Saturday, September 6, 2014

Another Slat Bonnet

Hi ladies and gents!

This time I'm making a historical bonnet for a friend of mine, who wanted appropriate headwear for when she visits me at reenactment events. Okey-doke!

Oh, and by the way, 50th post. Not much I know, but a small landmark :) A thank you to all the loyal readers I just lately discovered I actually have!! You guys are great! :)

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming:

Garment Data:
- Type: Civil War style Slat Bonnet
- Date made: July/August 2014
- Pattern: Based on the bonnet from The Sewing Academy
- Fabric/Materials: A pink reproduction cotton print, with a nice crisp hand
- Trim: none
- Time to finish: oh, a few hours, I think, or so.
 
The front of the bonnet is at the bottom of the picture. In this picture, the bonnet is completely unfolded. The crescent is long enough to cover the back of the neck, and the front has a width that means it will shade your cheeks but not go too far down over your shoulders that it gets in the way. the front portion/brim is lined with muslin, and the slats only go down to about the ears. You can see the under-chin ties.

  
Here it is, folded along the top edge, so you can kind of see how it comes together. The left side is the brim, and the right side goes down  the back.
 
Now it's tied, so you can see how it's shaped! This is a view into the inside of the bonnet. The under-chin strings are visible - the outside strings on the back of the bonnet are what's holding it in this shape.

And the completed beauty! On the right you can see how the outside ties form the puff for over the hair, gather the bonnet at the neck, and allow the rest to shade the neck and upper back.

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Blouse

Hello friends!

A dear school chum of mine recently came by with an interesting request.
She held up a well-loved blouse (replete with signs of wear) and asked if I could duplicate it.

WHO AM I TO REFUSE SUCH A CHALLENGE???

OF COURSE I SHALL TAKE IT ON.

And, in the process, discovered what a well made blouse it was, originally. It took simply aaaages to pull apart at the seams!

Garment Data:
- Type: Modern blouse
- Date made: Summer 2014
- Pattern: The original blouse I was to mimic
- Fabric/Materials: a cotton+ stretch poplin
- Trim: none/self fabric
- Time to finish: 9.5 hours, including dis-assembly, tracing, pattern making, cutting, and assembly



Tracing parts after they've been disassembled. I traced them onto brown paper, and eventually used marker to note seam allowances, pleats, grainlines, etc., as well as which piece it was.

The blouse starting to come together. It consists of 1 back piece and 2 pieces for each side of the front, at this point, with the sleeves, cuffs, and 4-piece collar added later.

Every seam on the blouse was flat-felled! Completely brilliant - impossible to take apart! Also means that once I put it back together, the new blouse has a very finished look and is probably smooth and comfy to wear.

The inside, before the sleeves. Doesn't actually look that different from the outside, due to the flat-felled seams.

The shaping pleats/tucks on the back, pre-ironing. Interestingly, a design feature of the original blouse was that the pleats/tucks were visible on the outside back of the blouse.

Attaching the collar. It has rounded points, and is sewn in 4 pieces, 2 for the collar itself, and 2 for the collar band, plus some interfacing for stiffening.

Completed blouse, sans buttons...

...and with buttons:
 

And the hidden lower button placket:

Hope my friend enjoys!!!

Most sincerely yours,
~ Sarah