Chemise a la Reine Pt. II

Dear readers, if you're even still reading, I apologize for the sporadic postings on here. And for my negligence to comment on your blogs. Time flies, and I've been busy, very busy lately. And I haven't been on the computer to check blogs in so long I'm actually a little scared to open up bloglovin and see the now hundreds probably, of posts I've yet to read and comment on O.o But Here's a post with a few pictures of me wearing the chemise dress I made for my grandma to wear to the Historical Ball. (previous post).

The difference is that I"m wearing stays. And the sash is a much wider ribbon. Everything else is the same. Oh, and I made a chatelaine. I'm not sure exactly how period correct it is (probably not very much so), but it went with the general idea, looked pretty, and I'm pretty sure the visitors at the event had no idea :P

my new white stays that I made to wear to the ball.

Bascha made a new dress, and it's so perfect, even the stripes on the shoulders line up exactly with the stripes on the bodice.  

Bascha looking lovely as ever :) 

I've got to say, this dress made me feel soooo pretty. It was like I was some sort of fairy, literally. I know I might not get another opportunity to wear the chemise dress, at least not for a while, but I'm glad I have it to wear again when the occasion arises. On our way home from the event I had to run into Food Lion to get some bacon. It's always so fun to go into places while still in costume :P

Hopefully I'll get back on my blogging feet again soon, but I can't make any promises :P

~Theresa

Our First Roba a la Francaise

First up of all the gowns to be posted about specifically is my robe a la francaise. Here's the quick stats. 

Made the evening before the ball. Record time! (I had trimmed the petticoat before) Draped by Bascha, sewed by me. 10 yards of taffeta ordered off of eBay. Total cost $60. The most expensive thing I've ever made haha! (Thankfully Mom's dress cost $11, and Ann Marie's cost $2 so :D :D :D) Machine sewn. 

We didn't really encounter any problems during the draping or sewing of the dress, I'd say it went very smoothly actually. Which was awesome! :D And I am THRILLED with how the back pleats look, way better than I ever imagined! And I could feel it flow out behind me when I walked which was pretty fun too :). 

Yes there was a ship in my hair, it was a birthday present from my younger sister Caroline, painted by me. We had a "ship wreck" in the parking lot where it detached itself from the top of my head and smashed to the ground. Thankfully my wonderful friends and family members were able to secure it back to my hair with some hockey tape and what I believe was a shoe lace. :D 

I'm soooo in love with the fabric!

Coral bead necklace I made for a total of $5. The coral came from a little shop in Blowing Rock.

my great aunt's ring

And here is the original inspiration for me dress. I wish I could produce the original links and everything but I can't find that document. I have it somewhere. I do remember the dress was dated to the 1760's. 

Sorry if this seems scatterbrained. Maybe it is. But that's my dress!
~Theresa

Bascha & I Lost Our Minds Somewhere In the 18th Century

My dears, I'm afraid Bascha and I have lost our sanity, never to have it returned. And as you might have guessed by the title, we've lost it in the 18th Century. Particularly that period between the late 1760's and the 1780's. I lost it first, in the 1760's and Bascha lost it in the 1780's :P. And you wanna know something? We really aren't bothered that much about it!

Here's what happened. Every year, Jessica (our friend that teaches ECD on Thursday nights) throws what is called the Homeschool Historical Ball. Now last year you may remember that the theme was the 40's and 50's (blogged) , and the year before was Regency (un-blogged). Well this years theme was "George Washington" and it was set in the 18th century. And Bascha and I had said this was the year we were going all out, and so we did. And we went all out and it was insane.  :D So there you have it! And 18th century ball we got to costume ourselves up for! And yes, I do have a ship in my hair, all the details will be in upcoming blog posts. :)

If you want to read the post full of exclamation points, it's on my personal blog, Tmarie. It has all the same pictures as in this post, and I think this blog will end up with waaaay more pictures but still ya know, there's the link if you want it :).

I'm still soooo tickled that we did this :D. And so tickled that I can FINALLY share pictures with ya'll, I know there has been a long silence on the blog but now you know why :D And now that we all have evening clothes I think it's about time we plan a 3rd trip to Williamsburg and meet Miss F and Samantha.........:D

And one more thing before I get on the the photos, I've got to link to Ruth. :D She's quite a seamstress and did a fantastic job on her dress and on her younger brother's costume. They both looked soooo good and it was fantastic to see them again :D. Thank you so much Ruthie for coming down to see us!!!!!! You are amazing!

