Re: [h-cost] 1849 evening dress
Hi Lauren, A center front seam is optional. I have seen a few, but mostly the CFs are seamless, since the "princess" seamlines on either side of center front do the work of shaping. It's not atypical to have two almost parallel (curved, not straight) seams. the CF piece is usually very narrow at center front waist. There would never be NO sleeves under the berthe, if that's what you're asking :) ==Marjorie Wilser @..@ @..@ @..@ Three Toad Press http://3toad.blogspot.com/ On Sep 22, 2012, at 12:23 PM, Lauren Walker wrote: My questions for today are: Is a center seam down the bodice front typical for evening dresses in 1849? Does it introduce some bias- give that is essential to the smooth shape? And: Would there be short sleeves on the bodice under the berthe? ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] 1849 evening dress
Hi, I am laughing at myself this morning. Mostly I do very early medieval and 18th century, two eras just before technology made fabric much cheaper and more easily available, so all the clothing designs are sort of reflexively fabric-sparing in one way or another. The early medieval is the apotheosis of the rectangles-and-triangles cuts. And the big skirts of the 18th century are cut rectangularly so the fabric can be re-used and refashioned, even when they use a lot of yardage. Stuff like that. But I'm trying to dress a doll for a friend who loves Victorian, and whose two favorite years are 1849 and 1889. The doll and clothes are a birthday surprise, but I'm hoping to show off pictures when it's all done and given to her. The scale is dollhouse -- 1 inch to 1 foot. I finished one outfit -- an 1849 "Watering Place Ensemble", which was a good learning experience and came out pretty well, though there's plenty I would do differently next time. Now I'm working on an 1849 evening dress, with a deep pointed bodice and a bertha neckline. In tarlatane, which I'm impersonating with silk organza, over satin, which I'm impersonating with silk charmeuse. And "nine rows of narrow quilling of the same material" (i.e., the organza) on the skirt. So the fashion plate from which I'm working doesn't show seaming. And I'm there thinking, "How the heck am I going to get this kind of close fit without seams?" I put darts in the watering place dress because it was trimmed in such a way that they could be there without distracting. But I couldn't see any seams in the evening dress, unless the shadow down the front implied a center seam on the bodice. But it's a drawing, silly me. So I went forth on the web and found some photos of real ones. And they have MULTIPLE SEAMS! Yippee! Of course, working in small scale, I'll try to work them as darts -- one of my things is to have as few unfinished raw edges as I can possibly manage, as they are just a nightmare at 1/12 scale -- but at least I'll be able to do the shaping. The doll I'm working with (http://www.miniphile.com/Pages/Vic-dolls.htm) is shaped to allow for a fairly fashionable Victorian look (here's some of the dollmaker's dressed dolls: http://www.miniphile.com/Pages/gallery.htm) so I should be able to get a pretty nice shape. I've finished the quilling on the berthe, and while it is somewhat wider than would be true to scale, it's the kind of exaggeration of detail that is sometimes acceptable in dollhouse stuff. Basically, although the quilling is made from 1/16" diameter tubes, the bias-ness and the gathering poufed them into something wider. I'm assuming this is! some of the effect that made quilling distinctive and interesting as a trim in period, so that's kind of fun. My questions for today are: Is a center seam down the bodice front typical for evening dresses in 1849? Does it introduce some bias-give that is essential to the smooth shape? And: Would there be short sleeves on the bodice under the berthe? Thanks! Lauren Lauren M. Walker lauren.wal...@comcast.net ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] pinning
No, not that model. One is the c-250 futura, one is a 6038 and the last (which is currently an extra living in its box) is a 3820. That 6038 has been a workhorse! I had a singer before that but don't recall the number. The reason I have so many? My first I got for christmas years and years ago. It was a very basic model. I replaced it with the 3820 because I wanted more features and gave it away to some students who needed a machine. It was great until the puppy chewed the cord when I was under a deadline, so I bought the 6038. I replaced the cord so that I had a spare machine. Then a couple of years ago, my husband bought me the futura for christmas. I know some people don't like singer, but I have been very lucky! Teena From: Lavolta Press To: Historical Costume Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 12:25 AM Subject: Re: [h-cost] pinning You wouldn't have the Singer 2277 Tradition by any chance? That is the brand new White Elephant in my garage. Fran Lavolta Press http://www.lavoltapress.com/ On 9/21/2012 9:13 PM, Beteena Paradise wrote: > Some modern machines will sew over pins. Most of the time, I remove them as I > sew, but there is one task which requires me to leave the pins in and just > sew over them. I've dented a pin once or twice, but never had any issue with > the machine itself nor have I broken any needles. I've done this with at > least 3 recent model singers. > Teena > > ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Sharing links, was: Puts the burden where it belongs!
??? I have had a puzzlement understanding the flurry about this. It never occured to me that those links might be a virus danger. Why not? 1. All three links had the same "modesty glasses" phrase IN THE LINK; the Huffpo link had a LOT more verbiage than that, which made the subject even more clear. Anyone who had concerns could have taken that "modesty glasses" phrase and googled it, rather than clicking any of the links. 2. I've also never seen a suspicious-link post with THREE urls in it. I've ever only seen single links, and those single links are usually strings of gobble-de-gook that you can't get any sense from. just my two-cents. chimene ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
