Quilted Petticoat, pt. 4

More quilting:

Some border pics:

I've also stitched a variety of flowers which I didn't photograph.  I'm about 40% done with the figures/border.

I'm afraid to stop and work on something else as I'm the queen of unfinished projects and I have too much time invested in this one already.  I'm just going to keep on chugging along!

Quilted Petticoat pt. 3

Let the stitching begin!  I searched and searched and found a lap quilting hoop that I really liked.  As luck would have it, Luna found it before I could use it.  I like this hoop because it sits flat on my lap and has a sturdy 14 inch hoop attached.  I don't have to fudge with adjusting an angle and it has plenty of room to put one hand underneath.

As I started stitching, I found one challenge--my silk twist quilting thread is either too thick or too twisty to successfully thread my tiny betweens needles that I prefer to sew with.  I even have the John James big eye quilting needles but this thread won't go through the eye. I bent one using a wire needle threader.  I went with a size 10 embroidery needle which was nice and thin but longer than I prefer and that worked fine until I broke both of my wire needle threaders threading that.  I switched to a size 7 embroidery needle which has worked fine.  I'm going to have to experiment with some other brand needles and different threaders.  The longer needles are fine for stitching the figures because I'm not loading the needle with multiple stitches.  So many of the stitches change direction every stitch or two so it's a matter of literally sewing one stitch at a time anyway.

Here you can see the structure of the thread itself.  

As luck would have it--I received some new needles today--size 10 betweens by Bohin--along with 2 new Clover wire threaders.  They work perfectly!  The eye on the Bohin needles is wider than my usual John James so problem solved!

Here are a few pics of what I've done so far:

From the border:

Some of the figures in the squares above the border:

I'm really enjoying stitching these little figures.  I think had I gone with my first design plan--a featured braid for a border and diamonds, I would've gotten incredibly bored.  I'm enjoying the fact that each day brings different designs to stitch.  It was more work to plan and mark but much more enjoyable to stitch!

Long term sewing project: 18th century Quilted Petticoat, pt. 1

Part 1:  Preparation and Design Planning

I've been sitting on some French blue silk taffeta, linen and wool batting to make a silk quilted petticoat for 2 years and just have not been motivated.  I had bought a feather design quilting stencil and was hoping to use that as the design but I just felt ambivalent about it.  If I'm going to commit that much time to a project, I need to be excited about it or it will never be finished.  This really seems like the best time to get this done.  I may have a reason to have this done come late winter so I have a rough deadline.

My business partner Ruth just had a gorgeous sky blue quilted petticoat made so that started to get me motivated.  Then on a business zoom with one of our presenters, the topic of quilted petticoats came up and I learned of a research article on petticoat designs.  I was intrigued.

The article didn't disappoint.  As it turns out, there are quite a few extant petticoats that have designs of whimsical animals and mythical creatures.  Now you're speaking my language.  Some of these designs were sketched out so I was able to study them in detail and I came up with a design for my own petticoat based on a compilation of designs from a number of extants.  

The border of my petticoat will be based on the Sarah Halsey petticoat in the Connecticut Historical Society Collection.

Here are a few of the actual motifs:

There was a tiny detailed sketch of most of the border for this petticoat.  It wasn't on a graph but rather just a sketch in 3 sections. I put it in photoshop and enlarged it enough to fit on standard paper.  This was an inexact exercise.  I printed out the the sheets of paper and taped them together to get this:

 I needed to add one more section on this border to get it to measure 100 inches to fit my petticoat"

I used a bird motif and drew a small vine to fill in the additional space.

This border is about 8 1/4 inches high.

The petticoat quilting above the border will inspired by this design from a petticoat in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Collection:

I have copied some other animal motifs and flowers that I will use in random diamonds on the quilt.

Okay!  Now that the design has been planned, I need to plan the construction.  After studying the construction of the quilted petticoats in Costume Close Up, I decided to simply have 2 side seams and pocket slits like a regular petticoat. I cut two 40-inch panels.  I seamed the first side seam in the lining  and silk.

The next steps are:

• Mark the quilting design on the silk
• lay out the lining, wool batting and silk, matching side seams in the lining and silk
• baste the layers together
• quilt
• finish constructing petticoat

Next step--Marking the design on the silk.

2019 Costuming Goals. Let the fun begin.

Once again, I will attempt to identify my costuming goals for 2019.  Unlike last year's list,  I will actually accomplish at least some of these though I can't be responsible for unexpected events requiring me to make other choices.  LOL.  Some of these are already planned for specific events which helps. Deadlines can be good things.  I'm really hoping this will be the year of the sacque.  It's long overdue.   The best thing about this list is that I have all of the supplies for everything on it with the exception of the velvet Spencer and the Titanic era outfit.

This list does not include any modern sewing projects, household or gift sewing.  Strictly costuming stuff.  Nor does it include anything like samples to be prepared for workshops.

Here it is--because we all need goals. Right? I wonder how many I can do.

(1) 1770 Wool Sateen Mourning gown, matching petticoat, small hip pads and two caps--lappet for daywear and wired wing cap for dressier occasions.  This is needed for the third week in January.

The gown and lappet cap will be based on this image:

With the finer neck handkerchief and cap based on this one:

Worsted sateen complete with requisite cat hair

(2) 1780's Spotted worsted long sleeved Italian gown and pink worsted petticoat.  This is needed for the last week in February.

(3) 1760's Silk damask gown with shot silk petticoat (and possibly a royal blue one to switch out).  Hope to have enough fabric fore a matching stomacher.  Gown based on this example in the Met.  Would like to have this finished for the last week in February.

(4) 1818 Velvet Spencer from DAR's An Agreeable Tyrant Exhibit.  This may become a long term project as I don't expect to wear it until next winter.

(5)Titanic Era outfit--to be chosen from these 2 patterns.  Needed in April.

(6)Cotton chintz sacque based on this extant.  I'd like to complete this to wear to His Exellency's estate on Independence Day.  This was on this past year's list of goals so it's a priority to get this one done.

(7) Lady Hodge's gown as shown in her family portrait with the neck handkerchief, cap and sleeve flounces.  I have gold silk in an exact match!  This was also on the past year's list.  The monthly challenge in the Historical Sew Fortnightly for August is to copy a picture so I would like to attempt to complete this project for that challenge.

(8) World War 2 era Red Cross Military Service uniform like the one my mother wore.  Need this for Veterans Day.

If time permits, A regency gown copied from this illustration in Costume in Detail out of the spotted muslin and an unlined bedgown out of one of the linens.  I hope to also begin planning a riding habit to begin early 2020.  These are not high on the list and may move to next year's list.

Gown fabric--cotton voile with woven diamond spots:

Bedgown linens:

I do also have 2 long term projects in mind--basically these are projects that I will work on at events over an extended period of time. One of these will be worked on simultaneously with the projects above.  Listed in order of completion.

(1)  Silk quilted petticoat in French blue taffeta--to be started in January.

(2) One set of stays--either the Larkin & Smith 1770's stays in blue worsted or a set of 1780's half boned stays in pink worsted--as yet to be determined which.  Hope to start them toward the end of the year.

Let the challenge begin!