Cottage Bonnet Adventures

Hello fall! In typical New England fashion, the leaves are just beginning to change and fall and temperatures have begun to drop. Days are feeling shorter as night falls faster, yet I still have lots of catching up to do blog-wise on my various projects for and post Costume College. As promised, I present information on my endeavor in buckram hat forms.

As I've mentioned a multitude of times prior, I can't seem to kick the bug I have for early victorian clothing and the only way to do that is to make something from that era. Since I already spent time making the proper undergarments for an 1840s gown last fall, it made a lot of sense to make a bonnet to wear with the gown I was making for Costume College (although this bonnet was finished ages before the dress).

"Most true it is that ‘beauty is in the eye of the gazer.’"

Goodness, it's been quite a busy few weeks since arriving home from my first Costume College; with a whirlwind of craziness at work and another costumed event last weekend, I've barely had time to take a breather. As per usual, I've unpacked all over our living room, leaving a bit of a hurricane of petticoats and bonnets (and gloves and hairthings...).

Post Costume College Funk

Happy nearly August! I just arrived back in Boston super early this morning and despite my exhaustion, am beginning the process of unpacking and decompressing after a fantastic weekend. Between the classes and events, Costume College is just a magnet for pure talent of all types of costume construction; Everyone was just so supportive and knowledgable about so many aspects of costuming (historical, theatrical, and others) and it's definitely going to be hard adapting to the average world where I don't have to over-explain myself about anything I'm working on. C'est la vie. Regardless, I'm going to be counting down the days until I can go back, either this upcoming year or the following year. I've also got a few posts planned with pictures from classes, events, and possibly a breakdown of some of the things I bought.

Returning Heroes

Last October, I finished my first go at a victorian ballgown with excellent results and about 4 or 5 yards remaining of bubblegum pink silk taffeta. I wore this gown to The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers' holiday ball in December and subsequently attended their Regency Ball in February where I was convinced to attend their Civil War era, only costume required event in March. Initially I had held off on attending as my first gown is much more 1840s, with the slim sleeves and long pointed bodice, but I was roped in to attending by several of the lovely ladies who run the group.

About 100 years prior...

Another event that I'll be attending at Costume College is the Friday night Social, themed to the 1940's. Initially I did have plans to make a 1940's skirt, blouse, and bolero-esque jacket, but my itch to make an 1840's fan front gown was too strong, especially after seeing American Duchess's recent delve into the 1830's and after making a corded petticoat (and all the other appropriate undergarments) last fall.

Over a month ago, I purchased Laughing Moon's 1840s-1952 Round Dress pattern and took it to work where I cut it out (we have massive tables at work that are excellent for cutting out large sewing related things), put it in a ziplock bag, and took it home. Or so I thought. Fast forward to a week or two ago when I'm organizing my pattern stash and discover I have the pieces for the larger sizes of the pattern but not the smaller ones. I spent a good few days scouring my house, work, and car until I gave up and ordered a different pattern for the same style of dress in the case the smaller sizes do eventually show up. Enter Truly Victorian's 1845 German day dress pattern.

I currently own a few of the Truly Victorian patterns and have not been disappointed with my previous results.

With my pattern situation finally settled, I am still stuck on my fabric options. Back in 2012ish, after I got back from Old Sturbridge Village, I went on an 1830's kick and purchased 8 yards of a navy blue floral reproduction cotton (dating to the 1800's, I haven't been able to nail down an approximate date for this pattern) with the idea that I'd have enough yardage to make a day dress that would cover both the massive sleeves and voluminous skirt. However, present day me recently went to the fabric store and purchased the remainder of a bolt (6.5 yards) of a pink striped reproduction cotton, partly because it was $1 off a yard (it wasn't), and partly because the pattern is distinctly 1830's. So now I'm torn as to which fabric is the right choice for each gown. I have been leaning towards holding off on the pink print mostly because I already own one pink gown and I'd like to bring more variation to Costume College.

Which fabric do you think would work best for an 1840's gown?

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

As previously mentioned, I'll be attending Costume College at the end of July and with that comes lots of new projects to work on. For the Thursday night Welcome/Pool Party, the theme is Garments of the Galaxy and I've decided a very fitting choice would be to make a 1950's inspired Princess Leia based loosely on this picture:

This is partly because my original plan was to wear this to my 5 year college reunion this past weekend, but that didn't happen. Moving forward I'm planning to use the bodice and skirt from one retro pattern I own but the elbow length bishop sleeves from Charm Patterns Night and Day dress.

And of course, I'll be decked out with Leia's iconic cinnamon roll hair and some form of a metallic belt. Another bonus wear for this dress is I'll be visiting Disney World in January where the new Star Wars : Galaxy' Edge opens in late August. With all the media from Disneyland's version which just opened, it's going to take a lot of will power to resist the urge to get an annual pass and fly down to Orlando for their opening days. I'm just so excited!

Do you have a favorite Star Wars character?

West Coast Bound!

Big news - I'm attending Costume College for the first time this July! I'm super excited to learn as well as play dress-up with hundreds of other ladies. There are at least 5 different events to dress-up for on top of tons and tons of classes (both limited and unlimited), vendors, and other costuming related events. As of this posting, I have received my picks for limited classes (basic beading and corset flossing) and am in the throes of figuring out my schedule of unlimited classes and planning costumes to wear for the various events. These are the Thursday evening Welcome Party, the Friday Social, Saturday night Gala (complete with red carpet), Sunday "mourning" breakfast (which I may or may not attend depending on how exhausted I am from Saturday night), and the Sunday afternoon Tea (which I was not able to secure a ticket for). So that brings the grand total to a minimum of three garments I'll need to make/pack. More to come on these, as a single post won't do them justice.

Bubblegum Goodness

Like I forecasted, I am several months past my anticipated post date, but I am back (temporarily)! Back in October, I finished my bubblegum pink 1840s ballgown and I proudly wore it to the Victoria and Albert dance weekend, but in typical fashion, I only managed to get one decent photo of it, which i post thus:

The gown features about six or seven yards of bubblegum pink silk taffeta which I scoured the NY Garment district for, initially searching for lilac and ending up on pink because the lilac would take 10+ weeks to order. Who knew that lilac would be impossible to find? In summary, I am quite proud of my little gown and its ability to function for 2 eras (yes, 2 - with hoops it can also pass for 1850s). It is missing sleeve piping which I hope to remedy in the future, and lacks a Bertha (due to my lack of time finishing it for its first wearing) but it is what it is. Its next debut will be at Costume College in California in July!