Early Regency Sleeveless BEE Triangle Spencer and Mustard Apron Front Gown - July Sleeves HSM Challenge

For July's "Sleeves" challenge, I decided to focus on the use of sleeves worn underneath and the lack of sleeves in a spencer, as an example of a historical sleeves style. I created a 1798-1800 sleeveless BEE spencer with triangle trim and an early Regency mustard cotton apron-front gown, handsewn.

Mustard apron-front Regeny gown & silk brocade
BEE triangle sleeveless spencer
photo by InTheLongRunDesigns

July: Sleeves: There are some amazing examples of historical sleeves styles out there. Put the focus on the arms and shoulders in your creation for this challenge.

IG #HSM2018JulProgress (for works in progress) and #HSM2018Jul (for your finished item)

How it fits the challenge: For this challenge, I focused on arms and shoulders, and the LACK OF sleeves for a subset of Regency spencers, showcasing the sleeves of the gown worn under the spencer instead. Sleeveless spencers seem to be especially popular during the late transition in the last few years of the 1790's and into the first few years of the 1800's. Sleeveless spencers puts the focus on the sleeves of the gown underneath, which was the intention for this outfit: my mustard apron-front Regency gown sleeves showcased from under.

Material: Sleeveless spencer: burgundy and gold BEE silk brocade (leftover from my 2016 gala BEE open court robe). Mustard gold silk taffeta for binding all edges. Mustard apron-front gown: mustard striped design cotton from Treadle (quilt shop in MN), bit of white cotton muslin for under bodice pieces. 

Pattern: Sleeveless spencer: Draped by TheLady Detalle. I draped and drafted 4 muslin mockups until I was happy with the fit. I referenced fashion plates from 1798-1800 for sleeveless spencer examples and sleeveless spencers with triangle trim, and also referenced the sleeveless spencer and pattern example from the DAR "An Agreeable Tyrant" book for ideas on shapes to try to improve the fit in-progress. Mustard apron-front gown: was draped by myself and partner during a Burnley & Trowbridge workshop last May. 

Year: 1798-1800

Notions: white cotton twill tape for apron front ties from Burnley & Trowbridge

How historically accurate is it? Sleeveless spencer: I hand sewed everything visible and machined the main seams as well as zig zagged all edges of the silk brocade as this fabric frays like crazy. All finishing work done by hand. Mustard apron-front gown: 100% hand sewn, Angela Burnley contributed hand sewing the two sides' pocket slit seams during the workshop ;). 

Hours to complete: Sleeveless spencer: it was a few days of a couple hours a day to make up the pattern and different mockups for fit. It was a few hours to cut it all out (strategically and carefully). It was another couple of hours to machine sew the main portion and zig zag all the unfinished edges. It was another couple of hours to plan and cut and pin/sew on the bee triangle trim (VanDyke trim), and then another few hours to hand sew all the finished edges with ironed mustard silk taffeta binding. Mustard apron-front gown: I worked on the gown sewing the entire B&T weekend (including in the evenings), Angela Burnley's time hand sewing the two sides' pocket slit seams help, and then spent another few days (spread out) to hand sew the remaining work on the gown. 

First worn: Saturday day at Costume College this year

Total cost: All STASH! Sleeveless spencer: The fabric was leftover from my "Bees, Bees, Bees" Napoleonic open court robe made for Costume College Gala 2016. I wanted to use up as little fabric as possible for this spencer as the fabric was $$ and I can use the remainder to make something else. I started by cutting my pieces from large leftover scraps, and managed to get all but one piece of the spencer body from the scraps! I then cut the final front piece and the triangle trim from the yardage. I added mustard gold silk taffeta binding to finish the edges, also stash. Mustard apron-front gown: stash! I picked this up from Treadle Quilt Shop in MN a few years ago.

I was very excited to wear the finished outfit at Costume College, and made my bee jewelry parure to wear with it!

Gown & sleeveless spencer and hair by me. Pineapple reticule (commission). Vintage mustard & black silk dupatta, vintage 1950's German gold wreath tiara, Josphine gold & black BEES necklace & matching earrings by LadyDetalle on Etsy

Costume College 2018 theme is really inspiring me!

I'm really inspired by "Dressing the Royals" theme of Costume College 2018!

