Kristen: Practice Gimping and Hair Decoupage

I can't keep myself away from the hairwork for too long. Every time I try to make myself sew, the hair beckons from across the room...Kristen...braid me...Okay. The hair isn't actually talking to me, but I'm still getting used to the idea that I am keeping what was once part of a living human being. Before I play with the hair, I wanted to practice gimping again:

This time I had an easier time of pulling the thread off the needle. I also tried a leaf with the blue thread.  The yellow turned out better as well. Most of the twirls were more even compared to my first try. I even added a little pearl bead, but it still looks rather sad. I shall have to keep practicing! Next, I decided to play with the (haunted) hair.

 I pulled out my tools

 I carefully globbed on my gum arabic

I then cut it in two

Now a little more gum to press it together

A basic braid!

A very quick attempt at weaving

For next time, I will remember to make the pieces even smaller, since they are easier to manage that way. Overall I would say this practice has been very educational. At this point I am just playing, getting a feel for the materials and the process. I have so many books, but now it's time to actually just try it!

I am also excited to see that others in my area are starting to research hairwork. This is a slow process, though I am working on several projects at the same time. I already have at least one interest in a brooch order, so I must keep practicing! In the meantime, here are my goals for this week:

1.   Finish covering my parasol.

2.   Attach the other sleeve to the mourning dress.

3.   Practice 1 round of hair gimping. 

~Kristen

Kristen: Waistbands and Mistakes

I had another sewing day with Becky! These snow days just keep coming...Unfortunately I became well acquainted with the theory that something can go wrong if it is at all even remotely somewhat a little itsy bitsy teeny weeny bit possible.

 ***Gasp***

In my most reckless haste, I did not monitor my gauges while applying my waistband. The phrase "haste makes waste" comes to mind, and instead of moving forward to finish my sleeves, I spent most of the time fixing my mistakes.

I'm sure if they had a camera, 19th c. ladies would have made the same face

Here is my advice to you, my delicate reader: DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Seriously, save yourself the time and the effort. Also, don't be too upset if you make a mistake or two, as I often do. Based on the originals I have studied, our victorian counterparts were not perfect either. Embrace your mistakes, even the silly ones. They might be telling you to try a new technique, or even to take a break!

I feel better now

I was lucky that I did have a little time to start gathering my sleeves. I was able to finish one before I had to run home to make dinner. If I am to be quite honest, I should have been working on a paper for my linguistics class. *Sigh* Wouldn't it be nice if I could apply my "go get 'em" attitude to my studies right now?

~Kristen

***Editor's Note: I actually have finished 3 drafts of my paper, met with the professor, and plan on having at least 2 people edit before I turn it in. If you are reading this, you should totally disregard my negative attitude towards my studies; I am a good student who simply needs a little break...

Becky: Yellow Sheer Dress

I FINALLY finished my wrapper. Its amazing what you can do with 15 mins a day!

SO on to my next dress!

There's so much going on here!

I made the pic extra large for you to see the details. Imagine the dress in an all pale yellow, extra sheer cotton and that's what Ill get! I cant wait to start on it!

Kristen: Gauging a Skirt

I really have tried lately to continue working on the dress. It wasn't until a sewing party that I held at my house...that I actually really got to work! I think it is important to use these sewing times for polite conversation, modeling for the younger girls, and the exchange of sewing skills.

 And food. Healthy food! And pizza bread...

Ladies have come together to sew forever! The six ladies who sewed with me were just that-ladies. And we didn't all just work on Civil War projects! One woman creates miniatures, Carrie started a t-shirt quilt blanket, and the younger girls worked on a braided/cut up shirt that I've seen all over pinterest. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, one that I hope to have again in the future!

Carrie did an excellent job! This is a quick shot of my sewing room!

