Comments on: 1873 Blackberry Cream Victorian Ensemble

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 17:55:37 +0000

In reply to Sam B. Great tip! I've had to sew that way before and it works with fiddling. And yes, I would totally recommend basting trim on before machine sewing to a small cuff. But at that point I would probably just hand tack the trim with smaller stitches (not long basting ones) as was appropriate back then and works lovely today to save the frustration later at the machine. ;-) In fact, I recommend hand tacking trim heartily in my Ribbon Trim class on attaching finished trim to garments.

By: Sam B

Sam B — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 04:27:00 +0000

Beautiful! I’m determined to only make day-to-evening sets from now on! Love the details in this (although not sure I’ll ever try them myself).
One tip for the small-diameter cuffs on a machine: when I worked in a tailor-shop with industrial flat-bed machine, we hemmed small things by sewing “inside” the cuff: instead of having the garment looping down around the free-arm, we had it on looped up against the presser-foot arm. With a plain hem, sewing on the inside of the cuff, the sleeve is actually right-side-out (for sewing trim on the outside of the garment, your sleeve would be inside-out). I never had to sew anything like a ruched cuff onto a sleeve this way, though: that kind of bulk would probably need to be pinned like nobody’s business, or basted first. If it were me, I’d probably have basted the cuffs on, run out of time before getting the machine sewing done, and worn the bodice with my fingers crossed that the basting stitches wouldn’t break loose. XD

By: Duplicating Antique Garments – Do you really want it THAT historically accurate? – Historical Sewing

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 22:54:12 +0000

[…] a most wonderful thing to study antique garments then create your own reproduction based on your research! Our ancestors were wise when it came to sewing up their […]

By: The Purple Silk Edwardian Corset – Historical Sewing

The Purple Silk Edwardian Corset – Historical Sewing — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 17:24:38 +0000

[…] from the same blackberry cream silk I used on my 1873 ruched gown, I can now add Edwardian corset to my list of completed projects. […]

By: Organdy: The Costumer’s Dream Fabric

Organdy: The Costumer’s Dream Fabric — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 18:08:09 +0000

[…] trims like flowers and ribbons. Both aprons on my 1876 Wedding Cake Dress (above photo) and the 1873 Blackberry Cream Dress utilized organdy under the ruched fashion fabric to hold it in a defined […]

By: Judy Miller

Judy Miller — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 21:15:21 +0000

Beautiful!! the swallow tail back is one of my favorite

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 16:19:06 +0000

In reply to Sarah. I was on such a tight time crunch so was determined to do it by machine. Normally I would have relegated to hand tacking and would have been fine with doing so. :-)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 16:17:08 +0000

I chuckled at your comment about having difficulty sewing the wrist ruffles on a free arm. Dressmakers of the 1870s would have had to use a flatbed sewing machine. I use mainly antique and vintage machines so I have gotten used to flatbeds. I think I might have done that wrist ruffle thing by hand though.