I just finished my 1898 evening/court gown for the Last Csar Dinner, and I have some court wear from previously worn outfits, including CoCo 2016 Gala. I'm pondering on if I should re-wear all my court wear at Costume College this year - so tempting! Although I'm also inspired to sew some new things and revamp some previously made outfits (including the court wear), so in the end, it will probably be a little of both.

I stumbled across this photo that I had forgotten about, in Gloria's CoCo Flickr album: photo by InTheLongRunDesigns. I love the way she captured the sun and shadows on my Napoleonic Bee court robe from Costume College 2016 Gala!

'Bees, Bees, Bees' - my early 19th century Napoleonic Silk Court Open Robe & Court Gown

I have never felt so completely regal and ready to be or visit royalty that evening, than I did in this gown.

Time for some CoCo Royals planning!
What are you planning for Costume College 2018 theme?!

Burgundy Red Bee Lady Worsley silk muff - November 'Red' HSM Challenge

For November's 'Red' challenge I made a burgundy red embroidered bee silk muff with Lady Worsley fabric portrait and silk ribbon embellishment & silk ties!

Burgundy 'red' Bee Lady Worsley silk muff

I adore bee fabric, so this was a lot of fun to make and embellish and relatively quick to hand sew together! :). I was targeting 1798-1802 with this design, but really this is appropriate for anytime from 1775-1820, and could even go much later.

In progress burgundy bee muff - pleating the
silk ribbon along the two sides

            Historical Sew Monthly 
           NOVEMBER challenge:

http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2016/

The Challenge: Red - Make something in any shade of red. 

Material: embroidered bee burgundy red silk dupioni designer fabric

Pattern: TheLadyDetalle muff pattern

Year: 1798-1802, really any late 18th to late 19th century+, but I was targeting those 4 years

Notions: fabric portrait of Lady Worsley (in a riding habit) & silk ribbon for embellishment

How historically accurate is it? It is an appropriate size, shape, style and embellishment for one of the time, and is all hand sewn.

Hours to complete: Approximately 5-6 hours of hand sewing and finishing.

First worn: Not worn yet - I had planned this for use in the new year and decided instead to sell it to my friend Judy ;). I also added a custom 'made to order' version in my Etsy shop.

Total cost: The fabric was designer and high price per yard and also silk ribbon for pleated trim around the portrait, along both sides and for the silk ties.

A few more pics!

The golden tones of the fabric and ribbon

'Lady Worsley' in a late 18th century riding habit

Side view of the silk, down-filled muff

Lady Worsley riding habit bee silk muff by TheLadyDetalle

Napoleonic Bee Muff and Sewing Kit 'Housewife' - September 'Historicism' HSM Challenge

Double entry: Late 18th or early 19th century Napoloenic Bee silk muff and sewing kit 'housewife' - posted late but finished both in September! 

For September's 'Historicism' challenge I made a late 18th or early 19th century Napoleonic Bee muff and a 'housewife' (sewing kit) in a deep burgundy red with embroidered gold bees, finished with gold silk ribbon ties, out of leftover fabric from my earlier 'Bees, Bees, Bees' Napoleonic Bee Regency court robe:

Napoleonic Bee muff in deep burgundy red with
embroidered gold bees & gold silk ribbon ties

Napoleonic Bee silk sewing kit 'housewife'

            Historical Sew Monthly 
           SEPTEMBER challenge:

http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2016/

The Challenge: Historicism – Make a historical garment that was itself inspired by the fashions of another historical period.

The bee has been around for centuries, and was used in decoration and fashion going all the way back to ancient Egypt. During the Regency era, Napoleon chose the bee as a symbol of royalty, his reign as emperor and of his power. But Napoleon himself borrowed this symbol from earlier use, inspired by the fashions of earlier historical periods. 

Material: Muff and 'housewife': Burgundy silk brocade embroidered with gold bees, mustard yellow silk taffeta (lining of bee muff and binding on 'housewife' sewing kit), gold yellow quilted silk (sewing kit), and sewing kit scraps: coutil, quilted silk, silk taffeta binding, silk taffeta pocket, and more.

Pattern: TheLadyDetalle muff pattern and TheLadyDetalle housewife pattern

Year: late 18th century to early 19th century

Notions: antique gold silk satin ribbon ties (muff) and gold silk ribbon ties (sewing kit)

How historically accurate is it? Very. Both items are 100% hand sewn, fabrics are period appropriate, and muff is an appropriate size, shape and material for the time. Sewing kit 'housewife' is period appropriate to ones from the late 18th century.

