General Progress Reports

Explorer Dreadlocks
I have started making roving dreadlocks for my explorer falls, so far I have about 15 or various lengths. These will be interspersed with dreadlocks made from fallen hair and I shall do multiple plaits underneath to add bulk and texture. For decoration I have wrapped some in wire and leather thing, others have beads and embroidery thread wraps. I still need more roving, but have to wait til the Textile Workshop gets a delivery in.
felting wool is quite fun, but really hurts my hands and you have to be in a good mood or the locks get creases in, or so it seemed! The creases are really annoying, I'm hoping my felting needle is in the drawers that my grandparents are bringing over.

Corset
The boyfriend drafted the pieces to my size and I have started a first draft with cotton drill (£1.50 a metre!), I don't have any steel bones, so I'm just going to stiffen with cable ties. My boyfriend has bought me a busk and lacing bones for my birthday, and as this corset is more supportive than cinching it should be ok.


Promenade Dress
After reading Norah Waugh's 'The Cut of Women's Clothes' I have found a style of 1911 sleeves I like, haven't decided on the rest of the bodice though.

Embroidery
The embroidery for the venusian pricess smock is going well, all the stones and swqins are on, and I've started sewing on the border trim. I need a clever Idea for the sleeve detail though, as I have run out of green Aida.

Sewing Machine
My grandparents are buying me a sewing machine for my birthday! Very exciting. I think they got tired of lugging the iron one around. >>

1910s on Flickr

I've created a 1910s Fashion group on Flickr, to pool together lots of visual resources. There are plenty of pictures of women wearing these clothes, as well as fashion plates and museum pieces.

I 'm also tempted start a 1910s Recreation group too, to collate pictures of reproduction and 1910s inspired outfits.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1910sfashion/

Also I went ot the library today and got out Norah Waugh's 'Corsets and Crinolines' ! I am excited.
I also got out ' THe Cut of Womens Clothes' and 'The cut of mens clothes' .
Most of the other fashion books I want to read are in the Nottingham Trent Library in town.

Corsetry, Bras and General Adventures with the 1910s.

With the help of the Corsetmakers LJ community I found some more information about 1910s corsets.
Seems women wore a bra with the under bust corsets (and that overbusts were available but rarer) I was directed towards google patents search and found this one, designed by Marie Perrillat, that is on the right period for the corset pattern I'm using and looks moderately easy to reproduce.

I think my next task is to try and find some 1910s pin up girls so i can see the underwear 'in the flesh' corsets on mannequins and stylised fashion illustrations can only go so far. There must be some some 'What the Butler saw' films out there.

I've also found some more sources, this time extant 1910s clothing in museum databases. Kendra of Démodé has a list of links to these here .
She also has dress diaries of a couple of teens dresses and a collection of fashion plates from 1913 and 1917.
Also have a look at the headers and some of the buttons, lovely deco style line art of 1910s fashion.

The boyfriend has hopefully borrowed Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines from the library for me, but the uni library doesn't seem to have Nancy Bradfield's Costume in Detail, 1730-1930 or Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion.

Darwin Sampler Progress

I've finished the centre piece of the sampler, the tree , cursive copperplate handwriting doesn't translate so well onto square bases Aida, but it still looks OK.

I have now started on the top line of the sampler, the doves, these are based on the traditional pigeon on page 35 of Lesley Wilkins' 'Beginners Guide to Blackwork' .

Corsets, and Obscure Cosplay

I've been working hard on translating the German corset pattern and it seems pretty simple. Evenmoreso if I buy ready made boning channels. The hard bit is going to be making it fit me.
I'll make it in white cotton coutile with black bias binding, a black pleated ribbon at the bust, black lacing and dragonfly flossing; dragonflies were popular motifs in Art Nouveau and occasionally popped up in Art Deco.

I have had another idea for cosplay which should be fairly simply, if utterly unrecognisable due to Mary Oliphant (revolutionary and Patriot) being from a radio show. Simple lower to middle class 1770s dress, with an apron and hat, I imagine her wearing a sort of rusty reddish orange, but blue would be just as apt. If i feel up to a challenge I could make stays (corset) and try and find the buckled shoes they wore at the time.

Hats! Dresses! Corsets!

One of my livejournal friends reccommended Lynn McMaster's hat patterns, so I'm thinking perhaps a low crowned asymmetrical boater sized hat.

I might have to buy some hat pins, and I really need an antique button hook as the buttons on my gorey girl blouse are awkward.
I have decided that I shall wear a large bow for that outfit rather than bunches.

The university library has Norah Waugh's 'Corsets and Crinolines' and as that seems to contain the only English language 1910s corset pattern I'm going to borrow it.

There is a 1910s corset pattern online, but with instructions in German, I've done a gist translation and might have a go at it.

Ageless Patterns has fascimiles of a old french pattern (Corset Nouveau 1910) for sale, but I'd have to pay.

I've found a new resource for 1910s fashion plates , 100 of them.

http://dressmakingresearch.com/1910s_dress.htm

I've also looked at

http://marquise.de/en/1900/index.shtml

http://www.scottish-wedding-dreams.com/historic-edwardian-gowns.html

and of course googling designers of the period such as Erte, Paquin and Poiret.

Synchronicity!

Just spotted a model for Skeletons in The Closet who has pretty much the hair I am planning on for my explorer outfit, there are a couple of shots of her in pretty steampunk looking attire and in this this shot which I think is also her, she has a lip ring too!

Till now I have never seen anyone with red dreadlocks, but it's nice to see someone rocking the locks ginger style (and it looks just as good as I imagined it)

Edit: The model is Femke van Hilten and it looks like the model with the piercing is not her.