00

My 1860's wardrobe was in dire need of updating, so this summer I spent much of my free time creating some new clothing and accessories for reenacting. One of these creations was this blue wool dress. The wool is a very nice suiting weight wool. The bodice has points at the front and back. The bodice fit very well in all of the fittings, but the skirt wasn't attached to the bodice until the event, so when I wore it I noticed that the bodice was a bit too long, causing it to ride up and create creases at the upper bust. This will be corrected by shortening the bodice before it is worn next. This is a rather simple alteration. The skirt was knife pleated and attached to a waistband.

I wore a period paisley shawl and carried an original chantilly lace, silk, and bone parasol with the outfit.

Because I have owned only one silk bonnet for ages, and it is pink and black, I desperately wanted to make myself a new bonnet for the event that I was attending. I created a buckram bonnet form and covered it in orange silk fabric. I looked at a lot of period bonnets for trim inspiration and went with something that I felt was tasteful and not too overdone. Period bonnets seem to achieve a very full trim style inside the bonnet. I wanted to create that full look with loops of ombre plum and peach ribbon - just like original ribbon that I had seen on various pieces, and used the white stamens pulled from cheap Michael's flowers to create my own 'flower' clusters. Using the stamens in clusters always seems to add nice texture. I then added a few berries to the mix. The lace inside is original and was gathered and then tacked in place.

The coral grape cluster earrings (and matching brooch) are originals.

Rows of silk were pinked, gathered and attached near the brim, and ombre ribbon and paper flowers were used to lightly trim the exterior of the bonnet. Because I made this orange bonnet to go with the blue wool dress and period paisley shawl I selected a simpler trim style that didn't outshine the beautiful paisley shawl.

Reproduction Brooch

2012-11-11T21:18:00.003-05:00

Okay, I have to admit, I'm overly excited about this....but it's just so cool! I created a mold using the reproduction brooch above on the left, and cast a replica using resin. It was so easy! This was for a class project. We are learning various molding and casting techniques this semester.

c.1810 Silk Dress

2012-11-01T12:29:00.001-04:00

From the three original 19th century dresses that I will be studying and patterning over the course of the year, the first to be examined is this c.1810 silk dress.

This dress now appears pale pink but was originally lavendar in color. The dye is fugitive in nature and faded evenly over the entire dress. The fabric is a silk taffeta with a nice heavy and crisp hand.

The bodice contains knife pleating under the bust, with the pleats pointing directionally towards the side seam. The dress was later taken in under the bust with larger knife pleats over the original pleating, and the waistband whip stitched down - you might be able to see this in the pictures. The bodice has a drawstring along the top edge.

The back is fitted, and the lining is also fitted. The front lining overlaps and is pinned in place over the bust. The sleeves are knife pleated into the armhold and contain rows of knife pleats as decoration. These knife pleats point directionally towards the back. A band of 5/8" wide silk is placed over the knife pleats at the center of the sleeve, and a decorative backstitch sewn with heavier embroidery type thread in an even spacing to both hold the band in place and form another decorative element to the sleeves.

The skirt is knife pleated to the bodice at back with large knife pleats.

Interior Lining

The dress was originally made around 1790-94 and remade around 1810. Having a dress remade was a common practice in the 18th and 19th centuries. Fabric was more costly than labor, so a dress would be remade to suit the current fashions if possible. Since silk could not be washed, it was often sent out for cleaning and possibly redyeing. For this process, the dress had to be taken apart. Often the dress was remodeled at the same time when it was put back together (What Clothes Reveal p.196).

This is a blog post from my new blog 'Patterning Historical Fashions' that goes hand in hand with my thesis project researching, patterning, and reproducing three 19th century dresses in the collection of the Shippensburg University Fashion Archives and Museum. Please bookmark this new blog for future project updates!

1860's Silk Wrapper

2012-10-31T00:01:00.001-04:00

Having the opportunity to stay in a period house in the country for the weekend has it's advantages. One of them being the opportunity to finally justify the creation of a fancy silk wrapper. I have long adored Victorian wrappers and have collected loads of images of original wrappers. Each wrapper is unique and beautiful, whether made of silk and elaborately trimmed or made of a simple cotton with a fabulously wild print.

I fell in love with the wrapper in the fashion plate below. I love the green color, but I was determined to use fabric that I already owned, so I selected this lovely striped blue silk taffeta. I also happened to have the black silk taffeta on hand, so I used that to trim it.

The pattern was drafted by me, and the wrapper assembled. But it's completion had to be put off until other projects were finished for the weekend, and so I found myself drafting the sleeve and trim patterns and putting together the remaining pieces of the wrapper overnight Friday night. As a result, the trim was not totally completed. I am planning to add a row of trim around the outside of the scallops, and black cuffs to the sleeves. Currently the plan is to trim it in braided fuschia soutache trim. Fuschia seemed to be a common color on wrappers of the period.

The wrapper worn over my newest cotton petticoat.

After finding the fashion plate of this wrapper I stumbled upon this period CDV showing a very similar wrapper, likely inspired by the fashion plate.

Putting the finishing touches on another dress.

The back skirt of the wrapper is cartridge pleated.

I'm very happy with the progress of the wrapper thus far and can't wait to put the finishing touches on it.