I've been working on many side projects including my hair jewelry. However, I need a dress to wear it with! I still want to complete one more before Greenfield Village this year, so hopefully I can get that done soon. As for gauging my skirt, that took longer than I expected. The process was eerily similar to doing the gathers on my bodice, with a few slight adjustments. First, you need to do two running stitches after turning down a 1 inch hem. Make sure the outside stitches are longer than the inside.

It will look bigger than your waist at first!

Then you push the gathers together, trying to make them and even 32 inches (GASP! MY WAIST SIZE!). It helps to mark the fabric at the half and quarter points to make sure the gathers are even. Here is a better picture, if it helps.

If you are looking for another tutorial, check out The Sewing Academy's compendium page, which is helpful for many different projects (http://www.thesewingacademy.com/the-compendium/). These ladies really know what they're talking about, and their dedication to historical accuracy is astounding. One day I hope to meet a few of them...*exaggerated sigh* In the meantime I will have to stay surrounded by my ribbons and fabric.

 I set out a few of my books in case we needed a reference

I took out my ribbons/silk, as well as my stash of 100% silk satin ribbon from Habermans!

The girls thought it would be clever to give Rambo a scarf; he didn't like it!

 It helps if I create a list that I can check off, so here is my list before I post again!

1. Finish attaching the waistband of mourning dress.
2. Start the hem.
3. Gather the sleeves.
4. Attach the sleeves.
5. Begin the cuff.
6. Do 3 practice rounds of hairwork gimping.

Until next time! Thank you for reading!

~Kristen

Becky: Wrapper Update

With a little (or A LOT) of trial and failure... I decided to cut the top of the front piece because I have a limited amount. The pieces are still pinned, but I am getting some work done. :/ 

Kristen: Bodice Gathering, Waistband, and Piping Application

Another exhausting week! I think my students are able to smell my tiredness, and of course I have papers due just when I want to sew/craft! If only there were several of me, one to go to work, the other to class, and myself to just sit around and sew things.

And maybe finish working on my car. I need a new axle shaft still!

On another snow day this week (which was completely unnecessary) I found time to visit Becky to continue working on my mourning dress (which sadly, I have neglected for hairwork). I was avoiding it because I knew that I had to pull out the gathered waistband in order to regather to fit my shrinking waistline (yay!) Luckily for you readers, you will now get to see the process as shown to me by dear patient Becky.

2 strings next to each other. Knot together when pulled to correct gather

When you are finished with that part, make sure to tie the threads together. Maybe even check your fit by trying it on. I wish I would have done that the first time! Next, you'll move on to attaching the waistband. This is the way that I do it, followed by a crude drawing on paint in case it is still an issue for you.

 Lay out your waistband and newly gathered bodice

Start lining up the waistband on both sides

Pin neatly on both sides 

Run through with a basic stitch, and it should look nice and neat

And if you still can't visualize, here is a crude drawing

I should not have put that off. It was easy! I hope the picture helps too. I know when I first started sewing, I would read some of the instructions like they were in Greek. (I can read Spanish, but it's a no-go on Greek). Next I moved on to adding the piping, which again I thought would be so difficult that I would intentionally stab myself with needles to get out of doing it.

Here is that lovely piping I already made

Here it is lined right on the outside arm hole

You can't see, but the piping crosses at the dip in the arm hole

I just did an obscene amount of sewing today. I also learned how to gauge the skirt, but that will have to wait for another day! Looking back at my old posts, I wanted to at least finish my list before I posted next. Well, it sort of happened. At least I didn't wait several months, like I might have done in the past.

1. Re-gather the bodice to make a better fit Yay I did it!

2. Add the waistband Take that you silly waistband!

3. Finish creating all piping Puny Piping Problem Pulverized!

4. Start the armscye piping I call it an arm hole, but I know what I'm saying

I like lists. I like crossing out finished lists even more! I am lucky to have a patient Becky, nimble fingers, and a supportive audience. Thanks for reading!

~Kristen

Becky: Sneak Peek: Wrapper