backfilling - JAFA Friday night dinner

Friday evening was a re-wear event,  wearing my green silk evening gown from a couple of years ago with the green silk toque hat I made for a friends formal dinner later in 2012.

I didn't get many, if any, "nice" photos of me as I may have become rather silly that evening.  Starting with wedgie shots - my friends went along with the pose though they hadn't heard of the Regency Ladies Wedgie Society.


and then and I may have commenced shennanigans of the Godzilla re-enactment variety




and then a zombie outbreak afflicted proceedings. The carnage was dreadful to behold, while only metres away a formal night's entertainment continued blithely and carelessly.

flashback to daytime Friday at JAFA

We started the day with a delicious breakfast, in costume to the bemusement of other cafe patrons who weren't aware of what was happening at the University conference facilities that weekend. Not that we were the only ones in costume.

Here we are in our day gowns


Now I'm not the first person to see the 'wedgie' regency fashion plates and think it was a brilliant thing to emulate, but Jen has done her part to make it 'the' action shot of 2014





In the morning I went to a workshop on an 1814 walking bonnet. Just in case you don't know my thoughts on hand sewing, this photo may clue you in.

See, I'm wearing a chemisette!  I cared so much about having one compared to finishing my shortgown (MAGAM March project) and looked at many portraits which featured them. Online collections of extant garments don't have many to see at all, and almost all have a high neckline, but in portraits there's more variety.  Mine's inspired by this one on pinterest, but I didn't pleat the ruffle - though I did go to a class on mushroom pleated frills. I used the edge of the cotton organdy as it's crisp and clean.

Contrasting back to our suite where I spent happier time sewing that & the next day.



The grounds were lovely, so I wasn't the only one trying for photos of the fish and counting how many dinner sized there were ... we had an equipped kitchen!

catch up post, JAFA Thursday arvo/eve

I went down the day before, as the train is much more comfortable than a bus. However there's only 3 trains per day, and the midday suited me best. Plus I'd get an evening with my friends in Canberra.  Bonus!

On the train, I told myself that I had to finish the floral diadem before I could get wine, cheese & crackers from the dining car. If I hadn't sufficient motivation, I'd never have started it.  It wasn't too hideous sewing the pink silk onto the wired buckram base.  I can't believe I'm admitting that. I may deny it in the future when in a bonnet workshop.



Thankfully, my friends were able to drop me at University House not long before my roomies arrived from the airport.

Our 2 bedroom suite at University House was bigger than some flats I've lived in, and we had so much room that I'm not alone in hoping it's the venue again.   There was a shop very close that we stocked up on nibbles and wine, and checked to see what we could get for the night of the ball (only a supper not a meal provided which is much easier).  This didn't take too long to happen.


Thursday is only a registration night, with a meal provided. I wore my cotton print open robe and terracotta gown, along with the blue silk toque I made for the heritage dance in Brisbane last July.

I've not disappeared entirely

I was especting to post again much earlier than this, but I got lured into the time-sucking-pit of JAFA sewing ... the weekend before Easter I was at the aussie Jane Austen Festival in Canberra, and somehow ended up with half made and unmade costumes to sew while I was there.

I haven't even looked at all my photos yet - but I've seen my friend's photos and will be doing a couple of posts once I've got myself sorted out.

I took my netbook with me but didn't even turn it on once! It was really nice to have a proper break from real life.

My March MAGAM short gown project didn't get finished. I took the pragmatic approach that there was less work involved in finishing my UFO bib front gown, that's about 4 years old. I also realised that I really really cared about having a chemisette (a false blouse for filling in necklines during for daywear). I cared more about that than getting the short gown finished - as I had daywear clothing that fit.

When I got back I discovered that somehow I'd used up my entire months data allowance in 4 days - I think something in the background was constantly refreshing and as I was home sick my netbook was on and byebye data.

I'll get myself organised to top it up this week so that I can post photos from JAFA, and also this weekend's Ironfest in Lithgow (www.ironfest.net).

I do have an April MAGAM plan, but as I don't have a photo of the fabric I can't yet post it ... but Winter is Coming!

a delay in finishing my short gown ensemble

I'm having to take a delay in finishing the shortgown set - about which I'm not happy.

The reason is that the stays I wear under it don't fit, so I'm having to make a larger, quick & dirty version of them to wear at JAFA which is just over a week away. So yes, very not happy.

Until the stay are on, I can't tell if the bodice will fit. And if the bodice doesn't fit I will have to unpick the waist seam at the sides, unpick the sleeves which are inserted and insert a gusset at underarm.

Until the stays are finished I can't tell if any of the other clothes I already have for it will fit either. I may go from being well dressed to being shabbily dressed.