Hours to complete: Muff: a few hours to sew finished edges, binding and finish. 'Housewife' Sewing kit: a few hours to cut everything out and make binding then sew binding onto fashion and lining, then sew the needle holder, pin holder, thread holder, and pockets inside, probably 6-8 hours total.

First worn: Neither have been used yet, muff is planned for use this winter.

Total cost: Minimal. Remnants and leftover silk scraps used to put this together, other than the 100% white goose down muff pillow inside and the silk ribbon ties. Probably about $15 in material total plus the cost of the luxury high end down.

Finished Napoleonic Bee muff

Finished Napoleonic Bee Sewing Kit 'Housewife'

Sewing kit or 'housewife' FUN with kits - Embroidered Bees and More

Late 18th and early 19th century Sewing Kits or 'Housewives' were made for women or men to carry both sewing supplies (to fix on the go) and also to carry jewelry or money. Here is an example extant version from Winterthur.

Inspired by lovely extant examples and the great use of something like this for someone like me who loves to bring a small sewing bag with me for getting a bit of sewing done 'on the go,' I decided to make one of these last year.

I recently finished another Sewing Kit or 'Housewife' a la 18th/19th century, burgundy silk brocade with embroidered gold bees, trimmed with mustard and gold silk. I used leftovers from my recent court robe, made bias binding for the kit and then hand sewed it all together: it was a lot of fun! I can't wait to use this to store needles, pins, scissors, thread and more!

Embroidered Bees Silk 'Housewife' by TheLadyDetalle

Finished Insides of Sewing Kit

Finished Sewing Kit or 'Housewife' Example

Sample SEWING KIT 'Housewife' by TheLadyDetalle

Here's a link to the original Sewing Kit 'Housewife' I made last year. It was a fun and quick hand sewing project, and I use it ALL the time when I bring sewing with me, so I decided to make myself another one or two (*smile*).

Then I thought, 'hey, maybe others would be interested in a pattern for one." and "hey, I have some great fabrics on hand that I can make up some lovely and unique kits with", so I created 20 kits with pattern instructions so folks can sew their own 18th/19th century Sewing Kit 'Housewife'. I have to admit, I enjoyed cutting it all out, coordinating fabrics and colors, being creative and putting the kits together and making all the binding.

KITS for making up your own Sewing Kits and Pattern Instructions are available now on Etsy, as well as Sewing Kit 'Housewife' Pattern instructions on Etsy available as a digital download.

I hope you are inspired to make your own 18th/19th century sewing kit or have already made one!
Comment here to share your plans or questions.

Happy SEWING!

A quick sewing project to post - quick garment cover

I recently took some thin, lightweight cotton from the stash and made a quick garment bag cover for my Napoleonic bees court ensemble: it was quick to throw together, just sewed both sides together, then cut and sewed a hole in the top to go over the hangar (and left the bottom open to fit over the court robe). A quick useful sewing project:

Quick cotton garment bag/cover

I'm happy that now I have something protecting the court robe a bit!

Regency Napoleonic Open Court Robe - April (Late) 'Gender-Bender' HSM challenge

For April's 'Gender-Bender' challenge, I made a Napoleonic bee open court robe, which reflects the heavy influence of men and the politics of the day on women's dress. During this part of the Regency era, Napoleon used the bee as a symbol of his strength, reign and power. Thus 'Napoleonic' bees became a part of ladies court wear: it was worn by Empress Josephine, a fashion leader of the day, the Emperor Napoleon himself, the royal family and a few favored members of his court. I made the bee open court robe in April, but trimmed it in June. 

Below the lovely red silk brocade splurge in order to make this fun outfit!

Red silk brocade with embroidered gold bees

Napoleonic bees open court robe - in progress

Historical Sew Monthly APRIL challenge:

http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2016/

The Challenge: Gender-Bender – make an item for the opposite gender, or make an item with elements inspired by the fashions of the opposite gender. 

Material: Red silk brocade with gold Napoleonic bees, a narrow 30" wide

Pattern: Butterick 4890

Year: Napoleonic era court robe about 1804-1807

Notions: Matching belt of same fabric. Bronze gold metal trim on both the open court robe and the belt.

