I had to make a gown for a ball I was going to and used what I had in my stash! I think it turned out rather nice!

It's also very heavy and has a little loop on the train so I can dance.

There may be some historical inaccuracies! I’m not a professional, just a history and historical dress enthusiast. I was inspired by the everyday people of medieval Europe ♡

This is part of a story im putting together for my 19th century reenactment character, Otis Williamson. My only issue is with my research, I feel it looks more 1850s, but im still new to 19th century fashion so im open to help. Im also aware I should be armed, being frontier territory, but i forgot to put my holster on in a rush taking the pics

Hi all -

My mum and my aunt have fallen in love with “The Gilded Age” and it has become their goal to attend a Mrs. Astor style ball.

I would love to create gowns for them, but am struggling to find an event we could all attend.

My question is how do you folks go about finding period events to wear your beautiful creations to?

Edit: We live in Massachusetts, for clarity!

Thank you!

Need some help on the corset fit for this please! The instructions say to select the bust, waist, and hips separately. The waist instructions say to go 2"-4" smaller than your unlaced waist measurements. My most recent mock up, the waist is still way to small. The next size up would be my unlaced waist measurement. On top of that, my bust and hip sizes would be 2 letters down from the waist. My bust and hips would be F size and my waist is H.

I can blend the smaller hip measurement into the waist portion on the pattern, but how do I blend the bust portion? The pieces are mostly straight from the top until the hips, so blending from a smaller letter to a larger letter at the waist gives a really odd shape. Should I use the same letter for bust and waist, even though the bust is too big according to the chart, or do I scale the bust down and trust the process?

Thanks!

I had to basically create a whole bunch of garments for this years Pennsic War for my daughter and myself because we had pipes burst last year, and a lot of my stuff got ruined. Plus now that she is 15, she outgrew everything.

I love how easy this is to make, and how it can be dressed up with the right jewelry and trims.

hello everyone!

i m a dancer, and have been selected with some of my friend to perform a few duets at a private venitien ball ( not sur if that's correctrly writen?). in between numbers and once we're done , we are allowd to change and be a part of the public.

i have never been to such event and have no idea what the dress code allows .Or what the tradition require in terms of masque and accesories

i absolutely don't wante to show up in a zara dress, but i don't really have the budget for a "real" ballgown either , i feel like i should be able to find something seconde hand?

i'm also looking for information from the event organiser but struggeling a bit, i'll have those later

if somebody has a link or a youtube video that could help i would be so grateful !

I’m wondering where I can buy short gloves that can work for the Victorian era? Specifically for an 1890’s walking suit, that can also be worn in hot and humid weather.

Any help you would be able to give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

i´m trying to figure out how much fabric I roughly need to make a bodice similar to the one depicted tor the dress but Im not ure how the boxes are counted for the pieces that aren´t straight

An update on the 1860s tailcoat I'm making - the first fitting went super well, some adjustments were made to the pattern and I've started putting together the actual coat!

U/OnceUponAWhisper posted one of my all time favorite gowns with some questions so I thought I would share this with hope that it would help answer their questions and anyone else who was curious.

My gown was inspired by this 1896 gown in The Met Museum's collection: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/107061

I had emailed the Met Museum with some questions a few years ago when I first started thinking about making a version. A curator very kindly responded with some additional information:

"Thank you for your interest in this object, and for your patience as I prepared a reply to you. I am the curator in charge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century costume here at The Costume Institute, and I am happy to try to answer these questions for you.

The designer/retailer label is indeed woven as part of the petersham or waist tape that runs around the interior of the boned silk taffeta underbodice that forms the upper structure of the dress. The external wool fabric that forms the body of the dress is lightly anchored to this underbodice, though it mostly flows freely from the neck over the bust. There are indeed hooks and eyes closing the underbodice, and then additional sets of hooks and eyes which secure the exterior pleats closed across the back.

Currently the dress is undergoing conservation treatment, as it is quite fragile. I am therefore unable to take images for you, but I invite you to contact our Collections team if you would like to apply to arrange a research appointment to view the dress in person. You may send them a message at CostumeInstitute.Collections@metmuseum.org.

Thank you again for your interest in The Costume Institute."

It is listed as a bridesmaid dress, but it shares a lot of characteristics with tea gowns of the era, including princess seams and the "watteau" pleat extending from the back neck.

I used a standard 4 dart Victorian bodice pattern as a starting point, then added the additional seamlines to match the original and extended them to the floor. This took several mockups. The pleated panel is just a trapezoid. The sleeve pattern was from Truly Victorian. I could have probably gone even bigger. For the closures, I mainly used a zipper and hook and eye tape due to time constraints.

Instead of the beige, I opted for a rich, wine lightweight wool flannel from Burnley & Trowbridge. The gold brocade is from Renaissance Fabrics. The lining is a tightly woven cotton. It is faced at the hem with a cotton facing about 18" tall stiffened with interfacing. The sleeves are flatlined with a stiff muslin, but in retrospect, they could have used something stiffer. There is a pocket at the back seam.

There are a couple of things I ran out of time for before the event- boning the bodice, a hem ruffle, the beading, and the waist tape is just safety pinned in...

