TheLadyDetalle - January Launch Sale

Well, this is it, I finally feel ready to move into full shop launch, so without futher ado, I'm officially launching 'TheLadyDetalle' on Etsy, featuring reproduction historical muffs & tea!

I added a few more things to TheLadyDetalle on Etsy tonight, and I'm having a January launch sale to get the word out: 10% off all items in my Etsy shop for a limited time, just use code 'LAUNCH2015' at checkout.

Muff Instructions 'how to': (how to create your own 18th or 19th century reproduction silk taffeta muff - muff cover & muff insides)

How to Create an 18th century reproduction silk muff by TheLadyDetalle

Light cream quilted silk muff with pearls by TheLadyDetalle on Etsy

Close up of diamond design & faux pearls

Pink silk taffeta reproduction muff by TheLadyDetalle

Red silk taffeta muff insides - white goose down

I'll be continuing to add things to the shop as I continue to create them, but I'm happy to say I finally feel 'ready' for store launch: feel free to share this coupon code with friends! It's good on anything in my shop from now through January 31st! 

Historical Sew Monthly January - Black silk mourning muff cover

HSM January: Black silk mourning muff cover

Black Silk Mourning Muff by The Lady Detalle

I believe that great accessories are the foundation of an outfit, so I decided for January's challenge I would make a black & yellow applique 'bee' muff and matching sash that would be the foundation of an outfit I'm planning for later this year. Sometimes life has it's own ideas though, so while I was in the midst of progress on my black & yellow reverse applique bee muff and sash, my mother in law unfortunately passed away from terminal cancer and instead on the plane trip out West, I created the foundation of my long-planned Regency mourning outfit: a black silk taffeta mourning muff.

Historical Sew Monthly January challenge:

HSM by the Dreamstress

http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2015/

The Challenge: Foundations, make something that is the foundation of a period outfit

Fabric: black silk taffeta purchased in the L.A. Fashion District

Pattern: my own (link to Etsy store where available)

Year: 1795-1805

Notions: 1 1/2" black silk satin ribbon for trim, 1" black silk ribbon for side ribbon ties

How historically accurate is it? I would say right up there in historically accurate. Muffs of this time were in various materials, shapes and sizes, with this small size being a popular accessory of the time. I have researched and found multiple extant examples of silk muffs in this size/style at the Met, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, etc. and seen in multiple fashion plates of the time. I made the muff cover for this challenge, but the muff insides are 100% white goose down, and through my research I have found multiple historical examples of muffs filled with down, swan's down, and wool (among other things), as well as muffs used in mourning. The muff cover is 100% hand sewn and my MIL's initials, SW are sewn with almost-hidden, tiny stitches on the side.

Hours to complete: About 5 hours, on a plane, all hand-sewn.

First worn: January 9th, 2015 at my mother-in-law's funeral in WA, with modern outfit/black dress.

Total cost: About $15 in supplies, muff cover only - I had everything in my stash, but the fabric was roughly $4.50 for the piece I used, and the 1" silk ribbon about 1 and 1/2 yards at $2.50 total and 1 1/2" silk satin ribbon about 3+ yards at $8.00 total. The 100% white goose down used in the muff insides (not part of this challenge) tends to be a bit pricey, but lovely, soft & warm.

TheLadyDetalle - Muff pic for scale

January's challenge, black silk mourning muff cover, in loving memory of my MIL, Sharon.

Progress on my black & yellow reverse applique bee muff - the original planned challenge

In progress Yellow & black applique 'bee' muff

My mother in law, Sharon, taken at afternoon tea in Fredericksburg, VA last year: Mat & I miss you.

Sharon - pic by TheLadyDetalle

Up next is HSM February's Colour Challenge, blue...

2014 Year in Review

Well, 2014 was a really big year for me: I finished grad school & married my beloved, so that translated into not quite as much sewing as I would like, and you'll notice my productivity went way up in the second half of the year though: I ended up re-accessorizing and re-wearing outfits to the events I did get to attend this year. Here is what I did complete in 2014:

-18th century men's jacket and waistcoat - untrimmed, quick version:
This was quickly finished for the 3nd Annual Francaise Dinner. It still needs a lot of work, so fixes & trim planned for 2015!

3rd Annual Francaise Dinner

-Late 18th century 1770's women's jacket & petticoat, cherry & cream striped silk taffeta: Completely handsewn
I worked on this one for ages, my very first entire outfit completely hand sewn, and finally finished in 2014, complete with a matching bias binding edged sash. I'm proud it's all hand sewn, I'm not proud that it's too small to fit right now :P.

Cherry & Cream 1770's jacket & petticoat by TheLadyDetalle

-Early 19th century yellow with black trim Regency cross over gown
I love, love this dress! I used my pattern for my first cross over gown, an embroidered white cotton, which was a modified version of the Sense & Sensibility cross over gown pattern. I made this for my 8th Annual Pumpkin Tea, but didn't try this on with my Regency stays until the day of: I'm not yet satisfied with the bodice on this one, it still needs a few tweaks to make it lay better, so I'll fix that before adding all the rest of the black trim that I have planned to go on it :). I wore this with my brown velvet spencer, my cream & burgundy trimmed bonnet, American Duchess 'Hartfield' boots, jewelry from inthelongrundesigns, my embroidered bee silk muff by TheLadyDetalle (me!) and a little bee in my hair. I really loved wearing this outfit, and can't wait to wear it again soon.

Yellow cross over gown

Being silly

Bee in my hair: Picture from Maggie

Picture from Maggie

-Edwardian Titanic day outing dress or coat - I made this daytime Edwardian Titanic 19-Teens outfit for the Winterthur Downton Abbey exhibit:
This one was quickly whipped together, and I didn't like how the golden yellow silk dupioni bodice turned out (not pictured here), so I set that aside to fix later and opted to wear my colonial riding habit shirt under a (modern) black velvet short jacket, which combined with my finished 19-teens skirt, new silk sash & big hat, made for an acceptable period look :).

The HB and I

Photo by InTheLongRun

-Finished Late 18th century baby tri-corn hat:

Baby tricorn by TheLadyDetalle

-Muffs & muff insides (only a portion shown):
I created a LOT of muff covers (hand sewn) and muff insides in late 2014, especially in December, as I was creating these one-of-a-kind muffs for my new Etsy store. I love experimenting with all different kinds of fabric & trim embellishments, so I'm having fun with this one!

STARTED in 2014, but didn't finish:
-Late 18th century men's waistcoat - mock up #2 in progress
-Early 19th century Regency rose pink cotton velvet spencer - in the UFO pile awaiting sleeve work
-1780's cream pattern silk taffeta jacket - in UFO pile awaiting fitting with stays
-Yellow & black 'bee' hat - in progress, I'm in love w/ Napoleonic bees, very inspired by bees lately
-Muffs - lots of in progress muffs

PLANNED to do in 2014, but didn't:
-19th century Regency bib front gown
-1780's or 1790's outfit
-Finish my 18th century hat o' awesomeness to wear with said cherry & cream gown
-19th century Regency silk taffeta gown with lots & lots of detailing
-19th century Regency flowy silk gown
-Start planning news stays for 18th/19th & Victorian

One thing I realized is that I didn't do a very good job of getting photos of my few completed outfits/items this year, so I'll need to do better on that in 2015!