HSM - Tucks & Pleating - Victorian Straw Bonnet

Learning how to make hats from straw braid was a bit of a revelation for me, and it's a process I've come to really enjoy.

For this late 1830s/1840s bonnet, I first cut out the shapes for the tip, side band and brim separately in buckram.  The straw is mostly machine stitched directly onto the buckram, starting from the outer edge, and overlapping so that the stitches are hidden.  For the tip I made sure the straw overlapped the outer edge slightly, so that when it came time to sew the tip to the side band, I could hand stitch down the overlapping straw to hide the join.  I also finished the inner swirl by hand.

The buckram provides quite a sturdy base for the bonnet, but I also added millinery wire to the outer edge of the brim by ziggering it to a length of straw, then attaching the straw along the underside of the brim edge, sandwiching the wire in-between.

The bonnet is lined and trimmed with thin black silk.

Prior to attaching the pleated trim along inner edge

My initial hopes of getting my sister's Natural Form ballgown skirt done in time for this particular challenge didn't come to fruition, so this bonnet is my entry instead.  It's difficult to see the black against black pleating, but it is there!  To decorate the inner brim edge I cut a long length of black silk, box pleated it, then stitched down the middle and gathered it slightly to give it a bit of body.

The Challenge:  February - Tucks & Pleating

Material: Buckram/Straw/Silk/Millinery Wire

Pattern: Based on one of my tutor's (Jane Smith) self-made patterns.

Year: Late 1830s/1840s

Notions: Poly cotton thread

How historically accurate is it?   Hmmm, not very.  The shape is, but I used machine stitching to attach the straw & millinery wire.  The silk was all hand sewn on though.

Hours to complete:  Difficult to say.  The initial construction was maybe a day's work, then it got neglected for a year.  Adding the silk would probably have been another day's work if I'd done it all at once.

First worn:  In my house, I don't have anything to wear it with yet!

Total cost:  Approx £15-20 for millinery supplies, the silk was long term stash.

HSM Procrastination Challenge - 15th c. camicia

I've joined the Historical Sew Monthly group on facebook this year, in the hopes that it'll encourage me to finish and photograph more of my personal projects.  It's not a terribly good start then, although fitting, that I've managed to miss the deadline on January's Procrastination challenge by almost a month!

At the tail end of last year I got very interested in the Italian Renaissance, specifically womanswear from the late 1400s.  While perusing pinterest I stumbled upon the altar paintings of Carlo Crivelli,  and immediately fell in love.  There doesn't seem to be any other documentation of this particular style of dress, so it's difficult to know whether it's entirely accurate, or whether he embellished the look, but I'm determined to recreate something inspired by these gowns.

St Mary Magdalene, 1491-4, Carlo Crivelli, The National Gallery 

St Catherine of Alexandria, 1491-4, Carlo Crivelli, The National Gallery

One of the great things about living in London is that it just so happens that many of these paintings are just a tube ride away, in the National Gallery; so I went to have a look in December.  It's difficult to choose a favourite, but I do love the detail on this one below.

St Catherine of Alexandria, 1476, Carlo Crivelli, The National Gallery 

I'm not an embroiderer though, so all that gold work will involve a bit of fudging if I want to recreate something similar.

St Lucy, 1476, Carlo Crivelli, The National Gallery

For now though, I've got the camicia (the shift worn underneath) finished.  I started this in December, neglected it over Christmas, made a stab at finishing in January, and finally got the neckline trim sewn on in February.  It doesn't look like much (and the matching background doesn't help, I know), but I think it's the first thing I've made that's completely handsewn, and I followed the instructions in Patterns of Fashion 4 in order to make the construction as historically accurate as possible so I'm quite pleased with it.  I even used linen thread, and hunted out the finest linen fabric I could find (even if the weave is a bit open for my liking).

There are no patterns (that I can find) of pre 1500 camicias, as there's so little extant clothing from that time.  My usual periods are the 18th/19th centuries, and there's a wealth of information available on construction, as there are so many existing garments to study.  With this project, I basically just have a few paintings, and educated guesswork based on what still survives from the following century.  I therefore made use of the 16th century patterns from Patterns of Fashion 4, adapting the neckline, and narrowing the sleeves.

The Challenge: January Procrastination

Material: Linen

Pattern: Adapted from Patterns of Fashion 4.

Year: 1475-1500

Notions: Linen thread

How historically accurate is it? As accurate as possible, given the lack of surviving camicias to study.  Completely hand sewn using period techniques.  Lets say 95%

Hours to complete:  If I'd done it all at once, probably 2-3 days.

First worn:  Just at home to check fit.  It's a bit too transparent for modelling photos though.

Total cost: I can't remember what I paid for the linen.  It'll be under £20 altogether.

Moving on to the dress itself will definitely be out of my comfort zone, but I'm excited to get started... just as soon as I've got this years' Victorian ball gowns out of the way - that deadline is fast approaching!