L to R: Ann Marie, Caroline, myself, BASCHA, and Ruth

L to R: Grandma, mama, AM, Care, myself, Bascha :D, Ruth, and Mrs. Jacques

The "squad" L to R: Ben, Grandma, Dad, Mama, Caroline, Ann Marie, Joshua, myself, Joel, Bascha :D, Stephen, Ruth, Mrs. Jacques, Abe. Is it just me or does this photo remind you of a painting? Not any particular painting, just a painting in general.

my fam :) So blessed to have parents and siblings who will be crazy enough to do this with me :D 

Bascha, the blushing beauty that fell out of a portrait from the late 18th century, her dashing brother and her Mum :) 

Ruth and Ben looking all snazzed up :D

My mama looking gorgeous as ever :D She did the hair and wig styling for all of us :) Hair is her forte

my darling Ann Marie and her brother Joel. She looked so beautiful and I love her so much! :D

besties

Again, biggest thanks to my parents who allowed us to be crazy and went crazy with us :D :D :D 

All the young gentlemen. 

Now there will be more photos to come. A blog on my new stays, a blog on our dresses probably individually, and the originals they were copied from, pictures from the ball photographer and of us getting ready, etc. But I hope this is enough to tide ya'll over with :D 

And in closing all I can say is Bascha, Bascha, Bascha.  She is probably the most talented individual I could name for you that I know. I could NEVER have done any my part of the costuming had it not been for her, and did you see her costumes?????!!!! Out of this world! Or rather century :P I love you Bascha! You're absolutely amazing and I still can't get over how good ya'll looked! :D

HIP HIP HOORAY for the #HHB2015 !!!!!!! :D :D :D 

~Theresa, a most excited seamstress

Of Us and Blog Awards

Well I wish I could have a fancy title for this blog post, since I'm feeling very fancy right now, but alas, I'm unable to think of any good stuff. :P But I'm thrilled that Bascha and I have been nominated a Liebster blog award, which I'm afraid I've no idea how participate with. Here's what it said we should do: 

Nominees, upon receiving this award you must:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Nominate other blogs, preferably ones with less than 200 followers.
3. Answer the questions asked by the one(s) who gave you the award.
4. Make a list of questions for the other nominees to answer.

So yay! Thank you very much!!!, to Adiel, from Basically Creative Me, for nominating us for this here award, do go check out her blog via that link ^ and also it's on our sidebar. The purpose I believe of the award is to give publicity to our blogs, so that's the nice part for us, and now here's the nice part for you. We shall answer some questions so you can learn more about us! :)

1. What period was your first love or your introduction to historical costuming? Wanna share a picture of your first costume?

Bascha: My very first period love was and still is Rev War!! When my family moved to North Carolina 9 years ago, we visited Latta Plantation for one of their homeschool events and the staff/volunteers were all dressed in TP clothes. Since then I have been hooked on researching clothing from the 1770's and later on making my own clothing and on to other time periods! :)

My very, very, very first costume was a Renaissance outfit I made for a Scottish Country Dancing Ball.  I was not trying to be PC at all and most of the fabric was from a ReStore that I bought for like 50¢ a bolt. :P My lovely Scottish Dance teacher helped me almost the whole way and I am so grateful that she did because she taught me some tricks that I still use today. Love you Jess!!

I am the one in the white blouse on the left. :)

But I also made my BFF's cincher on the right.

Theresa: Rev War :) (Isn't Bascha adorable in that picture? ^ She still is too :)) We'd done a little dress up for Williamsburg, and the first event I participated in at Latta was 1770's, so that's what I sewed for. Also, it's Bascha's favorite time period so :D I still wear that outfit! (Stays were the first thing I made, and to this day I'm awfully proud of them)

hehe, that was like 2 years ago. :) the fit is terrible now, but I still wear them :)

That's my first outfit! I'm in the burgundy jacket. Bascha is in the striped one.

2. What period do you find most difficult? Why?

Bascha: Ummm, the most difficult time period. Haha I don't find any of the time periods really hard to sew for. I think maybe the '50's may be the most difficult for me. I absolutely love the poofy circle skirts and dresses but sometimes it is hard to get the bodice right. Haha I had to do 4 different mock ups for my '50's ballgown bodice!

Theresa: Um, I'd say regency. Normally you'd think ooh, real simple dress, but it's actually tricky for me! I'm quite busty, but on a small frame, and when I do a full bust adjustment I have like 6 inches of EXTRA gathers at the bottom, which looks really bad on a garment. So for me, it's been tricky trying to drape/pattern a regency dress for myself. I also find the backs hard to fit on other people.

