A beautiful printed cotton gown, 1785-95. The Met. A very condensed version of this essay, without pictures, appears in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking. Because there is *so much…
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The Countess of Melbury’s Ball c. 1789 – Inspo!
The Met, 1780s Italian gown. Inspiration for my own gown for this event. Next March, 2020, I am attending the Countess of Melbury’s Ball in Walnut Grove, California. The event is set…
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The Isabella Mactavish Fraser Pattern & Documentary!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are very proud to release to you today the Isabella Mactavish Fraser gown pattern and construction PDF along with our short documentary about this famous tartan gown and…
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The Isabella Mactavish Fraser Project – Day 2
Georgia Gough wearing the finished Isabella Mactavish Fraser wedding gown and arisaid – Edinburgh, Scotland I’m back with the second day reporting from the Isabella Mactavish Fraser wedding-gown-in-a-weekend project, a wonderful demonstration…
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The Isabella Mactavish Fraser Project – Prep and Day 1
Braining hard on the Isabella Mactavish Fraser wedding gown – Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2019 Abby and I are back from our whirlwind trip to Scotland, and I’ve had a nice little run…
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18th Century Hairstyles for Long Hair
Jenny’s long hair was plenty to go over the ski slope hair cushion. Nearly as often as we receive questions about doing 18th century hairstyles for short hair, we see the question…
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18th Century Hairstyles for Short Hair
Nicole’s chin-length bob was perfect, if not even a little too long, for the early 1780s crape’d hairstyle once supplemented with a few hair pieces at the back… One of the most…
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#ADBeauty – 18th Century Hats, Caps, Bonnets, and Accessories
Jasmine wearing her Therese hood, a very simple early 1780s accessory It is my belief that one can never have too many 18th century accessories. Hats and caps are essential to getting…
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1780 – 1781 Glasgow Polonaise Sacque Jacket Progress
1780 – 1781 Polonaise sacque jacket almost done! I love the back, even if it has double the fabric in it that it really needs. Alllmmmooosssttt doooonnnneeeee! This project has been one…
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Introducing: The Isabella MacTavish Fraser Wedding Gown Project
The famous Isabella MacTavish Fraser wedding gown c. 1785. Photo by Ewen Weatherspoon. Reproduced with permission of Inverness Museum & Art Gallery Big news! We’ve been hinting at it for awhile now, but…
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Ikea Costuming 101 – Making Historical Gowns with Duvet Covers, Curtains, and Sheets
The Italian Gown from “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking” was made with one LJUSÖGA Queen size duvet cover from Ikea. Accurate printed cottons are very difficult to find. Usually…
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1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Fiddling
Progress! This past weekend I made a lot of good progress on my version of the 1780 – 1781 Polonaise-Sacque Jacket. I am always so very chuffed by how quickly sacque-back things…
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Making A Start: The 1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Jacket Progress
A quick mockup – feeling excited! At last, and for the first time in 2019, I am sitting down to sew something! The first four months of this year have been taken…
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The Curious Polonaise-Sacque Jacket
1780-81 jacket – Glasgow Museums Collection – 1932.51.o January is Costume A-D-D time. A whole new year lies ahead and we are all brimming with project ideas. Some I’ve even started and…
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A Little History of “Sophie” 18th Century Mules
The Laundress, 1761, by Greuze Mules! (AKA Slippers!) Did you know that mules were incredibly common in the 18th century? Women of all social classes wore them in various materials (silk, wool,…
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How to Lengthen/Shorten 18th Century Stays
The #1 question we receive about Simplicity 8162 (and will with Simplicity 8579 as well) is how to lengthen or shorten the stays. Particularly with Simplicity 8162, the body block used came…
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CORRECTION – 1780s Cap Pattern – American Duchess Guide
Hi gals! We’ve been alerted to a flaw in the 1780s cap pattern from “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking,” so before you all tear your pomaded-and-powdered hair out trying…
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A New 1780s CandyStripe Italian Gown
Italian gown – The Met – 1785-87 C.I.66.39a-b Well, I just can’t stay away from the late 18th century (can you blame me?). There is just so much to be explored in…
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The Many Types of 18th Century Gowns
I realized today with the 18th century gowns I have made I have only scratched the surface of how many different types there were. It’s easy to fall into the idea that…
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V262: Progress on the “Curtain-Along” 1780s Indienne Gown
So far so good – and sleeves that FIT! This project might have been quick if I hadn’t spend whole chunks of days not doing a darn thing. At least when I…
