Who Else Has Trouble Figuring Flounces on 1850s Skirts?

I love ruffles! Lots of them. I love flounces too which are essentially long ruffles. I also love skirts with a few deep flounces attached. (I’m such a nerdy girly-girl.) Perhaps you love flounces to. So when your design calls for three flounces on your wide c.1855 skirt, where do you begin? I mean, it can’t Read More...

Techniques for Easier Pleating in 19th Century Costuming

Have you noticed all the pleating in historical clothing? You can find various pleats on bodices, sleeves, jackets, dresses, skirts, waistbands, undergarments, petticoats, coats, cloaks, trims and so many other articles. Taking the time to put a pleated element into your 19th Century costume can take it from good to jazzy! Read More...

Are You Wearing The Dress or Is The Dress Wearing You?

Now that’s an excellent question when you’re first starting to design a new costume. And how you answer will put you on a particular path for the look you want. A few years ago I was talking about design with a long-time costuming friend. I was having trouble deciding how flamboyant to make a particular Read More...

Demystifying Bustle Skirt Poufs

If you’ve never made a bustle dress they can look quite intimidating. The complicated fabrics swirling every which direction; the tightly-fitted bodice with a tail that floats on the skirt; the trimming that knocks you sideways with its complexity. But under it all are actually some basic shapes. Drill down and that skirt is just Read More...

How To Finish Your Skirt Hems For The Most Support

  All the Victorians did it. They knew what to do to keep clothes lasting longer. They finagled fabric and thread until it gave them the silhouette they wanted. One of the best things they utilized was the method of using a second or third layer of fabric to stiffen a particular area of a Read More...

Fabric Choices for 19th C. Costumes – Part 2 – Wool

“You’ve made a wool Civil War dress?… For events in Southern California?” I was chatting with a good friend about her new dark gray bodice & skirt with lime silk trimming. I thought she was nuts for making such a thing. I mean, it didn’t get *that* cold at reenacting events here. But then she Read More...

Where the Dickens is That Pattern List?

The autumn season is creeping up upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere. (Yay!!) And as cooler weather events start being organized and hosted, I’m sure many Dickens’ Fairs will be included. And don’t forget Christmas caroling and outdoor walks through state parks. When I think of these activities with my costume mind I usually Read More...