3.How have you balanced school work and costuming and a social life?

Bascha: Well I would say that I don't do a very good job on managing time. :P Haha I usually do not start sewing a PC garment for an event until a couple weeks before it and then I am up almost every night till almost 2 a.m. or later trying to finish it in time, which then puts me further behind in my school work. But other than that, I do a ton of research way before an event ready to make something. :) As for my social life and work, I work 3 nights a week at Hancock Fabrics (perfect job!) and teach dance class on Tuesdays, which leaves me with Thursdays and weekends (unless there is a reenactment going on somewhere) to hang with friends.  Haha so eventually I get everything I need to get done by the end of the month. :P

Theresa: For the most part, everything in my life is extremely flexible. So it hasn't been that big of a deal. When I've got a big sewing project that I'm working on, I kind of don't do as much school and then catch up later :P. My schooling right now is not very intense, and I have a lot of freedom as to pursuing my interests. Interests that will help me in life that is. Sewing and alterations being one, my costuming is somewhat part of my schoolwork. And that's pretty neat :) As for social life-that's not hindered. I can still go to dance lessons, still hang out with friends at church, I have my license, so if I want to go shopping with a girlfriend or go out for lunch or something I'm able to. I'd say I've got a pretty good social life. And if I'm not driving sometimes I'll take a small project (such as a bonnet or pocket or apron) along with me to work on, but this depends on my sewing load at the moment. And as for work I normally just sew around that chunk of time, or bump it around. I don't have very good time management :P

4. Looking back at all the costumes you've made, which are you the most proud of?

Bascha: I would have to say that I am most proud of the Rev War stays that I made with my dear friend Theresa and my brown polonaise. Haha both of my Rev War pieces. :P

Theresa: My corsets and stays. I've made a few corsets, and my stays and then helped with Ann Marie's, and there is just something about corsetry that's beautiful and challenging that I really enjoy. But I'm not really sure I could put a finger on one particular costume that I like the best.

5. Where do you see yourself five years in the future, in regards to costuming?

Bascha: Let's see in five years, I will be fresh out of college!! :O I hope by then I will have used up most of my material in my colossal stash! Hehe. Also maybe even have started selling/making PC garments for the public to buy. :)

Theresa: No idea, eep. Hopefully I'll be much better at it, but I don't know how my life will pan out. Possibly working a a Living History site, but I can't say for sure. I think for the most part, I'll be "costuming" my everyday clothing. Since getting into the "old clothes" realm, I've been really inspired to start dressing from other eras. It's been a somewhat gradual transition (that I'm still in the midst of!), but I've started dressing vintage (40's and 50's), so I see myself sewing clothing and accessories that that time period. :)

6. How does your family feel about your hobby?

Bascha: My whole family thinks my sewing hobby takes up a lot of my time, money, and energy. But also that it is a unique gift and they love that I can make many different things on my machine and/or by hand. Even though, when I get into one of my sewing fevers, my room and sewing room look as though a hurricane went through them. :P I love all of my family dearly for understanding and still loving me after I have torn the house to shreds. <3

Theresa: My dad doesn't get it at all :P My mom really likes how many new skills I've learned, and the historical knowledge I've gained. She has really put a lot of effort into making it possible for me :) My siblings like having me make stuff for them, but they aren't really involved much in the costuming part of things. For the most part I think they are all cool with it, but when I'm downstairs for days straight and I make a huge mess they get a little annoyed :P

7. What is one piece of advice you can give to someone new to the hobby that you wish you'd gotten when you were just starting out? (Or, alternatively, what is one piece of advice you got as a newbie that you'd like to pass on?)

Bascha: Always make sure iron all of your seams!! Even though you may think "oh they won't know if I ironed that one seam" but that 1 seam not ironed can change almost the entire fit of the garment! Oh and don't forget to clip your corners/curves haha. Just as ironing a seam, a non-clipped curve/corner could make your garment look all funky. :P

And the tips Theresa gives are really really  good too. :)   Just be sure you wash whatever you buy from the thrift store before you use it, you never know where it has been before. :D

Theresa: This seems slightly ironic since I'm a perfectionist, but learn to say "Oh well," with a smile on your face. We all mess up, but something that's been helpful to me from the very beginning was to laugh and say "Oh well" and keep going. I mean obviously, I'm not saying don't fix the issue, but it's ok to just say "Oh well" and move on too!

