Late 18th century black silk mourning cape - December HSM Challenge 'Re-Do' January 'Foundations'

For December's  Re-Do challenge, I decided to finish the year much the way it started, with another item for the 'foundation' of my mourning wear wardrobe a re-do of January's HSM challenge: a late 18th century black silk mourning cape.

Black silk mourning cape by TheLadyDetalle

 2015 began with my mother-in-law passing away and my January HSM 'Foundations' challenge turned into a black silk mourning muff, the foundation for a mourning wardrobe.

2015 was a rough year, lots of meh to family and friends, unfortunately a lot of death & major health issues. I thought it was most appropriate to end the year with a mourning cape, as I recently lost another, a dear friend, Barbee. Here are some of my favorite pics of fun times together.

Barbee & I at Loren's Farm 2010

Tea at Loren's farm

Barbee & Jim at Loren's farm - Apr 2010

Barbee at my 3rd Annual Pumpkin Tea

Having a grand 'ol time

Barbee & I dancing in Williamsburg - 12th Night

Barbee & her hb - fun sense of humor!

In tribute to Barbee, who was a dear woman, a great friend, a loving mother to twins and a loving wife to Jim. Her family & friends all mourn her passing.

Barbee at my 6th Annual Pumpkin Tea

Here are a few in-progress pics:

Black silk mourning cape in progress

Pleating 3/4" black silk ribbon trim

Close-up of neckline trim

Historical Sew Monthly DECEMBER challenge:

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

The Challenge: Re-Do: It’s the last challenge of the year, so let’s keep things simple by re-doing any of the previous 11 challenges.

For this challenge, I hand-sewed a black silk mourning cape, trimmed in black silk ribbon. It ties at the neck with a bit of black silk satin ribbon. This was a re-do of my January challenge, 'Foundations' or the foundation of my mourning wardrobe. 

Fabric: black silk taffeta from L.A. Fabric District.

Pattern: my pattern (the late 18th century cape I drafted/draped).

Year: late 18th century, circa 1770's.

Notions: about 14 yards of black silk ribbon.

How historically accurate is it? Pretty perfect. Black linen and black silk taffeta, and black silk trim all very period appropriate. It was hand-sewn entirely, including trim. The only portion not hand-sewn is a small stitch that doesn't show inside the bias binding that held the lining and fashion fabric together.

Hours to complete: 2 hours or so to cut out & piece together the lining (not enough of the linen). Another hour to pin and machine a tiny seam allowance. Another few hours to mark, cut & iron bias binding, pin it on then sew it on by hand. Quite a few hours to pleat and hand sew on all the black silk ribbon trim. Probably 15+ total.

First worn: Not worn yet, planned for early next year.

Total cost: Black silk taffeta from the stash ($16/yd at about 3 yards) and black silk ribbon at about $30 for all the silk ribbon yardage.

Re-do of HSM challenge - foundations

Next up - HSM for 2015 is done, and I completed all the challenges, although 3 of them were LATE!! For 2016, I'm not planning on taking part in all the HSM challenges, but I may do a few, I've really enjoyed the historical sew-along, but I need to focus on sewing this year that may or may not fit all the challenges, so we'll see how it goes!

Late 18th century black silk mourning cape.
Barbee, we miss you.

Barbee at Loren's farm in 2008