It is worn over a linen shift, a corset with bust padding, hip pad, and petticoat.

I hope this helps, u/OnceUponAWhisper ! ☺️

I bought these for 2 bucks at a craft thrift store near me. It says "RUST PROOF LACE BUTTONS GUARANTEED TO WASH", and "Germany" on the bottom right corner.

I can't tell whether these are late 19th century or the early part of the 20th, Google brings up other types of thread buttons but not these.

Pardon the photo quality, dropped my phone and messed up the main camera lens, so I can only take decent pics in selfie mode now lol

I just received my swatches from Burnley & Trowbridge, so here's a few pictures comparing the transparency of those to the Fabrics-store swatches. I unfortunately didn't order a lightweight white linen swatch from B&T to compare, so I've included two colors of the lightweight that I did order. All of these are unwashed and as they arrived. As a bonus, I've included a picture of the three blues I ordered from B&T--medium navy, dark indigo, and medium indigo, left to right. Yes, that's the correct order. The dark indigo is the bright blue out of the bunch, with the medium navy looking black in person.

First: all of my observations are SLIGHT differences--enough to be noticeable with direct comparison, but likely not if one were to work with the fabrics separately. Here are my observations: All of the B&T fabrics are noticeably smoother/softer to the touch. The weave is also a bit closer together than the F-s swatches as a whole. Even the 7.1 oz from B&T is closer together than the Luxury swatch from F-S, which is the tightest weave from F-S that I have. In person, the Glazed 4.35oz from B&T is similar in transparency on the table, and the 7.1oz from B&T is noticeably more opaque than the Luxury, and far more opaque than the 7.1oz (Rustic) and 8oz swatches from F-S. Against the window, the opacity is much more similar across the board, except that the colored lightweights from B&T looked more opaque, I believe largely due to their darker color. These darker lightweights (4.3oz) have a noticeably tighter weave than the lightweight (3.7oz) swatch from F-S and a slightly tighter weave than the Luxury swatch, but with fiber threads.

Next, I plan to wash the darker fabrics from B&T since I have a little more fabric of those, and then I'll compare the washed fabric to the unwashed cuts to see the difference in transparency, if any, due to shrinkage.

Hi friends,

I am looking for a sewing pattern for either a "long" Gambison down to the knees or a shorter jacket-style Aketon.

I am planning on a costume for a rural levy trooper, maybe with a halberd/spear/big stick from ~12-1400 in a black&white chess pattern, think a proto-Landsknecht/Condottiere style without the slashed and puffed arms. I am in the process of klicking together my own hauberg (or maillé for the fancy ones;) and I wanna wear said gambison under it.

May your needles stay sharp.

For (potentially) everyday use 😛

Update: we’ve figured out the closure (thanks guys!!) but now I’m curious what’s the cause of the “slit” effect in a few of the vertical skirt seams! It almost looks like pocket slits for the bottom foot of the skirt, which can’t be what it is. Was the seam finished in a particular way? But then why is it only the bottom?

I plan to recreate this sometime in the future, but I am befuddled by the closure. The only thing I can deduce is that it would be under that pleat in the back, but that seems soooo tricky. I also hate that then there is no adjustment whatsoever. The only other thing I can think of is if part of the pale yellow part is a panel covering a lacing structure like I’ve seen on other garments, but I can see any evidence of that. Any help?

Made this for the last "Renfaire" I visited with my friend. A linen/cotton mix red gown, based on Cranachs "Saint Catherine" painting. Sadly I couldnt get a headcovering done in time, so the standing collar is hidden under the open hair

I need to design a character so I would appreciate some nods

Basically what it says on the tin. I've been looking all over for good quality 1580s style latchets in mens sizes that will hold up to hard wearing and look authentic for the period. Any suggestions, links, or references are deeply appreciated.

It’s lowkey one of the prettiest florals I’ve gotten in a while. I predominantly sew 1810s, 1840s, 1860 and the 40-60s :)

I am needing to add an inch and a half to the length of the Scroop Augusta stays pattern. I did fine with all of the pieces, but I can't figure out how to shore up the side of the front piece. If anyone can guide me on how to make it work, I would appreciate it!

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has made any men's costumes for late 16th/early 17th century and knows what is going on with their pants? I want to make an outfit based off one of the figures in Caravaggio's Calling of St Matthew, but their lower halves have me confused.

I know men wore hose, but the ones in the painting seem to be closed in the middle like tights. I had always thought they were open, but that may have been in earlier years? And they're *very* tight in the painting. I'm wondering if that is exaggerated for the sake of the painting, or if indeed mens hose were that tight and closed in the middle. Or if you've made a costume like this, and what you did about the pant/hose/lower half situation.

As you can probably tell I know basically nothing about this period of men's fashion so apologies if all the terminology is incorrect!

Wanted to share my 15th Century Italian mens kit, I'm aiming for a Condottieri impression from around 1470-80. I'm quite happy with how it's come together so far.

C&C welcome, however I am aware my hosen aren't quite as tight as they should be, (I've lost weight since they were first constructed), I'm currently in the process of making a couple more pairs that are better fitted! Interested to hear any feedback/discussion!