 Also, thrift store, thrift store, thrift store!! Sheets, curtains, and the fabric from clothing is an inexpensive and perfect way to make historical stuff! Linen shirts and pants are perfect for caps, stomachers, and trims-large rayon dresses can be cut up and vintage skirts and dresses can be made from them, sheets are lifesavers when it comes to underpinnings and mock-ups-and the list goes on.  Yeah, thrift stores are the way to go!

8.What is your dream fabric to work with?

Bascha:  Linen and muslin!! I love working with those two! After you wash them, they both are usually as soft as cotton candy. :) And linen is so pliable, you can just finger press the whole garment! :O haha

Theresa: Sheer cotton. I just love how easy it is to sew, how beautiful it looks with tucks (I adore tucks), and how soft and lightweight it is. It also irons well! And linen, like Bascha. Except it unravels to easily for me.

9. If you are comfortable with doing so, give us one random fact about yourself that you've never mentioned on your blog!

Bascha: I have a boyfriend!! Haha yeah, that is as random as I can get. :P

Theresa: 

Wow one random fact. I'm like completely random so I'm not even sure what fact to pick! Haha! Lets do sleep walking/talking because most people tend to find that interesting. I have sleep walked many times, and my favorite place to sleep is under our dining room table in the sun room. Or just in the floor. I also sleep eat....one night I ate an entire box of cold (yuck) ravioli and the creepy thing is my mom thought I was awake so she didn't stop me. She has stopped me other times though, by waking me up and sending me back to bed. And when I sleep talk it's not just moaning and jumbled words...I have conversations with people. And I laugh and cry (in my sleep!)-all very loudly.

And now to the blog we are nominating: 

Ruth, from Sewing Room Tales. There are two posts of hers you should go check out; her 1950's ballgown, and her 1860's wool dress. And what I especially like is that she doesn't sew from patterns! (And Ruth, do list 10 facts about yourself too :D)

We would have nominated more, except the ones we wanted to nominate had already been nominated. :D

And the questions for the nominee to answer:

1. At what time of day do you usually find yourself wanting to sew? Or what time of day do you like to sew?

2. What is your next sewing project?

3.What is your biggest frustration when you sew clothing? 

4. What has been the biggest sewing lesson you learned?

5. What is your favorite resource or method for researching period costuming?

6. Who do you look up to the most in the costuming world? (aka favorite blogger, seamstress you know, Elizabeth Clark, etc.)

7. What was the first thing you sewed? Do you have a photo you could share?

8. Do you ever plan on taking sewing or patterning classes? 

9. Would you ever sew modern clothing? 

10. Where do you see yourself, five years in the future, in regards to costuming?

~Bascha & Theresa

The "Oregano" Dress

Well! I suppose I'm more of a procrastinator than I'd care to admit......:/ erm.  I was sewing so madly the last week before the ball I actually injured my foot. 

Yes. I sewed so much I came to have an inflamed nerve in the ball of my right foot. This caused my foot to swell, to the point of not even fitting in my pretty rose colored pumps I had diy-ed glitter to to undersides of. Grrr.  I was in a lot of pain as well, and I'd equate it to walking and feeling like one had a splinter in your foot.  Plus the tingly and awkward feeling caused from the swelling.  So Bascha was super sweet and lent me lace slippers (like the kind you can wear inside of a shoe...idk what they are called...???) which I'm afraid I wore out rather quickly :P, but they did look quite nice with my outfit. :) Even though my foot hurt, I just danced anyway (ouch), since I figured we had already invested so much, I couldn't just throw away the experience. I limped a good bit, and sat out a few dances, but I made it. And Ah, this story has an AMAZING ENDING. Which I will include at the bottom of this post!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So on to the dress :). I had bought a lovely Simplicity Pattern a while back, of which I had planned to make a WWII dress from, but hadn't really done anything with.  It was really cute, and by the time my ballgown was taking off, I thought it'd be a good chance to try out a new pattern. Yuck. Gathers, plus 6 inches of fba gathers did not look good. At all. It appeared I had pouches attached to the underside of my boobs. WEIRD. Ah, but Bascha saved the day (She and her mum came over for literally an entire day to help me sew my dress and petticoats!). She draped (go Bascha-first time draping!!) a darted bodice, which fitted in really cute with the sleeves and back, and we scrapped the waistband part. Yay! It looked really, really cute! She did an excellent job and I'm in love with the darts :). 