How historically accurate is it? It's patterned after the shape and seam placement of the court robes of the era as far as I can tell (I am not an expert, not having seen extant garments in person, but have looked at them online and fashion plates of the time). The trains can be very wide to very narrow, and medium to extremely long. The fabric I believe is as close to period appropriate as possible. I machine sewed the long seams and hand finished and did hand sewn trim.

Hours to complete: I was about half a day in cutting it out, since I was super careful in cutting with wasting the least amount of fabric, in order to save the most possible of what was remaining. The fabric was only 30" wide, so it was quite difficult to cut out, and I had to piece on the two side train pieces. Also took a long time to sew together, sew in a lining, hem and create the belt, add the bronze gold metal trim. I lost track, but I'd say this was probably about 30 hours altogether.

First worn: Worn to the Gala this year at Costume College in July 2016, with an embroidered court gown underneath!

Total cost: Er, um, this fabric cost waaaaaay too much. I searched for silk bee fabric for a court ensemble for years: I was looking for black with gold bees or purple or royal blue with gold bees, but burgundy with gold bees is what I could find finally, so red it was! It was $33/yard. Lining fabric was stash, and trim inexpensive. Totally worth it, I'm so happy with the finished court robe!

Napoleonic era 'bees' open court robe by TheLadyDetalle

'Bees, Bees, Bees'

'Bees, Bees, Bees' - Napoleonic Open Court Robe and Gown

TADA!!  My new Napoleonic open robe & court gown ensemble titled 'Bees, Bees, Bees'

"Bees, Bees, Bees" a Napoleonic silk bee
open robe & court gown by TheLadyDetalle

'Bees, Bees, Bees' made from red burgundy with embroidered gold Napoleonic bees silk brocade, cream silk taffeta embroidered with tiny red & cream flowers, golden bee pin on belt & gold bee hair pins (gift from my friend Angela), vintage cotton gloves, vintage fan, tiara from Ali Express (found by my friend Kat), feathers and hair by me, jewelry by Dames a la Mode, with hidden American Duchess cream 'Hartfield' Regency boots! First worn at the Saturday night Gala of Costume College 2016! This was a dream to wear, it flowed, it was fun, and it made me feel very regal and queenly! 

Here's a bit about the construction: I had been searching for the right Napoleonic bee fabric for an open robe for years: I was aiming for either gold with black bees, or royal blue or deep purple with gold bees, but burgundy with gold bees in a lovely luxurious silk brocade was what I could find on Ebay finally that was marginally affordable (after a few years of looking, er, but still more than I like to pay by far), so red & gold bees it was for the court robe! 

Burgundy & gold Napoleonic
bees silk brocade

Cream embroidered silk taffeta
w/ tiny red & cream flowers

Regency court robe in progress

Once I had the bee fabric for the court robe, I went to my stash to figure out what to pair it with for the gown underneath, and came up with a 4 yard piece of embroidered silk taffeta (cream with tiny red & cream embroidered flowers in the middle photo above) I picked this fabric up in the L.A. Fashion District a few years ago, originally intended for a Regency ball gown. I loved the combination of the two fabrics, so went with it! 

For the Regency court open robe, I used Butterick #4890 (upon my friend Kat's advice and with inspiration from this gorgeous version she made last year!) and also a modified early Butterick/Simplicity pattern for the court gown. 

I used this extant garment and this extant garment and fashion plate for inspiration. Also here's a link to my Pinterest board for Napoleonic bees and also for court wear, where I did a lot of research on the styles of the period. Many original court trains were often longer than my train, and I just didn't want to waste my super narrow 30" width fabric on TOO long of a train, since I wanted to use less fabric and use the remaining yardage for a spencer, muff, reticule and bonnet (if I'm lucky!). So I made it the length of the pattern, which still used 9 total yards of bee fabric!

The finished outfit - I love the way the
sun glistens off the open robe train!

A tiara from Ali Express (found by my
friend Kat), and gold bee pins gifted 
from my friend Angela in my hair!

The open robe court train from the back!

Having a bit of fun during photo time - I
loved the belt that went with the open robe

Close up of the front belt and bee pin
(pin gifted by my friend Angela)

So this court outfit had its first wearing at Costume College 2016 last Saturday: it was super fun to wear and move around in. I felt very regal with my long train, tiara and luxurious fabric. This is my first ensemble that included any silk brocade, and wow, did I love this fabric. I truly felt as if I could have graced the royal courts of the day in this outfit (er, I 'felt' I could, but in reality, I'm too much of an independent modern woman to have pulled that off, LOL): I'm looking forward to wearing again sometime in future!