My desire for a new red wook cloak will be put on hold I think, as I need other things more. boooo Hisssss to the genetic lottery that makes me fat. (If you think I'm deluding myself about it being endocrine related and not diet/exercise, well I can give you the names of both my specialists who've empathised while they told me this. Mind you, you can pay the hundreds the apppointments with them will cost. For some things there is no cure, and for others there's not even a best practise treatment).

So a cotton drill machine sewn stays, is almost complete. I'm adding the metal grommets tonight, so long as I remember to get white cable ties (to use as flexible boning at the centre back) from Officeworks on my way home.

MAGAM - my plan for the March theme

For March I'm declaring an assault on the clothes I need for a Jane Austen festival. For starters I'm making a 2piece skirt & top using this dress pattern from Past Patterns #031 and some fabric from my stash.

I have plenty of other garments that I need to make for the 3 day event, so there's more to come than this 2-piece morning dress.

at last a regency ball gown

I was inspired by a gown in Bradfield's Costume in Detail from around 1817

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I wasn't up to the task of mocking up the sleeves, so I used the sleeves & skirt of the 1816-19 evening dress from Waugh's Cut of Women's Clothing (Diagram 37). I was really impressed with how easy it was to draft the sleeves & scale them up ... I literally drew the sleeves on the fabric with my chalk wheel. I thought I'd taken a photo of that but it seems not :-/

I had to get the back pinned (straight pins) closed on the night, as I haven't yet found a matching cord for the closure.  I'm also thinking of re-cutting the bodice as the neckline is a lot higher than I planned. I put that down to silk taffeta not behaving the same way as the poly-cotton I used as the mock ups.

a new under dress for my open robe

I started cutting out a new underdress in April 2011, and it's lurked in my unfinished sewing ever since. It's the same tufted hailspot cotton voile as my green dress, but a different pattern. I used the same bodice & sleeves as the open robe, but cut slightly higher at the bodice, a rectangle skirt pleated onto it. The same centre front opening as the green dress.

Because this has been the Year of Bad Health, I really needed something quicker to make & wear for the Jane Austen Festival Australia, than any of my other ideas. This was at least partly cut out, I knew it would fit and it would go with my existing open robe.

getting ready for JAFA (Jane Austen Festival Australi)

At the beginning of the year, I cut out 3 chemises, a coutil cheat version of my long stays (so I can dress myself) and the 1790s jumps in cotton canvas lined with cotton twill.  Despite being under the weather for most of the year, I've almost finished the chemises and have at least looked at the stays & jumps. Not sewn, but the jumps are so easy that I'm not too worried.  I took the pattern with me to buy some flat steels for the jumps, hmm, I better check that the pattern still fits, as I've lost a little weight.

On Saturday I went to my sewing guild meeting and spent far more time than I'd like hand sewing the binding around the edge of the replacement (ie longer) shoulder straps and whip stitching the straps to the stays.  By the end I wasn't able to focus well enough to thread the needle so I didn't get the hand eyelets stitched for the the straps & where the tie to the front. Only 4 eyelets and it's altered to fit properly.  I also want to devise fan-lacing for it. 

One reason I want the jumps done next is so that I can make & fit this 1798 fashion plate.  I can use the past patterns round gown to make the dress, though perhaps with less fullness in the back to save my brain with all those triangles at the hem.   3 metres of triangle trim will perhaps make my brain go all explodey.



1790s open robe inspired by Costume in Detail

I really wanted a regency open robe, and didn't want to have exactly what was in Janet Arnold's patterns of Fashion, so fortunately I had a memory of something in Costume in Detail (Nancy Bradfield) which a friend brought with her for a visit earlier in April.

Inspired by the 1790s open robe we mocked up a pattern based on my Period Impressions robe anglaise.


I had the indienne print cotton that I bought late last year in two pieces.  I'm amazed that I've used almost all of it.  The skirt was pleated for all but 2" of the 2.5m length I bought to make sure that I had enough.  It's attached with the selvedge running along the waist ... we decided (ie my roomies at JAFA) that the indienne print was busy & rotational enough for it not be be obvious that the bodice was cut in one grain and the skirt the other.  El Presidente pinned up the hem as the back waistline was intentionally raised at centre back, and the hem was just basted flat. At some point that will be turned into a small rolled hem. A period finish & all there's room for at the centre back.  I need to finish sewing all the hooks & eyes on the bodice centre front ... I only got 2 sewn before I had to wear it!

El Presidente also helped me get the sleevil defeated far to easily. She is a maestro of technique!  I spent Saturday hand sewing the sleeve hem, prick stitching the front edges together and pinning the skirt into place - I eyeballed the pleats & pinned them into place, being very thankful that by the time I got to the other side I had a teency bit of fabric left over and wasn't a teency bit short of fabric. 

I have about 60cm left to make the winged cuffs, plenty and they shall be done this year.