WIP: LM Regency Long Stays Part 4

Since my last I posted I really got cranking on finishing these. First, I put in the bust darts that I decided I needed in the last fitting. Left bust dart (interior). Photo by author. Right bust dart (interior). Photo by author. Next, I re-hemmed the CB edge by double folding, as I didn't want…

WIP: LM Regency Long Stays Part 3

Photo by author. Work has not progressed as quickly as I would have liked for this final stretch. I was delayed by the holidays and then by the fact that my sewing room had devolved into a very messy storage space over the past year. After a day and a half spent tidying it, I…

Examining Early 19th C. Long Stays II: Thread Analysis

Click here to read my previous post on the Fiber/Fabric Analysis of these stays. Thread morphology is made up of multiple aspects that can be analyzed: fiber, number of plies and cords, direction of spin for a ply, and direction of twist (the direction individual and multiple plies are twisted together). On non-historical threads one can…

WIP: LM Regency Long Stays Part 2

Photo by author. This past week I managed to get my Laughing Moon #115 stays to the point where I could take them to my mentors for a fitting. I elected not to trim any of the excess added pre-cording yet, just to be on the safe side. I safety pinned the side seams together…

WIP: LM 115 Regency Long Stays

Progress on my stays has gone slow. I seem to have trouble switching back and forth between reading/writing and working with my hands. It is much easier if I can take a half a day or more to work on one sort of work and then switch the next day. This is not the case…

Examining Early 19th C. Long Stays: Fiber/Fabric Analysis

Part of the preparation of my thesis work involves making a pair of long stays appropriate for around 1810-1815. I lucked out when one of my thesis committee members offered up an extant pair that I could examine. My outside committee member, who has been a wonderful mentor since my undergraduate studies, had found them…

Toile: Laughing Moon #115 Regency Long Stays

My latest project is a pair of long stays. I need a pair of later stays for my thesis project, and for them to be as historically accurate in silhouette as possible. I went with the LM stays because of the company's reputation for HA, and because I didn't have time to mess around with…

Completed: Regency Round Reticule

The final accessory of my summer Regency accessories project is complete. This round reticule was made based on the tutorial at Darling and Dash. Photo by author. Project Information Pattern: This tutorial based on an original in the Met from the first quarter of the 19th century.Fabric: The main fabric is cotton sateen from my…

Completed: AD Frog Reticule

I decided to put my hands to reticule making this summer - I am still working on my round reticule, as the cartridge pleating takes a toll on my joints. I figure with a few reticules and other accessories it makes my one gown more versatile. It is probably a little too early in style…

Video of Fitting Black Snail 0119 Regency Dress

I've been working on the idea of a regency ball gown. My first regency gown was intended to be all-purpose, dressing it up or down with accessories to suit the occasion. Now, though, I'd like to make something closer to a typical white muslin ball gown, and preferably one that didn't have such a binding…