We did have a problem though....after she helped me put the whole dress together, I tried it on. Only to find out my poor bust was squished into a very strange shape due to the tightness of the bodice. And it was uncomfortable. I'm still not really sure what I did wrong....but I probably messed it up attaching the lining. Bascha did the nice parts, I did the in-siding out and such of the lining. (Oops. Thankfully I was able to fix it.

1947 dress pattern

I cut straight down the front of the bodice to right under the bust. Then I folded it over and stitched the edges to form neat little lapel things. I tacked those down in a few key locations, and that was done.  Then I cut out a triangle, similar to a stomacher, and gave it a sweet heart top.  This I placed under the lapel part of the bodice, and sewed down. To cover any uneven stitches and other nonsense (and just to add something pretty), I put some little "bubbled" trim (I'm not really sure the name for it, neither is Bascha) along those seam lines, forming a V. In between each "bubble" I put two crystal beads and two small strands of little gold glass beads.

I like this picture :). Bascha, you do take some nice photos!! :) I don't have a full body shot of just me alone though, so you readers will have to check out a group picture post to see my whole self.

The sash is sewed down at the back by the zipper, at the side seams, and for a few inches along the waistline on either side in the front. The ties extend nearly to the bottom of the skirt, even when tied in a bow :).

Mama did my hair, and I think it turned out really nice. I slept on the whole thing and wore it the next day, and was even able to wear the front part to church on Sunday. I kind of like the vintage vibe. For my nails I used fake nails (since my real nails broke like the day before) and "chiseled" them into a more pointed tip than 'tis the style now, and painted them red. I lost one during the ball trying to pull a petticoat down some, but Care was smart and had brought the glue with her in her purse. So I was saved much embarrassment. :P

And AH! I'm wearing a mink stole!! It's so gross. :/ 4 real, whole minks. With their poor little ankle bones and toe nails still. I almost didn't wear it, but it looked so good on the dress, and it was period, and my mom found it for $10 at the VV and yeah, so I wore it. Though I was a little disgusted. :O :P It did look pretty though!

The back. You can kind of see my fingernails in this photo too.

the skirt

bodice detailing

And before I forget to tell you, this is how the dress got it's name. :P I had shaved my legs all pretty the night before the ball. I soak my feet in a bath of Epson salts every night-it's supposed to help relieve stress and it's good for sprains and strains (aka my foot injury), and as you can imagine, freshly shaved legs and saltwater did not mix well. Painful. We have little bottles of different essential oils that we put in lotions, or on bruises and things sometimes, and since I like the smell of oregano, mama thought she would add some to my foot bath. We did not dilute it enough. Painful. VERY painful. My feet and hands literally turned red, like as if getting burned, and they stung and itched like mad. And since this dress is kind of an herb green, and this was the night my dress was finished I've thus called it the "Oregano Dress".  It's something I will remember for a long time :)

bodice front. And I'm wearing Bascha's necklace :). She lent that to me for the ball. I'm really not sure if there is a nicer person than Bascha :D Guys, she is awesome! 

And last but not least, my AMAZING STORY. So, by Sunday morning, my foot had only gotten worse. My toes had turned a blue-ish purple, the swelling was huge, and I was losing feeling in that foot. Also, if you pressed on the foot it was like a gel and would turn white in weird way- blah. It was just gross.  We had gone to fellowship at a friends home-church, and at the end of service my Dad told them about my foot and so they came over to pray for it. They have incredible faith, and prayed with much fervor, though never increasing their voices past normal volume, nor waving their arms about, or doing anything weird. Just praying out loud to Jesus in a peaceful manner. And as they prayed for my foot I'M NOT KIDDING the toes turned normal colour (this was in a matter of minutes), the swelling dissipated completely, and the pain disappeared. There was no trace of my foot ever been hurt at all and I was able to walk. If that was not a miracle I'm not even sure what you could call it, I literally watched God heal my foot before my very eyes. I've not had even the slightest trace of pain or discomfort come back since then either. It was completely healed! Praise the Lord! Also during that church service, my little brother was healed of poison ivy on his hands.  He gets it awfully bad, like has to get on steroids, eyes swell shut, legs blister and bust, it's disgusting and super painful. He had it all over his hands that Sunday, and his fingers were huge, red, and blistered. They prayed for his hands too, and we literally watched the poison ivy go away. Like his fingers got smaller, the redness went away, and the poison ivy vanished. VANISHED. I'm not kidding, I saw it happen. Thank you Jesus!!!

That's the Oregano dress, more ballgown posts coming! (Plus petticoat pictures).

~Theresa