Thursday, November 20, 2014

Butterick B6108 Retro 1912 Misses' Jacket Bib and Skirt

Xposted. Better photos may be taken later.
1910s Suit
This photos is enhanced with an orange cone in the distance.
1910s Suit
Unfortunately, the suit came out a little overexposed.
1910s Suit
A better view of the hat
1910s Suit 1910s Suit 1910s Suit 1910s Suit 1910s Suit 1910s Suit
Butterick B6108 Retro 1912 Misses' Jacket Bib and Skirt
The suit came out okay. I used the wrong fabric and had to alter the jacket a lot. This pattern may be good for a regular to tall person. Being short, I had to shorten the jacket by 3" which eliminated the elegant elongated look from the pattern front. The armholes seemed too low. I moved mine up 1" and moved the shoulder seam in a little. I might have been able to go a size smaller on the top of the jacket, widening out for the hips. Cotton flannel was a bad choice as it stretches too much and the flannel and bias made the skirt pleats difficult. A tighter weave fabric would be better. Hang the skirt before hemming as the bias pieces may stretch making the front of the skirt longer than the back. Don't cheat and cut the front piece on the grain; the bias is needed for the snug fit at the top of the skirt while allowing some give. Be careful when matching plaid; when cutting out the front jacket pieces, the front side pieces are longer than the front center pieces because the sides and back have a hem allowance.

Sunday, November 09, 2014

1910s Hat

To inspire me to finish altering my 1910s suit, I made a gray wool hat. It has a ridiculously large feather and looks like it needs to be sitting higher on the back of my head on top of a mass of hair. So, imagine it sliding forward a little and covering more of my forehead. Butterick B4697 1910-1915 Hat. I pieced together the wool for the crown of the hat.
Gray wool hat

The back of my head looks like all feather.
Gray wool hat

Gray wool hat Gray wool hat

Stitching in the lining
Handsewing lining to hat

Sunday, September 28, 2014

1912 Suit In Progress

First try and plaid doesn't match at all on the front side and front.
Front and Front Side don't match up
Decided I used the lining fronts and unstitched and used the other pieces which matched better, but not perfect.
Front seams still don't match up
What I totally messed up was that the side front piece was supposed to be 7/8" longer than the front piece. I eased the front side piece in instead of leaving it longer. So, one of those pieces might have matched better if I had sewn them together correctly. I didn't feel like ripping it out and sewing it a third time so I just shortened that front piece by about 7/8". I kind of regretted it later and wished I had resewn it. To fix now, I would have to cut out 4 more pieces and interfacings and unstitch/restitch.

The "Bib" with extra lace and ribbon around the collar. Still needs hooks and eyes in the back. Kind of like a dickie or chemisette. Only bound by the collar hook and eyes.
"Bib"

Still haven't finished the hem and buttonholes on the jacket. First thoughts are that this would look better on a taller, more slender person. Even though, I hemmed the skirt 1/2" higher in front, it still ended up longer in front. Pleats allow for walking. The top of the jacket is too big on me. The hips fit fine. Because the jacket is worn more like a dress, seems like the top should be closer fitting. That might mean taking in some of the sides and move the armholes up. That might mean taking in some of the sides and move the armholes up. And maybe the jacket should be an inch shorter. Hmmm... that sounds like a lot of work.
In progress front view In progress side view In progress back view

Thursday, September 25, 2014

1912 Daywear - Suit Dress

While the electricity was out this morning, instead of sewing a UFO, I started cutting out Butterick B6108 Retro 1912 suit out of cotton flannel.
Reproduction 1912 Suit In the afternoon, I started sewing the front pleats even though I had the beginning of a smashing headache. Bad idea. Headache + pleats on the bias = Fail
Headache + sewing = fail
Later in the evening, I tore out the pleats and tried, again. Still doesn't look quite right and I don't see how 7/8" buttons would fit on these pleats. The front and side panels are cut on the bias which creates some ease in tight/slim skirt. Trying to sew even pleats with fabric that stretches doesn't work so well. This pattern might be better with a tighter weave than cotton flannel. The jacket will cover the closure. I put in an invisible zipper instead of a regular zip. I still need to add the waistband and tack down some of the pleats. Three of the pleats are only partially sewn so that the bottom hem has some kick.
Front
Skirt started Back
Skirt started

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Website Updating

My website, Darling and Dash, has not been updated in several years. When it was started, internet speeds and bandwidth were low so photos were reduced to small thumbnails. Much has changed and many more costumes were made. I started uploading photos of unrepresented costumes. Maybe there will be detail pages to go with each costume later.