A Regency court ensemble by TheLadyDetalle

Costume College Preview

I had a wonderful and amazing time at Costume College! The Gala was definitely an evening to remember, with so many gorgeous and amazing outfits by all the talented costumers who attended!
 I plan to blog about CoCo here shortly (including how my Winter Wear Hooded Cape workshop went, and post photos my outfits with construction info).

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a preview of my Gala gown, a Regency open court robe and gown of the Napoleonic era entitled, 'Bees, Bees, Bees':

'Bees, Bees, Bees' Napoleonic court robe
and gown by TheLadyDetalle

I'll post more on CoCo soon! Here is a link with a few more pics on FB!

Costume College Gala - Bees, Bees, Bees

For Costume College's Gala event, I'm doing early 19th century court attire: an open robe and gown, I'm fondly terming 'Bees, bees, bees'!

Here's the fabric:

Silk brocade w/ Napoleonic Bees

I am making a Regency court robe (open robe) and a Regency court gown. I decided to follow Kat's advise and use Butterick #4890 to make the court robe (she made a gorgeous version of this at the end of last year for the Regency Baltimore Harbor weekend), and then I plan to use the La Mode Bagatelle gown pattern as a base to make the Regency court gown. I found a gorgeous silk bee fabric recently online that I'm using for the court robe, it was listed as silk shantung, but it's silk brocade: it ravels like crazy but it's very luxurious, I feel very spoiled and I'm loving working with it. It was way more than I ever pay for silk (I like super deals) especially for a non-wide 30" yard! But...it's really hard to find great silk Napoleonic bee fabric on super deal, so I just couldn't resist when I found this lovely Napoleonic bee burgundy silk brocade with gold bees: YUM!

I also have 4 yards of a gorgeous embroidered silk taffeta I picked up in the Fashion District about 5 years ago: cream with tiny red & cream flowers, that I am using for the court gown itself. It was always intended for a Regency so it's being used for its original purpose (win win!).

Fabric for the Regency court gown

I had a few days off recently so I was able to a decent bit of sewing in: so far I have the bee court robe all together, minus the final belt and the little gold trim I am planning for the edges. I have the court gown fabric laid out, but I don't have quite enough for my La Mode Bagatelle pattern pieces (I'm about a half yard short), so I'm going to have to be creative and figure out how to get it out of the fabric I have: a coordinating hidden back panel (but if I do, I can't really wear the court gown without the court robe), or add a different hem, another fabric for the top or just a bunch of piecing. Once I figure out what I want to do, I'll be full steam ahead on the court gown!

So far this is the progress on the bee court robe:

"Bees, bees, bees" Regency court robe

As soon as I figure out how best to do this, I'll start cutting out the court gown and sewing it together: it's so exciting to be so far along with my Gala outfit so early, which takes the stress off a bit and makes it more fun: I'll try to post a few in-progress pics. Eek, lots to do:

Here's a bit more about the idea formation:
I've been wanting to make a Regency court outfit, gown or robe with bee fabric ever since I began costuming. I have been on the lookout for great fabric for the last few years for this project, and occasionally pick up a bit of silk bee fabric at a sale price, but generally it's hard to find and expensive: so while I have acquired some and even made a bee muff a few years ago (and have some other bee fabric on hand to make up at some point, it wasn't quite what I was looking for, for this project though), until I recently found the PERFECT bee fabric for this plan, so I decided it was time to get this early 19th century court outfit going finally.

I'm going for something similar to this or this:

Here's a link to my Pinterest board for Napoleonic bees and also for court wear:

I'm an 'inspired by' rather than an exact copy costumer: the train on the original is too long for my super narrow fabric (there just wasn't enough of it: I COULD have gone a little longer and wider, but Kat made up the Butterick trained open robe already and it's gorgeous, so I knew I didn't need to go longer, plus now with the yards I have remaining, I should be able to get a spencer, muff, reticule & bonnet out of it hopefully! We'll see what I can get with careful cutting and piecing ;)).

I cut the fabric out for the open robe very carefully, and I'm going to try to get a spencer, bonnet, reticule (and maybe muff) out of the remaining yardage: I going to line it with mustard yellow silk taffeta. If I can get these done for CoCo, I will wear them with my yellow cross over gown.

I find it inspiring how often ideas can be YEARS in the making, but then they finally come together one day!