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…

Completed: Regency Sleeveless Spencer

Photo by Rebekah Markewich. I'm so pleased with the overall look I've been developing with my regency accessories and this sleeveless spencer has really been the cherry on top, I think. Other accessories seen in the photos include a fichu and bonnet I had made previously, a necklace (actually made from 18th c. beads!) which…

Planning for a Picnic: New Regency Accessories

Our little group of regency picnickers has decided to get together again this June, so I am trying to use the deadline to motivate me to sew some new regency accessories. Black Snail's Sleeveless Spencer I bought all the regency era Black Snail patterns during a sale awhile back, but have yet to use them.…

A Regency Redingote Update

For the month of January, I hosted a #wednesdaywinterhistoricsewalong on Instagram, and coordinated a weekly Zoom sewing hour with some friends to motivate us to do just a bit each week. I'm not good at chunking out a project in this way, usually I start dreaming that I'll finish a whole project! I have all…

Independent Study: 5 Regency Dresses

If you've been on my instagram lately, you might have seen the sneak peeks I've been giving of my independent study this semester. Well, here is the reveal! The Historical Society of Old Yarmouth is allowing me to study 5 late 18th century and early 19th century dresses which they recently acquired. Here are my…

A Regency Picnic

Happily, not all the costume events were canceled this year. Caitlin, The Victorian Archivist, hosted a socially-distanced regency picnic this Labor Day weekend at Saratoga Spa State Park through the Empire State Costumers group on Facebook. In all, six of us attended so it was quite perfect. It was so lovely to meet new people…

The Regency Redingote Project: Research – Fabrics and Colors

*Please note that the original title of this project was “The Regency Spencer Project”, and that post titles have been updated with the name “The Regency Redingote Project” to reflect the evolution of the project* This post was originally written about a year and a half ago, so my updates about the project regarding the…

Wet Cleaning an Infant Shirt for Conservation Part 2: IDing and Dating the Object

23 SEP-22 OCT 2019Supervisor: Professor Rebecca Kelly for TMD 538, University of Rhode Island I had some hunches about what periods this shirt might be from based on the pieces being cut from geometric shapes. It resembled my 1810s chemise I made, as well as patterns I have seen for reproducing 18th century Western European…