Regency on the brain
Jan. 9th, 2014 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mandie_rwYou do not even want to know how many times I've changed my mind about What To Make for the Feb. Regency outing in the past 24 hours. It's wacky.
(And as for the curtains, well, I got evicted from the sewing room-that-is-also-a-living-room about 3/4 of the way through the first curtain, so I was all too free to indulge my Regency fixation! What a shame.)
Very recently, I've somehow decided I want to get into the late Regency-early Romantic period; that is, early 1820s. I don't know how I wandered in there, but whatever. It looks like fun. So I got all excited that I could use the plaid taffeta I got from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jenthompson for the dress, and I found a really spiffy pelisse in a fashion plate that was similar in theory to my blue pelisse idea (so I could still use the same fabric and trim) but even more fun. And then I realized...I need a new corset if I want to make an 1820s dress. And a slightly-corded petticoat. I am crazy, but not crazy enough to think I could get all that done in a month, especially all hand-sewn.
Humph.
Then I thought about making that red redingote, which is still fabulous and I want to make it, but I started adding up what I'd still need to spend on supplies for it - and it's a lot more than I ought to, especially with having to buy a ticket for the Francaise dinner soon.
Humph again. Fine.
The dress wasn't that hard to decide on - I just went back to one of the original ideas I had, when I was planning on a c1810 pelisse. Fabric's a wool, with a yellowy-cream ecru ground and narrow white stripes, and the design's fairly simple - high neck and long sleeves, with some hem decoration. Probably a ruffle or two. It's maybe not the best color on me, but I have very few wools or silks that aren't earmarked for other projects, so this one will have to do. (It was one of those super-wool-sales online, and the color looked better on my screen!) And no, I'm not bothering to try dyeing it! That sounds very unappealing.
And over that I decided on a spencer, because I'm being optimistic there won't be another polar vortex when I want to walk around outside! After hours of pulling out all my wool, flipping though my books, and looking up spencers online, I decided it might be more sensible to keep it relatively simple, and that I'd like something along the lines of this c1815 spencer, in the KCI's collection. (Sorry, bad pic from my book, this one's not online!)
I very much like the military-influenced styles, and I did think of doing a slightly more complicated design - but for Many Reasons I ultimately decided that something like this might be better. Lots of buttons but no buttonholes! I'm fine with that. (Alright, I will have to buy button forms, but I'm going to cheat massively and buy a bag of wooden beads and cover those.)
And I'm reasonably certain I have enough black Joann's wool to eke out a spencer. It's scraps left over from an early 1960s-style dress I made about three years ago, and it really is scraps! There may have to be some creativity while dealing with the sleeves, but I think it'll be fine. And the black looked by far the best, when paired with the dress fabric.
And if I can stop myself from mucking around on the internet, I might even manage to get the skirt panels of the dress cut tonight.
(And as for the curtains, well, I got evicted from the sewing room-that-is-also-a-living-room about 3/4 of the way through the first curtain, so I was all too free to indulge my Regency fixation! What a shame.)
Very recently, I've somehow decided I want to get into the late Regency-early Romantic period; that is, early 1820s. I don't know how I wandered in there, but whatever. It looks like fun. So I got all excited that I could use the plaid taffeta I got from
jenthompson for the dress, and I found a really spiffy pelisse in a fashion plate that was similar in theory to my blue pelisse idea (so I could still use the same fabric and trim) but even more fun. And then I realized...I need a new corset if I want to make an 1820s dress. And a slightly-corded petticoat. I am crazy, but not crazy enough to think I could get all that done in a month, especially all hand-sewn.Humph.
Then I thought about making that red redingote, which is still fabulous and I want to make it, but I started adding up what I'd still need to spend on supplies for it - and it's a lot more than I ought to, especially with having to buy a ticket for the Francaise dinner soon.
Humph again. Fine.
The dress wasn't that hard to decide on - I just went back to one of the original ideas I had, when I was planning on a c1810 pelisse. Fabric's a wool, with a yellowy-cream ecru ground and narrow white stripes, and the design's fairly simple - high neck and long sleeves, with some hem decoration. Probably a ruffle or two. It's maybe not the best color on me, but I have very few wools or silks that aren't earmarked for other projects, so this one will have to do. (It was one of those super-wool-sales online, and the color looked better on my screen!) And no, I'm not bothering to try dyeing it! That sounds very unappealing.
And over that I decided on a spencer, because I'm being optimistic there won't be another polar vortex when I want to walk around outside! After hours of pulling out all my wool, flipping though my books, and looking up spencers online, I decided it might be more sensible to keep it relatively simple, and that I'd like something along the lines of this c1815 spencer, in the KCI's collection. (Sorry, bad pic from my book, this one's not online!)
I very much like the military-influenced styles, and I did think of doing a slightly more complicated design - but for Many Reasons I ultimately decided that something like this might be better. Lots of buttons but no buttonholes! I'm fine with that. (Alright, I will have to buy button forms, but I'm going to cheat massively and buy a bag of wooden beads and cover those.)
And I'm reasonably certain I have enough black Joann's wool to eke out a spencer. It's scraps left over from an early 1960s-style dress I made about three years ago, and it really is scraps! There may have to be some creativity while dealing with the sleeves, but I think it'll be fine. And the black looked by far the best, when paired with the dress fabric.
And if I can stop myself from mucking around on the internet, I might even manage to get the skirt panels of the dress cut tonight.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-01-10 06:01 pm (UTC)Though, I am trying to be smart and start with underwear. Trying to choose the proper short stays for my boob/body type.
And accessories, because they are almost one size fits all.
And, this (scroll down): http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7787390
I already have blue china silk and blue cotton voile in my possession!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-12 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-13 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-13 12:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 05:34 am (UTC)