1860's Evening Bodice

2012-10-29T20:15:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I attended a lovely event in a period mansion that required an 1860's evening dress. Since I was making myself several other items for the event, my options for an evening dress were limited to using pieces that I already owned. This silk dress seemed perfect for the occasion because it had such beautiful scalloped and gathered trim on the skirt. The skirt trim was in poor condition though from years of wear, and I had a day bodice that was too large and a ballgown bodice that was too fancy, so I had to get creative. The skirt trim had to be completely rescalloped - a task that was quite time consuming. There were small scraps remaining from the construction of the dress, and these were just perfect for creating an evening bodice. An evening bodice pattern was created from the darted day bodice that I had. The closure was moved from the center front the the center back, and a mock up was created to determine the depth of the neckline. Trim was cut on the straight of grain and scalloped with scalloped pinking shears, hand gathered, and applied to the bodice by hand. There was not time to attach the bodice to the skirt, but this will be finished in the future.

The dress was worn with an antique gold necklace, gold bracelets and earrings and an original 1860's pink silk and bone fan with gold spangles and pink marabou feathers.

My mother, Nancy, also attended the event and wore her red checked silk transition dress for the evening. She basted the pagoda sleeves in place and opted to wear it without the matching pelerine. She wore an antique gold necklace with it, silk organza undersleeves, and carried a bone and silk fan with gold spangles.

A wonderful evening was had by all. We dined on the back porch of the mansion by candlelight, had a multi course meal on fine china with beautiful silver candelabra's on the table. The weather was perfect and we could see the moon shining high above us as we dined. Afterwards we retired to the parlor for a game of question and answer, conversation, and a bagpipe performance. It was a delightful and magical evening.

The Rivals Costume Production Article

2012-10-19T13:20:00.001-04:00

HERE is an article about producing the costumes for CMU's production of The Rivals.

The Rivals Lydia Dress

2012-10-17T13:01:00.001-04:00

I thought that you might enjoy seeing a few more pictures of the dress that I created for CMU's production of The Rivals. Here are a few shots that were taken in a photo shoot on Saturday to document the dress.

A view of some of the undergarments. The undergarments were not seen on stage but were still created of beautiful silk fabrics and finished to be beautiful both inside and out so that they would aid the actress in stepping back in time to the 18th century and in getting into character as Lydia Languish. The petticoat is of white silk taffeta. She wore an additional white silk taffeta petticoat underneath, along with her pink silk taffeta bum roll and white silk satin stays (lined in pink silk taffeta!).

'The Rivals' Lydia Dress

2012-10-16T11:04:00.002-04:00

Carnegie Mellon University's production of The Rivals was on stage this past week. The show was fabulous with beautiful period costumes, a stunning set, and wonderful acting. The dress that I was charged with draping for the show for Lydia was completed on time and to my satisfaction. Originally the dress was to have loads of additional trim - gathered and pinked silk all down the front of the bodice and skirt. But the designer determined that this look was better suited.

The bodice was draped on a dress form over the period undergarments, and, due to time restraints, the first fitting was done in fabric rather than muslin. The first fitting went wonderfully with no alterations needing to be made to the bodice. The overskirt is knife pleated and sewn to the bodice. The dress has a stomacher front and closes at the side of the stomacher. The engegeants are four layers - silk alternating with lace.

The bodice was interlined in a layer of satin backed flannel with a layer of white silk taffeta for the lining. The seam allowances are finished with white lace edging to keep the interior looking beautiful and the seam allowances from fraying. The bodice is fully boned in spiral boning. The underskirt silk was flat lined to a layer of silk organza and the hem finished with the same lace edging as the bodice. The overskirt was also flat lined to silk organza.

The overskirt was polonaised and sewn into place to tapes attached to the waist of the dress.

18th Century Undergarments for 'The Rivals'

2012-09-21T00:11:00.001-04:00

My most recent and all consuming project is an 18th century dress for CMU's production of The Rivals, which opens at the beginning of October. The dress is already well on its way to being completed. Here are a few glimpses of the undergarments that I created for the costume.

The undergarments will not be seen by the audience, but much care was put into their creation. Each component of the costume should be beautiful inside and out so that the actress feels that she is stepping back in history and becoming her character as she dresses for each show. I am creating the costume for 'Lydia', designed by third year Costume Designer, Albulena Borovci. Lydia's dress is made of pink silk taffeta and trimmed with pink silk. I selected the fabrics for the undergarments to compliment her dress and personal style.

The stays are made of luscious off-white silk satin and corded and lined with pale pink silk taffeta. The style is based off of the popular 'Diderot' stays, but some alterations have been made for ease of alterations in the future. For example, extra seam lines have been added so that the stays can be taken in our let out at more points.

The rump pad was made of the same pink silk taffeta and trimmed with box pleated sheer fabric.

Here the back of the dress bodice is being draped.

Before the bodice was draped, the dress form was padded to the appropriate size and the stays added to provide the appropriate shape. The design lines were then marked out with black twill tape pinned to the form. After this step the bodice is easily draped and the design lines marked on the muslin. The drape is then removed from the form and the lines transferred to brown paper and corrected. Since the bodice was draped over the form which had been padded to the correct size and shape, the fitting went smoothly with no alterations to the bodice.

c.1910-20 Hat Research Pictures

2012-08-21T00:17:00.001-04:00

c.1915

In preparation for making my wire hat reproduction, I did a little research to find images of hats fashions of the era. This would help me to determine how the hat should sit on the head, how high the crown should be, and how wide the brim was. The book, "Vintage Hats & Bonnets 1770-1970" by Susan Langley was indispensable. I also found some lovely images online.

After toying with brim and crown sizes, I created a mock-up from black posterboard and tried it on to check the fit. Then I began creating the wire frame from rayon wrapped millinery wire, using my brim pattern as a base on which to build the frame. Tomorrow the frame will be completed and I will begin covering it with fabric.

c.1915

c.1917

c.1916