Fabrics, Part 2

It may come as a disappointment to discover that some historical fabrics are no longer available today. What we call muslin is a vastly different thing from Regency muslin. That was a fine and elegant cotton fabric, suitable for day dresses, and sometimes woven with "sprigs," as was illustrated on the cover of an excellent romance by Georgette Heyer.

Muslin nowadays, at least in the USA, is nowhere near the lovely, delicate fabric that made such dainty dresses. In order to get the same look, you'll need to substitute similar fabrics. Cotton gauze or a fine batiste will give much the same effect. Silk muslin or mousseline is still in use, but has a stiffer weave. You can also use lightweight printed cottons to much the same effect.

The movie versions of Jane Austen's novels had such a problem, which they solved admirably. Note the similarity between the actual printed cotton fabrics in the Museum of Costume in Bath, UK, to the costumes used by the BBC. Polly Maberley wore the yellow printed dress as Kitty Bennett in the 1995 BBC television production of Pride and Prejudice. Note how similar it is to the actual period dresses show just behind it. For more information, be sure to visit the Museum of Costume website. (Link above.)

1871 Parisian Mourning Dress
Surrender Dorothy has this
page from a fashion magazine
offered on their page.

Another fabric you may have difficulty finding is bombazine. (Also spelled bombasine.) This was a heavy silk and woolen blended twill, with a silk warp and worsted woof. Black and dark blue were the most typical colors, and it was used most often for mourning garments, especially in the Victorian Era.

TextureImages.net shows this incredible photo, giving an idea of just how firm a fabric you'll need as a substitute. While jean can be suitably heavy, it won't have the slight sheen the silk gives. You can use a woolen twill, or search for a heavy silk twill.
While searching for bombazine online, I came across Thistle Hill Weavers. They don't offer bombazine currently, but they do work with the fibers that go into it, and they take custom orders. It would be expensive, but if you absolutely must be completely authentic, you could request a custom order.

Whatever you decide in creating your costume, enjoy the process. Finding the right pattern, fabric and trims is half the fun!

Happy Sewing!

How Authentic Do You Want to Be?

When you have chosen your time and your character, the next problem you'll face is authenticity. How authentic do you have to be in order to be correct? If you're doing living history, you'll probably need as close to 100% authenticity as possible.

If you want to be authentic and not just look it, you can't use a sewing machine for costumes prior to the 1860s. While there were some sewing machines beginning in the 1850s, they were not generally available. In addition, the original sewing machines were not lock-stitch like modern machines. Using just one thread, the machine sewed a chain stitch. That was fine....unless a thread broke. Then the entire seam ripped out!

In 1877, the Merrow Company began manufacturing crochet machines (known today as overlocks or sergers). They are still made today. While I've been unable so far to locate information on how much the original overlocks were used in the late 19th Century, you can certainly use them for 20th Century costumes, especially beginning with the 1980s.

If you are like most of us, you find the idea of hand sewing an entire garment daunting! For cases like this, you can compromise and use a sewing machine for interior seams that will not be seen. For all external stitching, you can do hand work. Hems, for example, will look more natural if done by hand rather than machine stitching. (You can compromise and use the blind hem stitch, but unless your costume is late 20th century, I'd avoid serged hems and even topstitching.)

If you have never done hand sewing (and with the great machines on the market these days, many people haven't), why not start with small projects until you master the stitches? The sampler was a teaching aid for many of our young ancestresses. While many of them show only decorative stitches, you can make your own sampler with assorted hand stitch work, and then use it as your guide as you construct your garment.

Here's a list of the basic stitches you'll need the most.

• The Running Stitch
• Just the way it sounds, this is a simple, straightforward stitch. Like a machine chain stitch, however, if it breaks, the entire seam is apt to unravel. If you're going to do a running stitch, I recommend adding a Backstitch every few stitches.
• The Backstitch

• Viewed from the top of the seam, a backstitch looks exactly like machine stitching (if you have a steady hand). The other side of the seam, however, tells a different story. I like to think of this stitch as "one step forward, two steps back," although it is definitely not a bad way to progress. On the back, you see how the needle has moved the length of two stitches. 
• Backstitch forms a VERY firm join, but it's time consuming. Worked in combination with Running Stitch, it works great.
• Hem Stitch
• This stitch can be as firm or flexible as you need, depending on the fabric. You can take just one thread, and make the stitching almost invisible. 

Naturally, you can use decorative stitches, but for costuming purposes, those fall more under the classification of embroidery.

One thing you will notice if you do decide to make the entire costume by hand: even if you press the seams open, they will not be as perfectly smooth as a machine stitched seam. You'll see a slight waviness, due to the nature of hand sewing. This is perfectly all right, and even desirable in some cases. How durable the seam is depends on which stitch you use.

So, to recap: if you don't have the patience to make a costume entirely by hand, go for just the visible parts. Hemming by hand will make a big enough difference to most costumes. Costumes with visible outer stitching may be done by hand.

Adapting Garments

Happy Tuesday!

Today, I'm discussing an aspect of costume that is great for beginners: adapting clothes you already have to a particular costume period.

Obviously, some clothes are more adaptable than others. You won't be able to take a t-shirt and jeans and turn it into anything earlier than the mid-to-late twentieth century. However, those same jeans, if plain enough, can work for a laborer's mid-to-late nineteenth century costume. Levi's 501 button-front jeans would be the best choice for that, as zippers weren't generally available in men's trousers until the 1930s. That was also the decade in which zippers were first promoted in children's clothing, as a way for children to be independent and easily dress themselves.


First, choose your era. If you're reading this blog, you've probably already done that.
I decided on 1880 for this adapted costume because we were visiting Tombstone frequently and hanging out with friends who reenact the shootout at the OK Corral. (I never got to do any reenacting, but that's beside the point.)

I chose for the upper element a lightweight cotton print dress. It already had several elements going for it

• a squared neckline, which was the standard in the 1880s. 
• a lightweight fabric that would be easy to manipulate
• a lapped zipper to which I could sew buttons, making it appear to button up the back (another standard of the 1880s)
• a princess-seamed bodice

Not only that, but it more or less matched the long pleated skirt a friend had given me. 

The actual work involved was simple. I sewed plain white buttons onto the zipper lap. Then I gathered the skirt up each side to create a polonaise, sewing by hand and securing the stitches so they wouldn't come loose. This I wore over a long-sleeved blouse with a high neckline and stand up collar, plus the long skirt. Instant 1880s costume. Would it satisfy a dedicated living history reenactor? Probably not. However, it has the look and the feel, and for this costume, at least, that's enough.

I made the hat from some craft felt, lace, and some shoulder pads, then added a purchased bird ornament. If I get enough requests, I may do a post on how to make hats from shoulder pads! 

So, choose your period, and then look for clothes you may already have that can adapt to that period. You may be surprised at what you already own that, with a little imagination and a bit of sewing, can become one of your favorite costumes!